East Hills JCC employee stole credit card numbers
Posted on August 22, 2007
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The former receptionist for the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center in East Hills was arraigned Wednesday on charges that she stole the credit card numbers of 18 members who were paying for registration last winter, and either sold the information or used them for a $15,000 shopping spree at luxury stores, according to the Nassau district attorney’s office.
Elizabeth Young, 22, of Elmont, was arraigned before Nassau County Court Judge George Peck on a 20-count indictment including grand larceny, scheme to defraud, identity theft, falsifying business records, and unlawful possession of personal identification information. Her hands clasped behind her back, Young pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released without bail.
Young was arrested in December 2006 after a member reported suspicious credit card activity and initially charged with five counts of larceny, identity theft and scheming to defraud. But District Attorney Kathleen Rice went to the center and asked the membership to check their credit card statements, uncovering additional fraudulent charges, said spokesman Eric Phillips.
Prosecutors say Young made some of those charges through phone and Internet orders to tony stores such as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman, racking up bills of more than $15,000 from Sept. 15 through Nov. 30, 2006.
Another defendant, Brigitte Thompson, 21, of Garden City, was convicted of buying and using three stolen credit card numbers from Young, Phillips said. Thompson pleaded guilty in April to identity theft and scheme to defraud, and has yet to be sentenced.
Young declined to comment Wednesday morning. Her lawyer, Glenn Hardy of Garden City, said, “She’s innocent until proven guilty.”
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