Jewish center members targeted in ID theft
Posted on August 25, 2007
Filed Under Fraud | Leave a Comment
Gucci belts. Prada shoes. Burberry jackets.
Designer goods were probably not what members of the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center in East Hills thought their registration and membership fees were paying for.
But Nassau prosecutors say Elizabeth Young, 22, of 181 Wellington Rd., Elmont, used her position as a receptionist there to steal credit card numbers from 18 members from last September through November. She then either sold the numbers or used them to order more than $15,000 of goods from Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, said district attorney’s office spokesman Eric Phillips.
Young was arraigned Wednesday on a 20-count indictment including grand larceny, identity theft and other charges.
If convicted, she faces a maximum of 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison.
Young pleaded not guilty before Nassau County Court Judge George Peck. Her lawyer, Glenn Hardy of Garden City, said, “She’s innocent until proven guilty.”
Susan Bender, the executive director of the JCC, said Young passed a background check before she was hired as an evening receptionist.
Young was arrested in December 2006 and charged then with larceny, identity theft and other crimes after a member reported suspicious credit card activity. District Attorney Kathleen Rice then went to the center and asked members to check their credit card statements, uncovering more fraudulent charges, Phillips said.
A codefendant, Brigitte Thompson, 21, of Garden City, pleaded guilty in April to buying three of the stolen credit cards from Young and has yet to be sentenced, Phillips said.
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