US authorities have carried out the biggest ID theft bust in the country’s history, according to prosecutors, with over 100 US bank staff, retail workers, waiters and criminals being charged with running a credit card scam which scooped more than $13m (£8.3m) in just 18 months.
The credit card numbers came from a number of sources: skimming operations in the US, where restaurant employees or retail cashiers were paid to steal credit card data from customers; from carder forums on the Internet; and also from overseas suppliers in countries such as Russia, China and Libya.
“This is by far the largest – and certainly among the most sophisticated – identity theft/credit card fraud cases that law enforcement has come across,” the Queens County District Attorney’s office said in a statement.
Eighty-six of the defendants are in custody; police are looking for the remaining 25, prosecutors said.
“Many of the defendants charged today are accused of going on nationwide shopping sprees, staying at five-star hotels, renting luxury automobiles and private jets, and purchasing tens of thousands of dollars worth of high-end electronics,” the Queens DA office said.
Six of the accused are charged with stealing $850,000 worth of computer equipment from a Citigroup building in Long Island City last August. Prosecutors say that a former Citi employee, Steven Oluwo, and a security guard under contract to Citigroup, Angel Quinones, helped with the theft.
Apple, Best Buy, Nordstrom, Macy’s and many financial institutions, including Citi, Chase Bank and Bank of America, are credited with helping with the investigation.
