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Cryptocurrency

Police & Fire
Ex-Westport Exec Who Stole $4.4M From CT Company In Crypto Scam Gets 4 Years: Feds Ex-Westport Exec Who Stole $4.4M From CT Company In Crypto Scam Gets 4 Years: Feds
Ex-Westport Exec Who Stole $4.4M From CT Company In Crypto Scam Gets 4 Years: Feds A former Connecticut finance executive will serve four years in prison for embezzling more than $4 million from his employer in a slapdash cryptocurrency fraud scheme, federal authorities said.  Dylan Meissner, 31, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison, followed by two years of probation, after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges, The US District Attorney for Connecticut said this week. Meissner must also repay the company $4,633,424.99 — $4.4 million of which he stole, and the rest is for a loan, authorities said.  As vice president of finance at a cryptocurrency …

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by Josh Lanier
Politics
Musk, Yale Law Grad Ramaswamy Tapped To Head Trump's New Dept. Of Government Efficiency Musk, Yale Law Grad Ramaswamy Tapped To Head Trump's New Dept. Of Government Efficiency
Musk, Yale Law Grad Ramaswamy Tapped To Head Trump's New Dept. Of Government Efficiency President-Elect Donald Trump continues to fill his cabinet with loyalists and his biggest supporters following his sweeping victory in last week's election.  He announced Tuesday, Nov. 12, that two billionaire former rivals turned allies, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, would head up his new Department of Government Efficiency.  Related: Trump Nominates NY Rep. Elise Stefanik As UN Ambassador The tech entrepreneur, age 53, and the 39-year-old Harvard and Yale Law grad will be tasked with major cuts in government spending. Trump called it "The Manhattan Project" for a new…

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by Josh Lanier
News
COVID-19: John Gotti's Grandson Admits To $1M Relief Fraud COVID-19: John Gotti's Grandson Admits To $1M Relief Fraud
Covid-19: John Gotti's Grandson Admits To $1M Relief Fraud A New York man with ties to the Mafia formally confessed to a million-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud scheme. Long Island resident Carmine Agnello, age 38, of Smithtown, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in Central Islip federal court on Thursday, Sept. 26. Agnello is the grandson of the late John Gotti, former boss of the Gambino organized crime family. According to prosecutors, between April 2020 and November 2021, he fraudulently applied for, and received, at least three small business loans under the US Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDLP). The program…

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by Michael Mashburn
Police & Fire
Cryptocurrency Scammers Steal $63K From CT Resident; Here's How To Protect Yourself Cryptocurrency Scammers Steal $63K From CT Resident; Here's How To Protect Yourself
Cryptocurrency Scammers Steal $63K From CT Resident; Here's How To Protect Yourself Police are sounding the alarm after scammers successfully stole tens of thousands of dollars from a Connecticut resident. In New Haven County, a Cheshire resident contacted Connecticut State Police in April 2024 saying they had lost more than $68,000 worth of cryptocurrency in a scam. The victim told investigators they were tricked by a phishing scheme that offered new tokens. Instead, the scammers drained all the cryptocurrency in their digital wallet. Detectives were able to trace the victim’s stolen funds using blockchain analytics and located their wallet, which still had most of the c…

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by Michael Mashburn
Business
Dow Drops 1,000 Points: US Stock Market In Free Fall, Wiping Away Trillions In Capital Dow Drops 1,000 Points: US Stock Market In Free Fall, Wiping Away Trillions In Capital
Dow Drops 1,000 Points: US Stock Market In Free Fall, Wiping Away Trillions In Capital Investors hoping the major dip in the stock market last week was just a blip were greeted with even more losses on Monday, Aug. 5, as fears of a recession and global turmoil sent stocks tumbling. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,200 points at one point but closed 1,000 down. The S&P 500 dropped more than 3 percent and the Nasdaq fell 3.4 percent.  The massive sell-off began on Friday after a US jobs report showed that employer hiring in July had slowed more than analysts had predicted. Investors were already on edge over fears the US Federal Reserve had left interest ra…

