Ring Stole Identities, Bought Luxury Goods, Police Charge

Police have busted a credit card fraud ring in Queens accused of stealing the identities of about 3,000 people and using the data to buy luxury goods, law enforcement officials announced yesterday.

The ring allegedly had links to computer hackers in China and stole the identities of consumers in both America and Ukraine to buy luxury goods that were then resold on the Internet.

According to law enforcement officials, the hackers mined the databases of major retailers for consumer credit card information. Fake credit cards were then created, embossed with the numbers at a mill in Queens, and given to the ring's "shoppers."

The shoppers used the cards to buy luxury goods, including handbags, computers, and high-end cosmetics, at retail stores across the country, including Louis Vuitton, Sephora, Apple, and Best Buy. The ring then resold the goods at a discount on a Web site, Eastrades.com.

Thirty-eight people, including alleged credit card makers, shoppers, and leaders of the ring, were arrested this week.

At a news conference yesterday, Commissioner Raymond Kelly and the Queens district attorney, Richard Brown, said they believed the group had cost the stores, credit card companies, and consumers as much as $1 million.

Some members of the ring, including the computer hackers and suppliers of the credit cards in China, are still at large. Mr. Kelly said apprehending them would require the governments of America and China to work together. So far, he said, "we haven't had much success at all."

The members of the ring used the money to buy high-end cars with cash, and its alleged leader, Kwok Chow, also known as Tony, had recently bought an apartment for about $500,000, officials said. The 38 arrested in Queens were arraigned yesterday on charges of identity theft and enterprise corruption. Mr. Brown said 26 would be charged under the state's organized crime act.