NEW YORK -- The fitness club industry is dealing with another online scam involving invalid memberships.
A 21-year-old man was arraigned earlier this week on charges of ID theft and grand larceny after he allegedly bought Equinox gift memberships with stolen credit cards and re-sold the memberships on Craigslist, according to the New York Post.
Kedar Quashie used the 11 stolen credit cards to buy more than $80,000 worth of Equinox gift memberships during the 2008 holiday season, the newspaper reports. Quashie’s buyers paid anywhere from $600 to $1,000 for the memberships normally priced at $2,800. Quashie had used various aliases but only one phone number, according to the report.
Quashie, who was arrested Jan. 8, was held on $25,000 bail. Equinox declined to comment for this story.
Last spring, Equinox, along with New York Health & Racquet Club and New York Sports Clubs, was affected by a membership scheme on Craigslist that victimized more than 50 people.