DA: 27 used others' credit cards at Apple stores

(AP) -- Authorities are outlining the workings of a New York-based cybercrime ring accused of using stolen credit-card numbers for a cross-country Apple store shopping spree.

They say it was so successful that one member branched off to start his own syndicate, and the original ringleader told his girlfriend how to keep the scheme going while he was in jail.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. and the U.S. Secret Service detailed the roughly $1 million case at a news conference Wednesday.

Arrests of 27 suspects began Tuesday. Authorities say they seized three guns, $300,000 in cash, and bank accounts during the investigation.

The group is accused of obtaining stolen account numbers online from underground data brokers, then forging credit cards.