Gaithersburg, MD
Police & Fire
Gold-Bar Scam Totaling Nearly $1 Million Lands CA Man With Charges In Montgomery County: Police Gold-Bar Scam Totaling Nearly $1 Million Lands CA Man With Charges In Montgomery County: Police
Gold-Bar Scam Totaling Nearly $1 Million Lands CA Man With Charges In Montgomery County: Police A man who made nearly $1 million targeting elderly victims in a gold-bar scam was arrested in Montgomery County, authorities announced Friday, March 22. The investigation began in early March, when a victim reported being contacted by a man who identified himself a member of the Federal Trade Commission, MCPD said. The woman was advised that she had been the victim of an identity theft leading to a federal investigation involving drugs and money laundering.  She had been instructed to transfer all of her assets into gold bars to be picked up by a courier to be taken to an “FBI Agent” …

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by Valerie Musson
Hartford, CT
News
CT Dealership Accused Of Deceiving Customers, Charging 'Junk Fees': Attorney General CT Dealership Accused Of Deceiving Customers, Charging 'Junk Fees': Attorney General
CT Dealership Accused Of Deceiving Customers, Charging 'Junk Fees': Attorney General A car dealership in Connecticut is being accused of deceiving customers about the prices of its used cars and charging "junk fees" without consumers' consent, officials announced. These accusations were part of a complaint filed in US District Court against Hartford County auto dealer Manchester City Nissan by Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and the Federal Trade Commission, Tong's office announced on Thursday, Jan. 4.  The complaint alleges that the dealership, located in Manchester at 30 Tolland Turnpike (Route 83), would often lie to customers about the prices of…

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by Ben Crnic
Fair Lawn-Glen Rock, NJ
Police & Fire
'Your Computer Has Been Hacked': Tech Support Scam Costs Bergen Man $150,000 'Your Computer Has Been Hacked': Tech Support Scam Costs Bergen Man $150,000
'Your Computer Has Been Hacked': Tech Support Scam Costs Bergen Man $150,000 It might be emotionally painful for some to learn that a Bergen County man lost nearly $150,000 to a “your computer has been hacked” scam. Sadly, it’s true. The victim got a computer popup message “alerting” him to the purported hack earlier this month, Glen Rock Police Lt. Frank Riggio said. “Over the following days, he was advised to secure a large sum of money from his bank accounts to avoid further hacking,” the lieutenant said. The victim gave the con artist nearly 150 large "under the false pretense that this party was helping protect the victim from further financial hacking," Rigg…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Edison, NJ
News
NJ For-Profit School Deceived Students, Forced To Pay $4.6 Million: State AG NJ For-Profit School Deceived Students, Forced To Pay $4.6 Million: State AG
NJ For-Profit School Deceived Students, Forced To Pay $4.6 Million: State AG A for-profit school in Middlesex County is being forced to pay a $4.6 million after the state said it deceived students and offered unlawful loans. Sollers Inc. which is based in Piscataway, used false and misleading job advertisements to funnel students into its programs and falsely claimed that agreements requiring students to pledge a portion of their future income in exchange for money upfront for their programs was not a loan, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. Sollers also reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.  As part of the settlement, Sollers will cancel …

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by Sam Barron
Fair Lawn-Glen Rock, NJ
Police & Fire
They Steal Your Heart, Then Steal Your Money: Romance Scammers Make It Look Easy They Steal Your Heart, Then Steal Your Money: Romance Scammers Make It Look Easy
They Steal Your Heart, Then Steal Your Money: Romance Scammers Make It Look Easy It's heartbreaking to discover that someone you've become enamored with online isn't into you, but it’s even worse to realize that person just made off with $3,500 of your money. That’s what happened to a Glen Rock resident who ended up wiring the dough to a sweet talker in the Dominican Republic. Suffice to say: It wasn’t coming back. Although $3,500 is a significant sum to some, it’s couch cushion change compared with the $450,000 in crypto lost last year by another romance scam victim from Glen Rock. According to the Federal Trade Commission, a staggering $1.3 BILLION was lost by 70,000…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Worcester, MA
News
Don't Die In Massachusetts. It Costs Too Much Don't Die In Massachusetts. It Costs Too Much
Don't Die In Massachusetts. It Costs Too Much If you plan to die, do it somewhere outside of Massachusetts. According to a new study, the Bay State is one of the nation's most expensive places to perish.  Forbes recently tallied all the financial costs of losing a loved one. That included end-of-life care and funeral expenses. What they found is that not only is the cost of living rising, but so is the price of dying. Alaska was the priciest place to die, with it costing more than $33,000 on average. That's $24,400 for end-of-life care and an average funeral price tag of $9,300, according to the Forbes study. Hawaii is next,…

