Clark Man Allegedly Part of $3 Million Fraud Ring

Clark, NJ -- A Clark man was among 12 people allegedly involved in an elaborate fraud ring charged with using fake IDs to obtain credit cards and open bank accounts which they used to steal about $3 million from various banks, announced Acting NJ Attorney General John J. Hoffman.

Eleven defendants have been arrested and one remains a fugitive.

“Between 2012 and 2015, these defendants allegedly obtained hundreds of credit cards with fake identities, engaging in millions of dollars in phony transactions at a network of shell businesses, most of which were created solely to commit this fraud,” said Director Elie Honig of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice.

Each of the following 12 defendants was charged by complaint with first-degree money laundering, second-degree theft by unlawful taking, and third-degree fraudulent use of credit cards:

1. Naim Tahir, 47, of Clark,
2. Hassan Shahbaz, 42, of Jersey City,
3. Aqeel Ahmed, 60, of Secaucus,
4. Shama Munir, 49, of Secaucus,
5. Faisal Mushtaq, 37, of Secaucus,
6. Mohammad Shakeel, 46, of Jersey City,
7. Muhammad Farooq Bhatti, 64, of Jersey City
8. Rilvan Junaid, 49, of Spring Valley, N.Y.,
9. Shakeela Ahmed, 56, of Secaucus,
10. Aqeel Sheikh, 54, of Secaucus,
11. Mahamed Khan, 53, of Piscataway, and
12. Huda Ahmed, 27, of Secaucus.

Tahir allegedly was primarily responsible for creating the synthetic identities and applying for the bank accounts and credit cards used in the fraud, according to Hoffman.

Shahbaz is the owner of USA United Trading, a business in Jersey City that he allegedly opened for the sole purpose of defrauding financial institutions. It is alleged that USA United Trading conducted approximately $1.6 million in fraudulent credit card transactions over the past 22 months. USA United Trading held itself out as a carpet retailer, with a storefront at 150 Monticello Avenue in Jersey City that had several rolled up carpets in the window, according to Hoffman.

Investigators executed search warrants yesterday and seized evidence at four locations where members of the ring lived or where the ring had “drop addresses” used for mailings in the scheme.

They also seized approximately $150,000 in cash and multiple bank accounts controlled by ring members containing approximately $320,000. The state is awaiting information from banks on funds contained in additional accounts that were seized in the investigation.

The charge of first-degree money laundering carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison, including a mandatory minimum term of parole ineligibility of one-third to one-half of the sentence imposed. It also carries a fine of up to $500,000 and an additional anti-money laundering profiteering penalty of up to $500,000 or three times the value of any property involved. Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

The takedown of this fraud ring in New Jersey is the result of an ongoing joint investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, ICE Homeland Security Investigations, New Jersey Office of Homeland Security & Preparedness, U.S. Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and New Jersey Department of the Treasury’s Office of Criminal Investigation. They were assisted by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, Union County Sheriff’s Department, Clark Police Department, Secaucus Police Department and Jersey City Police Department.

(Photo courtesy NJ Office of Attorney General: Naim Tahir.)