MANHATTAN, N.Y. -- Thirty-nine people, including 31 Staten Islanders, were busted in a debit card cracking ring that led to more than a million dollars in stolen funds, officials announced Wednesday.

The defendants used various social media sites, like Instagram and Snapchat, to attract participants to give up bank account information in exchange for quick cash, authorities said.



They allegedly used the information to deposit forged checks into accounts provided by co-conspirators, then used debit cards to withdraw the funds before the fraud could be detected by banks, said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. during a press conference at his office in Manhattan.

The practice is known as "debit card cracking."

The scheme ran from January of 2013 to this April, authorities said.

"This was a savvy marketing campaign," Vance said. "They were selling a fast money lifestyle, gentlemen in hot tubs and easy money. It's a scheme designed to attract young folks looking to make a quick buck."

The social medic pics showcased people lounging in sports cars and sitting in hot tubs with wads of cash in their hands to attract the co-conspirators, the district attorney said.

During arrests Wednesday morning, authorities seized a Porsche and two BMWs.

There were six ring leaders that oversaw the operation, five of whom have a connection to the Bloods gang on Staten Island, said Robert Boyce, NYPD chief of detectives.

"This was a sophisticated case," he said. "This group was taking between $30,000 and $40,000 a week. Never have we seen this money passed and this many people involved."

Staten Islanders Oluwarotimi Oredugba, 22, Nathaniel Williams, 23, Joshua Best, 22, Jubrim Johnson, 20, Davar Valentine, 23, and Dennis Reynolds, 22, acted as the ring leaders or "plugs" of the group. They were responsible for overseeing the operations, managing financial transactions and connecting scheme participants, officials allege.

Under their direction, Staten Islanders Kassim Forbes, 24, and Marlon Founsette, 19, who worked at two PSL Financial Services check-cashing locations on the borough, allegedly stole legitimate account information and routing numbers. That information was then provided to Brendan Sarfo, 19, and Bryan Sarfo, 19, both of Staten Island, and given to the plugs to create fake checks, authorities said.

Typically, so-called "recruiters" solicited the account holders on social media and offered them money in exchange for their names, dates of birth, addresses, Social Security numbers, online banking information, security details, and the PINS.

Those counterfeit checks, officials allege, were then deposited into the accounts of the co-conspirators at various banks, including Bank of America, Capital One, Citibank, Santander, TD Bank and Wells Fargo.

Detectives from the 121st Precinct cracked the case after catching one of the young people who offered her personal information to the crime crew, Boyce said.

In total, the defendants deposited more than $2.5 million in counterfeit checks and withdrew more than $1 million from the accounts, authorities allege. There were more than 650 accounts used, officials said.

The defendants, who will be arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan, were indicted on charges that included enterprise corruption, grand larceny and scheme to defraud, officials said.

The investigation, which started 17 months ago, is ongoing.

The Staten Island defendants are as follows:

Kevin Asare, Joshua Best, Gordon Browne, Alexis Daniels, Jamie Elliott Moore, Jubrim Johnson, Oluwarotimi Oredugba, Eddie Quiles Maldonado, Dennis Reynolds, Brendon Sarfo, Bryan Sarfo, Demetrius Smith, Nathaniel Williams, Davar Valentine, Corvaunte Aikens, Brandel Albert Gray, Stephanie Almodovar, Robert Asomaning, Vernon Austin, Clarence Canmu, Quran Chalmers, Amani Cottle, Jamel Darby, Carlos Fleming, Kassim Forbes, Marlon Founsette, Dontay Jackson, Justin Lapierre, Priest Rivera, Patrick Sokoya and Brandon Straughter.

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