An intelligence analyst (IA) with the New York State Intelligence Center became aware of an “Attempt to Identify” bulletin from Spotsylvania, Virginia, in January 2015. The Attempt to Identify pertained to a group of subjects who used cloned credit cards at a liquor store where two of the subjects presented New York identification cards. The IA identified one of the subjects; however, the IA possessed only partial identifying information on the second subject.

After unsuccessfully searching local New York resources, the IA searched the FBI’s National Data Exchange (N-DEx) System. From the N-DEx System, the IA learned that the unidentified subject had been involved in another incident in Virginia, which revealed two more subjects. The IA performed N-DEx System searches of the two new subjects and discovered that they had been involved in similar credit card incidents in Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Next, the IA researched the newly discovered incidents and learned of more connected subjects. With each new N-DEx System record she found, the IA contacted the record-owning agency and obtained permission to use their information in the case she was building. The IA eventually uncovered a 16-person credit card fraud ring that was based in Far Rockaway, New York, and specifically targeted liquor and cigarette stores. The subjects had been renting cars for months at a time and hauling the low-tax liquor and cigarettes to sell in New York. The IA tied together 32 incidents in eight states and compiled a 22-page packet detailing the subjects and a timeline of the incidents. Her efforts resulted in information-sharing among 21 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.

The IA said, “I developed this case [almost] exclusively with N-DEx, and without the system, this case would not have been nearly as successful. N-DEx truly is an invaluable resource, and I have had many case successes that otherwise would not have happened without data from N-DEx.”