Trio Charges $100K To Fake Credit Cards In Queens Fraud Ring: DA

FLUSHING, QUEENS -- A trio of Flushing residents are facing prison time for allegedly going on lavish shopping sprees with fake plastic created in an elaborate counterfeit credit card scheme.

The three are charged with charging more than $100,000 in high-end purchases from retail stores like Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's and Macy's to the bogus cards, said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Junwei Chen, 34, Deng Deng Li, 27, and Yue Yuan, 27, were arrested on March 9 after authorities found hundreds of forged and blank credit cards, dozens of fake licenses, forgery equipment, a box of ketamine and two loaded handguns in a raid of their Quince Avenue home, where a 2-year-old child had been living, Brown said.

"The defendants in this case are accused of operating a sophisticated credit card manufacturing mill with embossing machines, card writers and hundreds of blank credit cards," Brown said. "The defendants' alleged crimes not only victimized the department stores, but also consumers."

Along with receipts for purchases at several high-end department stores, detectives found unopened boxes of makeup, skincare and fragrance products from designer brands such as Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford, Chanel, Gucci and Cartier, prosecutors said.

Detectives also recovered Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, Canada Goose winter coats, cell phones and more than $22,000 in cash during the raid, according to the charges.

Chen, Li and Yuan were arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on charges including grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a forged instrument, criminal possession of forgery devices, criminal possession of a firearm and endangering the welfare of a child.

Chen and Li were held on $100,000 and $50,000 bails, respectively, and Yuan was released on her own recognizance. The trio will return to court on April 17.

Lead photo via Shutterstock.