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U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito

Clifton Trader Sent To Federal Prison For $17 Million Market Manipulation Scheme Clifton Trader Sent To Federal Prison For $17 Million Market Manipulation Scheme
Clifton Trader Sent To Federal Prison For $17 Million Market Manipulation Scheme A securities trader from Clifton was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in federal prison for orchestrating a market manipulation scheme that netted him and others more than $17 million, authorities said. Joseph Taub, 41, must serve the entire term because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez also sentenced Taub via teleconference from Newark to one year of supervised release, while ordering him to forfeit $17.1 million and pay restitution of $394,424 to the IRS. The Department of Justice also has reached a settlement of a civil forfeiture ca…
Hudson Medical Office Manager From Bergen Admits Stealing $840,000 In Insurance Payments Hudson Medical Office Manager From Bergen Admits Stealing $840,000 In Insurance Payments
Hudson Medical Office Manager From Bergen Admits Stealing $840,000 In Insurance Payments A Wyckoff man admitted pocketing more than $840,000 in health insurance reimbursement payments to the North Bergen pain management clinic he managed. Nuno Fernandez, 38, told a federal judge in Newark via teleconference that he began stealing some of the checks sent to the medical office by “endorsing them in his own name and depositing them into his personal bank account using an application on his mobile telephone,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. He continued doing it over the next four years, he admitted. Rather than go to trial after being caught by the FBI, Fernandez accepted a …
Bergen County Con Artist Admits Funding Lavish Lifestyle With $5M Of Other People’s Money Bergen County Con Artist Admits Funding Lavish Lifestyle With $5M Of Other People’s Money
Bergen County Con Artist Admits Funding Lavish Lifestyle With $5M Of Other People’s Money A Bergen County con man admitted duping lenders and corporations out of nearly $5 million that he used to live the high life. Matthew O’Callaghan, 43, of Upper Saddle River told a federal judge in Newark via video conference that he “impersonated two bank executives interested in funding syndicated loans for global companies,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Referring to himself as “Edward Tierney” and “Michael Nash,” O’Callaghan submitted several bogus documents to the victim while using email addresses that appeared legitimate, false email signature blocks for the aliases that bo…
COVID-19: Feds Nab Fleeing Sussex Man Accused Of Pocketing $5.6M Small Biz Pandemic Loan COVID-19: Feds Nab Fleeing Sussex Man Accused Of Pocketing $5.6M Small Biz Pandemic Loan
Covid-19: Feds Nab Fleeing Sussex Man Accused Of Pocketing $5.6M Small Biz Pandemic Loan A Sussex County man who collected $5.6 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic loans that he wasn't entitled to was about to board a flight to Pakistan when federal agents arrested him, authorities said. Azhar Sarwar Rana, 30, of Newton, took the money -- designed to keep struggling small businesses afloat during the pandemic – and invested millions in the stock market, made a payment to a luxury car dealership and sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to accounts in Pakistan, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Rana submitted an application for a stimulus loan under the federal Paycheck Prote…
Jersey Shore 'Patient Broker' Gets 13 Months For Bribing Drug Users Into Out-Of-State Rehab Jersey Shore 'Patient Broker' Gets 13 Months For Bribing Drug Users Into Out-Of-State Rehab
Jersey Shore 'Patient Broker' Gets 13 Months For Bribing Drug Users Into Out-Of-State Rehab A Jersey Shore man was sentenced today to 13 months in federal prison for bribing drug addicts to enroll in rehab centers as far away as California in order to collect kickbacks for himself. Peter J. Costas, 27, of Red Bank, took a deal from the government rather than go to trial, pleading guilty via teleconference with a federal judge in Newark this past May to conspiring to commit health care fraud in exchange for the sentence. He’ll have to serve just about all of his sentence because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Costas paid some addicts several thousand dollars to us…
NJ Feds: Oxy Doc Admits Trading Drugs For Sex NJ Feds: Oxy Doc Admits Trading Drugs For Sex
NJ Feds: Oxy Doc Admits Trading Drugs For Sex A Staten Island doctor who saw patients from New Jersey admitted deliberately keeping some of them hooked by trading opioids for sex, federal authorities said. Joseph Santiamo, 65, “knowingly prescribed dangerous quantities of oxycodone – and, even more egregiously, solicited sexual favors from certain patients” in exchange for writing them additional opioid scripts, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Wednesday. Although he specialized in geriatric care, many of Santiamo's patients were "well under 40 years old" and "dealing with pain and addiction,” Carpenito said. Others didn’t even have…
