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NY Man Indicted In $700,000 Investment Scheme NY Man Indicted In $700,000 Investment Scheme
NY Man Indicted In $700,000 Investment Scheme A New York man has been indicted for scamming investors out of more than $700,000, authorities announced. Long Island resident Matthew Gallagher, age 37, of Rocky Point, used various investment schemes to scam 24 victims over a period of about four years, according to an investigation by Suffolk County Police and Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini. “We have 24 people here who gave their savings to this defendant with the promise of sound investments only to be lied to and swindled out of their hard-earned money,” Sini said. “He was allegedly selling them on investing in b…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
NY Man Accused Of Scamming Investors Of Over $700K NY Man Accused Of Scamming Investors Of Over $700K
NY Man Accused Of Scamming Investors Of Over $700K A New York man has been accused of scamming investors of more than $700,000 over the past year and a half, authorities announced. Long Island resident Matthew Gallagher, age 37, of Rocky Point, used investment schemes in fraudulent startup business ventures and insurance-related frauds to scam 16 victims between November 2019 and April 2021, according to an investigation by Suffolk County Police. Gallagher was arrested just before 10 p.m. Wednesday, April 28 at the Seventh Precinct in Shirley, according to police. He was charged with: Two counts of first-degree schemi…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Northern Westchester Man Admits To Scamming Consumers Of $9.5M, DOJ Says Northern Westchester Man Admits To Scamming Consumers Of $9.5M, DOJ Says
Northern Westchester Man Admits To Scamming Consumers Of $9.5M, DOJ Says A New York man who was an executive at a company in Connecticut has admitted to causing more than $9.5 million in losses to consumers across the country. Northern Westchester County resident Norman Newman, age 74, of Croton-on-Hudson,  pleaded guilty today to supplying lists of consumers’ names and addresses for use in schemes that targeted vulnerable victims, according to court documents filed by the United States Department of Justice. From 2005 to 2016, Newman worked as a list broker and senior vice president at Macromark Inc., a Fairfield County-based direct mail services firm…

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
New Warning Issued For Con Artists Posing As Amazon Workers New Warning Issued For Con Artists Posing As Amazon Workers
New Warning Issued For Con Artists Posing As Amazon Workers Local law enforcement agencies are cautioning area residents to be wary following recent reports of opportunistic fraudsters posing as Amazon employees over the phone to gain access to personal information. Officials said that con artists have been posing as Amazon employees claiming to need verification about their account or that something is wrong with an order, allowing them to attempt stealing their victims’ identities. According to police, once a call is answered, a recorded message will claim to be from Amazon stating there is a problem with their account. Messages included claims …

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by Zak Failla
News
Eversource Warns Customers Of New, 'Finetuned' Scams Eversource Warns Customers Of New, 'Finetuned' Scams
Eversource Warns Customers Of New, 'Finetuned' Scams Eversource is cautioning its East Coast utility customers to be wary of fraudsters who have recently been targeting consumers in Connecticut and Massachusetts. This week, Eversource issued an alert after receiving reports of "scam artists aggressively targeting utility customers.” Officials said that new tactics are being used as scammers continue fine-tuning their techniques, including phony caller IDs that display “Eversource” and scripts that sound like a legitimate company representative threatening to disconnect their electric or gas service because of an unpaid bill.  …

