Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jamil Brown has been charged with criminal possession of stolen property, identity theft and other crimes after a court-authorized search warrant revealed a slew of stolen bank checks, credits cards, debit cards and driver’s licenses in open view inside the defendant’s home in Brooklyn. Brown’s girlfriend, Kadija Corke, was present at the home and was also arrested upon the execution of the warrant. The investigation was initiated by the Queens District Attorney’s office after a Laurelton resident reported fraudulent charges on a credit card that was ordered but never received.
District Attorney Katz said: “As alleged, the defendant orchestrated a large-scale mail theft operation, targeting innocent victims to pilfer their bank accounts, credit cards and public assistance funds in order to line his own pockets. Identity theft is a serious crime that can have a lasting impact on a person’s credit rating, ability to buy property or even rent an apartment. We will not allow such activity to take hold in Queens. Thanks to the resident who came forward and the subsequent work of my Crime Strategies and Intelligence Bureau, the person allegedly responsible has been apprehended and hundreds of sensitive documents recovered.”
Brown, 32, of Sterling Place, Brooklyn was arraigned yesterday before Criminal Court Judge Edward Daniels on a 152-count complaint charging him with criminal possession of stolen property in the second degree, eight counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree, 99 counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, 18 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, six counts of petit larceny, seven counts of attempted petit larceny, six counts of identity theft in the third degree and seven counts of attempted identity theft in the third degree. He was ordered to return to court on November 19. If convicted of the top count, Brown faces a potential maximum sentence of up to 25 years to life in prison
Corke, 31, of New Jersey Avenue, Brooklyn, was arraigned yesterday before Criminal Court Judge Edward Daniels on a criminal complaint charging her with criminal possession of stolen property in the second degree, eight counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree and 99 counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree. She was ordered to return to court on December 11. If convicted of the top count, Corke faces a potential maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
According to the charges and investigation, on or about September 19, 2024, a Laurelton resident attempted to use her credit card for a purchase, but the transaction was declined. After checking her account statements, the victim saw several unrecognized and unauthorized charges to the account. Several days prior, the victim had applied for an additional credit card in her husband’s name under the same account, which she never received.
An investigation was launched into the incident by the Queens District Attorney’s Crime Strategies and Intelligence Bureau and the NYPD’s Financial Crimes Task Force. Bank records revealed that the secondary card was mailed to the victim’s address and activated on September 19 using a telephone number that was later linked to Brown.
After the fraudulent activation of the victim’s credit card, six unauthorized charges were made at various retail establishments including a Party City in Queens, a liquor store in Nassau County and a convenience store in the Bronx. The card was later declined after Brown allegedly tried using it at various restaurants and retailers in Brooklyn more than five times. Video surveillance obtained by law enforcement depicted Brown at various locations conducting the alleged fraudulent purchases, and historical location information provided by court order further revealed that Brown’s cell phone was present at the locations of the alleged fraudulent transactions.
On October 28, at approximately 7:00 a.m., law enforcement officials executed a court-authorized search warrant inside Brown’s home, where he was found with co-defendant Corke and arrested.
A total of 89 credit cards, 88 debit cards, 11 public benefit cards, 18 driver’s licenses and more than a dozen checks – including those made out to the St. Clare Catholic Academy in Laurelton, a plumbing and heating small business, a member of the Excavator’s Union and several checks issued to Queens residents by the U.S. Treasury Department – were recovered from the premises. None of the documents recovered was issued in the name of either of the defendants.
The approximate sum of all the seized funds is estimated to be in excess of $125,000. Additionally, approximately $11,000 in cash was recovered from the location.
Law enforcement officials also recovered 15 mobile phones, an embossing machine, a magnetic strip reader and encoding machine, printers and check-printing stock, and other items consistent with creating false documents and credit/debit cards. The investigation further revealed that Brown placed a total of 352 telephone calls since January 2024 to toll free numbers connected to automated systems and customer service lines for EBT cards, Chase Bank, TD Bank and American Express.
The investigation was conducted by Assistant District Attorney David Chiang, Assistant Deputy Bureau Chief, and Intelligence Analyst Luis Perez-Cortes, both of the District Attorney’s Crime Strategies & Intelligence Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Shanon N. LaCorte, Bureau Chief, along with Detectives Joseph Augello and Matthew Doherty of the NYPD Financial Crimes Task Force, under the supervision of Captain Renae Francis, Commanding Officer, and under the overall supervision of Inspector Igor Pinkhasov, Executive Officer, and Inspector Scott Henry, Commanding Officer, of the Crimes Against Person Unit, and Assistant Chief Jason Savino, Commanding Officer of Detective Bureau Specialty Enforcement Division.
Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Mo of the District Attorney’s Major Economic Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Mary Lowenburg, Bureau Chief, Catherine C. Kane, Senior Deputy Bureau Chief, and Jonathan Scharf, Deputy Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Gerard Brave.
Released on with no bail! Shameful
That’s a shame they need to catch all o them I’ve made a report also I know the identity of the people who did the same to me and a elderly friend who has passed away they are till doing these things but who do I get to help me
I’d like to know how he obtained all of these items. Stolen out of people’s personal mail boxes? I had three checks I was sending out, stolen out of U.S. mail boxes this year. Washed, re-written and cashed! Wrecked my life for six months. Jail these criminals.