Used Job Interviews To Get Info
The proposed opening of a medical facility was allegedly used by a South Ozone Park man as a ruse to steal the identities of six physicians and two investors in order to obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit from a financing company, law enforcement sources said.
Prosecutors announced that Delloyd (a.k.a. Tom) Hill, 50, of 115th Avenue was arraigned last Thursday, Sept. 27, on charges of second-degree grand larceny, second-degree forgery, first-degree identity theft, first-degree scheme to defraud in connection with the scam.
At his arraignment hearing last Thursday, Hill was ordered by Judge Michael Yavinsky to be held without bail and to return to court on Oct. 16. If convicted of the charges, he faces up to 15 years behind bars.
Prosecutors noted that Hill is also being held on a fugitive warrant related to a pending criminal case in Newport News, Va.
According to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, Hill allegedly stole the personal information of six doctors whom he interviewed for purported positions at the medical center he claimed to be opening. Two investors, one of whom was Hill’s landlord, were reportedly swindled out of their combined investment and also had their identities stolen by the suspect.
Brown stated that the case underscores “that even the most sophisticated and well-educated individuals are vulnerable to scams such as this.”
Law enforcement sources said that the scheme took place between Apr. 23 and Sept. 25. During that time, Hill approached his landlord and another individual about providing startup funds for the creation of a new medical facility. Reportedly, he received a combined $65,000 from the two victims.
Over time, prosecutors noted, Hill allegedly interviewed six physicians who had applied for jobs at the purported medical office. The personal information they provided, along with the identities of the investors, were reportedly used by Hill to obtain three lines of credit from TCF Equipment Finance Inc., which funds the purchase of medical equipment, totaling over $415,000.
Anyone who believes they were a victim of this scam is urged to call the District Attorney’s Economic Crimes Bureau at 1-718-286-6675 to speak with investigators.
Det. Dante Cavallo of the NYPD Financial Crimes Task Force conducted the investigation under the supervision of Sgt. Joseph Klobus, Capt. Kenneth Gray and Deputy Inspector Gregory T. Antonsen, the task force’s commander; and the overall supervision of Deputy Chief Jeremiah Quinland of the Special Investigations Bureau and Chief of Detectives Phil T. Pulaski. Also assisting in the investigation was Det. Ronald H. Georg of the D.A.’s Detectives Bureau, which is supervised by Chief Investigator Lawrence J. Festa and Deputy Chief Investigator Albert D. Velardi.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Gloria T. D. Pellegrino of the D.A.’s Economic Crimes Bureau with the assistance of paralegal Kathleen P. Feeney, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Gregory Pavlides, bureau chief, and Christina Hanophy, deputy bureau chief.
