STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Clifton man was one of 13 people arrested Tuesday for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft after the group allegedly stole more than $2.4 million from the city's Human Resources Administration, according to a Department of Investigations (DOI) report released Tuesday.
Between September 2012 and December 2013, Maurice Cromwell, 39, who public records indicate lives on Park Hill Avenue, was busted for cashing approximately 83 rental checks worth around $72,560 that were in the names of other people, authorities said.
In addition, 100 checks worth at least $75,000 were mailed to Cromwell's home and cashed by others, the complaint alleges.
All of these checks originated from a Human Resources Administration job center, authorities said.
Cromwell, aka "Reece," the complaint says, was photographed in Brooklyn cashing these checks part of the "One Shot Deal" scheme. Authorities claim Cromwell's co-defendant, Yesenia Depena, cashed all the checks.
Also, the defendant's sister allegedly received more than $12,000 on a benefits card, court records say.
Cromwell was part of Staten Island's biggest credit card and identity theft scams back in 2002, Advance records show. Prosecutors said he and other defendants obtained phony credit cards with personal information gleaned from a stolen bus company employee list, a pilfered day care center roster and other sources. They reputedly bought tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise over the Internet with the bogus cards.
Prosecutors dismissed grand larceny and possession of stolen property charges against Cromwell's sister, Kiesha Cromwell.
In 2003, he was sentenced to 60 days in jail and three years' probation for his guilty plea to a misdemeanor conspiracy charge.
The conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud is a federal offense and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The DOI partnered with the FBI, the federal government and the Office of the Inspector General to uncover the welfare fraud.
Two HRA employees, Petrolina Peralta, of the Bronx, and Queens native Cherrise Watson-Jackson, were arrested in the ring.
Cromwell did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday.