3 Men Accused Of Stealing IDs And $100K In Electronics

Westchester County police have accused three men of stealing people’s identities to open fraudulent credit accounts and purchase more than $100,000 worth of merchandise. The investigation into the fraud is continuing and County police believe there may be more victims.

The suspects are facing multiple felony charges, including Identity Theft and Grand Larceny.

The three men, one from Rockland County and two from New York City, are accused of using the stolen Personal Identity Information (PII) of multiple victims to open credit accounts and then purchase iPhones, iPads and other expensive wireless devices and accessories.

From about January 2019 through August 2019, two employees of the telecommunications company opened numerous fraudulent customer accounts at a store in Yonkers, police alleged. They were assisted by a third person who provided them with stolen Personal Identity Information (PII) of multiple victims. The scheme also involved a group of “runners” who brought the stolen PII into the store.

The stolen information belonged to real people and businesses and included names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. Using this stolen information, the employees created accounts in the victims’ names without their knowledge.

The victims learned of the fraud after the accounts went into default and they received bills for the merchandise charged in their names. Once the fraud was discovered, the employees resigned from the company.

The company, which has cooperated in the investigation, is not being identified at this time due to the ongoing probe.

Arrested in recent days were: Rafael Vidal Aponte, 31, of Pomona, N.Y., Jordon Andre Clarke, 25, of the Bronx, N.Y., and Edwin Olivera, 31, of Forest Hills, N.Y. Aponte and Clarke are the former employees.

The case was investigated by Detective Brandon Amlung, assisted by Detective Kevin McGovern, of the General Investigations Unit.

Any persons in Westchester County who were a victim of a fraudulently opened wireless telecommunications account is urged to contact Detective Amlung at 914-864-7728 or via e-mail at bma1@westchestergov.com.