Police said senior citizens who left their purses unattended in shopping carts in supermarkets and other Greenburgh retail stores were the primary targets.
The accused thieves then used the stolen credit cards, primarily Target credit cards, to shop at Target stores in White Plains, Mount Vernon and New Rochelle.
The suspects, from the Bronx and Long Island, were charged on Tuesday with felony grand larceny, Greenburgh police said. An investigation continues into their possible thefts in other southern Westchester communities, police said on Wednesday.
After a four-month investigation by the Greenburgh Street Crime unit, police determined the three women also are suspected of pickpocketing and stealing credit cards from the purses of shoppers in Mamaroneck, Port Chester and New Rochelle.
Police said the suspects would generally target elderly shoppers by causing a distraction, while one of the suspects would remove the purse from either the shopping cart or somewhere on the shopper's body.
Arrested by Greenburgh police on Tuesday were:
-- Dawn Boykin, 56, of Bruckner Boulevard in the Bronx. Boykin was charged with six counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, all felonies, and fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.
-- Toni Green, 53, of Bruckner Boulevard in the Bronx. Green was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony.
-- Bonita Brown of Prospect Avenue in Westbury, N.Y. (Nassau County). Brown was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony.
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