Published in the August 9, 2017 edition
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Five people from New York City allegedly involved with a fraud scheme have been arrested over the past month.
“This investigation has led to the arrest of five people,” said Lynnfield Police Chief David Breen in a news release. “The first arrests were made on July 3, 2017. All five of those arrested are from New York.”
On August 4, the Lynnfield Police Department arrested three people for allegedly being involved with a fraud ring that has been working throughout the Northeast.
The three New York men arrested last week are 29-year-old Martin Silver of Brooklyn, 48-year-old Demetrius Cummings of Brooklyn, and 30-year-old David Duke of Queens.
“All three were arraigned (Aug. 4) at Peabody District Court,” said Breen.
The suspects from the Bronx who were arrested on July 3 are 20-year-old Tajane Vivas and 27-year-old Joseph Palaco.
According to Breen, the five people are allegedly part of a group that hacks email and Amazon accounts and has been ordering “items online to be picked up in the Lynnfield UPS store.”
“Counterfeit out-of-state identifications are presented at UPS with the name and address of the victim when the packages are picked up,” said Breen.
Breen said the Police Department and the United Parcel Service (UPS) Loss Prevention Department have been investigating the alleged activity for weeks.
“These offenses have been committed using the same method, which indicates they are participating in a larger ring of fraud and theft,” said Breen. “All of the fraudulent transactions have been for Cannon cameras worth approximately $3,200 or Apple Mac Book Pro computers valued at $2,000. It is believed that this ring has stolen over $100,000 worth of goods.”
Breen said Detective/Sergeant Nick Secatore has been leading the investigation.