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by Josh Lanier
Albany, NY
News
NY Law Requiring Businesses To Warn Customers Of Gift Card Scams Takes Effect NY Law Requiring Businesses To Warn Customers Of Gift Card Scams Takes Effect
NY Law Requiring Businesses To Warn Customers Of Gift Card Scams Takes Effect Leaders in New York have given consumers another tool in their belt to help fend off would-be fraudsters. New legislation that went into effect on Tuesday, June 20, requires businesses that sell gift cards in New York to post a notice warning customers about gift card scams. Notices must be posted near where any gift card or gift certificate is displayed or sold. The law was introduced by Long Island State Sen. Kevin Thomas, a Democrat whose 6th Senate District covers central Nassau County. Thomas chairs the senate’s Consumer Protection Committee. “I am happy to see the Department of St…

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by Michael Mashburn
Fort Lee, NJ
Police & Fire
Mastermind Of Historic $175M Psychic Mail Scam Convicted, Feds Cite More Than 1M Victims Mastermind Of Historic $175M Psychic Mail Scam Convicted, Feds Cite More Than 1M Victims
Mastermind Of Historic $175M Psychic Mail Scam Convicted, Feds Cite More Than 1M Victims The mastermind of a mass-mailing scam that stole $175 million from more than a million victims, most of them elderly or ailing, was convicted by a federal jury in New York City. Patrice Runner, a 57-year-old Canadian and French citizen, directed a ruthless psychic mail scheme for over two decades, beginning in 1994, the jurors found. It was one of the largest -- if not the largest -- scam of its kind ever, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday, June 16, in announcing the verdict reached a day earlier on Long Island. Runner sent mailings to millions of Americans that claimed t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Massapequa, NY
News
NY Woman Wires $49K To Scammer Posing As Microsoft Employee NY Woman Wires $49K To Scammer Posing As Microsoft Employee
NY Woman Wires $49K To Scammer Posing As Microsoft Employee A New York woman was scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars over the phone. The 85-year-old Long Island resident, of North Hills, was using her computer when she received a prompt to call a phone number, according to Nassau County Police. A man on the other end claimed to be a Microsoft employee and instructed her to go to her bank and transfer $49,000 to another bank account, which she did.  Once the transfer was complete, the man then instructed the victim to send him a copy of her driver’s license and the bank receipt for the transfer, police said. Nassau County Police said …

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by Michael Mashburn
White Plains, NY
News
'Real Housewives' Star Gets Prison Time For New York-Based Fraud Scheme 'Real Housewives' Star Gets Prison Time For New York-Based Fraud Scheme
'Real Housewives' Star Gets Prison Time For New York-Based Fraud Scheme A former "Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star was sentenced to several years in prison for her role in a nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme based in New York.  Jennifer Shah, age 49, who appeared on the show beginning in 2020, was sentenced to six ½ years in prison on Friday, Jan. 6 for targeting elderly victims in the scheme and defrauding them out of their savings, according to the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams.  Beginning in 2012 and lasting until her arrest in March 2021, Shah was the leader of the scheme which ended up victimizi…

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by Ben Crnic
Fairfield, CT
News
Town Of Fairfield Police Issue Alert For Circulating Bitcoin Scam Town Of Fairfield Police Issue Alert For Circulating Bitcoin Scam
Town Of Fairfield Police Issue Alert For Circulating Bitcoin Scam Police in Fairfield County are warning residents against the latest scam, this one involving Bitcoin. Fairfield Police Chief Robert Kalamaras said they learned of the latest scam when a resident alerted the department on Tuesday, Nov. 22 that they had sent $7,000 in Bitcoin currency to an unknown account prior to realizing it was a scam. The resident told officers she had received a call from an unknown male claiming to work for the fraud department of an online retailer. He told her that fraud was detected on her account and informed her that she would have to transfer her money to a Bitco…

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by Kathy Reakes
Arlington, VA
News
US Attorney In Virginia Reportedly Investigating Washington Commanders For Financial Misconduct US Attorney In Virginia Reportedly Investigating Washington Commanders For Financial Misconduct
US Attorney In Virginia Reportedly Investigating Washington Commanders For Financial Misconduct On the same day embattled Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder opened the door to a potential sale of at least a portion of the franchise, federal officials are reportedly launching an investigation into the team’s financial improprieties. ESPN and other national outlets reported late on Wednesday, Nov. 2 that the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia launched an investigation into the team that is focused on alleged deceptive business practices. According to the report, prospectors “are focused on several areas and that the inquiry was triggered by a letter the Ho…

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by Zak Failla