A feature story published in the New York Times on Wednesday (June 1) squared it's focus on the recent arrest of a Brooklyn rap collective and its affiliates for carrying out financial crimes prosecutors say they celebrated in their songs. 39 suspects associated with the Bedford-Stuyvesant based "Pop Out Boyz" were charged in April with grand larceny crimes stemming from an identity fraud operation that netted them $258,000 worth of luxury goods from high end retailers. It was a scam that authorities say is a growing trend that is representative of the times.
According to the Manhattan district attorney's office, such crimes have become increasingly popular, with one-quarter of the city's felony prosecutions constituting internet crime and identity theft. “The cards are easier to get now with the development of some of these dark websites, and as one person learns how to commit a fraud, they spread that knowledge to others,” said Captain Christopher Flanagan of NYC's Financial Crimes Task Force.
The Pop Out Boyz made no secret of their hustle, providing prosecutors with detailed accounts on such songs as "For a Scammer", in which the chorus rings “I’m cracking cards ’cause I’m a scammer.” Officials claim that the group implicated themselves in the crimes they were being investigated for, rapping at one point: “Watch the money do a back flip, early morning up at Saks Fifth, you see it, you want it, you have it."
Over a 55 day period record shows that 275 purchases were made for shoes, jeans, and handbags among other items, from stores like Barneys and Saks. The purchases were traced back to a scam that revealed over 2,000 credit card numbers having been stolen from banks in France, Canada, Germany and Dubai in acquisitions through illegal websites, and with the use of encoding machines and other equipment used for the cards' manufacture. Prosecutors were able to present an information trail consisting of text messages dating back to May 2015, in which the suspects shared card numbers, along with what they deemed incriminating Facebook pictures.
While some of the older defendants have records for prior arrests on drugs and robbery, officials say, most of the younger defendants have no record at all. They also cite that many of the younger defendants actually come from working class families; all facts which they say lead them to believe that the nature of the crimes are a trend which speak to the generation. “These kids have grown up with computers,” said Lt. of the Special Fraud Squad, Timothy Fenfert. “They have been downloading movies and music since they were 10 years old, so it’s not much of a leap to download credit card numbers.”
Source: nytimes.com
