Mineola Man Arrested in Connection with NYC ID Theft Ring

A Mineola man is among five people from Long Island arrested and accused of participating in five identity theft rings operating in New York City.

According to a Long Island Press report, 25 year old Mineola resident Benny Ahdoot was one of 111 suspects charged with participating in a scam that “involved bank tellers, restaurant workers and other service employees” and “stretched to China, Europe and the Middle East.”

According to the report, the scam would proceed as follows:

At least three bank workers, retail employees and restaurant workers would steal credit card numbers in a process known as skimming, in which workers take information from when a card is swiped for payment and illegally sell the credit card numbers. Different members of the criminal enterprise would steal card information online.

The numbers were then given to teams of manufacturers, who would forge Visas, MasterCards, Discover and American Express cards. Realistic identifications were made with the stolen data.

The plastic would be given to teams of criminal “shoppers” for spending sprees at higher-end stores in the Americana Mall in Manhasset, Roosevelt Field Mall, Walt Whitman Mall and Smithtown Mall – among others. The groups would then resell the merchandise oversees.

A total of $13 million was stolen by the groups and was used to purchase electronics, watches, expensive handbags, hotel rooms and trips on private jets.