SHARE

Haworth Police: Cabbie Shuttled Brooklyn Fraud Crew To Bergen Banks

HAWORTH, N.J. -- A large, sophisticated credit card fraud ring from Brooklyn employed a taxi driver to shuttle crew members from bank to bank in Bergen County to steal cash from ATMs, Haworth police told Daily Voice.

Khalid Brown, Edward St. Louis

Khalid Brown, Edward St. Louis

Photo Credit: MUGSHOTS: Courtesy HAWORTH PD

Borough officers on Monday arrested the driver and another man, who was released from the Bergen County Jail just days ago on similar charges out of Franklin Lakes.

Sgt. Thomas Smith spotted their SUV, with New York license plates, outside the Chase Bank on Terrace Street around 4:30 p.m.

Emerging from the bank moments later was 20-year-old Khalid Brown of Brooklyn -- the epicenter of a growing black market credit card fraud industry.

"A computer check of the tags found an alert out of Franklin Lakes that the vehicle was involved in several fraud cases throughout Bergen County," Sgt. Justin Fox told Daily Voice Tuesday afternoon. "Brown also was part of a previous alert."

Franklin Lakes police arrested Brown last Wednesday after they said he and two accomplices tried using fraudulently manufactured credit cards to pull money from a Chase branch at the Urban Farms Shoppping Center. He posted $35,000 bail and was released from the Bergen County Jail on Friday.

"Then he was right back at it," Fox said.

Smith "pieced everything together quickly" and stopped the SUV on Monday after the driver didn't use his turn signal, the sergeant said.

Brown "tried concealing dozens of payroll checks in different names in the car," then gave officers a bogus ID, he said.

They arrested him and the driver, identified as Edward St. Louis.

St. Louis "had full knowledge of what was going on," Fox said. "They hired him to take them to various banks throughout Bergen County."

A woman who was in the car was released without charges, the sergeant said.

Brown remained held on $150,000 in the county jail, charged with forgery, impersonation, theft by deception and hindering.

St. Louis was ordered held on $25,000 bail, charged with conspiracy. He also received a ticket for not signaling the turn, Fox said.

to follow Daily Voice Northern Valley and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE