Officials: Gang's Bank Fraud Scheme

MYFOXNY.COM - New Jersey gang members are moving their operations off the street and into the arena of white collar crime. Reputed members of the Bloods gang were busted for bank fraud, officials announced.

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Operation Blood Bank has been busted, authorities said. Officials charged 8 members and 25 known associates of the Bloods street gang in connection with bank fraud schemes in New Jersey.

The criminal enterprise operated in 13 counties throughout state, according to Anne Milgram, the state attorney general.

The Bloods gang members got their hands on a real check and used scanners and printers to make counterfeit checks, which ranged from $400 to $9,000.

They either allegedly cashed the fake check or deposited a counterfeit check by ATM and withdrew cash, authorities said.

The gang hit branches of Bank of America, PNC Bank, Valley National Bank, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Commerce Bank (now TD bank), Wachovia Bank, Bank of New York, and Soverign Bank, prosecutors said.

The Bloods members recruited individuals to cash the checks and provided them with ATM cards and real bank accounts, officials said.

In all approximately $654,000 worth of counterfeit checks were passed between June 2005 and March 2007, and approximately $341,000 was stolen.

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AP Report: AG: NJ Gang Members Orchestrated Bank Fraud Scheme

EWING -- New Jersey authorities on Tuesday said they have broken up a massive bank fraud ring organized by a street gang that used sophisticated digital equipment to steal more than $300,000 from eight banks around the state.
A total of 33 people — including eight members of the Nine Trey Gangsters set of the Bloods — have been charged in the scheme that involved more than $654,000 in counterfeit checks, New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram said.

"This investigation reveals the Bloods on new turf, defrauding banks of hundreds of thousands of dollars using counterfeit checks," Milgram said. "Just as we have targeted the financial crimes of traditional organized crime through the years, we will crush any inroads by street gangs into these activities, which could bankroll more drug dealing and death."

She said charges from "Operation Blood Bank" stem from a gang bust in 2007 in which 46 members of the Nine Trey Gangsters were charged with various crimes, including racketeering, drug trafficking, money laundering and murder.

Two of the 46 charged in the 2007 case also were indicted in "Operation Blood Bank."