
The ringleader of what officials call a major cyber crime ring is being sentenced Thursday.
Prosecutors say that Shaheed Bilal was charged with 57 counts that include grand larceny, conspiracy, forgery, and criminal possession of a forged instrument.
They say that Bilal was the ringleader of S3, a credit card forgery and identity theft ring in Brooklyn.
Prosecutors say the ring would obtain personal information from people online and then recruited "shoppers" to go out with the counterfeit credit cards.
These shoppers would buy Apple products that would then be resold for profit.
According to court documents, Bilal was identified as the leader and while being held in Rikers Island in 2010, he continued running S3 through his girlfriend.
Investigators seized $300,000, bank account holdings, and weapons.
Several members of the ring have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced.