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Purported Psychic Masterminded Scheme To Bilk Love-Struck Maryland Man Into $4M Scam: Feds Purported Psychic Masterminded Scheme To Bilk Love-Struck Maryland Man Into $4M Scam: Feds
Purported Psychic Masterminded Scheme To Bilk Love-Struck Maryland Man Into $4M Scam: Feds The purported psychic who masterminded an elaborate fraud, extortion, and money laundering scheme that resulted in a Maryland man embezzling more than $4 million from his DC employer will spend time in prison, federal authorities announced. Gina Rita Russell, 35, formerly of New York and Los Angeles, was sentenced to 125 months in prison following an elaborate scheme involving family members, one of whom threatened the Maryland man's young children. According to prosecutors, Russell met a New York woman and performed a psychic reading on her, convincing her that bad things would happen…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Five Arrested For Alleged Kidnapping, Assault Of Maryland Couple: State Police Five Arrested For Alleged Kidnapping, Assault Of Maryland Couple: State Police
Five Arrested For Alleged Kidnapping, Assault Of Maryland Couple: State Police Five Westminster residents have been arrested - with a sixth reportedly taken into custody - in connection to an alleged kidnapping and assault in Carroll County, state police say. Troopers launched an investigation on Tuesday, May 21 after responding to a home in Westminster to investigate a reported kidnapping after the mother of one of the victims reported to police that her daughter and daughter's boyfriend had been held captive. While investigating the case, state police were able to locate the man in a disabled vehicle in the parking lot of a Westminster restaurant, officials say, and…

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by Zak Failla
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Man's Brother Pretended To Be NY Mobster As Part Of $4M Embezzlement Scheme In MD/DC: Feds Man's Brother Pretended To Be NY Mobster As Part Of $4M Embezzlement Scheme In MD/DC: Feds
Man's Brother Pretended To Be NY Mobster As Part Of $4M Embezzlement Scheme In MD/DC: Feds Henry Hill immortalized the line "as far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster."  That mantra didn't work out well for a pair of brothers - one of whom pretended to be a New York mobster - to get a Maryland man to embezzle more than $4 million from his employer in Washington, DC.  New York native Corry Blue Evans, 31, has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in an elaborate fraud, extortion, and money laundering scheme that involved several other close-knit co-conspirators who worked to exploit the multi-million dollar scheme. The sentence comes y…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
'PlugwalkJoe' Admits Unprecedented Twitter Hack That Included Musk, Kardashian, Biden: Feds 'PlugwalkJoe' Admits Unprecedented Twitter Hack That Included Musk, Kardashian, Biden: Feds
'PlugwalkJoe' Admits Unprecedented Twitter Hack That Included Musk, Kardashian, Biden: Feds A 23-year-old British citizen who hacked the Twitter accounts of Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian and Bill Gates, among others, pleaded guilty in federal court to a host of related charges as part of a deal with the government. Joseph James O'Connor -- also known as "PlugwalkJoe" -- technically faces up to 77 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines but will likely get somewhere between 10 to 20 years when all is said and done. The Liverpudlian hacker admitted during a plea hearing in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday, May 9, that he committed one of the largest high-pro…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Maryland Man Sentenced For Posing As Teen Girl On Social Media To Entice Boys Maryland Man Sentenced For Posing As Teen Girl On Social Media To Entice Boys
Maryland Man Sentenced For Posing As Teen Girl On Social Media To Entice Boys A 25-year-old Maryland man who posed as a teenage girl on social media to exploit underage boys for illicit materials which he then sold for a profit has been sentenced to decades in prison. Baltimore resident Matthew K. Walsh, 25, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, followed by 30 years of supervised release for the sexual exploitation of a minor in order to produce child pornography.  Specifically, federal prosecutors say that Walsh created fictitious online profiles purporting to be a teenage girl to contact and induce underage boys between the ages of 12 and 17 to se…

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by Zak Failla
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MS-13 Gang Member Admits To Extorting Maryland Business Owners: DOJ MS-13 Gang Member Admits To Extorting Maryland Business Owners: DOJ
MS-13 Gang Member Admits To Extorting Maryland Business Owners: DOJ An MS-13 member in Maryland is facing up to 20 years in prison after admitting to extorting money from businesses to further the exploits of his gang, according to federal officials. Jilmer Hernandez-Alvarado, also known as “Toro,” 27, most recently of Hyattsville, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to extort business owners US District Attorney Erek Barron announced on Tuesday, Aug. 30.  
“La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13 gang, is an international criminal enterprise that is active throughout the United States, including in Maryland,” officials said.  MS-13 in Maryland is…

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by Zak Failla
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Fugitive Dubbed 'Real-Life Tony Soprano' Couldn't Hide From The Law, Even In Death Fugitive Dubbed 'Real-Life Tony Soprano' Couldn't Hide From The Law, Even In Death
Fugitive Dubbed 'Real-Life Tony Soprano' Couldn't Hide From The Law, Even In Death He was considered one of the last of the old-time mobsters, a "real-life Tony Soprano" listed as one of New Jersey's most wanted fugitives. Even six feet under, though, Tony Mota couldn't evade his pursuers. After eluding capture for nearly 25 years for a gruesome murder committed in Hudson County, Anthony Mota was found buried in the country where he was born, the Dominican Republic. Mota had been collecting debts for high-level Colombian drug dealers in New York City when he and a group of accomplices abducted a Queens man on Dec. 13, 1997, authorities said. The victim, 38-year-old …

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by Jerry DeMarco