32 Gang Members Arrested For $1M Northern California Fraud Scheme

CALIFORNIA -- At least 32 people were arrested for allegedly defrauding people throughout the state, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Monday. Becerra said the suspects are members of the BullyBoys and CoCo Boys street gangs.

The suspects are accused of conspiring to defraud victims throughout California by hacking the credit card terminals and merchant accounts of dozens of medical and dental businesses.

The suspects face 63 counts of conspiracy to commit grand theft; 54 counts of hacking, computer access and fraud; 56 counts of grand theft; 59 counts of burglary; and eight counts of identity theft. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news from your California neighborhood. Also, download the free Patch iPhone app or free Patch Android app. Also, be sure to follow your local Patch on Facebook!)

“Street gangs target and intimidate our families and businesses to feed their criminal enterprise,” Becerra said. “It takes the collaborative effort of multiple law enforcement agencies to take down criminal gangs. It’s indispensable work if we’re to reclaim our neighborhoods. Today’s announcement serves as a reminder to all business owners to take all necessary precautions to avoid becoming the target of fraud.”

The gang members worked together to burglarize businesses in order to steal credit card terminals. The perpetrators used the stolen terminals to process returns. But instead of the value of the returns going to the business or to the customer, it was placed onto a debit card that the perpetrators pocketed, Becerra's office said.

As a result of the investigation, approximately 40 stolen credit card terminals were recovered and dozens of receipts depicting fraudulent returns were located. In addition, agents seized other stolen property, such as laptop computers and personal files detailing social security numbers or bank information.

The arrests are the culmination of a three-year multi-agency investigation of a series of burglaries and credit card schemes occurring in 13 counties across Northern California.

The Attorney General’s eCrime and Fraud and Special Prosecution Units are jointly prosecuting the case resulting from a multi-agency investigation by the Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force, Walnut Creek Police Department, Antioch Police Department, Vacaville Police Department, Sacramento Police Department, Concord Police Department, Pittsburg Police Department, Napa Police Department and multiple other law enforcement agencies across Northern California.

A copy of the indictment is available here.

--Shutterstock image