The illegal immigrants who fled to California after allegedly assaulting a pair of New York City police officers are part of a wider conspiracy of stealing phones to make lavish purchases in their home countries, according to a New York Post report.
A police source told the Post the illegal immigrants routinely steal phones and use the Apple Pay and credit card information inside to purchase cars, pools and other luxuries back home.
"They’re buying cars back in Ecuador and Venezuela," the police source told the Post. "They’re putting pools in their homes there. All this money is going back and forth. That’s why the larcenies are going out of control. It’s unbelievable what they’re doing."
Four men involved in the attack on police last week had their bus tickets to California paid for by taxpayers.
NYC MIGRANTS ARRESTED FOR ASSAULTING POLICE FLEE TO CALIFORNIA UPON RELEASE: REPORT
The city's Office of Emergency Management has been supplying travel vouchers to migrants who approach participating nonprofit groups and ask for help leaving the overburdened city, according to law enforcement sources. Those vouchers can be used for various means of transportation, including buses.
A handful of the suspects in the shocking attack, after being freed without bail, are believed to have swapped immigration numbers with other people at their shelter and used the misappropriated identities to obtain vouchers and tickets under fake names, a law enforcement source told Fox News Digital last week.
Darwin Andres Gomez, 19; Kelvin Servita Arocha, 19; Wilson Juarez, 21; and Yorman Reveron, 24, fled to California after being released without bail. Authorities have since apprehended three more: Jhoan Boada, 22; Jandry Barros, 21; and Yohenry Brito, 24.
At a news conference Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she wanted to speak with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg about why most of the suspects were released without bail and said prosecutors should have sought to keep them jailed.
"Certainly an assault on a police officer is bail eligible," Hochul told reporters. "There are over 100 crimes that also can lead to deportation, and so that is also something I want to have a conversation with the district attorney about – his options here."
Fox News' Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