Feds Arrest Oakland Teen On Child Porn Trafficking Charges Feds Arrest Oakland Teen On Child Porn Trafficking Charges
Feds Arrest Oakland Teen On Child Porn Trafficking Charges An Oakland teen was arrested by federal agents Tuesday on child porn trafficking charges. A federal magistrate judge in Newark released Nicholas Corsale-Althawabta, 19, on $100,000 on unsecured bond following a video-conferenced first appearance Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Corsale-Althawabta “used an internet-based application to distribute multiple graphic videos depicting the sexual abuse of minors,” Carpenito said. “Law enforcement officers discovered numerous videos of child sexual abuse on Corsale-Althawabta’s electronic devices when he was arrested at his h…
Feds: Ridgefield Park Man Admits Role In Major Mortgage Fraud Feds: Ridgefield Park Man Admits Role In Major Mortgage Fraud
Feds: Ridgefield Park Man Admits Role In Major Mortgage Fraud A Ridgefield Park man admitted his role Thursday in a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Dennys A. Tapia, 54, took a deal from the government, pleading guilty to a single count of conspiring to commit bank fraud, rather than go to trial. Tapia and a number of unnamed co-conspirators produced bogus lease agreements, bank statements, pay stubs and employment verifications that secured mortgage loans for unqualified property buyers, as well as a “straw” borrower who participated in the scheme, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. A lender “issued a…
Escaped AC Bank Robber From Philly Headed Back To Fed Pen Escaped AC Bank Robber From Philly Headed Back To Fed Pen
Escaped AC Bank Robber From Philly Headed Back To Fed Pen A convict who escaped from a South Jersey halfway house after serving 10 years of a 12½-year federal prison sentence for robbing an Atlantic City bank was sent back to the slammer on Thursday. Gary Mitchell, 60, forfeited 14 months of "good time" credit, which he must now serve, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Mitchell entered a Commerce Bank branch on North Pennsylvania Avenue in July 2007, handed a teller a note that said "I have a gun" and demanded all hundreds before fleeing with $1,300, authorities said. Captured by the FBI two months later, Mitchell took a plea deal from the gove…
NJ Bookkeeper From NY Gets Two Years In Fed Pen For Inflating His Payroll By $500,000 NJ Bookkeeper From NY Gets Two Years In Fed Pen For Inflating His Payroll By $500,000
NJ Bookkeeper From NY Gets Two Years In Fed Pen For Inflating His Payroll By $500,000 A New York man who worked as an office manager and bookkeeper for a Union County company is headed to federal prison for two years for inflating his payroll information by nearly $500,000, authorities said. Over the course of about three years, Patrick Snoop, 35, of Monroe in Orange County, NY, “used his position to fraudulently inflate his salary on several occasions by providing falsified information to a payroll company used by his employer,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. The unauthorized changes cost his company $494,373, Carpenito said. Snoop pleaded guilty to wire fraud before …
NJ COVID-19 Scammer Pocketed $1.8M In Taxpayer-Funded Rescue Loans, Feds Charge NJ COVID-19 Scammer Pocketed $1.8M In Taxpayer-Funded Rescue Loans, Feds Charge
NJ Covid-19 Scammer Pocketed $1.8M In Taxpayer-Funded Rescue Loans, Feds Charge A North Jersey businessman fraudulently secured nearly $2 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic loans he wasn't entitled to, then diverted the money into accounts held by family members, including his young children, federal authorities charged. Rocco A. Malanga, 48, of Hackettstown, “used a variety of false statements to fraudulently obtain approximately $1.8 million in federal COVID-19 emergency relief funds meant for distressed small businesses,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Thursday. He then diverted the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) money to “accounts under the control of his …
Englewood Swindler Admits Conning Families Out Of $1.5M In Cosmetics Company Scheme Englewood Swindler Admits Conning Families Out Of $1.5M In Cosmetics Company Scheme
Englewood Swindler Admits Conning Families Out Of $1.5M In Cosmetics Company Scheme A former Englewood resident admitted in federal court that he scammed three investors out of $1.5 million with a bogus cosmetics company. Matthew Benjamin, 53, used the money instead for car and house rental payments, food, international travel, legal fees, technology equipment and summer camp tuition for family members, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito 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 sell to another, Carpenito…
