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Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced on Thursday a 639-count indictment of 15 individuals in connection with a scheme involving identity theft, pick-pocketing, disguises and a Harrisburg, Pa.-based collection agency.
The crimes charged in the indictment occurred between Oct. 1, 2008 and Oct. 31, 2009. Approximately $600,000 was stolen and at least 60 accounts were compromised at various bank branches, according to Morgenthau's office.
Each of the 15 defendants has been indicted on multiple felony charges, including grand larceny, identity theft, criminal possession of a forged instrument, conspiracy, scheme to defraud, attempted grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. The defendants are Arthur Franklin, Joseph Simms, Vincent Franklin, James Mannix, Kathleen Miller, Carol Dibitetto, Larry Ford, Kandra Lysland, Tina Barboza, Mary Bennett, Yvonne Harris, and three women and one man who remain unidentified.
The investigation began when a fraud investigator at Chase Bank discovered what appeared to be unrelated fraudulent transactions at various Chase branches, according to Morgenthau's office. While viewing surveillance videotape of these transactions, the investigator noticed that women wearing wigs, hats and glasses primarily conducted the transactions.
Although different women were carrying out the transactions, allegedly it was Arthur Franklin who usually was present in the bank and appeared to be monitoring the person conducting the fraudulent transaction. He stood out because he often dressed as a construction worker or, in a couple of instances, he wore a doctor's uniform, including a stethoscope. Simms and Vincent Franklin also supervised the transactions, according to Morgenthau. Chase Bank determined that the victims of these transactions had all reported having been pick-pocketed or having lost a wallet or bank documents.
Morgenthau says Barboza, Bennett and others pick-pocketed victims and provided the property they stole to Arthur Franklin. In some cases, Barboza and Bennett made purchases using victims' credit cards before selling the stolen identification and financial documents.
Miller and Mannix, who were employed at a collection agency in Harrisburg, Pa., had access to a computer program through which personal identifying information can be obtained, including addresses, social security numbers, dates of birth and telephone numbers, according to the district attorney. At Franklin's request, Miller and Mannix allegedly conducted searches to obtain personal information of pickpocket victims, including social security numbers, and sold that information to Franklin. The district attorney's office declined to release the name of the collection agency.
Franklin then allegedly provided the information and financial documents to others in the group to conduct fraudulent banking transactions by dressing up like pickpocket victims using wigs, hats, glasses and makeup. In cases where no one in the group could convincingly impersonate a victim, Morgenthau says a group member created forged identification bearing the victim's information but a photograph of the defendant who would conduct the fraudulent banking transaction.
Pretending to be identity-theft victims, defendants allegedly approached tellers and asked to perform a transaction, typically a cash withdrawal or the deposit of a check drawn on a different victim's account. After each fraudulent transaction, the money was given to Arthur Franklin, Simms or Vincent Franklin, who gave them a portion of the money as payment.
