Montgomery Township Police Photo by James Short.
FedEx security told police that their system notified them of a common scam where multiple packages are requested to be held at a facility for pick up in person in multiple states.
Montgomery Township Police have accused a Brooklyn man with racketeering, using a fake identity, and impersonating a Bucks County technical school employee in order to intercept and steal seven packages from a FedEx distribution facility containing 35 Apple iPad Air worth $22,715 that were ordered by the school.
Chamar Gary Lee, 43, of an apartment on the 3000 block of West 29th Street, Brooklyn, NY, was charged July 11 by police with seven felonies: Racketeering, dealing in unlawful proceeds, conspiracy to violate racketeering laws, forgery, tampering with public records, and two counts of theft by deception, according to court records. He also faces four misdemeanor charges: Two counts of possessing an instrument of crime, possession of a fraudulent driver’s license, and providing false identification to law enforcement.
Lee has remained at Montgomery County jail in lieu of $25,000 cash bail since his July 12 arraignment before Magisterial District Judge Marc A. Alfrarano, according to court records.
Police were dispatched to FedEx at 1360 Welsh Road on July 11 at 9:11 a.m. for a report of a man trying to pick up packages fraudulently, according to the complaint. Dispatch informed police the man’s name was Ryan Buckman and he had a South Carolina driver’s license, police said.
Upon arrival, police made contact with Lee, who was sitting inside the customer pickup area on his phone. Lee told police he was waiting for his wife because she was picking up packages for her job, per the complaint.
Police informed Lee why they were called to the location, and Lee handed over the South Carolina driver’s license that identified him as “Ryan Buckman,” born Sept. 22, 1986, and residing in Myrtle Beach, SC, police said.
Lee also gave police a Middle Bucks Institute of Technology employee ID for Ryan Buckman, which stated he was a systems analyst for the school, police said.
Montgomery County dispatch told police that there was no record of a South Carolina driver’s license for Ryan Buckman and, furthermore, no Ryan Buckman with the birthdate on the license exists in any state, per the affidavit.
Lee was told he would be under investigation and arrested if he lied about his identity, to which he said he understood, per the affidavit. He was asked again what his name was, and police allege Lee said Ryan Buckman with a birthdate of Sept. 18, 1981.
While on scene, police talked to a FedEx operations administrator, who related he got a phone call from FedEx security advising him that someone is going to try and pick up packages that do not belong to them, police said.
Security informed the administrator that someone identifying themselves as a Middle Bucks Institute of Technology employee called FedEx and asked that seven packages be held at the facility and picked up in person, since the school was closed, police said.
FedEx believed the phone call was someone impersonating an employee so they can intercept the packages, and thus, FedEx flagged the call for fraud, according to the affidavit. The administrator was informed to call security and 911 if someone showed up to pick up the packages, police said.
Lee, police said, had tracking IDs for the seven packages, which had the receiver listed for all as Middle Bucks Institute of Technology.
Police called the school, which confirmed they do not employ a Ryan Buckman.
The school did, however, confirm that it ordered 35 Apple iPad Air WiFi 255GB devices, totaling $22,715, police said.
A representative from the school arrived at the FedEx site and identified the seven packages as theirs, per the complaint.
FedEx security informed police that their system notified them of multiple packages being requested to be held at the facility for pick up in person in multiple states, and it is a common method to intercept the delivery of a product, police said.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 30 at 9:45 a.m. before Magisterial District Judge Andrea Duffy.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
