ATM fraud leader busted by Greenwich police, cops say

GREENWICH — Greenwich police arrested the alleged leader of a fraud ring that stole tens of thousands of dollars from Citizens Bank in what authorities called a “cracking card” scheme, according to court documents.

Tevon Flemming, 25, of Jefferson Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y., appeared in court this week to face multiple charges of larceny, identity theft and fraudulent use of an automated teller machine, according to the arrest warrant application filed in Superior Court in Stamford.

Flemming was behind a bank-fraud operation that used participants to withdraw funds from ATMs in Greenwich, Stamford, White Plains, N.Y., and Yonkers, N.Y., the arrest warrant application said. About $60,000 was stolen from the Citizens Bank, with $14,000 in losses from the Citizens

Bank branch in Greenwich, the affidavit stated.

In the scheme, co-conspirators opened accounts at the banks and obtained ATM cards, then made deposits on checks into the account that were “stolen, counterfeit or worthless,” according to court papers. Flemming made withdrawals from the accounts shortly after the bogus deposits were made — and before banking authorities could determine the deposits were worthless, the court papers stated.

The bank notified the financial-crime unit of the Greenwich police about the illegal activity, and a Stamford police investigator also assisted.

Flemming worked with accomplices — typically young women — in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and elsewhere to open the fraudulent accounts in 2019, according to the warrant application.

When investigators contacted the women about how they set up the bank accounts, they told investigators their purses had been stolen — along with their ATM cards and personal identification codes written down alongside it — the court papers stated, a story that investigators found highly unlikely.

The stolen-purse story came up repeatedly, police said in the warrant application.

Flemming has an arrest record in New York on charges of robbery, grand larceny, identity theft and assault, according to the court documents.

Citizens Bank has video footage of two men who made ATM withdrawals in Greenwich, authorities said, and a Greenwich detective sent the footage to the Facial Identification Section of the New York Police Department. Using facial-recognition computer software, the NYPD said the footage matched an arrest photo of Flemming on file, the affidavit stated, and cellphone records also tied Flemming to the fraudulent bank activity.

The NYPD also said Flemming was affiliated with a street gang called the True Bosses Only, the court papers stated.

Authorities said operators of the ATM fraud scheme often use social media to “advertise and recruit individuals into the scheme,” and a detective found Flemming making reference to Citizens Bank branches on his social media accounts, according to the affidavit.

Flemming was picked up by the NYPD on an arrest warrant from Greenwich in late August, and he was transported to Connecticut on Tuesday for booking on the financial fraud charges. Bail was set at $35,000, and he was released from custody this week after posting bond.

Another suspect wanted in connection with the alleged fraud ring is still at large, authorities said.