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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
Police & Fire
Westchester Woman Scammed Out Of $80K By Fraudsters Posing As Amazon Workers Westchester Woman Scammed Out Of $80K By Fraudsters Posing As Amazon Workers
Westchester Woman Scammed Out Of $80K By Fraudsters Posing As Amazon Workers A New York woman was bilked out of $80,000 by fraudsters posing as Amazon employees as part of an elaborate computer and phone scheme, police said. Last week, investigators in Westchester County with the Scarsdale Police Department received a report from a Greendale Road resident, who said that she believed she was the victim of a scam involving fraudsters portraying Amazon employees. Police said that the woman received an email from “Amazon” earlier this month asking if she had purchased a computer for $800, which she had not. When speaking with the scammers on a phone number provided in …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Plumbing Business Was A Front For Large-Scale Marijuana Cultivation Plumbing Business Was A Front For Large-Scale Marijuana Cultivation
Plumbing Business Was A Front For Large-Scale Marijuana Cultivation A man who created a fake plumbing business as a front for an illegal, large-scale marijuana growing operation has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. On Tuesday, March 2, Thomas Laverty, 40, of Clinton, was sentenced on prior drug, money laundering, and fraud convictions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts, said. According to court documents, Laverty, along with co-conspirators, created the phony plumbing business Chuck Laverty & Son Inc., as a cover to grow weed. Laverty and others used the plumbing business’ bank accounts and locations to facilitate growing, storing and dist…

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by Kristin Palpini
Police & Fire
Special-Needs/Weed CEO Is Accused Of Stealing $50,000 From Taxpayers Special-Needs/Weed CEO Is Accused Of Stealing $50,000 From Taxpayers
Special-Needs/Weed CEO Is Accused Of Stealing $50,000 From Taxpayers A marijuana entrepreneur who owns a Connecticut vocational center for people with special needs is facing fraud charges. Karen Gaston, 39, of East Granby, was charged in Connecticut on Tuesday, Sept. 22 with larceny in the first degree by defrauding a public community, health insurance fraud, and criminal attempt to commit larceny in the first degree by defrauding a public community, according to Connecticut’s Division of Criminal Justice. Gaston is the owner of Elegant Clinical Corporation in East Windsor, a nonprofit that seeks to provide vocational education to people with special needs…

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by Kristin Palpini
Police & Fire
Fake-Cop Suspect Arrested Collecting Money For Non-Existent Police Charities Fake-Cop Suspect Arrested Collecting Money For Non-Existent Police Charities
Fake-Cop Suspect Arrested Collecting Money For Non-Existent Police Charities A man has been charged with impersonating the police after he was allegedly found trying to solicit donations for area officers. Darrell Marino, 51, of Palmer was arrested on Sunday, Sept. 27, and charged with possession of cocaine, disorderly conduct, attempt to commit a crime, and impersonating a police officer, police said. Ware Police said Marino had allegedly used counterfeit paperwork to request donations at the Ware McDonald’s for a non-existent police fundraiser, police said. This may not have been the suspect’s first time collecting donations for causes that didn’t exist, police s…

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by Kristin Palpini
Police & Fire
Haddad, Auto Shops Owner, Accused Of Fraud - Again Haddad, Auto Shops Owner, Accused Of Fraud - Again
Haddad, Auto Shops Owner, Accused Of Fraud - Again The owner of autobody shops in Worcester and Everett is being accused of fraud - again. Adam Haddad pleaded guilty on Monday, Sept. 21, to a payroll scheme that resulted in the loss of almost $300,000 in taxes to the IRS, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts. Haddad is a licensed automotive appraiser who owns Accurate Collision in Worcester and ADH Collision in Everett. Haddad was also accused of fraud in 2019 when he allegedly used hammers and wood to damage cars brought to his shop and file false insurance claims, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.  Haddad pleaded n…

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by Kristin Palpini
Business
COVID-19: Alert Issued For Callers Posing As Contact Tracers To Get Credit, Bank Account Info COVID-19: Alert Issued For Callers Posing As Contact Tracers To Get Credit, Bank Account Info
Covid-19: Alert Issued For Callers Posing As Contact Tracers To Get Credit, Bank Account Info Don’t fall for it. Fraudsters have been making the rounds, looking to take advantage of the COVID-19 crisis, posing as contact tracers seeking personal information from suspect victims amid the pandemic. Since the outbreak began six months ago, contact tracing has become a vital tool as health officials seek to identify positive COVID-19 cases, tracing back to the people they’ve been in contact with and isolating them to help curtail the spread of the virus. Recently, some state and federal officials issued a warning that some scammers have been posing as contact tracers, using that faux i…

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by Zak Failla