Alleged gang members busted in raid on Miami home operating as phony bank call center: Cops

Nearly a dozen alleged gang members were arrested after authorities raided a Miami short-term rental home they were using as a phony bank call center to try to rip off victims, officials said.

According to arrest reports, Miami Police’s gang unit was conducting surveillance at the home on Southwest 162nd Street between Oct. 28 and Nov. 3 and saw numerous associated of a violent gang known as “ABK (Any Body Killer)” arrive in high-end vehicles.

The gang is known for committing violent crimes along with white-collar crimes like identity theft, the reports said.

On Wednesday, the gang unit, working with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and FBI Violent Gang Task Force, raided the home.

Four suspects tried to flee but were taken into custody, along with seven suspects who were found inside the home.

Cell phone video showed investigators outside the home and police released a photo of some of the suspects in handcuffs sitting on the lawn.

In the home’s living room, officers found a setup that included a TV playing a call center sounds background playlist, along with multiple laptops and cellphones “indicative of an elaborate effort to spoof victims,” the reports said.

“Based on the totality of the circumstances, the premises which is an Airbnb was converted by the co-conspirators to mimic a bank center in efforts to spoof victims,” the reports said. “Spoofing is a method in which to trick victims into revealing sensitive information related to their bank information. The bad actors then can use the victims’ information to log into their bank accounts electronically and via the banking apps or websites. The victims’ funds are then depleted or taken over.”

Photos released by police showed a TV playing the “call center sounds” video inside the home.

“They had a TV that had played background music like you’re on a call center and they were on headsets pretending to be a bank, calling people, telling them that they needed to get their bank information,” Miami Police spokesman Mike Vega said.

Also found in the home were five guns, including an AK-47, marijuana, gang paraphernalia, over $8,100 in cash and debit/credit/medical cards and driver’s licenses belonging to people who weren’t present, the reports said.

The 11 suspects were arrested on charges including conspiracy to commit organized scheme to defraud and firearms possession. At least one suspect has a fugitive warrant out of Virginia.

“We believe that there’s a lot of victims of and they were all arrested, we did 11 arrests in total and we’re still investigating,” Vega said.

Before police showed up Wednesday, a neighbor had taken a photo of the luxury vehicles that were parked outside the house.

“We have random people, you saw the cars, that was only part of the cars, you know it’s scary, we’re older and I don’t like it,” the neighbor said.

Another neighbor said sometimes there are so many cars at the home they line up down the block.

“The City of Miami Police Gang Unit remains committed to combating criminal activities by gangs and criminal enterprises attempting to operate in our community,” the department said in a statement Friday.

_{Editor’s note: Although police said in the arrest reports that the home was an Airbnb, a company spokesperson said the home was rented through a different platform.}