Massive raid in Downtown Crossing after man arrested on charges he ran a stolen-property, ID theft and counterfeiting operation

Large numbers of Boston cops , state troopers and Secret Service agents swarmed Time Products, 449 Washington St. this afternoon as they arrested the alleged mastermind of a ring dealing in stolen phones and fake cash, credit cards and identities.

The raid came after State Police arrested David Yousheei, 36, of Brighton, on the Common after he allegedly purchased counterfeit money from an undercover trooper, the state Attorney General's office reports:

Based at a kiosk at 449 Washington St. in Downtown Crossing, Yousheei allegedly led an extensive identity theft scheme in which he used false identities to open mobile phone accounts, obtain smart phones and other high end electronics at discounted prices available to new account holders, and then sold those goods at higher prices.

In another scheme, he used stolen identities to create credit cards, used those credit cards to purchase gift cards, and ultimately sold merchandise purchased with those gift cards for a profit. He also used the fraudulent credit cards to buy high-end electronics outright. Finally, Yousheei allegedly accepted and bought counterfeit money in furtherance of his schemes.

Yousheei is expected to be arraigned tomorrow in Boston Municipal Court on a variety of charges, including identity theft, illegal possession of a credit-card encorder, falsely making credit cards, using fraudulent credit cards and possession of counterfeit money, the AG's office says.

According to investigators, Yousheei led a large group of "runners" that carried out an elaborate operation to use stolen identities to open new mobile phone accounts. They used the fraudulent accounts to obtain high-end electronics and smart phones.

Using the fraudulent accounts, the group purchased high end smart phones at discounted prices made available for new account holders. When contacted by law enforcement, those victims whose identities were stolen had no knowledge of either the new accounts or the smart phones being purchased under their name.

Yousheei also allegedly provided an illegal credit card encoder to his associates that in turn used fake or stolen identities to make credit cards. The associates then used the fraudulent credit cards to allegedly buy thousands of dollars of electronic merchandise of mostly Apple products, including iPads and laptop computers as well as gift cards. Investigators believe that the merchandise and cell phones may have been sold at Yousheei's kiosk or possibly, overseas.

In 2010, Boston Police set up a bogus jewelry stand at a similar storefront down the street as part of a sting operation that resulted in 24 arrests.

Innocent, etc.