32 East Bay street gang members arrested in million-dollar fraud scheme

File photo of computer keyboard for cybercrime. Computer being corrupted File photo of computer keyboard for cybercrime. Computer being corrupted Photo: Andrew Brookes / Getty Image Photo: Andrew Brookes / Getty Image Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close 32 East Bay street gang members arrested in million-dollar fraud scheme 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced on Monday the arrest of 32 alleged East Bay gangsters linked to a million-dollar fraud conspiracy.

The BullyBoys and CoCo Boys street gangs, who both have roots in Antioch, Pittsburg, and Bay Point, allegedly burglarized medical and dental businesses in 13 counties in Northern California.

According to authorities, suspects stole and ran fraudulent returns on credit card terminals, placing the money on debit cards for their own use.

Multiple law enforcement agencies began looking into the burglaries in February 2016, seizing stolen terminals, laptops, and “personal files detailing Social Security numbers or bank information,” Becerra’s office said in a press release.

The 32 individuals were indicted on August 22 on 240 counts including conspiracy to commit grand theft, grand theft, hacking, computer fraud, burglary, and identity theft.

“This investigation remarkably demonstrates the increasing level of sophistication by which criminal gangs operate in California,” Kent A. Shaw, executive director of Western States Information, said in a press release from the attorney general’s office.

Gwendolyn Wu is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: gwendolyn.wu@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @gwendolynawu