A crew of Bronx street gang members were indicted in a bank fraud scheme that netted more than $10 million, plus nearly pilfered another $12.6 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds, Bronx DA Darcel Clark announced Thursday. “The defendants allegedly conspired to steal millions of dollars, recruiting vulnerable people as partners in fraud,” Clark said.
“At one point, they allegedly attempted to steal $12.6 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds. The defendants allegedly spent the money as quickly as they stole it on luxury items.
” The indictment charges eight members of the Shiesty 66 gang variously with enterprise corruption, forgery, criminal possession of stolen property and other charges related to check-washing and bank fraud schemes. According to the investigation, which included the US Postal Inspection Service , the US Secret Service , NYPD and the Bronx DA’s office, the defendants exploited loopholes in the banking system to commit fraud throughout the tri-state area and the West Coast. A November 2021 shooting led police to investigate members of the Bronx gang, whose online profiles showed they were engaging in a so-called “card-cracking” scam, in which the defendants used social media to recruit participants willing to share their debit card and bank information with the fraudsters, Clark said.
The defendants then deposited phony checks into their partners’ bank accounts, before quickly withdrawing cash from an ATM and sending kickbacks to the .
