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Police & Fire
Ex-NJ Corrections Officer's Crypto Scam Targeted Police, Firefighters, EMTs: Authorities Ex-NJ Corrections Officer's Crypto Scam Targeted Police, Firefighters, EMTs: Authorities
Ex-NJ Corrections Officer's Crypto Scam Targeted Police, Firefighters, EMTs: Authorities A retired New Jersey corrections lieutenant preyed on his peers with a cryptocurrency scheme that cost participating police, firefighters, EMTs, and other first responders more than $620,000, state and federal authorities said. John DeSalvo, 47, of Linwood, also pulled a $100,000 investment scam that authorities said went to covering his credit card bills, day trading in cryptocurrencies and payments to a contractor who handled a luxury bathroom renovation for him. DeSalvo -- who worked for the New Jersey Department of Corrections for 13 years before retiring in 2010 -- created and promote…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Number Of Victims Of Repeat Sex Trafficker Reaches Four In NJ, PA, Authorities Charge UPDATE: Number Of Victims Of Repeat Sex Trafficker Reaches Four In NJ, PA, Authorities Charge
Update: Number Of Victims Of Repeat Sex Trafficker Reaches Four In NJ, PA, Authorities Charge The number of alleged victims of a paroled sex trafficker from New Jersey has reached four, federal authorities said. Amin Sharif, 48, of Newark had been free for a year after serving nearly a decade in federal prison when he returned to pimping women and girls, authorities said. Federal agents seized Sharif on sex trafficking charges in January 2022, and have held him since then, while continuing an ongoing investigation that produced an indictment that cites the additional victims. Sharif "used several social media platforms and profiles to recruit women and minors to engage in sex acts…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
LOTTERY LOSERS: South Jersey Scammer Admits Laundering $4M From Innocent Victims LOTTERY LOSERS: South Jersey Scammer Admits Laundering $4M From Innocent Victims
Lottery Losers: South Jersey Scammer Admits Laundering $4M From Innocent Victims A South Jersey man admitted laundering more than $4 million from victims who were tricked into thinking they'd won the lottery. Pablo Estrada, 26, of Florence, received the proceeds through various scams over the course of 2½ years, including one in which victims received an unexpected notification that they'd won a large sum in a lottery, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. They were required to pay fees and expenses, however, before their winnings could be released, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey said. Many fell for the scheme, Sellinger said. Estrada dumped the money into va…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Burglar With Hit List Of Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA, DE Gets 50 Months In Federal Prison Burglar With Hit List Of Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA, DE Gets 50 Months In Federal Prison
Burglar With Hit List Of Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA, DE Gets 50 Months In Federal Prison UPDATE: A member of a second-story crew who targeted Asian and Asian-American homeowners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware for burglaries was sentenced to a plea-bargained four years and two months in federal prison, authorities said. Randi Barr, 42, of Union County, NJ, was part of a group that worked from a hit list of dozens of homes based on “stereotype and opportunity,” federal authorities said. Local, state and federal law enforcement authorities who teamed up to smash the ring found notes in the defendants’ cars that had the home addresses of individuals of Asian des…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paterson Man, 27, Gets 15½ Years, No Parole, For Having Girl, 11, Send Him Sex Pics Paterson Man, 27, Gets 15½ Years, No Parole, For Having Girl, 11, Send Him Sex Pics
Paterson Man, 27, Gets 15½ Years, No Parole, For Having Girl, 11, Send Him Sex Pics UPDATE: A Paterson man who posted a graphic video of a child being sexually assaulted and then convinced an 11-year-old girl to send him naked photos of herself must spend at least 15 years in federal prison. Jose Minaya, 27, has to serve just about all of the plea-bargained 186-month sentence approved by a U.S. District Court judge in Newark because there's no parole in the federal prison system. He also must remain under lifetime supervised release and register as a sex offender under the terms of a deal he cut with the government. Minaya “used a web-based application to engage an 1…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Teaneck Tax Preparer Busted By IRS In $32.6 Million COVID Fraud Teaneck Tax Preparer Busted By IRS In $32.6 Million COVID Fraud
Teaneck Tax Preparer Busted By IRS In $32.6 Million COVID Fraud A tax preparer from Teaneck was arrested Monday for illegally collecting more than $1 million for himself and $31.6 million for clients in tax refunds by filing fraudulent returns with the government, federal authorities said. Leon Haynes, 49, sought $124.8 million combined from the IRS in nearly 1,400 bogus tax formers that he filed claiming COVID-related employment tax credits, said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger and Acting Deputy U.S. Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg. "Based on Haynes’ false claims about his own companies, the U.S. Treasury mailed him multiple tax re…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
