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It began with the July 10 discovery of a car, rented with bogus credit cards, in a parking garage at 2050 Central Road, where two of the defendants live, Fort Lee Police Chief Keith Bendul said this afternoon.
Fraud Detectives T. J. Cullen and Cory Horton discovered more than 40 bogus withdrawals made from Wells Fargo Bank branches totaling $100,000, Bendul said.
They alerted agents from Homeland Security Investigations (Newark) and H.I.D.T.A. Group 5 (West Paterson), who joined the investigation, he said.
On July 29, Fort Lee detectives and the federal agents executed a search warrant at the Central Road address and found “numerous fraudulent driver’s licenses, credit cards, and blank checks” used in the various thefts, the chief said.
They also seized a Jimenez Arms .380-caliber handgun, with a defaced serial number, Bendul said.
The first suspect, 32-year-old Khalid J. Sumbry (top, left) was found in Brooklyn and arrested as a fugitive from justice.
While arresting him, the chief said, detectives found him carrying 15 different driver’s licenses in various names and states, with his picture on each.
They also recovered 20 fraudulent credit cards in names matching the fake licenses, he said.
Sumbry “had the fraudulent licenses and credit cards made in the names of Wells Fargo customers so he could access their accounts and make cash withdrawals.”
Sumbry waived extradition during a hearing in Brooklyn Supreme Court yesterday and was brought to the Bergen County Jail, where he remained held today on $750,000 bail.
Detectives charged him with 40 counts of forgery, 39 counts of theft by deception, three counts of credit card fraud and two each of identity theft and trafficking in the identity of others.
Meanwhile, police were searching for his roommate, Shuron Reed, 21 (top, right).
Warrrants have been obtained fo rhis arrest on charges of having a defaced handgun, identity theft, credit card theft and possession of forged devices.
Bedunl thanked the federal agencies and Queens County District Attorney’s Office for their work on the case.
He also reminded citizens to monitor their credit card statements, bank accounts and credit reports.
If you see any unauthorized transactions, call police and notify your bank, credit company or credit agency, the chief said.
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