Tag:

Extortion

US Sounds Alarm Over Tourist Crime In Popular Tropical Getaway US Sounds Alarm Over Tourist Crime In Popular Tropical Getaway
US Sounds Alarm Over Tourist Crime In Popular Tropical Getaway A popular Central American getaway spot is under new scrutiny after US officials warned that criminals are increasingly targeting tourists and foreign residents with robberies and extortion schemes. In a security alert issued on Tuesday, Nov. 25, the US Embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica, said it is tracking a rise in property crimes, financial crimes, and robberies affecting foreigners across the country, including US citizens.  The alert describes criminal gangs targeting foreign-owned homes and businesses for break-ins and extortion. It also details cases in which foreign residents and…
Scam Targets Airlines As Hacking Group Expands Operations, FBI Warns Scam Targets Airlines As Hacking Group Expands Operations, FBI Warns
Scam Targets Airlines As Hacking Group Expands Operations, FBI Warns A cybercriminal group known for extorting people and companies across the world is now targeting the airline industry. The FBI has issued a warning about Scattered Spider, a hacking group that has  expanded its operations to include major US airlines and their vendors.  The group is known for using convincing impersonation tactics to access corporate networks, often bypassing multi-factor authentication by tricking IT staff into adding unauthorized devices. Scattered Spider impersonates employees or contractors to deceive help desks. "These techniques frequently involve methods …
CT Teen Blackmailed Multiple Women, Including 14-Year-Old, To Send Him Nudes: Police CT Teen Blackmailed Multiple Women, Including 14-Year-Old, To Send Him Nudes: Police
CT Teen Blackmailed Multiple Women, Including 14-Year-Old, To Send Him Nudes: Police A Connecticut teen has been arrested after allegedly blackmailing multiple women — including a 14-year-old — into sending nude photos, police said. Mikel Reyes, 18, of Stratford, is facing several charges after victims — ages 14, 17, 18, and 20 — came forward last month with similar stories, according to Stratford police. The victims told police that Reyes contacted them through an anonymous texting app, threatening to post their nude photos online unless they sent him more explicit images. Investigators say they were able to connect Reyes to all the incidents. Reyes knew the victims pers…
Mayor’s Bodyguard Tied To Crypto Torture Case? NYPD Officers Subject Of Internal Investigation Mayor’s Bodyguard Tied To Crypto Torture Case? NYPD Officers Subject Of Internal Investigation
Mayor’s Bodyguard Tied To Crypto Torture Case? Nypd Officers Subject Of Internal Investigation The bizarre Bitcoin torture saga playing out in a luxury Manhattan townhouse has now reached City Hall. Two members of the NYPD, including an officer assigned to Mayor Eric Adams’ security detail, have been placed on modified duty amid an internal investigation into whether they had any involvement in the kidnapping and torture of an Italian crypto trader, an NYPD spokesperson confirmed to Daily Voice. The detective assigned to Adams’ security detail provided security at the Prince Street townhouse in Nolita where John Woeltz and William Duplessie allegedly tortured the victim for 17 days, …
WATCH: Crypto Hostage Seen Bolting From NYC Townhouse After 17 Days Of Torture, Report Says WATCH: Crypto Hostage Seen Bolting From NYC Townhouse After 17 Days Of Torture, Report Says
Watch: Crypto Hostage Seen Bolting From NYC Townhouse After 17 Days Of Torture, Report Says A surveillance camera captured the dramatic moment a barefoot hostage victim made his daring escape after allegedly being kidnapped and tortured for weeks inside a Manhattan townhouse. Video obtained exclusively by CNN shows the 28-year-old Italian crypto trader sprinting up from the basement of the Nolita home on Prince Street, flinging open a gate, and darting past a stunned pedestrian before flagging down police on Friday, May 23. The man had allegedly been held hostage for 17 days by two business associates, including alleged “Crypto King of Kentucky” John Woeltz, in what prosecutors sa…
Crypto Bros' CT Kidnapping Plot Lands Florida Man 11 Years In Jail For Bloody Attack: Feds Crypto Bros' CT Kidnapping Plot Lands Florida Man 11 Years In Jail For Bloody Attack: Feds
Crypto Bros' CT Kidnapping Plot Lands Florida Man 11 Years In Jail For Bloody Attack: Feds A Florida man has been sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison for his role in a violent kidnapping that played out in broad daylight on a Danbury street. Anthony Pena, 24, of Miami Gardens, was one of several men who ambushed a couple, beat them, and forced them into a van in an attempt to extort their son, who is suspected of a massive cryptocurrency theft, the US Attorney for Connecticut said.  The attack happened on August 25, 2024. Witnesses called 911 after seeing several men assaulting a man and shoving him into a white work van. Danbury Police spotted the van and trie…
US Issues Urgent Travel Warnings Covering 2 Countries: What To Know US Issues Urgent Travel Warnings Covering 2 Countries: What To Know
