4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 31, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Credit card fraudsters also had 480 pounds of pot in home: DA
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
When police offi cers and federal agents
raided a Flushing home last week as part
of a credit card fraud investigation, they
found much more than the makings of a
counterfeit credit card mill.
Authorities seized 480 pounds of marijuana
and $600,000 in cash from the residence
on 22nd Avenue during the Jan.
24 raid, according to Queens District
Attorney Richard A. Brown said. Th ree
people at the home were taken into custody:
Jian Zhi Chen, 29, Yue Mei Sun, 55,
and Qiao Xiao, 26.
All three suspects are now being held
on $350,000 bail aft er being arraigned on
Jan. 25 on charges of criminal possession
of a forged instrument, criminal possession
of marijuana, criminal possession of
forgery devices and endangering the welfare
of a child.
“Th e defendants in this case are accused
of setting up a multi-faceted illegal operation
dealing in bogus credit cards, counterfeit
cash and drugs,” Brown said in a
Jan. 28 statement announcing the arrests.
“Th is brazen criminal business — set up
in a residential neighborhood in a home
where a child lives — will not be tolerated
in Queens County.”
Members of the NYPD and the FBI
Joint Major Th eft Task Force raided the
two-story home on 22nd Avenue near
Lee Street at 6 a.m. on Jan. 24. Each of
the defendants, sources familiar with the
investigation, lived on diff erent fl oors of
the dwelling; Chen was found in the basement,
Sun was located inside a fi rst-fl oor
bedroom and Xiao and an infant child
were in a bedroom on the second-fl oor.
While searching the entire residence,
prosecutors said, law enforcement agents
found a total of $600,000 cash and nearly
$3,000 in counterfeit money. Th ey also
found a stash of 480 pounds of marijuana,
packed into vacuum-sealed, onepound
bags, and various credit card-making
tools including a credit card reader/
writer, a credit card stamper, an embosser
and foil cartridges used to add color to
the bogus credit cards.
With street sale estimates for marijuana
in New York ranging between $275 and
$338 an ounce, the total amount of marijuana
seized from the Flushing home fi gures
to exceed $2 million. Law enforcement
agents have not yet disclosed an
approximate street value of the pot.
Finally, Brown noted, offi cers located
and seized 445 THC cartridges, containing
the high-producing ingredient found
in marijuana, and a vacuum sealer.
Chen, Sun and Xiao must return to
court on Feb. 7; if convicted, they each
face up to 15 years behind bars.
“Th ese charges refl ect the increasingly
sophisticated ways criminals target the
good people of New York City,” Police
Commissioner James O’Neill said. “One
thing that will never change, however, is
the NYPD’s focused determination on
fi ghting crime and keeping people safe.
Everyone who lives in, works in and visits
our city has an absolute right to be free
from fear — and removing these criminals
from our streets is another positive
step toward that goal.”
Fake soldier conned Flushing woman for thousands
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
When 73-year-old Marie Orlando of
Flushing formed an online friendship with
a man on Facebook who she thought she
could trust, it ended up becoming a nightmare
for her.
Orlando, who lives by herself, suff ered
emotional distress aft er an online conman
— posing as a U.S. military soldier —
charmed his way into her heart and bank
account.
“He friend requested me and was sending
me many love letters every day,” said
Orlando. “He told me he loved me and is
going to marry me. I fell for this one and
it was a scam.”
Orlando’s Facebook “friend” called himself
“Anthony James” and told her he was
a U.S. soldier based in Afghanistan and his
General is Mark Sanders. James confi ded
in her saying that he needed some money
to return to the U.S.
Orlando trusted him because of his status
and agreed to send him money —
$1,500 from her bank account, and later,
another $1,800.
“I felt sorry for him,” said Orlando. “I
didn’t believe soldiers could do such bad
things.”
Suddenly, James had disappeared and
Orlando had befriended another person
on Facebook, whom she believed to
be a detective, to fi nd James. “Shawn
Campbell” introduced himself as “Det.
Paschal,” and told her that he found James
and Sanders in New York City,
armed and dangerous.
“Paschal told me Anthony James
killed two women in Chicago …
he raped them and killed them,
and there was a warrant for his
arrest,” said Orlando, who immediately
left her job and went into
hiding for two weeks.
Th e warrant Orlando received
for “Anthony James” sent from
“Det. Paschal”
Det. Paschal had demanded
more money from Orlando to continue
the investigation. She gave
thousands of dollars until she lost
approximately $10,000 through
deposits in TD Bank and Western
Union to the so-called detective.
Aft er being swindled, Orlando
found out from another private
investigator, whom she met
through a friend, that the online
perpetrator created multiple fake
Facebook profi le accounts, where
he romanticized elderly women
and vanished after receiving
money.
Fred Puglisi, of Quality Private
Investigations, told Orlando that
the actual person in the photos she
had received may have been Sven
Heinrich, a German man whose photo has
been used for online scams.
“Th e photos of supposed General Mark
Sanders in the U.S. Army uniform with
the fl ag of the U.S. African Command
in the background was a photo-shopped
Photo courtesy of Fred Puglisi
The warrant Orlando received for “Anthony James” sent from “Det.
Paschal”
image of the real General Carter Ham,
USA Army, African Command,” said
Puglisi. “Another name among numerous
false names associated with the photos
is Malvin Brown, and many more
all used in military and romantic social
media scams, many victims elderly
females,” said Puglisi.
Many of the scammers originate
in Africa from Ghana and Nigeria,
according to Puglisi.
Puglisi had contacted the FBI
Internet Crime Complaint Center
and the United States African
Command units were advised as
well.
Desperate to get back her money
and catch the scammer who took
advantage of her, Orlando had
attempted to report the incidents
to authorities. She was met with
resistance from the local precinct
who called it a civil matter,
and needed bank documentation
before a report could be
taken, according to Puglisi. So far,
bank offi cials have not provided
much-needed assistance.
“Th ere are so many victims/
scams out there,” said Puglisi. “It
is almost impossible to get help or
even get a police report taken to
get a police detective involved so
certain bank records and evidence
can be subpoenaed.”
Orlando said she wants other
women to know about the online
scam, so they won’t experience the
harrowing ordeal she endured.
“Do not answer him because he’s a bad
guy,” she said.
Anyone who wishes to contact Fred
Puglisi in regards to the story can send an
email at FJP122@aol.com.
Photo courtesy of Queens District Attorney’s offi ce
The 480 pounds of weed and credit card production paraphernalia seized from the Jan. 24 raid in
Flushing.
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