Edison, NJ
Police & Fire
Authorities: 2 More Charged In Massive NJ Money Laundering Scheme, 50 Victims Identified Authorities: 2 More Charged In Massive NJ Money Laundering Scheme, 50 Victims Identified
Authorities: 2 More Charged In Massive NJ Money Laundering Scheme, 50 Victims Identified A brand new BMW, jewelry, handgun, ammunition and luxury items purchased using stolen funds were seized from two individuals -- the latest to be charged in a massive money laundering scheme, authorities in Middlesex County said Thursday. Shemar Rogers, 22, Tariah Darby, 22, both of New Brunswick, stole more than $250,000 from more than 50 victims in a massive money laundering scheme, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said. The two were arrested on March 30, 2021, and charged following a six-week investigation involving multiple agencies. A court ordered search of the their h…

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by Cecilia Levine
Highland Lakes-Vernon, NJ
News
Feds: Sussex Scammer Used Dead People’s Names To Collect $1.9M In COVID Relief Feds: Sussex Scammer Used Dead People’s Names To Collect $1.9M In COVID Relief
Feds: Sussex Scammer Used Dead People’s Names To Collect $1.9M In COVID Relief A Sussex County scammer identified people who’d been dead for years as business partners to help collect $1.9 million from the federal fund established to help struggling companies during COVID-19, authorities charged. John Jhong, 51, of Sparta, also submitted phony IRS documents with bogus Paycheck Protection Program applications to the lenders on behalf of 10 purported businesses, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Jhong converted a portion of the money intended for distressed businesses into a cashier’s check “that was used to fund a business account,” Honig said. Congress a ye…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Worcester, MA
Police & Fire
Man Accused Of Converting Profits From Knock-Off 'Gucci' Into Bitcoin Is Indicted Man Accused Of Converting Profits From Knock-Off 'Gucci' Into Bitcoin Is Indicted
Man Accused Of Converting Profits From Knock-Off 'Gucci' Into Bitcoin Is Indicted A Central Mass man has been accused of using Bitcoin to launder profits from the sale of illegal items such as knock-off Gucci bags. On Thursday, March 4, Alan Joseph 32, of Fitchburg, was indicted by a grand jury on the charges of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and 4 counts of money laundering, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts, said. From August 2020 to February 2021, Joseph allegedly engaged in 4 financial transactions in which he used money he thought had been obtained through the sale of contraband and turned it into Bitcoin as a way to make the source of…

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by Kristin Palpini
Englewood, NJ
News
TAX SCAM: Bergen Man Admits Posing As 18 Different Recipients To Collect Refunds TAX SCAM: Bergen Man Admits Posing As 18 Different Recipients To Collect Refunds
TAX Scam: Bergen Man Admits Posing As 18 Different Recipients To Collect Refunds A Bergen County man admitted collecting tax refunds by using stolen identities to pose as 18 different people. Emmanuel A. Barrientos-Fermin, 33, of Tenafly told a federal judge via videoconference in Newark on Tuesday that he gave an unnamed co-conspirator a photo of himself. The accomplice then produced bogus driver’s licenses with his picture on them, he said. The co-conspirator also gave him matching Social Security cards, driver’s licenses and W-2 forms – even birth certificates, Barrientos-Fermin said. Armed with the documents, Barrientos-Fermin said, he went to various tax preparin…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Jersey City, NJ
News
Jersey City Jeweler From Clifton Admits Lying To FBI To Protect Customers Jersey City Jeweler From Clifton Admits Lying To FBI To Protect Customers
Jersey City Jeweler From Clifton Admits Lying To FBI To Protect Customers A Jersey City mall jewelry store manager from Clifton admitted lying to the FBI to protect investigative targets who were his customers, authorities said. Khaled Hamade, 60, told a federal judge in Newark via videoconference Tuesday that he lied when he told agents investigating a fraud against a financing company that he didn’t know the suspects. “Hamade denied knowledge of the identities and personal information of numerous customers of his jewelry store who were believed to have engaged in the fraud,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. The Lebanese immigrant, who managed the Ne…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Bergenfield, NJ
News
Police: Bergenfield ID Thieves Claim More Than 50 Victims Police: Bergenfield ID Thieves Claim More Than 50 Victims
Police: Bergenfield ID Thieves Claim More Than 50 Victims A pair of ID thieves from Bergenfield stole thousands of dollars from the bank accounts of more than 50 victims, authorities said Tuesday. Borough police worked with members of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Secret Service and police in Brick and Absecon to crack the case. It began last August, when one of the victims told borough police that someone had opened several accounts in her name and accumulated outstanding balances on them, Detective Lt. William Duran said. Investigators eventually identified William Newhart IV, 42, and Jennifer Bland, 34, as their primary suspects, Dur…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Brookfield, CT
News
CT Man Involved In Cocaine Trafficking Ring Sentenced To Federal Prison CT Man Involved In Cocaine Trafficking Ring Sentenced To Federal Prison
CT Man Involved In Cocaine Trafficking Ring Sentenced To Federal Prison A Connecticut man has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for his role in a cocaine trafficking ring. Alex Negron, age 37, of Hartford, was sentenced on Wednesday, Feb. 10, to prison, followed by three years of supervised release, said John H. Durham, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut. According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from an investigation conducted by the DEA's Hartford Task Force and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service into a drug trafficking organization that was receiving shipments of cocaine from Puerto Rico and California and di…

