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Alleged Russian Ransomware Mastermind Extradited From South Korea To Maryland
A Russian national accused of running a global ransomware operation that extorted more than $16 million from victims worldwide has been extradited from South Korea to Maryland to face federal charges, authorities announced.
Evgenii Ptitsyn, 42, is charged with operating and administering the sale, distribution, and deployment of the notorious Phobos ransomware, which targeted over 1,000 public and private organizations globally, including schools, hospitals, and critical infrastructure.
Ptitsyn made his first appearance in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland earlier this …
Founder Of LGBTQ+ Non-Profit In DC Pleads Guilty To Fraud After 'Unexpected Return' To US: Feds
The trailblazing founder of Casa Ruby, a DC-based non-profit that had provided services to the LGBTQ+ community admitted to stealing at least $150,000 in COVID relief funds and stashing it in Central America for her personal use, authorities announced
Ruby Corado, 53, pleaded guilty on Wednesday in US District Court to diverting the taxpayer-backed emergency funds to private off-shore bank accounts, which then was used for her own gain.
She was charged in March with bank fraud, wire fraud, laundering of monetary instruments, monetary transactions in criminally derived proceeds, and fai…
'Bitcoin Beautee' In MD Admits To Role In $1.89B Cryptocurrency Fraud Scheme
A Maryland woman went under the name of “Bitcoin Beautee” during her role alongside two others in a Cryptocurrency fraud scheme that netted more than $1.89 billion, she admitted in US District Court on Monday, Jan. 29.
Brenda Chunga, 43, of Severna Park, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud for her role as a promoter of HyperFund, also known as HyperTech, HyperCapital, HyperVerse, and HyperNation, US Attorney Erek Barron announced.
The plea came just four days after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Sam Lee, 35, an Australian citizen…
Shady Concert Venue Operator, Bar Owner Sentenced For Bribing DC Tax Official: Feds
Two men are heading to prison for their roles in separate conspiracies to evade tax obligations through bribes to a former DC Office of Tax and Revenue employee.
Andre De Moya, 51, of Temple Hills, and District resident Davoud Jafari, 72, will possibly spend years behind bars for their respective roles in multi-year schemes, federal authorities announced on Thursday.
Specifically, De Moya was sentenced to 30 months in prison, while Jafari was hit with 24 months for their roles in the schemes.
In both schemes, the bribe payments and communications were facilitated by middleman Anthony Merri…
Man Returned $300K Of Items To Home Depots That He Never Paid For, Including MD Stores: Feds
A Connecticut man is accused of ripping off nearly $300,000 from more than two dozen Home Depot stores across eight states, including Maryland, authorities said.
Henrique Costa-Mota, age 26, of West Hartford, is charged with conspiracy and wire fraud in the scheme that he allegedly ran from June 2021 until February 202, the US Attorney for Rhode Island said.
Costa-Mota is accused of going to Home Depot locations across the Northeast dressed as a contractor. He would walk in empty-handed, take several doors from the back of the store, and then "return" them to a customer service …
Maryland Man Admits To Conning Customers Out Of $2.1M By Substituting Dirt, Debris For Scrap
The owner of a New Jersey-based scrap metal company told a customer that dirt and debris found packed into a container shipped to Korea that was supposed to hold aluminum scrap was a mistake, authorities said.
Turns out it wasn’t.
Creed White, 64, of Freeland, Maryland, admitted in federal court in Camden, NJ, this week that he scammed a dozen or so businesses out of more than $2 million, authorities said on Thursday, Aug. 3.
Using the name “Dan Stein,” White contacted one of the victims through an Internet message board on behalf of his Camden-based company American Scrap company, a compl…
Fraudster Admits To Posing As Bail Bondsman As Part Of $840K Elder Fraud Scam In Maryland
Authorities announced that a 64-year-old man has admitted to his role in an $800,000 elder fraud scam where he targeted victims in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and the surrounding regions.
Michael Odell Anderson, 64, of Crystal Beach, Florida, and Dun Lorring, Virginia, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in relation to his participation in an elder fraud scam, the Department of Justice announced this week.
Between April 2020 and December 2020, officials said that Anderson conspired with others to persuade elderly victims to give them thousands of dollars u…
Four Face Federal Indictment In Maryland For $3M Covid-19 Fraud Scheme
Four Maryland residents are facing federal indictment for a CARES Act COVID-19 unemployment fraud scheme that saw over $3 million in losses, officials say.
Three of the suspects had an initial court appearance in Baltimore on Thursday, July 21, while the fourth was scheduled to appear on Friday, July 22 in Florida.
Those facing charges:
Tyshawna Davis, 38, of Gwynn Oak;
Donna Jones, 55, of Cockeysville;
Devante Smith, 27, of Hanover;
Tila Woods, 44, of Baltimore.
From June 2020 through May 2021, the four used the identification information of their victims to fraudulently obtain une…
Romanian National In Maryland Sentenced For Stealing $1M Meant For Religious Institutions
A Romanian national will spend years in prison after scheming to steal thousands of checks from religious institutions in Maryland and across the East Coast worth more than $1 million, federal authorities announced.
Marius Vaduva, 27, of Hollywood, FL, was sentenced to 42 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, the US Department of Justice said.
In addition to his prison sentence, Vaduva was also ordered to pay $1,334,230.84 in restitution.
Sentencing was by Theodore Chuang, US District Judge in the District of…
