Seven men have been charged in a New York-based money laundering scheme targeting home improvement stores in the northeast and nearly 2,000 victims across the country.
The defendants allegedly obtained Home Depot and Lowes gift cards from over 1,800 victims in 45 states through a complex computer-based scam involving spyware pop-ups and text messages that deceived people into thinking their computers, identities, financial information, or other data had been compromised and instructed them to call a phone number.
Those who called the number were told to purchase Home Depot or Lowes gift cards to offset charges or aid in law enforcement investigations, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
The scammers would then allegedly ask victims for the number on the back of the gift card, which they used to redeem the cards at stores across the northeast, including multiple in Nassau, purchasing items like copper pipes, water heaters, and electrical wire, which were sold to local businesses in Flushing, Woodside, Elmhurst, Maspeth, and Brooklyn, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said at a March 6 press conference.
Over $3 million in fraudulently obtained gift cards were redeemed in Nassau, she said.
“This is one of the largest money laundering cases my office has prosecuted in my time as district attorney,” Donnelly said.
Sky Lin, Lifa Wang, Yu Lin, Hai Tao Liu, Jie Lin, Jia Bin Chen, and Lixi Wang, who are in their 30s and 40s and from Flushing, Staten Island, and Fresh Meadows, were charged with money laundering in the second degree and conspiracy in the fourth degree. They were arraigned on Wednesday, March 6.
Donnelly emphasized the defendants were not being charged with the computer scam, which authorities are still investigating.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said six of the seven defendants were currently out on bail, something he believed was detrimental to properly prosecuting them.
An investigation is ongoing into the Brooklyn and Queens businesses that purchased the items.
Search warrants for Brooklyn and Queens buildings on March 4 resulted in the seizure of approximately $100,000 in cash, 12 box trucks full of merchandise, several defendant vehicles, and pieces of high-end jewelry and handbags. The defendants were arrested the same day.
Donnelly said authorities believe at least five people related to the scheme remain at large.
The District Attorney’s office has been investigating the scheme in conjunction with the Nassau County Police Department, Home Depot, and Lowe’s investigators since November 2023, when Home Depot investigators noticed a strange pattern of gift card purchases.
The DA’s office believes the scheme laundered approximately $20 million between Jan. 3, 2023, and March 4, a number that is expected to grow as the investigation continues.
Donnelly said the majority of victims were seniors, dozens of who were from Nassau.
“I just want to take this opportunity to again remind our residents that no government or law enforcement official will ever ask you to buy a gift card to pay a debt or fix your computer or assist in an investigation,” she said. “If someone calls you and identifies themselves as a government employee, bank representative, or an internet or software company representative and asks you for money, I’m telling you, hang up the phone. If you believe you’re being scammed, call the police.”
If convicted, each defendant faces up to five to 15 years in prison. Six of the defendants are due back in court on March 14.
