NEW YORK—Federal prosecutors have formally charged five members of an identity theft ring who allegedly purchased $400,000 worth of designer shoes, handbags, and other accessories from a Saks Fifth Avenue store using stolen credit card information.
Tamara Williams, the ringleader of the scheme, worked with four other sales associates at the Saks Fifth Avenue store in New York City to steal more than 200 pairs of shoes and 80 handbags and accessories between April and August of this year, using the credit card and personal information of over 20 Saks customers.
Most of the stolen items were resold on the black market or returned to the store in exchange for gift cards, but Williams had also set aside a cache of the stolen goods for personal use.
The police found hundreds of boxes of luxury goods from brands like Chanel, Valentino, and Gucci in a raid on Williams’ home in Queens in September. The retail value of the most expensive pair of shoes stolen found was more than $2,000, and the most expensive handbag $10,000.
“This is hardly the ordinary stolen property case, it’s a group of individuals who were focusing on high-value objects to receive high-value returns on the black market,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.
