Eight Queens men cuffed for roles in ‘bust out’ scheme
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Federal agents busted an
elaborate credit card fraud
scheme this week involving
eight Queens men and three
others who allegedly used
fake identities to obtain
credit cards and mortgages
— and steal $3 million in cash
and merchandise.
Federal prosecutors said
the 11 defendants were named
in five criminal complaints
connected to the “bust out”
operation, according to U.S.
Attorney Richard Donoghue.
Three of the suspects were
additionally booked for
concocting a money laundering
operation designed to cover
the scheme’s tracks.
The U.S. Attorney’s office
identified the Queens suspects
as Mohammed Akhtar, 43, of
Flushing; Shaila Khondkar,
48, of Jamaica; Bahader
Thiara, 42, and Perminder
Thiara, 40, both of Queens
Village; Nadezhda Epshteyn,
44, and Cyrus Shroff, 45,
both of Rockaway Park;
Zainoelbaks Karimbux, 50, of
Bellerose; and Daljeet Singh
(a.k.a. Akhtar Iqbal), 46, of
College Point.
Also charged in the cases
were Brooklyn’s Hafeez Ali
54, and Anis Khan, 32, and
Bronx resident Gursimardeep
Singh, 34.
Singh and Karimbux were
charged but remain at large
as of press time, according
to sources with the U.S.
Attorney’s office. The other
nine suspects were arrested
on June 26; eight of them were
released on bond following
their arraignment in U.S.
District Court in Brooklyn.
“As alleged, the defendants
operated a ‘bust out’ scheme
using fraudulently obtained
credit cards to finance
expenses, ranging from
furniture to real estate, and
totaling $3 million,” Donoghue
said. “Together with our law
enforcement partners, we
stand committed to protecting
financial institutions
from fraud.”
Federal prosecutors
said the bust out took place
between January 2013
and December 2017. The
participants created fake
identities using various types
of personal information,
Photo via Getty Images
such as names, dates of
birth and Social Security
numbers to successfully
obtain credit cards and
financial institutions. Once
they received the cards,
they used them to make
various purchases.
According to law
enforcement sources, the
suspects even used the fake
identities to obtain mortgages
to purchase three Queens
homes. They also created shell
companies, which conduct
virtually no legitimate
business, to record hundreds
of thousands of dollars
in sham transactions for
which financial institutions
ultimately paid them.
Bahader Thiara, Ali,
Akhtar, Epshteyn, Shroff,
Khan, Daljeet Singh,
Karimbux and Gursimardeep
Singh were each charged with
access device fraud. Bahader
and Perminder Thiara, along
with Shaila Khondkar, were
additionally charged with
money laundering conspiracy.
Each defendant faces up to
10 to 20 years in federal prison
if convicted of the charges,
federal prosecutors said.
“Those arrested allegedly
engaged in fraudulent activities
aided by shell companies
and collusive merchants to
carry out their ‘bust out’
schemes and the laundering
of its proceeds, defrauding
financial institutions of
millions of dollars,” said Angel
M. Melendez, special agent-incharge
of Homeland Security
Investigations in New York. “As
revealed in this investigation,
synthetic identity fraud is ever
evolving in sophistication
and frequency, creating
more challenges for law
enforcement and anti-money
laundering professionals.”
Reach reporter Robert
Pozarycki by email at
rpozarycki@qns.com or by
phone at (718) 224-5863 ext. 204.
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