Identity Theft

May 27, 2009

Counterfeit Check Ring Bounced: Manhattan DA to Announce Eighteen Indictments in 4 Million Dollar Fraud Scheme

The white collar criminal defense attorneys and former Manhattan prosecutors at Saland Law PC have learned that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office will announce the indictment today of 18 people, including accused ring leader James Malloy, in an alleged counterfeit check fraud scheme that utilized forged NYPD checks to perpetrate a multi-million dollar theft.

According to media reports, up to 40 people may have been arrested. It is alleged that the scheme operated by having an individual deposit a forged check into a bogus account. A teller, who was in on the scheme, allegedly provided the fraudsters with accurate account and check information to enable the fraudsters to create the fake checks and deposit them. In all, it is alleged that hundreds of checks were drawn off the accounts of about 20 companies.

May 14, 2009

Operation Plastic Pipe Line Busts Up Identity Theft Ring – Shola Enterprise Corruption Indictment Leads to Dozens of Arrests

by Jeremy Saland

As a NY criminal defense attorney and a former Manhattan prosecutor under Robert Morgenthau, I have defended or supervised numerous multi-million dollar investigations into Identity Theft, Credit Card Fraud, Forgery, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument, Grand Larceny, Falsifying Business Records and related fraud schemes. In fact, prior to starting Saland Law PC, I was assigned to the elite Identity Theft Unit when it was created by DA Morgenthau in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. In that capacity I received extensive training and hands on experience in the “trenches” and “front line” of Identity Theft and related crimes.

It comes as no surprise to me that another fraud scheme has reared its head and was ultimately broken up in Queens today. According to the Queens District Attorney’s Office, Operation Plastic Pipe Line began in 2007 and resulted in the multiple hundred count indictment for Enterprise Corruption and the arrest of dozens of people. It is alleged that this ring, led by Wole “Shola” Ogunwen, used multiple “cells” to defraud banks and steal the personal identification of thousands of people. In the last year alone, it is alleged that the financial loss exceeded twelve million dollars. To perpetrate the crime, these cells would use counterfeit credit cards, set up fake accounts, withdraw funds from banks and purchase products to be shipped overseas. With strong ties to Nigeria, it is further claimed that this ring operated on a global level.

March 5, 2009

Criminal Defense & Credit Card Fraud: Forgery, Identity Theft and Other Criminal Offenses – Part II

by Jeremy Saland

Consult with your NY criminal defense attorney…credit card and check fraud in New York routinely involves an enormous spectrum of crimes including Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument, Identity Theft, Falsifying Business Records and Grand Larceny. While these are only a few of the associated crimes in NY, your criminal defense attorney should have the experience and training to navigate you through them. As I recently explained in Part I of this segment, while some of the crimes associated with credit card and check fraud are “only” misdemeanors, some of the offense are much more serious. For the purpose of this entry, I will deal with credit card and check fraud as it relates to a specific theory or subsection of Identity Theft.

To best understand the crime of Identity Theft I am going to pose a hypothetical scenario. In this scenario you go to Kmart with your roommate’s debit/credit card. While there, you purchase $20 worth of “stuff,” sign her name on the receipt, and take off. Although you did not have her permission you figure its only $20 and it was pretty darn easy…heck, the lady at Kmart didn’t even check the signature or your identification.

March 2, 2009

Criminal Defense & Credit Card Fraud: Forgery, Identity Theft and Other Criminal Offenses – Part I

by Jeremy Saland

If you are accused of credit fraud in New York, be prepared to spend a significant time with your criminal defense attorney so he or she can outline the potential criminal charges and consequences you may face. The list of crimes is vast…Identity Theft, Forgery, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument, Grand Larceny, Falsifying Business Records and many more. As a a former Manhattan prosecutor who was one of the original members of the Identity Theft Unit when the unit was first created, I can tell you that the the crimes relating to credit card fraud are actively and aggressively being pursued every day by members of both state and federal law enforcement.

Credit card fraud comes in various “shapes” and “sizes.” From the possession of a stolen credit card or a fake credit card to the use of a credit card that has already been revoked. Depending on whether the credit card is used or attempted to be used, the crimes that may be charged can spiral further into major felonies with serious terms of imprisonment.

December 21, 2008

New Fraud / Identity Theft Crime On the Books in NY- Ulawful Possession of a Skimmer Device

by Jeremy Saland

NY criminal defense attorneys should be on notice. The crimes of Identity Theft, Grand Larceny, and Unlawful Possession of Personal Identifying Information have new “friends.” NY criminal defense attorneys and every day citizens should be aware that as of November 4, 2008, New York added additional crimes to the NYS Penal Law. These new offenses, Unlawful Possession of a Skimmer Device in the First and Second Degrees, directly relate to using skimmers to perpetrate certain fraud crimes.

