Wallet Thieves Are Targeting Lockers At Fancy NYC Gyms, Police Say

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Police are looking Wednesday for a group of men who stole wallets and cellphones from lockers at high-end gyms in Flatiron, Prospect Heights, and on the Upper West Side.

The men spent at least $83,000 in fraudulent transactions on the credit cards from the wallets, New York City Police Department officials said.

According to the NYPD, the first incident happened in Brooklyn on Dec. 17 last year, when three suspects entered the Lifetime Gym on Atlantic Avenue in Prospect Heights around 3:45 p.m., and took a cellphone and a wallet from a gym locker. Later on, they used one of the credit cards to make a $27,000 transaction, police said.

The next incident happened on Jan. 3, when two of the suspects entered the Equinox gym on Park Avenue South in Flatiron, and took another wallet and cellphone from a locker. Later on, the suspects used one of the credit cards to make multiple transactions, totaling $26,000, police said.

Around two weeks later on Jan. 15, two of the suspects entered the Equinox on Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side and stole a cellphone and a wallet from a locker, before fleeing in a white Mercedes-Benz sedan, police said.

The suspects used one of the credit cards to make a $30,000 purchase, police said.

Police said no one was injured in any of the incidents.

Police are still investigating the incident, and no arrests have been made yet, but police have released surveillance photos of the suspects.

Police said that anyone with information about these incidents can call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

This is a developing story and may be updated. For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.