STRATEGIC PARTNERS
November 7, 2002
BOSTON -- A second suspect will be charged on Nov. 8 in connection with a scam that authorities allege netted more than $1 million over a four-year period through the strong-arming of high school students who were frightened into turning over their ATM cards, according to a report in the Boston Herald.
Shaun Braxton, 27, will be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on charges of larceny over $250, uttering, and receiving stolen property in connection with the alleged scam that has already resulted in charges against his 25-year-old girlfriend, Kenya Nickerson, of Brockton, Mass.
The two are accused of gaining access to bank accounts where stolen checks were deposited and the money withdrawn later from ATMs. (See related story Boston-area scam targets high schoolers)
Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said Boston police initiated an investigation after banks reported suspicious ATM transactions. Conley said gang members targeted high school students threatened them into handing over their ATM cards and PINs.
Some of the victims then claimed their ATM cards had been stolen so the bank would cover their loss, while Conley said other students paid gang members $100 to leave them alone.
