Four People Arrested in Bizarre $450K Curse Theft Scheme: NYPD

UPDATE Aug. 9, 2 p.m.: A little over a month since the NYPD said they were searching for five women in a bizarre, but very successful, scam they've finally made some arrests.

Police announced they'd made four arrests on Tuesday in the case. Three women and one man were arrested. All have been charged with second-degree grand larceny and first-degree scheme to defraud, both felonies.

• Liang, Yuqun, 57
• Yacheng Chen, 50
• Yan Chen, 46
• Xuekun Su, 44

According to police, five women were wanted for telling victims they had been cursed, and the only way to remove the curse was to place all their jewelry and cash into a bag. The suspects would then steal the valuables and deliver the bags back with bottles of water instead.

Police said the investigation into the crimes continues.

ORIGINAL STORY

The NYPD is seeking five females, described as Asian, who are wanted in a bizarre theft scheme through which they've been able to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from a string of middle-aged women.

The thieves allegedly tell the victims that their families have been cursed, and they have to bring all their jewelry and money in a bag to them to perform a blessing ritual to reverse the curse, the NYPD said in a statement Tuesday. Then, when the women return the bag, they've replaced all the valuables with bottles of water.

Five known incidents of theft have occurred from April 18 to June 22, according to the NYPD.

On April 18, the women took $280,000 from a 55-year-old woman at 191 Grand Street in Little Italy, Manhattan. On April 27, they took $130,000 from a 61-year-old woman at 73 Bay 22 Street in the Bath Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn. On May 10, they took $20,000 from a 53-year-old woman at Bowne Street and Franklin Avenue in Flushing, Queens.

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On June 4, they took $10,000 worth of jewelry and $10,000 in cash from a 69-year-old woman at 122 Delancey Street on the Lower East Side. And on June 22, they took $3,000 worth of jewelry and $19,000 from a 54-year-old woman on 955 48 Street in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Cops are hoping someone will recognize these women. If you do, call this anonymous hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

Images via NYPD