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Philip R. Sellinger

13 Chinese Nationals Charged With Multiple Acts Of Espionage By Feds In Washington, NJ, NY 13 Chinese Nationals Charged With Multiple Acts Of Espionage By Feds In Washington, NJ, NY
13 Chinese Nationals Charged With Multiple Acts Of Espionage By Feds In Washington, NJ, NY Thirteen people, including members of China’s security and intelligence services, have been charged with trying to recruit professors and others in the United States to act as agents for their country, federal authorities in New York, New Jersey and Washington, DC announced. Tales of international intrigue include allegations that the defendants plotted to steal documents from a federal prosecutor's office to subvert a criminal investigation into a major Chinese company. Some of them are also charged in a spy-versus-spy encounter involving a $41,000 bribe in Bitcoin paid to an American…
Feds Charge MD Man In $246,390 401(k) Theft From NJ Employee Feds Charge MD Man In $246,390 401(k) Theft From NJ Employee
Feds Charge MD Man In $246,390 401(k) Theft From NJ Employee A Maryland man conspired with others to steal $246,390 from a New Jersey worker’s 401(k), federal authorities charged. Oladapo Sunday Ogunbiyi, 40, of Greenbelt, and others secretly tapped into the fund, added a bank account belonging to someone else and began steering money into it, an indictment returned by a grand jury in U.S. District Court alleges. “Ogunbiyi and others directed that the fraud proceeds be converted into cashier’s checks, which were provided to Ogunbiyi,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. “He then deposited the cashier’s checks into bank accounts under his control…
Gang Leader Gets 22 Years Without Parole For Smuggling Heroin, Fentanyl Into NJ Prison Gang Leader Gets 22 Years Without Parole For Smuggling Heroin, Fentanyl Into NJ Prison
Gang Leader Gets 22 Years Without Parole For Smuggling Heroin, Fentanyl Into NJ Prison A Hudson County gang leader must spend the next 22 years in a federal penitentiary for trafficking heroin and fentanyl into a New Jersey state prison. Noel "Kuko" Salgado, 41, was serving time when he had associates on the outside sneak the drugs into Bayside State Prison in Leesburg (Cumberland County), federal authorities said. One inmate who used the smuggled drugs suffered an overdose and was revived with Narcan after remaining senseless for nearly 20 minutes before having to be hospitalized, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Salgado -- who headed the "Loyal Hoody Gang," a l…
Man Who Showed Up For Sex With 'Girl,' 13, At NJ Motel Sent To Federal Prison Man Who Showed Up For Sex With 'Girl,' 13, At NJ Motel Sent To Federal Prison
Man Who Showed Up For Sex With 'Girl,' 13, At NJ Motel Sent To Federal Prison A Bronx man was sentenced to two years in federal prison for arranging what he thought would be sex with a 13-year-old girl at a New Jersey motel. Eduardo Silva, 44, must serve the entire term because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb also sentenced him to lifetime supervised release during a hearing in federal court in Camden on Thursday, April 28. Silva used a social media app to ask the “minor” whether she was “into older guys,” U.S Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. He then “sent a series of explicit online communications and text mess…
Amtrak Worker Gets 18 Months Without Parole For Selling Stolen Agency Equipment Amtrak Worker Gets 18 Months Without Parole For Selling Stolen Agency Equipment
Amtrak Worker Gets 18 Months Without Parole For Selling Stolen Agency Equipment UPDATE: A now-former Amtrak employee from the Jersey Shore was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for selling hundreds of chainsaws and chainsaw parts that he stole from the agency. Jose Rodriguez, 49, of Brick, will have to serve out the entire sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Rodriguez had collected 114 chainsaws, 122 chainsaw replacement bars and 222 replacement chains worth more than $76,000 before he was caught, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. He sold the items through online auction and directly to buyers, using the U.S. Postal Serv…
Feds: ID Thief Fraudulently Collected $140,000 In Pandemic Insurance While In Prison Feds: ID Thief Fraudulently Collected $140,000 In Pandemic Insurance While In Prison
Feds: ID Thief Fraudulently Collected $140,000 In Pandemic Insurance While In Prison People from all walks of life have fraudulently collected pandemic benefits, but Devontae Stokes took it to a different level. Stokes, a 27-year-old identity thief, was serving time at Fort Dix on an unspecified conviction when he schemed with others to collect $140,000 in COVID unemployment benefits while they were federal prisoners. That’s right. Stokes was a prisoner at the low-security Federal Correctional Institution adjacent to the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Burlington County when he and a group of co-conspirators “obtained personal identification information, including nam…
Cyber-Footsie Scammers From NJ, MD, VA Swindle $7 Million From Mostly Elderly Victims, Feds Say Cyber-Footsie Scammers From NJ, MD, VA Swindle $7 Million From Mostly Elderly Victims, Feds Say
