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Gang Member Used Stolen Credit Cards to Buy American Girl Dolls, DA Says

By Camille Bautista | December 13, 2016 4:05pm
 Officials charged 35 alleged Brooklyn gang members with credit card fraud, burglaries, weapons possession and drug dealing after a year-long investigation.
Officials charged 35 alleged Brooklyn gang members with credit card fraud, burglaries, weapons possession and drug dealing after a year-long investigation.
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DNAinfo/Camille Bautista

BROOKLYN — A gang member arrested as part of a massive crime ring used his ill-gotten gains to buy American Girl dolls, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Tyrone Sexton, 29, of East New York, was one of 35 members of a Brownsville ring involved in drug distribution, weapons possession and credit card forgery, Brooklyn's district attorney said.

The investigation marked the first time the Brooklyn DA’s office used a warrant that let detectives sift through Facebook instant messaging, Acting DA Eric Gonzalez said..

Sexton used credit card information stolen from two women to buy two dolls from the company, prosecutors said.

Sexton also used fraudulent cards to buy 16 Summer Jam concert tickets, officials said.

He was one of dozens of individuals charged in 15 indictments from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office which partnered with the NYPD in 2015 to target the Hoodstarz gang and affiliates after a number of violent crimes in the area, Gonzalez said.

The investigation revealed “a number of interconnected criminal enterprises,” with financial crimes linked to supporting the gang members’ lifestyles, including gun purchases, Gonzalez added.

“We now understand that our fight against violent crime requires us to tackle financial fraud as well,” he said, calling financial crime “the new frontier” for gang activity.

The 35 individuals arrested range in ages from 18 to 54. Many were members of the Hoodstarz, “a notorious gang that has terrorized parts of Brooklyn for years,” said NYPD Assistant Chief James Essig.

The group is a subset of the Crips, he added, with affiliations including Folk Nation and the 823 Crips.

Several of those arrested were involved in shootings, robberies and possessed weapons, including 20-year-old Sean Burgess, who prosecutors said owned a gun that was taken to school by an 8-year-old student in May.

Over the course of the investigation, eight firearms, 260 grams of cocaine and more than 100 fraudulent credit and debit cards were confiscated, according to officials.

The accused obtained most of the credit card information through the Internet, Gonzalez said, with investigators discovering sheets of names and accompanying account information.

Other individuals charged in the scheme included father and son Felipe Avila Sr. and Felipe Avila Jr., who used a forged driver’s license and stolen information to create fake cards and rent a BMW X3, Cadillac ATC and Chrysler 200, officials said.

“We’ve seen probably in the last five years, a very substantial increase in financial crimes gangs do,” Essig said. 

Investigators also used ShotSpotter technology and intercepted calls to solve shootings in the neighborhood.

“For those who are from Brownsville, this is the end of Hoodstarz’s violence,” NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said.