INTERNET IDENTITY THEFT SCHEME:
NRI
student of Queens goes up to Four Years in jail for
ID theft
NRI, Shiva Sharma, 20-YEAR-OLD QUEENS
YOUTH PLEADS GUILTY IN THIRD IDENTITY FRAUD PROSECUTION
IN TWO YEARS TO STEALING IDENTITIES AND LAUNDERING
OVER $10,000 IN INTERNET IDENTITY THEFT SCHEME-
Faces Up to Four Years In Prison
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced
today that a Queens youth has once again pled guilty
-- in his third prosecution for ID theft in Queens
County in two years -- in an Internet identity theft
scheme. The defendant admitted to using the Internet
to steal personal identification information and using
the information to make fraudulent purchases and cash
withdrawals for his own personal benefit. He faces
up to four years in prison.
District Attorney Brown said, The defendant
has admitted his guilt yet again to engaging in the
crime of identity theft despite a judges earlier
warning that he would face severe penalties, including
imprisonment, if he were to do so. The defendant may
have not learned the first two times, but struck out
the third time and will learn the hard way -- behind
bars -- that identify theft is considered a very serious
crime in Queens County that is vigorously prosecuted
and severely punished. Hopefully he has now finally
learned his lesson.
The charges were the result of an ongoing joint investigation
by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the
New York City Police Department and the District Attorneys
Economic Crimes Bureau.
District Attorney Brown identified the defendant
as Shiva Brent Sharma, 20, of 104-18 108th Street
in Richmond Hill, Queens, a technical school student.
The defendant pled guilty earlier today to two counts
of Identity Theft in the First Degree and Money Laundering
in the Fourth Degree before Acting Queens Supreme
Court Justice Dorothy Chin Brandt who indicated that
she would sentence the defendant on October 19, 2005
to two to four years in prison and order him to forfeit
$2,300 and merchandise that was seized by detectives
when a court-authorized search warrant was executed
on his residence.
January 1 and October 15, 2004 inside his
residence and at various Queens hotels where he was
staying, he fraudulently obtained the personal identity
information and credit card numbers of various individuals
and used their identities and credit card numbers
to make thousands of dollars in purchases from auto
parts, computer, jewelry and other companies, and
that he thereafter received numerous shipments of
merchandise at his home, at least one hotel in Queens
where he was staying and at another Queens location.
The defendant additionally admitted to using the stolen
credit card numbers to send money transfers to Western
Union, which he would then obtain by using fake ids
bearing the stolen identity information. Many of the
credit cards belonged to Citicorp.
The defendant admitted that he obtained over
$50,000 in money transfers and merchandise purchases
and that he resold more than $10,000 of the merchandise
which he obtained over the Internet and kept the money
from the sales. The defendant also admitted that
he had previously been convicted of Identity Theft
in the First Degree in 2003, less than five years
from the commission of the new crimes.
According to the District Attorney, postal inspectors
and detectives executed a court-authorized search
warrant at the defendants Richmond Hill residence
on Saturday, October 16, 2004 and recovered computers,
computer equipment, credit card receipts and various
other business records including financial profiles
and credit reports of over 35 individuals from various
states across the country along with fake ids containing
their names and the defendants photograph.
December 2002 indictment charged that the
defendant fraudulently obtained the personal identity
information of over 100 AOL subscribers and used the
information to purchase over $10,000 worth of electronic
equipment and racing car parts.
The defendant pled guilty on September 17, 2003 to
two counts of Identity Theft in the First Degree and
Unlawful Possession of Personal Identification Information
in the Second Degree before Acting Queens Supreme
Court Justice Dorothy Chin Brandt who sentenced him
on November 12, 2003 to time served, five years probation,
required him to perform 350 hours of community service
not related to computer or office work and also make
full restitution in the amount of $5,000.
The defendant admitted that while under indictment
he additionally took over the debit card/checking
and Amazon.com accounts of a Durham, North Carolina,
couple and others and used their identities and their
bank and on-line accounts to place dozens of orders
for electronic equipment which he received at his
home and other locations. The defendant additionally
admitted that he created at least two websites (a
technique known as spoofing)in which he
used the name Amazon in the web addresses
and then used the websites to auction the stolen property
he had fraudulently obtained via his orders to online
retailer Amazon.com.
At the urging of District Attorney Brown and other
law enforcement officials, New York State enacted
in 2002 a tough law making identity theft a felony.
The law provides stiff penalties of up to seven years
in prison for the unlawful, unauthorized possession
and use of personal identifying information, including
names, addresses, drivers license numbers, Social
Security numbers, credit and debit card numbers, bank
account numbers, computer passwords, mothers
maiden name and ATM codes. The District Attorney said
the defendants first prosecution represented
the first such indictment in New York State for identity
fraud under the ID Theft law.
The investigation was conducted by Inspectors Ana
Bourdon and Glen McKechnie of the United States Postal
Inspection Service under the supervision of Postal
Inspector Alex Malaiko and the overall supervision
of Assistant Inspector in Charge Thomas E. Boyle and
Inspector in Charge, NY Division, Ronald C. Walker
and Sergeant Christopher Kunz of the New York City
Police Departments Intelligence Division under
the supervision of Captain Francis Darsillo, Criminal
Intelligence Division; Police Officer Daniel Mallo
of the 107th Precinct under the supervision of Captain
Scott Olexa and the overall supervision of Deputy
Inspector Charles Talamo.
Assistant District Attorney Diane M. Peress, Deputy
Chief, of the District Attorney's Economic Crimes
Bureau is prosecuting the case assisted by Assistant
District Attorney Jason Garelick and , Investigative
Auditor Phylesia Lang under the supervision of Assistant
District Attorney Gregory C. Pavlides, Bureau Chief,
and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant
District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco
and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney Linda
M. Cantoni.