9 People Arrested In N.J. And Pa. Identity Theft Ring

Nine people were arrested Tuesday in connection with a multi-state identity theft and fraud ring, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said.

The arrests were based on an ongoing investigation that stemmed from an arrest made by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office White Collar Crimes Unit in February. A task force The task force composed of officers from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Philadelphia Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit Economic Crimes Section conducted the 11-month-long investigation.

Miokar B. Wehye was arrested Feb. 10 after various Bergen County small business owners reported incidents identity theft and fraud. More than $100,000 was allegedly stolen from victims’ bank accounts, Molinelli said.

Wehye allegedly changed the victims mailing address, opened bank accounts,and used counterfeit checks to make illegal withdrawals from victims’ bank accounts, Molinelli said.

Authorities discovered that Wehye was part of a sophisticated ring of co-conspirators who allegedly used peoples’ stolen identities to open fraudulent bank accounts, impersonate victims, and use counterfeit checks, Molinelli said.

The nine people arrested, including Wehye, were charged with conspiracy to traffic in the personal identifying information of another:

• Miokar Wehye, 42,
• Rachael Horace, 39,
• Amy L. Bates, 32,
• Benjamin Pritchett, 38,
• Patrick J. Finnegan, 23
• Bendu Massaquoi, 23
• Thembeikile Dube, 29
• Sylvia Tarawalley, 36
• Saye S. Jeffrey, 42

Wehye and Horace live in Hillside and Bates in East Orange. Dube lives in Clifton Heights, Pa. The rest live in Philadelphia.

When arrested, Wehye and Horace were in possession of a 2014 Range Rover, which had been stolen at gunpoint from its owner in Elizabeth Jan. 17.

Wehye was remanded to the Bergen County Jail Annex in lieu of $50,000 bail with no 10 percent option. Bates was remanded to the annex in lieu of $25,000 bail with no 10 percent option.

Horace was released on a summons pending her first appearance in Bergen County Central Municipal Court Wednesday afternoon.

The individuals arrested in Pennsylvania were charged as fugitives from justice and were held at local jails pending extradition hearings.

The following individuals were also charged as a result of the investigation. They are at large and fugitives:

• Jenon L. Bostwick, 22, of East Orange
• Calvin Holloway, 54, of Trenton
• Anthony W. Carpowich, 51, of Trenton
• Eslie Wehye, 43, of Landsowne, Pa.
• Jeffrey Adams, 44, of Phiadelphia, Pa.
• Joseph Simmonds, 32, of Philadelphia, Pa.
• Young W. Dixon, 33, of Philadelphia, Pa.
• Eku Victor Mante, 41, of Bristol, Pa.
• Joslyn Figueroa, 30, of Philadelphia, Pa.
• Eronus Blay, 38, of Philadelphia, Pa.
• Hector Saye, 35, of Philadelphia, Pa.

Officers and agents from the United States Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force and the Trenton, East Orange, Fairview, Cranford, Hillside, and Evesham Township police departments, and the Upper Darby and Clifton Heights police departments assisted the task force.

(Pictured: A collage of photos of the nine people arrested and the 11 who remain at large/Courtesy of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office)