Crime & Safety

Brooklyn Man Charged With Murder Of Alleged Fraud Cohort

Naquan Reyes is being charged in connection with co-conspirator Nicole Thompson, whose body was found wrapped in garbage bags in Maryland.

A crumbling checking scam turned violent after a Brooklyn man allegedly killed a co-conspirator who agreed to comply with police.

Naquan Reyes, 29, is being charged in the murder of Nicole Thompson, 24, who allegedly deposited checks on his behalf, after she said she was willing to cooperate with police questioning, police said Wednesday.

Thompson did not get a chance to be questioned before her body was found dumped in Maryland.

She was wrapped in garbage bags tied with duct tape. The autopsy report said she died of asphyxiation.

Reyes' original scam involved the creation of counterfeit checks, which he had runners deposit in their accounts and withdraw money before the banks had time to figure out what happened.

Thompson was arrested in connection with the scheme in 2010. A new lead in the murder arrived in February when investigators obtained a recorded conversation with a confidential source in a tapped hotel room.

Reyes talks to the source about how hiring another person to commit the murder would have been "too sloppy."

"I just did it myself. I just felt it was personal. ... It was either me or her," he said in the recording.

Reyes is being charged with bank fraud, murder and other charges. He is being held without bail before his federal court date in Brooklyn.


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