Pursuant to Penal Law 190.85, a person is guilty of Unlawful Possession of a Skimmer Device in the Second Degree when “he or she possesses a skimmer device with the intent that such device be used in furtherance of the commission of the crime of identity theft or unlawful possession of personal identification information.”

August 6, 2008

Identity Theft: 40 Million Credit Card Numbers Stolen from Retailers Including TJ Maxx

by Jeremy Saland

As a former prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and one of the founding members of the Identity Theft Unit assigned to the unit after it’s creation, I investigated large scale Identity Theft, Forgery, Grand Larceny and related crimes in amounts that exceeded millions of dollars both in the United States and elsewhere. Now, as a NY criminal defense attorney, it continues to be readily apparent that the amount of theft and the number of victims impacted by Identity Theft continues to grow in an unprecedented manner and speed.

In fact, only yesterday, eleven people, both in the United States and other nations, were indicted for allegedly stealing more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers form companies including the TJX Companies. Three of those men, Albert “Segvec” Gonzalez, Christopher Scott and Damon Patrick Toey, allegedly hacked into the wireless networks of the TJX Companies (TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, Office Max, Barnes and Nobles, and more), and installed “sniffer” programs that captured credit card numbers, debit card numbers and even passwords. Like many individuals who operate this kind of scheme, the numbers, in part, were allegedly sold online and overseas where they were used by third parties and resulted in significant financial loss.

July 17, 2008

Forged Instruments and Forgery in NY: Attacking a Prosecutor’s Case Part II

by Jeremy Saland

It does not matter if you are being prosecuted in Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, White Plains, Mt. Vernon or Yonkers – the law is clear on Forgery and Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument. Either it is or it is not.

Sounds simple enough, but unfortunately, it may take an experienced criminal defense attorney to ascertain whether the crime prosectors are charging you with is supported by the law. Turning our attention to Forgery and Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument as it specifically relates to genuinely authorized writings or documents issued by an agency or other person, it is important to note that what seems like a crime often is not.

July 7, 2008

Forged Instruments and Forgery in NY: Attacking a Prosecutor’s Case Part I

by Jeremy Saland

In New York, Forgery (Penal Law 170.05, 170.10 and 170.15) is a crime that seems obvious and straightforward, but is often far from it. As the most senior member of the first prosecutors assigned to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Identity Theft Unit and currently a criminal defense attorney, I “lived,” “ate” and “breathed” Forgery, Identity Theft, Money Laundering and other fraud investigations.

The mistake that a criminal defense attorney must look out for is if a prosecutor, from down in the Bronx up to White Plains in Westchester County, is charging Forgery where the document that is allegedly forged is not a genuinely issued document. In other words, the instrument is bogus and fabricated. For example, if an individual creates a New York, Connecticut and New Jersey combination state identification card in their own name, then no Forgery can exist because, in part, such an identification does not exist or establish any rights for the holder. Although this is an outrageous example, the underlying issue is that the forged document or writing cannot be a wholly fabricated or fictitious and in the person’s name.

June 12, 2008

Criminal Defense – Identiy Theft in New York: Prosecution in a County Where the Criminal Transaction Did not Take Place

by Jeremy Saland

You are charged in Manhattan with Identity Theft (Penal Law Sections 190.78, 190.79, and 190.80) or Unlawful Possession of Personal Identification Information (Penal Law 190.81, 190.82 and 190.83), but you reside in Brooklyn and the alleged criminal transactions occurred in the Bronx, White Plains and Yonkers. Well, how is the Manhattan (New York County) District Attorney’s Office prosecuting you for these crimes if you never stepped one foot in that jurisdiction? The answer, albeit not a pleasing one, is simple.

Criminal Procedure Law Section 20.40(4)(l) permits any county to prosecute an offense of this nature if any of the offense took place in that county regardless of whether the defendant was actually present there. Moreover, if the victim who suffered financial loss resided in that county at the time of the criminal transaction, then the county where the victim resided would also be able to prosecute a defendant even if the defendant was never present. Lastly, even if the victim suffered no loss, whatever county the victim resided in at the time his or her personal identifying information was used would also be a viable location to bring the criminal action against the defendant. For example, if a victim’s credit card is used online to purchase clothes from Bloomingdales in NY, the victim resided in the Bronx at the time his or her information was used, and the defendant used the information on his computer in Queens, each county would be able to prosecute the defendant for the crime of Identity Theft.