Four former Apple retail store employees and a dental office receptionist have been indicted in New York City for allegedly running an identity theft ring that defunded Barclays Bank of $700,000 using fradulently obtained Apple gift cards.

The defendants are charged with stealing the personal information of hundreds of victims, and using it to apply for “instant credit” at Apple, which can be used to immediately buy items. When an application went through, the defendants used the instant credit accounts to purchase Apple gift cards, which they subsequently used to purchase Apple merchandise such as laptop computers.

Here’s how it went down: The dental office receptionist allegedly copied the personal information belonging to more than 250 patients — including their names, birthdates, and Social Security numbers. She then emailed the information to one of her accomplices — a former Apple sales associate — who used the data to obtain Apple instant credit lines, issued through Barclaycard, ranging from $2,000 to $7,000.

The crimes allegedly occurred at Apple stores in Manhattan and White Plains, N.Y. and Short Hills, N.J. In total, the ring is charged with purchasing approximately $700,000 worth of gift cards at Apple stores using ill-gotten Barclaycard instant credit.

The defendants were charged in a 394-count indictment in New York State Supreme Court following a two-and-a-half year-long investigation, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. announced this week. Charges include larceny, identity theft, fraud, and unlawful possession of personal identifying information.

“Using stolen information to purchase Apple products is one of the most common schemes employed by cybercrime and identity theft rings today,” Vance said in a statement(Opens in a new window). “We see in case after case how all it takes is single insider at a company — in this instance, allegedly, a receptionist in a dentists’ office – to set an identity theft ring in motion, which then tries to monetize the stolen information by purchasing Apple goods for resale or personal use.”