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17 Charged In Queens Counterfeit Credit Card Scheme

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Authorities have busted a counterfeit credit card ring based in Queens.

As WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported, investigators used wire taps, stakeouts, video surveillance, and intercepted thousands of phone calls in order bring down the ring.

17 Charged In Queens Counterfeit Credit Card Scheme

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said the 17 defendants are all friends ages 20 to 28 years old who had helped each other out with manufacturing and using forged credit cards to shop at stores that ranged from Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales and Macy's, to Target, Pathmark and Waldbaums.

The crimes, according to Brown, victimized not only the stores -- costing them thousands of dollars in losses -- but the people whose stolen identities were used to carry out the scheme.

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