US Issues Urgent Travel Warnings Covering 2 Countries: What To Know The US State Department is warning Americans against traveling to part of one country and has issued a do not travel warning for one of its neighboring nations. A Level 3 Reconsider Travel Advisory covers these parts of eastern Colombia:  Arauca, Cauca (excluding Popayán), and Norte de Santander departments in Colombia; The Colombia-Venezuela border region. "Violent crime, like murder, assault, and robbery, is common in many areas in Colombia," the advisory says. "In some places, organized crime is rampant. This includes extortion, robbery, and kidnapping." A Level 4  Do No…
Fugitive Who Used Fake Virus In Terrifying CT Home Invasion Sentenced After 15 Years On Run Fugitive Who Used Fake Virus In Terrifying CT Home Invasion Sentenced After 15 Years On Run
Fugitive Who Used Fake Virus In Terrifying CT Home Invasion Sentenced After 15 Years On Run A Romanian man involved in a terrifying 2007 Connecticut home invasion has been sentenced to seven years in prison after evading capture for 15 years, authorities said.  Stefan Alexandru Barabas, 38, was part of a group that terrorized two residents in a scheme that seemed straight out of a nightmare. Just before midnight, Barabas and his accomplices — Emanuel Nicolescu and Alexandru Lucian Nicolescu — broke into a South Kent home wearing masks and wielding knives and fake guns, the US Attorney for Connecticut said.  They tied up and blindfolded two adults, injecting them with a s…
8 NYers Among 16 Gambino Crime Family Members Nabbed In Coordinated US-Italian Takedown: Feds 8 NYers Among 16 Gambino Crime Family Members Nabbed In Coordinated US-Italian Takedown: Feds
8 NYers Among 16 Gambino Crime Family Members Nabbed In Coordinated Us-italian Takedown: Feds A total of 16 people in the United States and Italy have been charged after a two-year investigation that targeted members of New York's notorious Gambino crime family and some of its Sicilian associates. A 16-count indictment was unsealed on Wednesday, Nov. 8 in federal court in Brooklyn detailing the alleged involvement of the 10 Americans -- eight New Yorkers and two New Jersey residents -- in an attempt to dominate the New York carting and demolition industries. The 10 Americans have been charged with racketeering conspiracy, extortion, witness retaliation, and union-related crimes comm…
Northern Westchester Man Among 6 Genovese Crime Family Suspects Sentenced For Racketeering Northern Westchester Man Among 6 Genovese Crime Family Suspects Sentenced For Racketeering
Northern Westchester Man Among 6 Genovese Crime Family Suspects Sentenced For Racketeering Six members and associates of the Genovese organized crime family, including a Westchester man and a Fairfield County resident, have been sentenced on racketeering charges, federal officials said.  The sentencings were announced on Friday, Aug. 4 by US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams.  According to Williams, the six men were associated with the Genovese Organized Crime Family, part of a nationwide criminal organization known by various names such as "La Cosa Nostra" and the “Mafia."  Those sentenced included two "captains," who were r…
3 From Westchester Charged In illegal Gambling Operation Allegedly Run By Lucchese Crime Family 3 From Westchester Charged In illegal Gambling Operation Allegedly Run By Lucchese Crime Family
3 From Westchester Charged In illegal Gambling Operation Allegedly Run By Lucchese Crime Family Five New York men, including three from Westchester County, have been accused of overseeing and operating a 15-year long, large-scale illegal, online gambling business with suspected ties to the Lucchese crime family, federal authorities announced. An indictment was unsealed in Brooklyn Federal Court on Wednesday, Sept. 14 charging them for their roles overseeing and operating a large-scale illegal, online gambling business under the protection of the Lucchese organized crime family. The gambling business known as “Rhino Sports” utilized an offshore website and dozens of bookmakers in …
CT Man Accused Of Smuggling People From Brazil To US For Profit CT Man Accused Of Smuggling People From Brazil To US For Profit
CT Man Accused Of Smuggling People From Brazil To US For Profit By the time he was busted by federal agents in June 2022, Connecticut resident Fagner De Lima told police he had been smuggling humans into the country for two decades. De Lima, age 41, of East Hartford, was indicted by a grand jury Thursday, Aug. 18, on one count of attempted human smuggling in federal court in Worcester, Massachusetts. Prosecutors said De Lima has a history of conspiring with others to illegally smuggle people from Brazil to the United States, making thousands of dollars along the way. He regularly made travel arrangements for clients to illegally enter the country by pl…
CT Man Charged With Attempted Human Smuggling CT Man Charged With Attempted Human Smuggling
CT Man Charged With Attempted Human Smuggling A 41-year-old Connecticut man is accused of running a business to illegally smuggle people from Brazil to the United States and extorting his clients during their journey. Fagner Chaves De Lima, of East Hartford, was charged with one count of attempted human smuggling, according to an announcement from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts on Thursday, June 30. “It is alleged that Mr. De Lima orchestrated an elaborate and manipulative human smuggling operation. For a steep price, Mr. De Lima allegedly made arrangements for victims to travel fro…