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Thursday, nov 21
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Wire Fraud
News
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 …
News
Gina Rita Russell Convinced Maryland Man To Embezzle $4M
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…
News
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…
News
'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…
Police & Fire
Arlington Influencer Wanted By FBI Blames 'Naughty Americans' For Alleged Scam On Immigrants
A Brazilian influencer who federal officials said pretended to be an immigration lawyer to defraud clients out of nearly $700,000 says "naughty Americans" are actually the ones to blame. An indictment returned by a federal grand jury says 29-year-old Patricia De Oliveira Souza Lelis Bolin, of Arlington, posed as an immigration lawyer to help foreign clients obtain E-2 and EB-5 visas to the United States. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Patrícia Lélis (@patricialelis) The EB-5 program provides lawful permanent residency, and poss…
News
Wig-Wearing Identity Thief Who Trafficked Phony Oxy Pills In DMV Region Gets Time In DC
A Maryland man is heading to prison for his role in a wide-ranging drug trafficking conspiracy across the DMV region, federal authorities announced. Silver Springs resident Tyronn Waters was sentenced to 70 months in prison after pleading guilty in July to distributing fentanyl and wire fraud charges as part of an elaborate scheme. In August 2021, an investigation was launched into a drug trafficking ring running a fentanyl pill pressing operation in both DC and Maryland. According to prosecutors, the drugs included counterfeit Oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, produced using…
Police & Fire
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 …
Police & Fire
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…
News
Manhunt For Former Top Hogan Aide In MD Hits Week Three; $20K Reward Offered By Feds
Weeks after he skipped out on a scheduled fraud trial, federal officials are offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of Gov. Larry Hogan's former Chief of Staff Roy McGrath. A manhunt is underway by the US Marshals Services and other law enforcement agencies as they attempt to locate McGrath, 53, the former governor’s top aide, after he failed to make a scheduled court appearance on Monday, March 13. @USMSBaltimore has initiated an interstate fugitive investigation. It is now seeking to apprehend the former Maryland governor’s top aide after he failed to appe…
News
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…
News
Maryland 'Pastor' Convicted For Targeting Religious Investors In $28 Million Ponzi Scheme
A Maryland man has been convicted of operating a $28 million Ponzi scheme that promised victims personal wealth and financial freedom, authorities announce. Arley Ray Johnson, 63, convinced victims to invest in the company "1st Million", by holding promotional events at upscale hotels and event spaces, attending church-sponsored events, intending to target investments from churchgoers, and representing themselves as religious men more interested in the financial freedom of others than personal financial gain, according to the Department of Justice. Johnson and co-defendants Dennis Mbongeni …
News
Bucks Man Causes $1.5M In Damage Stealing Copper Wire From Old Power Plants To Resell: Feds
A 43-year-old Bucks County man has been charged with causing at least $1.5 million in damage to old power plants while stealing copper wire, authorities said. The crimes were allegedly committed at four coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania and Maryland, according to US Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero. Michael Garrison, of Croydon, PA, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to destroy an energy facility, eight counts of wire fraud, two counts of destruction of an energy facility, and one count of filing a false tax return, Romero said. S…
News
Former Maryland-Based Lawyer Accused Of Stealing Near $4M From Clients, Employees: DOJ
A California man has been charged after allegedly using funds owed to clients from his law firm in Prince George's County to pay for personal expenses, officials say. Matthew C. Browndorf, 51, was charged with four counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering arising from a scheme that defrauded clients more than $3.9 million. The licensed attorney was a partner at a California law firm as well as the CEO of Plutos Sama, LLC, a company organized in Delaware but principally located in California. Plutos Sama owned Prince George's County firm, BP Fisher Law Group LLP, prosecutors…
News
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…
News
Fired Baltimore PD Employee, Homicide Suspect Facing Federal Fraud Charges
A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging a fired Baltimore civilian police employee once eyed as a homicide suspect with stealing his defunct business' tax prepare's identity to try to get COVID relief money. Dana Lamar Antonio Hayes, Jr., 37, submitted several bogus Economic Injury Disaster Relief(EIDL) loan applications and several Paycheck Protection Plan(PPP) loan applications to the Small Business Administration and two banks between March 2020 and Oct. 2021, according to the Department of Justice. Hayes had been fired from his position as the chief of…
News
Maryland Governor's Former Chief Of Staff Charged With Falsifying Records In Federal Case
A former top official in the Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's administration is facing new charges for allegedly falsifying records in an attempt to defraud the government, federal authorities announced. Naples, Florida resident Roy C. McGrath, 52, who was initially appointed by the governor to serve as Executive Director of Maryland Environmental Service (MES) is facing fresh charges for alleged falsification of records tied to previous federal charges of wire fraud and theft. MES is a corporation owned by the State of Maryland to provide environmental services such as water and wastewater man…
News
Maryland Businessman Sentenced For $940K USPS Facilities Fraud Scheme
A Maryland businessman will spend more than a year behind bars for conspiring to commit wire fraud and overcharging the US Postal Service (USPS) for maintenance and repair services through his company. New Windsor resident Joseph Liberto, 47, has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, followed by 12 months of home detention and three years of supervised release for a wire fraud conspiracy in connection with his company’s contract to perform work at USPS facilities. The sentence was announced on Wednesday, June 15. According to his plea agreement, while president and co-owner of Sie…
News
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…
News
$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 …
News
Feds: NJ Steel Drum Company Owner Admits Conning MD Manufacturer Out Of $20M
The owner of a New Jersey-based steel drum wholesaler admitted he conned a Maryland-based manufacturer out of nearly $20 million, federal authorities said. Anthony P. Urcioli, Sr., 78, of Park Ridge, conspired with an employee of a New York company to produce bogus invoices for more drums than his Tunnel, Barrel & Drum Co, Inc. had delivered to the company's facility in Harford County, MD, U.S. Attorney for Maryland Erek L. Barron said. Urcioli, who's TBD's owner and president, split the excess funds he received with the employee -- who, in turn, gave 25% to a co-worker, Barron said. …
News
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…
News
Feds: Twins From Maryland Used Bogus $1M Loans To Trade Crypto, Buy Sports Car
A pair of twin brothers from Maryland are facing federal charges for fraudulently obtaining $1 million in COVID-19 loans, authorities announced. Jerry and Jaleel Phillips, 24, of Temple Hills, submit bogus Paycheck Protection Program loan applications (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster loan applications (EIDL), and unemployment insurance claims to get the money, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron said. The Phillips brothers created aliases, used the personal identifying information of real people, and used out of business or fake corporate entities to apply…
Police & Fire
NJ Scammer Admits Selling Bogus Tom Brady Super Bowl Rings
A 24-year-old New Jersey man pleaded guilty to fraud for pretending to be a New England Patriots player to buy and sell Super Bowl rings engraved with Tom Brady's last name, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday, Feb. 2. Scott V. Spina Jr., of Roseland, could face decades in prison when he's sentenced May 23, for charges of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft, authorities said. Spina's guilty plea comes one day after the quarterback announced his retirement after 22 seasons and seven Super Bowl titles. Spina ordered three replica Super Bo…
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