Rapper accused of duping her fans with credit card scheme
According to the New York Post, rapper Ashley Bautista, aka Young Ash, is being accused by prosecutors of using her considerable social media following to trick her fans into a credit card scheme.
The rapper was taken in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday in handcuffs. She pleaded not guilty to grand larceny.
Young Ash could often be seen flashing thick stacks of dollar bills on her Snapchat and would promise her fans that, in exchange for their bank account information, she’d set them up to gain some fast money, according to assistant district attorney Alona Katz.
Advice for any fan attracted by such schemes: Stay away — if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
A post shared by Young Ash (@youngashmusic) on Jun 30, 2018 at 4:29pm PDT
Bautista, known as a “recruiter,” was indicted for allegedly using her victims’ personal information, checks, and ATM cards to withdraw cash from the bank accounts, along with five co-defendants.
The scheme is called “card cracking,” and is common on social media and websites.
Often the scam appears as a contest or gift card giveaway. Eventually, the scammers will ask for personal bank information and then will deposit checks into a victim’s account, withdrawing the money before the banks discover the checks are fake.
Bautista’s co-defendant Gabriel Molina, 32, a former concierge at a luxury New York City apartment building, would collect the building’s rent checks. He would then take a photo of the checks and send them to Frayluis Henriquez, 23, who would create forged checks from on those images.
Then the two would deposit the checks into Bautista’s fans’ accounts and withdraw money. Meanwhile, Justin Simon, 22, and Jarod Bailey, 21, did the footwork on the street by depositing the checks and withdrawing the money.
Bautista was released without bail.
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