Westchester County Identity Thieves Re-Arrested in Orange County on Additional Charges

The ringleader of an elaborate identity theft gang, and the former bank teller who stole customer data, were re-arrested on new charges in Orange County, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced today.

Tyrone “Reece” Lee, the leader, and former bank teller Nadia Figueroa, were charged on a 50-count indictment, accused of running an identity-theft ring that stole over $457,000 from customers of Wachovia Bank (now Wells Fargo). Both pleaded guilty earlier this year to operating a similar identity-theft scheme in Westchester County, for which Figueroa last week was sentenced to two to six years in prison.

“Today’s re-arrests show that identity theft remains a growing problem and that we all must redouble efforts to ensure our personal data is safe and secure,” said said Schneiderman in a statement. “My office will continue to take action against anyone who jeopardizes the financial security of New Yorkers – including bank tellers who do so by taking advantage of customers’ trust. And we will continue to work to protect all of us, from large corporations, to small business and families, from this threat.”

• Related: White Plains Bank Teller Sentenced in $850,000 Identity Theft Case

According to Schneiderman, Lee, 28, and Figueroa, 24, both of the Bronx, were charged with Grand Larceny in Second Degree, Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, Identity Theft in the First Degree, and Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, for conduct between July 2010 and August 2011. If convicted of the top count, both defendants face up to 15 years in prison.

The Attorney General’s indictment alleges that Figueroa, while employed as a teller at a Wachovia Bank branch, located at 41 North Plank Road in Newburgh, unlawfully accessed and stole the bank account numbers and personal identification information of more than 200 victims. According to statements made by prosecutors at arraignment, many of the accounts victimized were selected by a practice known as “name surfing,” wherein Figueroa illegally searched Wachovia’s customer database for common names, states of residence, and high account balances. Lee then allegedly used the stolen information to withdraw funds from 77 customer accounts at branches located Orange County, Nassau County, New York City, as well as in Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia.

Among the 123 different Wachovia branches whose customers were victims of identity theft are:

• 3584 Long Beach Road, Oceanside, NY
• 3709 Riverdale Avenue, Bronx, NY
• 1076 Yonkers Avenue, Yonkers, NY
• 339 Hemingway Avenue, East Haven, CT
• 150 Elm Street, Westfield, NJ
• 13140 U.S. Highway 301, Riverview, FL

According to Schneiderman:

In September 2014, Lee and Figueroa were arrested and charged by the Attorney General’s Office, along with three other individuals, for operating a similar identity-theft ring in Westchester County from July 2012 to June 2014. As in Orange County, Lee orchestrated the hiring of corrupt bank tellers and also directed them to target customers with common names and over $50,000 in their accounts. These bank tellers, including Figueroa, fraudulently accessed and stole personal information, including account numbers and Social Security numbers, from hundreds of customers at Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and TD Bank. The customer information was later smuggled to Lee, who conspired to create fraudulent checks and identification documents using the stolen customer information. Lee arranged for other ring members to impersonate bank account holders, using these fake documents, in order to withdraw money at bank branches in Westchester County, New York City and Long Island, as well as Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Earlier this year, Lee pleaded guilty to the entire 37-count Westchester County indictment against him, including multiple counts of Grand Larceny in the Second and Third Degrees and Identity Theft in the First Degree, and was sentenced to 4 ½ to 9 years in state prison. Figueroa pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, and was sentenced to 2 to 6 years in prison in Westchester County Supreme Court on May 14. Their three charged co-conspirators in the Westchester scheme also pleaded guilty.

Both defendants were arraigned today on the new indictment before Judge Jeffrey G. Berry in Orange County Supreme Court.

The charges against the defendants are allegations and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

These prosecutions were the culmination of a long-term investigation by the Attorney General’s Crime Proceeds Strike Force, including court-authorized wiretaps and search warrants.

Attorney General Schneiderman thanks the New York State Department of Financial Services, Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and New York State Police and for their valuable assistance in this case.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Rhonda Greenstein and Tyler Reynolds of the Attorney General’s Criminal Enforcement and Financial Crimes Bureau. The bureau is led by Bureau Chief Gary T. Fishman and Deputy Bureau Chiefs Meryl Lutsky and Stephanie Swenton. The Division of Criminal Justice is led by Executive Deputy Attorney General Kelly Donovan.

The investigation was conducted by Legal Support Analyst Theo Davidson, Investigators Steve Pratt, Vincent Gisonti, Sylvia Rivera, Ismael Hernandez, Ryan Fannon and Dave Negron and Larry Riccio, Senior Investigator Dennis Maddalone, Supervising Investigator John Sullivan, and Deputy Chief Investigators John McManus and Greg Stasiuk. The Investigations Division is led by Chief Investigator Dominick Zarrella.

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