Crane Operator Who Made $1.5M At Port Newark Convicted Of Tax Fraud: Feds Crane Operator Who Made $1.5M At Port Newark Convicted Of Tax Fraud: Feds
Crane Operator Who Made $1.5M At Port Newark Convicted Of Tax Fraud: Feds A crane mechanic at the Port Newark Container Terminal was convicted by a federal jury of trying to cheat the IRS. Over a five-year period beginning in 2014, Jonathan D. Michael of Union County gave his boss a W-4 falsely claiming that he was exempt from having any federal tax withheld, authorities said. The IRS notified Michael in 2016 that he wasn't entitled to exempt status, but he wrote to the company and contended that his bogus W-4 was correct, they said. Michael, of Springfield, also didn't file any personal income tax returns, even though he was paid roughly $1.5 million in salary,…
$500K Scheme: Hudson Valley Man Stole From Retirement Accounts $500K Scheme: Hudson Valley Man Stole From Retirement Accounts
$500K Scheme: Hudson Valley Man Stole From Retirement Accounts A former financial advisor from the Hudson Valley has been convicted of participating in a scheme to steal from a retirement fund sponsored by a labor union for law enforcement employees.  Putnam County resident Andrew Brown, age 55, of Putnam Valley, was convicted of defrauding members of the Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association (LEEBA), a labor union for law enforcement officers employed by New York City, the US Attorney's Office for Southern District of New York announced on Wednesday, May 31.  Brown, along with former LEEBA President and New York State Tr…
$450K Scheme: CT Man Admits Helping Defraud Victims On Social Media $450K Scheme: CT Man Admits Helping Defraud Victims On Social Media
$450K Scheme: CT Man Admits Helping Defraud Victims On Social Media A Connecticut man faces more than 20 years in prison after admitting to taking part in a scheme to defraud numerous victims by befriending them on social media.  New London County resident Dexter Enwerem, age 36, of Norwich, pleaded guilty to taking part in a scheme to defraud women through social media on Tuesday, May 23, according to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut.  According to federal officials, between September 2019 and March 2021, a co-conspirator of Enwerem would contact multiple victims, who were mostly women, through their Facebook and Inst…
Former Police Lieutenant In MD Gets Prison Time For Tax Evasion Scheme: Feds Former Police Lieutenant In MD Gets Prison Time For Tax Evasion Scheme: Feds
Former Police Lieutenant In MD Gets Prison Time For Tax Evasion Scheme: Feds A former top cop in Maryland will spend more than a year with some of the people he helped locked up after attempting to dupe federal investigators amid an ongoing tax evasion scheme. Edward Scott Finn, 48, of Dunkirk, a former lieutenant with the Prince George’s County Police Department, was sentenced on Monday, May 15, to 16 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release for a tax evasion charge, according to officials. At the time he working with the department - between December 1995 and April 2021 - Finn also owned and operated Edward Finn Inc., a private compan…
Details Emerge Around Widow Of NJ ‘Animal Whisperer’ Who Continued Vet Practice Without License Details Emerge Around Widow Of NJ ‘Animal Whisperer’ Who Continued Vet Practice Without License
Details Emerge Around Widow Of NJ ‘Animal Whisperer’ Who Continued Vet Practice Without License The widow of a revered North Jersey veterinarian known as the “animal whisperer” had help from two alleged co-conspirators from New York in continuing to operate her husband’s clinic without a license, it was recently revealed. Alia Muslih, 41, of Montclair originally was accused of posing as a veterinarian following her husband’s death in order to keep the Totowa Animal Hospital open. A massive 77-count grand jury indictment returned earlier this month in Paterson lays out additional details. Included are allegations that Muslih had help from Marco A. Gamarra, 64, of the Bronx and Yaser I…
Ex-Mass Police Union Chief Gets 2.5 Years In Prison After Fraud Conviction: Feds Ex-Mass Police Union Chief Gets 2.5 Years In Prison After Fraud Conviction: Feds
Ex-Mass Police Union Chief Gets 2.5 Years In Prison After Fraud Conviction: Feds The former president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts and the group's ex-lobbyist were sentenced Wednesday, May 10, after they were convicted on charges that they turned the union into a "criminal enterprise" that defrauded its members, authorities said.  Dana A. Pullman, 60, of Worcester — the former president of SPAM  — was sentenced to 30 months behind bars and three years of probation, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. Anne M. Lynch, 71, of Huff, the union's lobbyist, received two years in prison and two years of supervised release, the prosecutor add…
