New York Suspects Arrested, Accused of Running Identity Theft Ring in Bergen County, NJ

Law enforcement has arrested five suspects from New York in connection with an identity theft ring that was being run out of Bergen County, New Jersey.

According to Bergen County authorities, police first became aware of the fraud enterprise when they apprehended a 20-year-old female in November 2015. The woman was detained and subsequently arrested after she allegedly tried to use a stolen ID to buy iPhones from a Closter NJ Verizon Wireless store.

Closter police alerted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, which led to a joint investigation being conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office White Collar Crimes Unit and the Closter Police Detective Bureau. During the investigation, law enforcement reportedly discovered that the woman was an integral part of an organized identity theft ring. The group allegedly ran scams in several states, including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

The suspects reportedly forged driver’s licenses and other forms of ID to buy cell phones at Verizon stores in Bergen County NJ and elsewhere.

The suspects are all from the Bronx in NY. They have been charged with the very serious criminal offense of conspiracy to traffic in the personal identifying information of another. As set forth by N.J.S.A. 2C:21-17.3, this type of crime is a second degree felony and could result in a sentence of 5-10 years in NJ State Prison.

For additional information about this case, read the Paramus Patch article, “3 Arrested in Multi-State ID Theft Ring, Prosecutor Says.”