Cyber-Footsie Scammers From NJ, MD, VA Swindle $7 Million From Mostly Elderly Victims, Feds Say Mostly elderly victims across the United States were conned out of a whopping $7 million by a quartet of romance scammers from New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia – all of whom were arrested by the FBI, authorities said. The victims sent the money to the imposters thinking that they were helping out love interests, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. They lost a lot. Arrested this past week, Sellinger said, were: Nana Yaw Marfo, 37, of Virginia, who was accused of receiving at least $4.7 million; Chevon Braxton, 42, of Maryland, who was accused of collecting at least $1.3 million; Will…
KIDNAPPING: Abducted Fort Lee Man Rescued By NYPD, Feds Seize Trio In $680,000 Ransom Demand KIDNAPPING: Abducted Fort Lee Man Rescued By NYPD, Feds Seize Trio In $680,000 Ransom Demand
Kidnapping: Abducted Fort Lee Man Rescued By Nypd, Feds Seize Trio In $680,000 Ransom Demand Federal authorities have charged three New York City men with kidnapping a Fort Lee resident and holding him for ransom. A judge ordered Albert Ferrelli, 50, and Chiahao Lee, 30, both of Queens, and Fa Deng, 42, of Staten Island detained following a brief hearing in U.S. District Court in Newark on Thursday, April 7. The kidnapper sent the victim’s wife a photograph showing the victim with his hands bound and his eyes and mouth duct-taped while demanding $680,000 following the Tuesday night abduction, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. New York City police officers resc…
Feds: EPA Inspector From Bergen County Watched Child Porn On Work Computer At Home Feds: EPA Inspector From Bergen County Watched Child Porn On Work Computer At Home
Feds: EPA Inspector From Bergen County Watched Child Porn On Work Computer At Home A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency employee from Fair Lawn watched child porn on his government-issued computer, authorities charged. John Struble, 63, was released by a U.S. magistrate judge in Newark, with conditions, after a brief video-conferenced appearance on Wednesday, March 29, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Struble, who works as a tank system inspector for the EPA’s office in downtown Manhattan, is charged with possession of child pornography. “The EPA alerted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security Investigations that it discovered …
COVID Mask Seller From Brooklyn Pleads Guilty To Gouging NJ Grocers At 400% Markup COVID Mask Seller From Brooklyn Pleads Guilty To Gouging NJ Grocers At 400% Markup
COVID Mask Seller From Brooklyn Pleads Guilty To Gouging NJ Grocers At 400% Markup A Brooklyn company admitted that it illegally made a killing off a New Jersey grocery store chain by selling it COVID masks during the pandemic at a 400% markup, federal authorities said. Milk & Honey Ventures and two partners bought 250,000 KN95 filtering facepiece respirators from a foreign manufacturer, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said Tuesday, March 29. MHV had never sold personal protective equipment before, Sellinger said. The company and one its partners sold 100,000 of the masks to a chain of New Jersey grocery stores at $5.25 per mask -- far in excess of prevailing marke…
$1.5M Cosmetics Company Scam Sends Englewood Swindler To Federal Prison For 2½ Years $1.5M Cosmetics Company Scam Sends Englewood Swindler To Federal Prison For 2½ Years
$1.5M Cosmetics Company Scam Sends Englewood Swindler To Federal Prison For 2½ Years A former Englewood resident must serve nearly 2½ years in federal prison for scamming three investors out of $1.5 million. Matthew Benjamin, 54, used the victims' money for car and house rental payments, food, international travel, legal fees, technology equipment and summer camp tuition for family members, among other purposes, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Benjamin, currently of New York, told the victims that his purported company, Clear Solutions Group, had lucrative contracts to purchase closeout or excess cosmetic inventory from one company that he planned to …
Feds: NJ Man Admits He Ran Guns From Georgia With Online Dating Match Feds: NJ Man Admits He Ran Guns From Georgia With Online Dating Match
Feds: NJ Man Admits He Ran Guns From Georgia With Online Dating Match An ex-con from New Jersey most likely didn't list "gun running" among his hobbies when he made an online love connection with a Southern woman. It'll be quite some time before Dylan Ianncelli, 28, of Gloucester County dates again -- either online or off -- after admitting in federal court on Wednesday, March 9, that he and his Georgia peach trafficked nearly a dozen firearms into New Jersey. Ianncelli went down to Georgia after meeting Jessy Hill, who authorities said bought 11 guns from a licensed dealer on Aug. 12, 2021. Hill "falsely indicated during the purchase that she was the actual…
Man Admits Role In NJ/NY Network That Laundered $27M For International Drug Cartels Man Admits Role In NJ/NY Network That Laundered $27M For International Drug Cartels
