Police: Six charged in Valley Stream gift card scam
The target was Target, police said. The thefts were worth almost $70,000 in returns of goods fraudulently purchased with forged gift cards.
Nassau County police said six people from Queens, including an employee of the Target store at 500 W. Sunrise Hwy. in Valley Stream, where the thefts occurred, were arrested Tuesday.
The larcenies started June 1, police said, and detectives from the Crimes Against Property Squad said they totaled more than $69,000 in losses for the store.
Arrested were Shane McGarrell, 22, of Francis Lewis Boulevard, Laurelton; Jeanrene Sannon Germain Jr., 24, of 193rd Street, Hollis; Vaughn Swann, 19, of Union Hall Street, Jamaica; Carl Yvon Pyram, 20, of Jamaica Avenue, Queens Village; James Jean-Louis, 22, of 193rd Street, Hollis; and Samuel S. Lowe Jr., 20, of Weller Lane, Rosedale. Each was charged with one count of second-degree grand larceny, police said.
McGarrell also was charged with five counts of second-degree possession of a forged instrument, while Germain was charged with one count, police said.
All six of the defendants were scheduled for arraignment Wednesday in First District Court in Hempstead.
Police said the six used the forged gift cards to purchase goods, then returned the purchases for cash or credit.
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