NEW YORK, N.Y. — U.S. Secret Service agents executed a search warrant Wednesday at a Jamaica warehouse following the indictment and arrests of five men accused of stealing and reselling over $20 million worth of building materials and appliances.
The defendants—Kai Xu (44), Xiang Chen (39), Songhal Lee (35), and Kang Zhang (30) from Queens, along with Zhi Bin An (56) from Brooklyn—were arraigned on multiple federal charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud, and access device fraud in Brooklyn federal court.
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Nocella, said, “For these defendants, the tools of their trade were not hammers and nails, but fraud and deception.” He added that they exploited programs meant for hardworking consumers and small businesses to buy construction materials.
The Secret Service raid at the warehouse on 91-15 139th Street in Jamaica uncovered stolen goods packed to capacity, requiring multiple truckloads and days to clear out, according to law enforcement sources. The stolen merchandise was reportedly sold from several warehouses, mostly in Queens.
Between July 2023 and September 2025, the defendants and co-conspirators opened hundreds of lines of credit at home improvement stores through partner banks, often in the names of shell companies or straw owners. They used fraudulent checks linked to accounts with insufficient funds to raise credit limits, purchasing large quantities of materials before the checks bounced.
The $20 million in stolen goods were resold, with profits laundered through offshore accounts to fund their operations.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch praised the joint effort, saying, “This scam hurts consumers who depend on these programs for trade supplies. Thanks to our investigators and federal partners for shutting it down.”
If convicted, the defendants face up to 30 years in federal prison.
Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool commended the team’s efforts, emphasizing the disruption of a “criminal syndicate” profiting from fraudulent schemes in New York City.
