$150M Bank Fraud: Teaneck Landlord Gets 8 Years, No Parole
A Teaneck landlord must spend the next eight years in federal prison -- without parole -- for orchestrating a $150 million bank and securities fraud scheme.
Seth Levine, 53, was the founding partner, owner, and managing member of Norse Holdings, the parent company to more than 70 subsidiaries, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Each of the subsidiary companies owned one or more multifamily buildings, mostly in New Jersey, he said.
Beginning in 2009, Levine directed a scheme for nearly a decade to fraudulently refinance the multifamily properties by lying on refinancing appli…
$1.5M Cosmetics Company Scam Sends Englewood Swindler To Federal Prison For 2½ Years
A former Englewood resident must serve nearly 2½ years in federal prison for scamming three investors out of $1.5 million.
Matthew Benjamin, 54, used the victims' money for car and house rental payments, food, international travel, legal fees, technology equipment and summer camp tuition for family members, among other purposes, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
Benjamin, currently of New York, told the victims that his purported company, Clear Solutions Group, had lucrative contracts to purchase closeout or excess cosmetic inventory from one company that he planned to …
Feds: Ponzi Schemer Funded House, Car, More With $6.8M From Investors In NJ, Elsewhere
New Jersey residents were among more than two dozen victims who lost a combined $6.8 million to a North Carolina con man running a Ponzi scheme, federal authorities charged.
David Schamens, 64, of Greensboro, NC, promised annual return rates of 12% to 30% when he began soliciting investments in 2014 in Secaucus-based TradeStream Analytics LTD, as well as in other entities with names such as TD Trading LLC, TFG Trading LLC, and Tradedesk Financial Group Inc., U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
He then launched Tradestream Algo Fund, an algorithm-based trading pool that he clai…
Five NYers Nabbed For $8.4 Million Fraud, Money Laundering Scheme, Feds Says
Four Long Island residents are among five New Yorkers facing charges for a multi-million dollar “boiler room” fraud and money laundering scheme, federal officials announced.
US Attorney Damian Williams announced that five suspects are facing a host of charges for their alleged roles in the $8.4 million scheme to defraud investors around the world and launder the proceeds from the scheme.
Those charged:
Lenard Booth, also known as “Trevor Nicholas,” age 68, of Brooklyn;
Michael D’Urso, age 54, of Glen Cove;
Alyssa D’Urso, age 28, of Glen Cove;
Jay Garnock, age 75, of Glen Cove;
Antonella…
Hudson Valley Entrepreneur Admits To Defrauding Investors Of Nearly $1,000,000
An entrepreneur from the area has admitted to defrauding investors of nearly $1 million.
Joseph Cimino, the founder of a tequila brand based in the Hudson Valley, pleaded guilty on Monday, Nov. 15 to securities and wire fraud charges.
As part of the plea, the 57-year-old Cimino, a resident of Warwick in Orange County, admitted fraudulently soliciting investments for his company.
“As he admitted in court today, Joseph Cimino lied about his tequila business’s finances to lure investors and then diverted investor funds in order to line his own pockets," Damian Williams, the US Attor…
