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According to Westchester County Police, the suspects are facing multiple felony charges, including identity theft and grand larceny.
The investigation into the fraud is continuing and police said they believe there may be more victims.
The three men, including two former employees of a telecommunications company, are accused of using the stolen Personal Identity Information (PII) of multiple victims to open credit accounts and then purchase iPhones, iPads and other expensive wireless devices and accessories.
From about January 2019 through August 2019, two employees of the telecommunications company opened numerous fraudulent customer accounts at a store in Yonkers, police said.
They were assisted by a third person who provided them with stolen PII of multiple victims. The scheme also involved a group of “runners” who brought the stolen PII into the store.
The stolen information belonged to real people and businesses and included names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers.
Using this stolen information, the employees created accounts in the victims’ names without their knowledge.
The victims learned of the fraud after the accounts went into default and they received bills for the merchandise charged in their names. Once the fraud was discovered, the employees resigned from the company.
The company, which has cooperated in the investigation, is not being identified at this time due to the ongoing probe.
Arrested in recent days were:
- Rockland County resident Rafael Vidal Aponte, 31, of Pomona,
- New York City Jordon Andre Clarke, 25, of the Bronx,
- Queens resident Edwin Olivera, 31, of Forest Hills
Aponte and Clarke are the former employees, police said.
The case was investigated by Detective Brandon Amlung, assisted by Detective Kevin McGovern, of the General Investigations Unit.
Anyone who has been a victim of a fraudulently opened wireless telecommunications account is urged to contact Amlung at 914-864-7728 or via e-mail at bma1@westchestergov.com.
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