Crew of NY specs offenders uses stolen bank accounts to buy thousands worth of eyeglasses: feds
The feds saw right through this scam.
A gang of credit card fraudsters were charging thousands of dollars on stolen accounts — to buy high-end eyeglasses they peddled at a profit, according to federal prosecutors in Brooklyn.
Three reputed gangbangers were picked up by the feds last week on a six-count indictment detailing the alleged scam that the crew ran since at least 2020.
Brian Palmer, 24, Jasmine Copeland, 21, and Terry Brown, 24 — all with long rap sheets — were charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft in the alleged scheme.
“There’s nothing visionary about these scammers,” one law enforcement source told The Post on Tuesday. “Same old scams, same old perps — gang members, career perps, killers — who will optimize any opportunity for profit and proceeds.”
According to law enforcement sources, the investigation into the scam began with a Staten Island woman who had a phony credit account with Synchrony Bank opened in her name — and used to buy $20,000 worth of eyeglasses at Cohen’s Fashion Optical in Bayside, Queens.
Bank investigators got on the case and determined that the scam was being run at three other Cohen’s outlets in Nassau and Suffolk counties, with phony credit cards used to buy glasses that were later sold through a series of other outlets, the sources said.
The FBI picked up the case and set up surveillance on the suspects, who sources said are affiliated with the Snow Gang, Boss Family and Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation street gangs.
Federal prosecutors got a grand jury indictment on April 10 and busted the three gangbangers last week.
Palmer, a reputed Boss Family member, has more than a dozen prior arrests dating to 2011, including for weapons possession, theft and resisting arrest.
Copeland has been arrested seven times since 2012 on charges ranging from forgery to robbery.
Brown, who is allegedly affiliated with the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation crew, has a half-dozen prior busts for gang assault, assault and illegal weapons possession, the sources said.