Westport Investment Advisor Gets Jail Time: Did Not Report $1.4M To IRS, Feds Say Westport Investment Advisor Gets Jail Time: Did Not Report $1.4M To IRS, Feds Say
Westport Investment Advisor Gets Jail Time: Did Not Report $1.4M To IRS, Feds Say An investment advisor from Fairfield County will spend time in prison after failing to report more than $1.4 million in income to the IRS, federal officials said.  Westport resident Thomas Pacilio, age 64, was sentenced on Thursday, April 13 to six months in prison for omitting around $1,476,425 in profits in income tax returns between 2015 and 2018, according to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut.  Earlier Report - Westport Investment Advisor Failed To Report $1.4M In Profits To IRS, Feds Say According to federal officials, in 2011, Pacilio a…
Love At First Site: Ex-NJ Couple, Nigerian Wingman Charged In $4.5M Cyberfootsies Scam Love At First Site: Ex-NJ Couple, Nigerian Wingman Charged In $4.5M Cyberfootsies Scam
Love At First Site: Ex-NJ Couple, Nigerian Wingman Charged In $4.5M Cyberfootsies Scam A former New Jersey couple and a Nigerian national scammed more than 100 lonely hearts out of $4.5 million in an elaborate online romance scheme, federal authorities charged. Martins Inalegwu, 34, of Philadelphia and Steincy Mathieu, 26, of Brooklyn cooked up the plot with Moses Chukwuebuka Alexander and several of his Nigerian brethren, an indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges. Together, they trolled online dating and social media sites for willing marks, whom they “wooed with words of love” on the phone and in emails, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. T…
Bogus Bean Counter Admits Pilfering $1.5M From Non-Profits In Englewood, JC, Elsewhere In NJ Bogus Bean Counter Admits Pilfering $1.5M From Non-Profits In Englewood, JC, Elsewhere In NJ
Bogus Bean Counter Admits Pilfering $1.5M From Non-Profits In Englewood, JC, Elsewhere In NJ A Hudson County woman admitted posing as a certified public accountant to con more than 100 private schools, religious institutions and other non-profit organizations in New Jersey out of $1.5 million, federal authorities said. Among those scammed by Yezenia Castillo, 46, of Hoboken, were a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing affordable housing to Englewood residents and a private elementary and intermediate school in Jersey City, a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark says. Posing as a CPA, Castillo got hired “to provide various financial and accounting services" th…
Fake Accountant Admits Stealing $1.5 Million In Scam That Targeted NJ Schools, Nonprofits: Feds Fake Accountant Admits Stealing $1.5 Million In Scam That Targeted NJ Schools, Nonprofits: Feds
Fake Accountant Admits Stealing $1.5 Million In Scam That Targeted NJ Schools, Nonprofits: Feds A Hudson County woman admitted to stealing more than $1.5 million from non-profits, private schools and religious institutions throughout New Jersey by pretending to be an accountant.  Yezenia Castillo, a 46-year-old Hoboken resident, pleaded guilty on Thursday, April 6 to one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion in U.S. District Court in Newark, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced. For nine years, Castillo falsely claimed to be an accountant, offering her serves to non-profits throughout the state, Sellinger said. Upon being hired, Castillo would charge…
Current, Former Wildwood Mayors, Commissioner Indicted In Health Benefits Scam Current, Former Wildwood Mayors, Commissioner Indicted In Health Benefits Scam
Current, Former Wildwood Mayors, Commissioner Indicted In Health Benefits Scam UPDATE: Less than a week after pleading guilty to federal tax evasion, Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron was indicted by a state grand jury along with two other elected officials in an alleged health insurance scam. Byron, former Mayor Ernest Troiano Jr., and current City Commissioner Steve Mikulski fraudulently participated in the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP), the indictment alleges. In order to be eligible for the benefits, they needed to be full-time employees “whose hours of work are fixed at 35 or more per week” in their elected positions, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin ex…
Wildwood Mayor Admits Tax Dodge: Feds Wildwood Mayor Admits Tax Dodge: Feds
Wildwood Mayor Admits Tax Dodge: Feds Wildwood Mayor Peter J. Byron admitted Friday that he ducked paying taxes on $40,425 that he received for working as a salesman for a law firm, federal authorities said. Byron, 67, officially pleaded guilty to twice willfully "aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of fraudulent tax returns" to the IRS for calendar years 2017 and 2018, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced on March 24. The mayor still has a state case to deal with. He, former Mayor Ernest V. Troiano Jr. and City Commissioner Steven E. Mikulski were charged last year with fraudulently collecting stat…