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by Josh Lanier
News
Victim Loses $341K In 'Pig Butchering' Scheme: Here's What It Is Victim Loses $341K In 'Pig Butchering' Scheme: Here's What It Is
Victim Loses $341K In 'Pig Butchering' Scheme: Here's What It Is The US Secret Service has seized a web domain used in a cryptocurrency confidence crime scheme known as “pig butchering” after a New York resident was swindled out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. According to federal authorities, scammers in pig butchering schemes encounter victims in various ways, including on dating applications, social media websites, and even random text messages masquerading as the wrong number. Scammers initiate relationships with victims and slowly gain their trust, eventually introducing the idea of making a business investment using cryptocurrency.  Vict…

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
'Pig Butchering' Scams: Police In CT Warn Of Fraudulent Investment Schemes 'Pig Butchering' Scams: Police In CT Warn Of Fraudulent Investment Schemes
'Pig Butchering' Scams: Police In CT Warn Of Fraudulent Investment Schemes Authorities are warning Connecticut residents to be wary of complex investment scams targeting victims through online platforms such as dating apps and social media.  In an announcement on Tuesday, March 26, Connecticut State Police warned that there has been an increase in "pig butchering" scams involving scammers convincing victims to invest money into a fake trading platform.  According to state police, the scammer will first contact the victim through dating apps, social media, or professional networking platforms. They will then build trust with the victim over several weeks …

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by Ben Crnic
Police & Fire
$3.2 Million In Elaborate Bitcoin Scam Recovered In Westport $3.2 Million In Elaborate Bitcoin Scam Recovered In Westport
$3.2 Million In Elaborate Bitcoin Scam Recovered In Westport In a rare occurrence, the Fairfield County victim of a sophisticated Bitcoin financial crime totaling $3.2. million has received their money back. The investigation began in May when Westport Police detectives received a report that a resident had fallen for the scam. The victim told detectives that in January they were convinced to move money from a retirement account into a “Kraken” cryptocurrency account, said Lt. Eric Woods, of the Westport Police. The resident reported that between January and March, over $3 million worth of Bitcoin was withdrawn and transferred to cryptocur…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Accused NY Fraudster Agrees To Forfeit $248M He Allegedly Racked Up From Thousands Of Investors Accused NY Fraudster Agrees To Forfeit $248M He Allegedly Racked Up From Thousands Of Investors
Accused NY Fraudster Agrees To Forfeit $248M He Allegedly Racked Up From Thousands Of Investors A New York man admitted to committing fraud and has agreed to forfeit to the US government hundreds of millions of dollars he's accused of racking up from tens of thousands of investors until his arrest less than a year ago. Long Island resident Eddy Alexandre, age 50, of Valley Stream, the leader of a purported cryptocurrency and foreign exchange trading platform called EminiFX, solicited more than $248 million after making false representations in connection with the EminiFX trading platform, the Southern District of New York, announced on Friday, Feb. 10. According to the allegations in …

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by Joe Lombardi
News
CT State Police Squad Recovers $20K In Cryptocurrency Scam CT State Police Squad Recovers $20K In Cryptocurrency Scam
CT State Police Squad Recovers $20K In Cryptocurrency Scam Last year, the Connecticut State Police Organized Crime Task Force was able to retrieve $20,000 from a $41,150 cryptocurrency or Bitcoin scam. The task force learned of a complaint from a New Haven County resident in Milford in September 2022 regarding larceny by false pretenses, the state police said. The larceny resulted in the loss of $41,150 when the victim was scammed into depositing the money into a series of Bitcoin ATM machines, state police added. The incident was also reported to the Milford Police Department, and it was determined that the task force would assume the investigati…

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
Don't Fall For Them: Police In Connecticut Issue Alert About These Scams Don't Fall For Them: Police In Connecticut Issue Alert About These Scams
Don't Fall For Them: Police In Connecticut Issue Alert About These Scams Connecticut State Police issued an alert to residents about common cryptocurrency scams. Police shared the alert on Tuesday, Aug. 30, saying scammers often use texts, phone calls, or emails to lure victims to cryptocurrency ATMs, web-based investment sites or exchange platforms to get them to convert dollars into cryptocurrency. "A victim is often led to believe that their bank account or investments are under attack," police said. "The victim is then prompted to convert those assets to cryptocurrency and send them to a 'secure' account, which is controlled by the scammer." Police said sca…

