A two-year operation focusing on eradicating fraud and identity theft has resulted in the arrest of 16 individuals during “Operation Plastic Army,” Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.
The operation, running from November 2017 to January 2019, resulted in the dismantling of a crime enterprise that allegedly defrauded more than a dozen financial institutions.
Among those arrested in the sweep was Terry Kuo, 27, of Colts Neck, also known as Victor Lee or Young Sheng Tang, Gramiccioni said.
Kuo, who maintained the business ATS Tennis in the same town, is charged with conspiracy, theft by deception, fencing, financial facilitation, two counts of impersonation, insurance fraud, fraudulent use of credit cards fraud, forgery, hindering apprehension of oneself, witness tampering, credit card theft, falsifying or tampering with records, false statements made in procuring issuance of credit card and possession of personal identifying information pertaining to another person.
Gramiccioni said that from January 2015 to on or about November 2017, Kuo allegedly served as the organizer and leader of a fraudulent business that stole identities of individuals in order to obtain credit cards, and then made numerous merchandise purchases without paying for those charges.
Kuo and more than a dozen co-conspirators allegedly engaged in the scheme with intent to defraud retail businesses and/or the financial institutions that issued the credit cards. On many occasions, Kuo and his co-conspirators obtained lines of credit by stealing the identities of other individuals, according to the prosecutor.
After credit cards were fraudulently obtained, the defendants allegedly made numerous large purchases on the credit cards, never intending to pay the debts incurred, leaving the issuing store or financial institution to bear the losses from the scheme.
After merchandise was received from the fraudulent purchases, the defendants typically
sold the items for cash through dozens of e-Bay accounts maintained by members of the
conspiracy, or at local retail stores or pawn shops where the defendants had established business relationships.
Once the fraudulently obtained merchandise was sold for cash, Kuo and other co-conspirators allegedly opened fraudulent bank accounts in the names of individuals whose identities were stolen, according to the prosecutor.
An employee at a Colts Neck financial institution, defendant Barbara Cirillo, allegedly assisted Kuo and several other co-conspirators open fake accounts where the proceeds from the scheme to defraud were ultimately deposited. To avoid detection by bank officials and law enforcement authorities, deposits were structured in amounts less than $10,000 to avoid triggering bank reporting requirements.
In a further effort to conceal and disguise money derived from the fraud scheme, the
defendants often invested the criminal proceeds in digital asset platforms used to buy, sell and store cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, according to the prosecutor.
Also charged as part of the scheme and conspiracy were Kuo’s parents, George Kuo, 65, of Neptune Township, and Lynn Kuo, 52, of Neptune Township, and Kuo’s cousin, Yuhsuan Lin, 29, of Rockville, Md.
After his arrest for other charges, Kuo allegedly unsuccessfully directed his family members to conceal certain evidence and instrumentalities of his crimes. These defendants took these items and belongings, storing them in secret locations, with the intention of selling them or destroying them, in an attempt to help Kuo evade detection by law enforcement authorities, according to the prosecutor.
In total, Kuo and his co-conspirators fraudulently obtained more than 120 credit cards
and obtained more than $400,000 in merchandise as a result of the scheme. Items typically purchased include, but are not limited to, Apple MacBooks, iPads and iPhones; luxury jewelry and clothing; high-end electronics; and tennis equipment.
As part of the operation, more than $200,000 in cryptocurrency was seized pursuant to court order by Monmouth County law enforcement; the first seizure of its kind by a law enforcement agency in the state, according to Gramiccioni.
Assisting in “Operation Plastic Army” were members of the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, the New Jersey State Police, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office and the Atlantic Highlands, Colts Neck, Freehold Borough, Jackson, Neptune Township, Marlboro, Ocean Township, Old Bridge, and Campton, N.H., police departments.
The following individuals were also charged in “Operation Plastic Army:” Stuart Gordon, 29, of New York, N.Y., Michael Marrella, 28, of Brooklyn, N.Y., Camilo Hatuka, 26, of East Windsor, Noah Kluin, 22, of Atlantic Highlands, Christopher Miranda, 34, of Freehold, Andre Fiel, 27, of Ocean Township, Dave Lin, 35, of Philadelphia, Pa., Bryan Levin, 26, of Old Bridge, Francis Munoz, 21, of Perth Amboy, Victor Lee, 27, of Campton, N.H., Hayden Gaspich, 26, of Virginia Beach, Va., and Barbara Cirillo, 63, of Jackson.
A Monmouth County Grand Jury had previously returned a superseding indictment
against Terry Kuo in December 2018, charging him with additional crimes, including first degree kidnapping and first degree aggravated sexual assault, allegedly committed during an extended time period, according to the prosecutor. Kuo remains detained at the Monmouth County jail, Freehold Township.