Fair 41°
Police & Fire
To Avoid Jail, Worcester Scammer Makes A Run For US-Canada Border To Avoid Jail, Worcester Scammer Makes A Run For US-Canada Border
To Avoid Jail, Worcester Scammer Makes A Run For Us-canada Border A Worcester man who scammed families out of more than $880,000 made a run to the Candian border to avoid his jail sentence but was foiled by the Mounties. Ashokkumar “Andy” Patel, formerly of Worcester and Plainville, was sentenced in September to 40 months in prison for his role in an international scheme that used high-pressure communications claiming to be from the IRS to squeeze people for money. On Thursday, Oct. 15, Patel was apprehended by the Candian Royal Mounted Police who found him diving into a border ditch in a blueberry field near Washington State, according to the Worcester …

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by Kristin Palpini
News
Man Sentenced For Defrauding Connecticut Art Dealer Man Sentenced For Defrauding Connecticut Art Dealer
Man Sentenced For Defrauding Connecticut Art Dealer A 71-year-old Massachusetts man who attempted to pull a one-over on a respected Connecticut art dealer and appraiser has will avoid prison after he admitted to attempting to dupe him by falsely representing an alleged desk from the Civil War during a sale. Worcester County resident Harold Gordon, of Templeton, was sentenced to five years probation after pleading guilty last year to one count of wire fraud after he attempted to scam his victim out of nearly $65,000. In October 2012, Gordon began a transaction with a Connecticut art dealer in an attempt to induce him to purchase a secret…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Lawyer Swindles Clients Out Of Millions; Forges Mom, Ex-Wife's Info To Further Scheme Lawyer Swindles Clients Out Of Millions; Forges Mom, Ex-Wife's Info To Further Scheme
Lawyer Swindles Clients Out Of Millions; Forges Mom, Ex-Wife's Info To Further Scheme A local attorney - who threw his own mother under the bus - brazenly stole, lied, and manipulated his clients out of millions of dollars has been sentenced to 66 months in prison. Phillip R. Williams, of Easthampton, pleaded guilty in December, to wire fraud, engaging in financial transactions greater than $10,000 of proceeds derived from criminal activity, money laundering, and tax fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts, said. On Friday, Sept. 25, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Mastroianni sentenced Williams to over 5 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release…

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by Kristin Palpini
Police & Fire
Western Mass Man Defrauded Veterans By Not Inspecting Medical Equipment Western Mass Man Defrauded Veterans By Not Inspecting Medical Equipment
Western Mass Man Defrauded Veterans By Not Inspecting Medical Equipment The owner of a medical gas company has admitted to taking money from Veterans Affairs hospitals for inspections that he lied about having performed. Chester Wojcik, 49, of Agawam, pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Thursday, Aug. 20, in U.S. District court. He will be sentenced on Nov. 19, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts said. Wojcik was the owner of Alliance Medical Gas Corporation. From Mahy 2014 through March 2015, Wojcik falsified invoices and reports for medical gas inspections that never took place. Medical gas supply systems deliver piped gases, such as oxygen or compressed a…

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by Kristin Palpini
Police & Fire
Ex-Trump Strategist Steve Bannon Arrested In Yacht Along CT Coast Ex-Trump Strategist Steve Bannon Arrested In Yacht Along CT Coast
Ex-Trump Strategist Steve Bannon Arrested In Yacht Along CT Coast Ex-Trump strategist Steve Bannon was cruising along the Connecticut shoreline in a yacht when he was arrested Thursday, Aug. 20, on fraud charges. Bannon, and three others, is being charged with defrauding donors in a border wall fundraising scam, according to law enforcement officials. He is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. More news is coming out about the arrest and Bannon had a court hearing scheduled for late afternoon. Bannon was apparently on a $28 million yacht owned by a Chinese exiled billionaire, …

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by Kristin Palpini