South Jersey Man, 71, Takes Plea Deal After Philly FBI Finds 45,000 Child Porn Files South Jersey Man, 71, Takes Plea Deal After Philly FBI Finds 45,000 Child Porn Files
South Jersey Man, 71, Takes Plea Deal After Philly FBI Finds 45,000 Child Porn Files A 71-year-old South Jersey man admitted collecting child pornography, federal authorities said. FBI agents reported finding more than 45,000 "videos and images of children being sexually abused" on electronic devices seized during a court-approved search of the Collingswood home of Robert Giles in April 2022, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Rather than risk the consequences of a trial, Giles took a deal from the government, pleading guilty this past week in U.S. District Court in Camden to possession of child pornography, Sellinger said. Chief U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb s…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Convicted Child Porn Collector Admits Gathering More While In NJ Federal Prison Convicted Child Porn Collector Admits Gathering More While In NJ Federal Prison
Convicted Child Porn Collector Admits Gathering More While In NJ Federal Prison Daniel Baldwin still had 3½ years to go on his 10-year federal prison sentence for a child porn conviction when corrections officers found an SD card hidden in his clothes. Now there's no telling how long it'll be before he tastes freedom again. Officers at the Federal Correctional Institution at Fort Dix in Lakehurst, NJ, examined the memory card in June 2022 and found hundreds of images and videos of child abuse, including depictions of prepubescent minors, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Rather than risk the potential consequences of a trial, took a deal from the government. He…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Man Who Recorded Oral Sex From Girl Between 5-8 Years Old Gets 20 Years, No Parole Jersey Shore Man Who Recorded Oral Sex From Girl Between 5-8 Years Old Gets 20 Years, No Parole
Jersey Shore Man Who Recorded Oral Sex From Girl Between 5-8 Years Old Gets 20 Years, No Parole A Jersey Shore man who recorded himself sexually assaulting a girl between 5 and 8 years old is headed to federal prison for 20 years. Christian Importuna, 27, of Englishtown, must serve out the plea-bargained sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. FBI agents zeroed in on Importuna when he tried trading the videos with what turned out to be an undercover detective in March 2020, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. One of the videos shows a very young girl giving him oral sex in response to his instructions, a complaint on file in U.S. District Court says. In …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paroled NJ Bank Robber Threatened 'Mass Shooting' At One Bank, Bomb At Another: FBI Paroled NJ Bank Robber Threatened 'Mass Shooting' At One Bank, Bomb At Another: FBI
Paroled NJ Bank Robber Threatened 'Mass Shooting' At One Bank, Bomb At Another: FBI A convicted bank robber failed to hold up a bank in Elizabeth by threatening a "mass shooting" and then succeeded at another in Springfield by placing a device in front of a teller that he said was a bomb, federal authorities said. Sufyan A. Abdullah, 54, of Newark, handed the teller in the first bank a note on July 8 "claiming to have multiple firearms and threatening a 'mass shooting'," U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. He left empty-handed, the U.S. attorney said on Thursday, July 20. Abdullah, formerly of Paterson, entered the second bank on July 15 and "placed an object which he…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
South Jersey Ex-Con Gets 25 Years Without Parole For Drug, Weapons Convictions: Feds South Jersey Ex-Con Gets 25 Years Without Parole For Drug, Weapons Convictions: Feds
South Jersey Ex-Con Gets 25 Years Without Parole For Drug, Weapons Convictions: Feds A Trenton-area ex-con who served time for drug and weapons convictions is headed to federal prison for 25 years. Timothy “Young Money” Wimbush, 33, will have to serve out just about all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Wimbush rejected a plea offer from the government after he was caught armed and dealing during a gun war in Trenton. Taking his chances with a jury, he was convicted in October 2021 of selling and conspiring to sell heroin and possessing a firearm and ammo as a convicted felon. That led to a 300-month prison sentence handed down by…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: It's 30 Years With No Parole For NJ Dad, 62, Who Made, Shared Child Rape Streams, Videos Feds: It's 30 Years With No Parole For NJ Dad, 62, Who Made, Shared Child Rape Streams, Videos
Feds: It's 30 Years With No Parole For NJ Dad, 62, Who Made, Shared Child Rape Streams, Videos UPDATE: A 62-year-old New Jersey father of three must spend the next 30 years in a federal penitentiary with no opportunity for parole for producing and sharing live streams and videos of children being sexually assaulted – some of them by him. Antonio Del Prado of Millburn must serve out the entire plea-bargained sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton also sentenced him to 10 years of supervised release. Del Prado theoretically would have to live into his 90s to ever breathe free air again -- and into his 100s before the gove…

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by Jerry DeMarco