City Employees Pocketed Thousands of Dollars in Stolen Phone Scheme: Pros

What to Know

Two city employees purchased hundreds of phones for their agencies then sold them online, prosecutors say
The phones were purchased with grants from the federal government
The men allegedly made tens of thousands of dollars from selling the phones

Two New York City employees each face up to 30 years in prison for allegedly selling hundreds of mobile phones intended for official use and pocketing the proceeds, federal prosecutors say.

Igor Goldshteyn, a 42-year-old from Staten Island, and Eric Luna, a 35-year-old from the Bronx, were arrested early Thursday by investigators from the NYC Department of Investigation. Both men are charged with theft of federal funds and wire fraud, prosecutors say.

Goldshteyn, an FDNY employee, and Luna, employed at the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development, are accused of using their authority to order mobile phones for use by their respective agencies. Prosecutors say the phones were purchased with grants from the federal government.

Both men allegedly sold hundreds of the phones online through third party vendors and pocketed tens of thousands of dollars, according to court papers.

The separate schemes began in 2015 and were discovered when Verizon notified the agencies that many of the phones were being activated by non-city employees, prosecutors say.

“Eric Luna and Igor Goldshteyn, New York City employees, betrayed the trust placed in them and abused their powers to make purchases for their respective City agencies,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman in a press release.