Men charged with identity theft in West Hempstead

Bernardo Bernard, 24, Jetav Romulus, 17, and Kevin Alexandre, 24, of Brooklyn, were arrested for attempting to purchase money orders with stolen debit cards at the West Hempstead post office, 245 Hempstead Turnpike, on Sept. 5 and charged with identity theft and possession of a forged instrument.

At approximately 9:55 a.m., according to detectives, Bernard and Romulus entered the post office and tried to purchase money orders before their debit cards were rejected. They left the post office and got into a 2012 Chevrolet, in which Alexandre was waiting.

Police soon located the vehicle on Woodlawn Road off Hempstead Turnpike. and found the three men with stolen debit cards, fraudulent checks totaling $3,614.25 and victims’ personal information. Upon further investigation, police learned that the men had deposited fraudulent checks into accounts and had withdrawn funds from those accounts in excess of $1,000.

Bernard and Alexandre were charged with possession of a forged instrument, identity theft and defraud, while Romulus was charged with driving without a license or insurance and identity theft.

All three men were arraigned on Sept. 6 at First District Court in Hempstead.