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by Kathy Reakes
Elizabeth, NJ
News
NJ Insurance Broker Admits Building BBQ Restaurant With More Than $1M Swindled From Investors NJ Insurance Broker Admits Building BBQ Restaurant With More Than $1M Swindled From Investors
NJ Insurance Broker Admits Building BBQ Restaurant With More Than $1M Swindled From Investors An insurance broker from Union County admitted in federal court Tuesday that he swindled unwitting investors out of more than $1 million that he sunk, instead, into a BBQ joint. Ivan Ramos, 39, of Hillside was working for New York Life when he sought out inexperienced investors from among customers who bought life insurance from him or people he met at company marketing events or through mutual acquaintances, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachel Honig said. He “led his victims to believe, through misrepresentations and omissions, that two entities that he controlled, Invexperts LLC and Wealth Seeds…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Newark, NJ
News
Ex-Con Admits Cutting Female Postal Carrier During Carjacking That Led To Newark Chase, Crash Ex-Con Admits Cutting Female Postal Carrier During Carjacking That Led To Newark Chase, Crash
Ex-Con Admits Cutting Female Postal Carrier During Carjacking That Led To Newark Chase, Crash An ex-con told a federal judge in Newark on Wednesday that he assaulted a postal carrier with a box cutter while carjacking her SUV. The U.S. Postal Service carrier was taking a break behind the wheel of Dodge Durango on June 6 when Wallace Johnson, 32, of Newark, walked up and held the knife to her throat, cutting her skin, in the 80s block of Cedar Avenue, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Johnson “demanded that the postal employee get out of the car and leave everything inside,” Honig said. “After the postal employee got out of the car, Johnson got [in] and drove away.” City p…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Newark, NJ
News
Feds: ID Thief From NJ Filed $1M In Unemployment Claims In NY Feds: ID Thief From NJ Filed $1M In Unemployment Claims In NY
Feds: ID Thief From NJ Filed $1M In Unemployment Claims In NY A North Jersey ID thief used personal information stolen from 20 people to file $1 million worth of unemployment claims to New York State, federal authorities said. Federal agents tracked all of the claims for benefits to a single IP address and telephone number belonging to Maurice Mills, 28, of Union Township, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Surveillance cameras also caught Mills using an unemployment insurance benefits debit card to make an ATM withdrawal, he said. “Many of these claims were in the names of individuals located in Texas and directed the benefits to be sent to locatio…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Northern Highlands, NJ
News
Bergen County Con Artist Admits Funding Lavish Lifestyle With $5M Of Other People’s Money Bergen County Con Artist Admits Funding Lavish Lifestyle With $5M Of Other People’s Money
Bergen County Con Artist Admits Funding Lavish Lifestyle With $5M Of Other People’s Money A Bergen County con man admitted duping lenders and corporations out of nearly $5 million that he used to live the high life. Matthew O’Callaghan, 43, of Upper Saddle River told a federal judge in Newark via video conference that he “impersonated two bank executives interested in funding syndicated loans for global companies,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Referring to himself as “Edward Tierney” and “Michael Nash,” O’Callaghan submitted several bogus documents to the victim while using email addresses that appeared legitimate, false email signature blocks for the aliases that bo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
New Haven, CT
Police & Fire
Law Enforcement Seize 3 'Machinegun Conversion Devices' Law Enforcement Seize 3 'Machinegun Conversion Devices'
Law Enforcement Seize 3 'Machinegun Conversion Devices' Law enforcement agents seized three “Glock conversion devices,” that are meant to turn semiautomatic pistols into machineguns, during a search of a Wallingford residence. On Wednesday, Dec. 16, Raphael Dancer, 38, of Wallingford, waived his right to be indicted and pled guilty to a charge of possession of unregistered firearms in violation of the National Firearms Act, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Connecticut said. The charge stems from the execution of a search warrant in January at Dancer’s residence. There, law enforcement officials found several firearms regulated under the NFA (which w…

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by Kristin Palpini