Three New York City men accused of running a fraud ring got a taste of small town justice last week.
Marvin Silver, Demetrius Cummings, and David Duke were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit larceny at the UPS facility on Kimball Lane Friday.
The men allegedly hacked consumer email and Amazon accounts to place online orders — specifically for high-priced Canon cameras and Apple MacBook Pro computers — for pickup at the Lynnfield UPS Store, according to Lynnfield Police Captain Karl Johnson. The Canon cameras sell for $3,200 each and the MacBooks retail for $2,000.
The men then used counterfeit forms of identification to complete the transactions, Johnson said.
Detective Sergeant Nick Secatore, the department’s lead investigator into the alleged fraud ring, worked with UPS on the investigation.
With Friday’s arrests, a total of five members of the alleged crime ring have been identified and charged; two arrests made on July 3. All five of the defendants are from New York and have used the same method of operation. Johnson said the men could be part of a larger theft and fraud ring.
Silver, 29, of 451 Kingston St. in New York City was charged with larceny/attempt to commit a crime, identity fraud, and conspiracy to commit larceny. Cummings, 48, of 250 E 95th Street in New York City was charged with larceny/attempt to commit a crime, identity fraud, and conspiracy to commit larceny, and Duke, 30, of 107-34 126th St. in Queens, New York was charged with operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license and conspiracy to commit larceny.
All three men pleaded not guilty to the charges in Peabody District Court on Monday. Cummings was held on $10,000 cash bail, given a bail warning, and ordered to stay away from the UPS facility in Lynnfield. Silver was held on $1,000 cash bail and ordered to stay away from the facility, and Duke was given a bail warning and ordered to stay away from the facility. They are all due back in court on August 28 for a pre-trial hearing.