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by Nicole Valinote
News
CT Man Who Downloaded Child Sex Abuse Images Sentenced CT Man Who Downloaded Child Sex Abuse Images Sentenced
CT Man Who Downloaded Child Sex Abuse Images Sentenced A Connecticut man who admitted to possessing child pornography will largely avoid time behind bars after being sentenced in Hartford District Court. Windham County resident Shayne Shayer, age 40, of Thompson, was sentenced to one day in prison, time already served, and 10 years of supervised release for downloading child sex abuse videos from the dark web, federal prosecutors announced. According to court documents, a Homeland Security investigation that was launched by law enforcement in Europe, determined that in January 2018, Shayer used cryptocurrency to access a dark web server and dow…

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Beware Of These Five New Scammer Tactics, Utility Companies Warn COVID-19: Beware Of These Five New Scammer Tactics, Utility Companies Warn
Covid-19: Beware Of These Five New Scammer Tactics, Utility Companies Warn With the United States crossing a grim milestone as the COVID-19 death toll topped 500,000, utility companies are cautioning about new scams that have arisen in the past year as opportunistic fraudsters look to take advantage of the pandemic. Utility companies across the country have issued alerts regarding new scams as they seek to allow their customers to protect themselves from scammers exploiting the COVID-19 outbreak. According to officials, one of the largest threats involves scammers aggressively threatening to disconnect service, claiming that bills are past due, unless a payment is…

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by Zak Failla
News
Bitcoin Scammers Claim To Have Compromising Videos Of Victims Bitcoin Scammers Claim To Have Compromising Videos Of Victims
Bitcoin Scammers Claim To Have Compromising Videos Of Victims Bitcoin scammers have been threatening to expose sensitive videos of their victims if they are not paid off. Fraudsters have been sending spam emails that allege they have recorded video of “you getting yourself off,” which they threaten to expose if they are not paid off. The emails claim that the scammer is from out of the country, and cannot be targeted by local law enforcement. Related story - COVID-19: Cybercriminals Using New Sextortion Tactics Amid Pandemic Scammers allege that based on their potential victims’ visiting “bad” websites that infected computers with malware, they now …

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by Zak Failla
News
NY, CT Residents Among Hundreds Charged In Takedown Of Largest Darknet Child Porn Website NY, CT Residents Among Hundreds Charged In Takedown Of Largest Darknet Child Porn Website
NY, CT Residents Among Hundreds Charged In Takedown Of Largest Darknet Child Porn Website Men from Connecticut and New York are among those charged in the takedown of the largest Darknet child pornography website. Jong Woo Son, 23, a South Korean national, was indicted this week for his operation of Welcome To Video, the largest child exploitation market by volume of content, officials said. Son has also been charged and convicted in South Korea and is currently in custody serving his sentence in South Korea.   An additional 337 site users residing in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jers…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Westport Resident Recovers $15K Lost After Cell Phone Is Stolen At Airport, Police Say Westport Resident Recovers $15K Lost After Cell Phone Is Stolen At Airport, Police Say
Westport Resident Recovers $15K Lost After Cell Phone Is Stolen At Airport, Police Say A Westport resident has recovered more than $15,000 that was lost after his cell phone was stolen at an airport, police say. Westport Police said it received a report from a victim of larceny on Wednesday, April 7 around 7 p.m. The victim stated that his cell phone had been stolen from an airport while he was traveling in California, police say. A few hours later, the victim noticed that a total of $15,472.31 had been transferred out of his Coinbase account, an application in which crypto-currency is managed, according to police. Further investigation revealed that funds from this account…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Hundreds Of Bomb Threats Sent To Schools, Businesses In Area, Nation Hundreds Of Bomb Threats Sent To Schools, Businesses In Area, Nation
Hundreds Of Bomb Threats Sent To Schools, Businesses In Area, Nation Fear and panic spread across the country on Thursday, as a bomb threat asking for thousands of dollars in bitcoin payment made the rounds through a series of emails. Law enforcement officials are investigating hundreds of bomb threats that targeted schools and businesses nationwide on Thursday, Dec. 13, including several in New York and Connecticut. According to reports, multiple Hudson Valley businesses were targeted and those threats were also deemed not credible. “Please be advised - there is an email being circulated containing a bomb threat asking for bitcoin payment. While this email…

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by Zak Failla