Man charged with ID theft to buy expensive liquor
Attorney General Dave Sunday and the Pennsylvania State Police announced that a Brooklyn man is charged with orchestrating an identity theft scheme to place more than 200 orders for expensive liquors in numerous Pennsylvania counties.
Officials said seven of the incidents occurred in the Times News coverage area.
Eugene Antwi, 26, was arrested last week in New York and is charged with felony counts of identity theft, access device fraud, theft by deception, forgery and related offenses.
Antwi will be arraigned on the charges in Pennsylvania.
The joint investigation, which included a presentment from the 52nd Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, revealed that Antwi used falsified identities and stolen credit and debit cards to place more than 200 online orders, totaling more than $65,000. Antwi then picked up the orders at stores in 21 counties.
“This defendant went to great lengths to steal from unsuspecting Pennsylvanians and defraud the Liquor Control Board, which oversees legal purchases of alcohol in the Commonwealth,” Sunday said. “Our Organized Retail Crime Section is committed to collaborating with partners like the Pennsylvania State Police to combat theft and fraud that raise the prices of goods for hardworking Pennsylvanians.”
Antwi perpetrated the scheme between August 2023 and September 2024. The Office of Attorney General filed charges, and the New York City Police Department arrested Antwi on the outstanding warrant.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Philip McCarthy and Deputy Attorney General Kelsey Ashworth. Criminal charges, and any discussion thereof, are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.