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Police & Fire
Suspect Cashes Fraudulent Check At CT Bank, Police Say Suspect Cashes Fraudulent Check At CT Bank, Police Say
Suspect Cashes Fraudulent Check At CT Bank, Police Say Authorities are asking for the public's help in finding a suspect who cashed a fraudulent check at a Connecticut bank and tried doing the same at a second location, police said. The incident happened in Windham County on Thursday morning, Aug. 17 at the Hometown Bank in Danielson at 3 Central St., where a person allegedly tried cashing a fraudulent check, Connecticut State Police announced on Thursday, Aug. 24.  A short time after this incident, the suspect, who was caught on surveillance footage released by police, drove to a Hometown Bank branch located in Woodstock and attempte…

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by Ben Crnic
News
Western Mass Officer Suspended Over Alleged $87K Workers' Comp Fraud: Police Western Mass Officer Suspended Over Alleged $87K Workers' Comp Fraud: Police
Western Mass Officer Suspended Over Alleged $87K Workers' Comp Fraud: Police The agency responsible for policing standards has suspended a man who was an officer in Connecticut and Massachusetts and who lives in Massachusetts after he was charged with illegally receiving nearly $87,000 in workers' compensation benefits while working in Connecticut.  Matthew Hubbard, age 55, of Agawam in Hampden County, was one of four officers suspended by Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training.  Hubbard had worked as a corrections officer at a Connecticut prison and claimed he was hurt responding to a call on Aug. 7, 2020, the Connecticut Division of…

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Know Them? Trio Steals Woman's Wallet At Darien Stop & Shop Know Them? Trio Steals Woman's Wallet At Darien Stop & Shop
Know Them? Trio Steals Woman's Wallet At Darien Stop & Shop Police are asking the public for help after three people allegedly stole a Fairfield County woman's wallet at a popular supermarket. The incident occurred in Darien at the Stop & Shop on Old Kings Highway on Thursday, July 13. According to Sgt. Dan Skoumbros, of the Darien Police, the victim reported that while shopping for groceries, her wallet was stolen.  The victim told police she was approached by a woman who needed help reading a label and also asked if the victim had glasses she could borrow. The victim unzipped her purse to retrieve her glasses and forg…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
COVID-19: Wife Of Former CT Lawmaker Gets Prison Time For Stealing Relief Funds COVID-19: Wife Of Former CT Lawmaker Gets Prison Time For Stealing Relief Funds
Covid-19: Wife Of Former CT Lawmaker Gets Prison Time For Stealing Relief Funds The wife of a former Connecticut state representative will spend time in prison for participating in a scheme to steal COVID-19 relief funds from the city of West Haven.  West Haven resident Lauren DiMassa, age 38, was sentenced to six months in prison followed by five years of supervised release on Thursday, March 23 for her role in the scheme, according to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut.  DiMassa is the wife of former state representative and West Haven city employee Michael DiMassa, who was authorized to approve the $1,150,257 in financial as…

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by Ben Crnic
News
New Canaan Resident Used Investor Funds To Pay Taxes, Credit Card Expenses, Gets Prison Time New Canaan Resident Used Investor Funds To Pay Taxes, Credit Card Expenses, Gets Prison Time
New Canaan Resident Used Investor Funds To Pay Taxes, Credit Card Expenses, Gets Prison Time A current Fairfield County resident formerly from New Haven County will spend years in prison for tax evasion and defrauding investors by using their funds to pay his personal expenses. New Canaan resident Brian Hughes, age 58, formerly of Madison, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on Monday, March 6 for defrauding investors of two companies, and for tax evasion, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced.  The charges stem back to March of 2015 when Hughes founded Handcrafted Brands, LLC (HBC), in order to raise money to purchase the alcoholi…

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by Ben Crnic
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
Woman Who Was Chief Financial Employee In CT Gets Years In Prison For Stealing Over $700K Woman Who Was Chief Financial Employee In CT Gets Years In Prison For Stealing Over $700K
Woman Who Was Chief Financial Employee In CT Gets Years In Prison For Stealing Over $700K A woman from Hartford County faces years in prison for stealing more than $700,000 from both her former employer and third-party lenders over the span of nearly four years.  Windsor resident Margaret Boisture, age 51, was sentenced to 33 months in prison on Tuesday, Jan. 10 for fraud, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Connecticut District.  Boisture was once the chief financial employee of ZoneFlow Reactor Technologies, a company developing a new technology to make hydrogen production more efficient. In this role, Boisture defrauded Zoneflow, PayPal, and the third…

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by Ben Crnic
News
NYU Finance Director Embezzled $3.5M To Fund Her Lavish Lifestyle, DA Says NYU Finance Director Embezzled $3.5M To Fund Her Lavish Lifestyle, DA Says
NYU Finance Director Embezzled $3.5M To Fund Her Lavish Lifestyle, DA Says A former director at New York University is being accused of embezzling millions in state funding and using much of the money to fund a lavish lifestyle at her home in Connecticut home, according to authorities. The six-year fraud by Fairfield County resident Cindy Tappe, age 57, of Westport, related to two NYU programs, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced this week. Tappe used her position as the director of finance and administration for NYU’s Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and Transformation of Schools to diver…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
$31M Trip-Fall Fraud Scheme Results In Convictions For NY Attorney, Doctor $31M Trip-Fall Fraud Scheme Results In Convictions For NY Attorney, Doctor
$31M Trip-Fall Fraud Scheme Results In Convictions For NY Attorney, Doctor An attorney and doctor have been convicted of defrauding New York businesses and their insurance companies of more than $31 million through a massive trip-and-fall fraud scheme. Following a three-week trial, a jury in Manhattan just convicted George Constantine, a lawyer, and Andrew Dowd, an orthopedic surgeon, for their participation in the scheme from 2013 and 2018.  Both men live on Long Island -- the 60-year-old Constantine in Plainview, and the 67-year-old Dowd in Miller Place. The two were both found guilty of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, and w…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Police Issue Alert For Circulating Bitcoin Scam In Fairfield County Police Issue Alert For Circulating Bitcoin Scam In Fairfield County
Police Issue Alert For Circulating Bitcoin Scam In Fairfield County 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
Police & Fire
Police Release Surveillance Image Of Suspected Mail Thief In Fairfield County Police Release Surveillance Image Of Suspected Mail Thief In Fairfield County
Police Release Surveillance Image Of Suspected Mail Thief In Fairfield County Police in Fairfield County are investigating numerous thefts from mailboxes that have occurred over the past several weeks where mail was stolen from many residential neighborhoods during the day.  Police are seeking to identify a suspect vehicle that was spotted taking mail from a residential mailbox in Trumbull near the borders of Monroe and Shelton on Monday, Nov. 28. The small white vehicle was observed stopping at mailboxes where the passenger reached out, opened the mailbox, and stole the contents before leaving the area, said Lt. Brian Weir, of the …

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Former Attorney In Fairfield County Admits Defrauding Clients Of More Than $700K Former Attorney In Fairfield County Admits Defrauding Clients Of More Than $700K
Former Attorney In Fairfield County Admits Defrauding Clients Of More Than $700K A former real estate lawyer based in Fairfield County faces prison time for illegally using funds received from his clients, causing them to lose over $700,000.  Westerly, Rhode Island resident William McCullough, age 62, admitted to the embezzling scheme on Wednesday, Nov. 23, according to the Connecticut Department of Justice District.  As part of his Stamford-based law practice, McCullough would handle real estate transactions for clients and receive funds that he was required to deposit into an Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account (IOLTA Account) to use as part of his dutie…

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by Ben Crnic