On September 10, Greenwich Police Detective Solomon was made aware of an organized “Cracking Cards” scheme that was targeting Greenwich and surrounding jurisdictions in New York and Connecticut.
“Cracking Cards” is an organized criminal scheme in which participants in the ring recruit individuals to open debit accounts at various financial institutions using their own personal identifying information.
The new account holders then turn over the debit card, PIN and possibly the starter checks associated with the new account, to the ringleaders of the organization.
The account holders are paid for opening the accounts and instructed to claim that their card and PIN were stolen if questioned by law enforcement or bank investigators.
Once the banking documents are turned over, the ringleaders or additional conspirators will deposit checks – which are stolen, counterfeit or worthless – into the newly opened accounts via an ATM using the debit card and PIN numbers provided by the account holder.
The funds supposedly associated with the checks are made available by the financial institutions between 1 and 72 hours and prior to the bank becoming aware of the true status of the checks.
The suspect(s) will then use the debit card and PIN of the account to conduct numerous withdrawals of the funds prior to the bank becoming aware of the status of the deposited checks.
The investigation led to the arrest warrant of Tevon Elijah Flemming, 25, of Brooklyn, NY, who was extradited from an 800-bed jail barge known as the Vernon C. Bain Maritime Facility, nicknamed “The Boat.”
The incident took place on the morning of Sept 11 at a bank on Greenwich Avenue.
He was charged with Identity Theft 2 (3 counts), Fraudulent Use of Auto Teller (3 counts), Larceny 2, and Criminal Attempt Larceny 1. His bond was set at $35,000 and he has a date in Stamford Superior Court on Oct 6, 2020.