Crown Heights Man Who Stole 178 Identities Pleads Guilty, DA Says

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A Crown Heights man who stole more than 170 people's identities in a $1.2 million credit scheme will spend at least three years in prison, according to prosecutors.

Joseph Batrony Jr., 31, was sentenced Friday to three to nine years in prison for the months-long scam, where he used information from a data leak to apply for loans or credit cards under at least 178 different names, according to prosecutors.

Batrony had pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny in August, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney.

“This defendant had no regard for the impact of his crimes on those whose indentities he stole or the financial institutions he defrauded," DA Eric Gonzalez said. "This prison sentence sends a strong message that cybercrimes such as this massive identity theft scheme will be prosecuted vigorously and that those who victimize others online face serious consequences.”

Batrony, who carried out the scam during just eight months in 2017 and 2018, raked in more than $320,000 from the Pentagon Federal Credit Union and was trying to steal another $870,000 when he was caught by authorities, according to prosecutors.

His victims were mostly people from Western states whose names, birthdays, Social Security numbers and other information had been stolen in past data breaches, prosecutors said.

Batrony would use that information to send in applications — sometimes dozens in one day — for loans or credit cards in their names before transferring the money his account, the accounts of people he knew or "money mules" he paid to use their account, prosectors said.

The union eventually caught on and blocked Batrony's money transfers, including some that he filled out in his own name or an alias "Aaron Green." The accounts with his own name or the alias had his Crown Heights address and even his own driver's license photo attached, according to prosecutors.

Batrony was eventually charged in 2019, according to the DA.

Gonzalez urged New Yorkers to avoid cybercrime like Batrony's scam by using strong passwords, changing passwords frequently, enabling two-factor authentication, keeping software up to date with anti-virus and anti-malware tools, setting accounts to private and reviewing credit reports regularly, among other tips.