HSI investigation leads to the arrest of 22 suspected gang members for bank fraud
NEW YORK — Members and associates of the M-Block gang were arrested Wednesday for participating in an alleged conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The arrests are the result of a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office.
According to the court documents, the 22 defendants participated in a conspiracy to steal more than $400,000 by forging money orders from the U.S. Postal Service before cashing them at various banks.
“Today's arrests deal a critical blow to the operational capacity of the M-Block Crew gang. HSI financial crimes investigators identified and put an end to this complicated fraud and theft scheme that cost New York banks nearly a half million dollars," said James T. Hayes, Jr., special agent in charge of HSI New York. “HSI will continue to use every tool at our disposal to combat financial crime that supports violent activity and to rid our neighborhoods of these dangerous gangs.”
“Postal Inspectors and our law enforcement partners will vigorously investigate, arrest and prosecute anyone who attacks the financial integrity of the U.S. Postal Service money order system,” said Philip R. Bartlett, postal inspector in charge.
“These arrests are a good example of what happens when federal, state and local law enforcement agencies work together to target criminal activities in Rockland County,” said Thomas P. Zugibe, district attorney for Rockland County. “Members of our highly skilled special investigations unit will continue to aggressively investigate fraudulent financial schemes that threaten the integrity of our banking system, and are often a gateway to further criminality.”
According to documents filed in court, the defendants allegedly devised schemes to defraud more than a dozen banks by purchasing U.S. Postal money orders in small denominations, usually $1 to $3, and altering them to appear as larger denominations, typically from $850 to $1000 per money order. The money was then withdrawn or attempted to be withdrawn a short time later before the banks could learn that the money orders or checks were fraudulent. In many instances, bank accounts were opened and used solely for the purpose of conducting these thefts. In other instances, the defendants allegedly passed bad checks at banks in Rockland County and Bergen County, New Jersey. They deposited the fraudulent money orders or checks into active bank accounts, usually at ATM machines.
More than $400,000 in fraudulently altered money orders and bad checks have been identified from 14 financial institutions in Rockland and Bergen counties, including TD Bank, Wells Fargo, Sterling National Bank (formerly Provident), First Niagara, HSBC, People’s United, Bank of America, Capital One, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, Key Bank, M & T Bank, Trustco Bank, and American Express. All of the financial institutions fully cooperated with this investigation.
The defendants face various charges with numerous counts of felony grand larceny, criminal possession of forged instruments and criminal facilitation of bank fraud. Several of the defendants are alleged members of a faction of the Bloods street gang based in Rockland County.
District Attorney Zugibe thanked the following agencies: HSI, U.S. Postal Inspections Service, U.S. Marshals Service, New York State Police, Rockland County Sheriff's Department, the Rockland County R.E.A.C.T. Team, Village of Spring Valley Police Department, Town of Clarkstown Police Department, Suffern Police Department, Town of Haverstraw Police Department, Town of Orangetown Police Department and the Town of Stony Point Police Department.
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