The alleged leader of the “porch pirate” ring and 13 other crew members were indicted Monday, the Suffolk County prosecutor announced.
“The sophisticated Porch Pirate criminal organization” targeted FedEx packages containing electronic devices in 31 communities stretching from Huntington to Montauk, District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement.
More than 200 phones from AT&T and Verizon were stolen in the scheme, some just moments after being dropped off.
Prosecutors say the group obtained information — such as rack numbers, delivery addresses and recipient names — through hacking to plan when to swipe packages. In other cases, they changed the delivery address to make it even easier for the items to be stolen.
Several of the thefts, which occurred between October 2023 and February 2025, were filmed by video surveillance at the victims’ homes. » officials said.
The stolen phones were hidden in the Bronx, sold to a fencer, then later resold to different wholesalers operating domestically and abroad, officials said.
“For two years, this so-called porch pirate ring tormented our community and built a criminal enterprise on the backs of Suffolk families and businesses,” Tierney said in a statement.
“They were specifically targeting these cell phone blocks with the intent of taking them and then bringing them to the Bronx, and the Bronx location would pay top dollar for these phones.”
Andricson Jerez, the 29-year-old accused ringleader, was indicted on felony corporate bribery, grand larceny, conspiracy and other charges. His bail was set at $75,000. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of corporate corruption.
The 13 other defendants are accused of having collected packages destined for Jerez or of having participated in the redistribution of the devices.