Man Admits Role In NJ/NY Network That Laundered $27M For International Drug Cartels The takedown of a New Jersey and New York network that laundered more than $27 million for Central and South American drug cartels has produced another guilty plea, federal authorities announced. Gilberto Martinez, 33, formerly of Clifton, "cleaned" more than $1 million himself, both by buying and directing others to buy cashier's checks using drug money, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Morristown police helped the DEA and IRS crack the case, in which more than 1,000 cashier’s checks were bought, he said. The buyers typically were paid a fee of $150 to $200 for each check…
SHAMELESS: NJ Con Woman Admits Swindling Elderly Victims Of $675K In 'Lottery Winner' Scam SHAMELESS: NJ Con Woman Admits Swindling Elderly Victims Of $675K In 'Lottery Winner' Scam
Shameless: NJ Con Woman Admits Swindling Elderly Victims Of $675K In 'Lottery Winner' Scam A New Jersey woman admitted scamming seniors nationwide out of huge sums of money -- including $500,000 from one 94-year-old victim -- by telling them they'd won the lottery. Shanile Lyle, 28, of Orange, was part of an international crew that called and conned seniors across the U.S. out of at least $675,000, federal authorities said. The vulnerable victims “received telephone calls alerting them that they had won large sums of money and various other prizes,” according to a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark. They were then told they'd have to "pre-pay" taxes in order to c…
Conspirator Who Used NJ High School Students To Cash Stolen COVID Stimulus Checks Gets 4 Years Conspirator Who Used NJ High School Students To Cash Stolen COVID Stimulus Checks Gets 4 Years
Conspirator Who Used NJ High School Students To Cash Stolen COVID Stimulus Checks Gets 4 Years One of a nest of criminals who paid New Jersey high school students to cash COVID stimulus checks stolen from the mail was sentenced to four years in federal prison. Because there's no parole in the federal prison system, Jeffrey Bennett, 27, of Irvington, must serve just about all of the plea-bargained sentence rubber-stamped by a U.S. District Court judge in Newark via videoconference on Monday, Feb. 14. Bennett -- a reputed associate of a group called "The Members" -- recruited U.S. Postal Service employees to steal checks, checkbooks, debit cards, and credit cards from the mail in excha…
Speeding Trespasser Admits Deliberately Hitting Fort Dix MPs With His Car Speeding Trespasser Admits Deliberately Hitting Fort Dix MPs With His Car
Speeding Trespasser Admits Deliberately Hitting Fort Dix MPs With His Car A Florida man who hit two Air Force military police officers with his car after blowing through a checkpoint at Fort Dix -- dragging one of them several feet -- pleaded guilty to assault in exchange for what he hopes will be leniency, federal authorities said. The officers pursued Hal Wander, 25, of Port Charlotte, after he sped through a designated checkpoint without stopping at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst military base in Burlington County, NJ on Nov. 16, 2020. Wander, who records show had prior arrests in Florida involving marijuana and stolen property, admitted deliberately plo…
Feds Charge Clifton Doc With Randomly Doling Out Large Doses Of Oxy, Xanax, More Feds Charge Clifton Doc With Randomly Doling Out Large Doses Of Oxy, Xanax, More
Feds Charge Clifton Doc With Randomly Doling Out Large Doses Of Oxy, Xanax, More A Clifton orthopedic surgeon was charged by federal authorities with prescribing high doses of addictive opioid painkillers to patients who abused, sold or otherwise didn't need them. Evangelos Megariotis, 68, prescribed Oxycodone, Xanax, cough syrup with codeine and stimulants “outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Megariotis, who owned and operated Clifton Orthopedic Associates, already has been banned by the state from ever again practicing medicine or prescribing drugs in New Jersey. State au…
Feds: Hit Man From Philly Admits Committing Murder-For-Hire For NJ Political Operative Feds: Hit Man From Philly Admits Committing Murder-For-Hire For NJ Political Operative
Feds: Hit Man From Philly Admits Committing Murder-For-Hire For NJ Political Operative A Philadelphia resident admitted Wednesday that he was one of the two hit men paid by a onetime New Jersey political operative to kill a former associate. Bomani Africa, 61, who has a criminal history that includes convictions for robbery and drug-related crime, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder for hire via videoconference with a federal judge in Newark, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger announced. People immediately began wondering who the hired killers were after Sean Caddle, 44, admitted on Tuesday that he paid them to whack Michael Galdieri, the son of forme…
Feds: NJ Military Vet Charged With Child Porn Trafficking Feds: NJ Military Vet Charged With Child Porn Trafficking
Feds: NJ Military Vet Charged With Child Porn Trafficking A U.S. Army veteran who most recently trained soldiers at New Jersey's McGuire Air Force Base was arrested there by federal agents for trafficking child porn, authorities said. Brian J. Crann, 37, who's been with the military more than a decade, "transmitted a video and two images of child sexual abuse to another individual using an account on an instant messaging mobile application" this past weekend, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Crann "also transmitted a non-pornographic image of himself with a minor who appeared to be the same victim depicted in the images and v…