Queens Robbers Pose As Car Buyers On Facebook, Cops Say

QUEENS, NY — Would-be car buyers and sellers got something worse than a lemon when they turned to Facebook Marketplace in New York City: an armed robbery.

Robbers posed as used car sellers and buyers in a spate of recent robberies and car thefts across Queens and The Bronx, police said.

Nine incidents have been tied to the crew, including an April 25 stick-up in Fresh Meadows, authorities said.

A 55-year-old man had arranged to sell his car through Facebook Marketplace to two men, who showed up at 65th Avenue and 160th Street, flashed a gun and stole the vehicle, NYPD officials said.

Other robberies in the spree, which largely unfolded in The Bronx, involved people who wanted to buy cars they saw advertised on Facebook Marketplace, police said.

One phony seller, who used the name George Smith, lured a 36-year-old man to Dark Street and Dyre Avenue in The Bronx late March 10, officials said. When the would-be buyer arrived, two men threatened him with a nail-studded stick and swiped $3,000, police said.

Another robbery that unfolded April 18 involved two men, ages 24 and 29, who tried to buy a car from a phony seller with the name Akeem Brown, authorities said. The two men were in turn met by two robbers, who used a gun to steal $4,000 in cash from the 29-year-old, police said.

People with information are asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). They can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.