Asian Homeowners Were Targeted in Burglary Ring, Prosecutors Say

Eight men were charged in federal court with burglarizing 50 homes in four states after identifying the residents as Asian.

Eight men targeted Asian homeowners for theft as part of an intricate multistate burglary ring that preyed mainly on restaurant owners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware, federal prosecutors said on Tuesday. The defendants were accused of rifling through cars parked at family-owned Asian restaurants to identify addresses and affixing tracking devices in order to follow victims home, according to a complaint filed in United States District Court in Newark. At other times, they targeted homes in heavily populated Asian communities.