Union County Man Caught With More Than 7,000 Child Porn Files Gets 7+ Years In Fed Pen Union County Man Caught With More Than 7,000 Child Porn Files Gets 7+ Years In Fed Pen
Union County Man Caught With More Than 7,000 Child Porn Files Gets 7+ Years In Fed Pen A Union County man found with more than 1,000 videos and 6,000 or so images of child pornography was sentenced Wednesday in Newark to more than seven years in federal prison. Nicholas Pecil, 33, of Rahway, "used a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to download and share videos and images of child sexual abuse," U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Special agents with the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations found the more than 7,000 images during a warranted search of his home in May 2017, Carpenito said.Pecil took a plea deal rather than going to trial, admitting that he made the files…
Feds: Paroled Jersey Shore Child Porn Collector Does It Again Feds: Paroled Jersey Shore Child Porn Collector Does It Again
Feds: Paroled Jersey Shore Child Porn Collector Does It Again A convicted Jersey Shore child porn collector was caught doing it again, federal authorities said Monday. Andrew Ramey, 34, of Brick, began trafficking images of "child sexual abuse and child pornography" via the BitTorrent Network in March, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Monday. A raid of Ramey's home on Friday turned up "multiple images and videos containing images of child sexual abuse, as well as BitTorrent software," on his cellphone, Carpenito said. Ramey, who already had a federal conviction for child porn possession, was arrested on charges of possession and distribut…
Man Admits To NJ, NY Bank Robbery Spree Man Admits To NJ, NY Bank Robbery Spree
Man Admits To NJ, NY Bank Robbery Spree An Essex County man on Friday admitted to a bank robbery spree across New York and New Jersey. Myron Anderson, 40, of Newark, pleaded guilty to five counts of bank robbery and two counts of Hobbs Act robbery before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said in a statement. The robberies occurred between October 2018 and January 2019. Anderson admitted to the following bank robberies: Myron Anderson admitted to the above bank robberies.U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito In each robbery, Anderson walked into the banks with a hat pulled down closely over his eyes to…
Feds: Essex County Dad Directed Livestreamed Child Rape Feds: Essex County Dad Directed Livestreamed Child Rape
Feds: Essex County Dad Directed Livestreamed Child Rape Federal agents on Tuesday raided the home of a Millburn father who they said directed a live stream of a child being sexually assaulted. A federal judge in Newark ordered Antonio Del Prado, 59, detained without bail following his arrest by Homeland Security Investigations agents, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Authorities initially discovered 56 images and 18 videos of child sexual abuse that Del Prado is accused of uploading to a cloud, Carpenito said. They then learned that he’d “actively participated in the production of child sexual abuse by giving instructions to another individu…
Edgewater Man Gets 7 Years In Fed Pen For Plot To Traffic 20 Kilos Of California Coke Edgewater Man Gets 7 Years In Fed Pen For Plot To Traffic 20 Kilos Of California Coke
Edgewater Man Gets 7 Years In Fed Pen For Plot To Traffic 20 Kilos Of California Coke An Edgewater man must spend the next seven years in federal prison for scheming to truck nearly 45 kilos of cocaine from California to New Jersey. Irving Olivero-Pena, 48, was the last of three men sentenced after all admitted that they gave a courier $549,950 to bring to California to buy the drugs. Authorities in California seized the cash and kept the drug shipment from leaving the state, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Also striking deals with the government were Robert Crawford, 45, of Long Island City, NY, who was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in July 2015, and Melvin F…
Englewood Cliffs Man Gets 14 Years In Fed Pen For $7.8M Law Firm Swindle, Huge Cocaine Deal Englewood Cliffs Man Gets 14 Years In Fed Pen For $7.8M Law Firm Swindle, Huge Cocaine Deal
Englewood Cliffs Man Gets 14 Years In Fed Pen For $7.8M Law Firm Swindle, Huge Cocaine Deal An Englewood Cliffs man was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison Friday for a pair of high-priced schemes – one to steal $7.8 million from two high-powered law firms where his wife was a partner and another to traffic more than 44 pounds of cocaine. Both Melvin Feliz, 54, and Keila Ravelo, 55, previously admitted that they’d formed two limited liability companies that purported to provide litigation support for Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Hunton & Williams -- but, in fact, didn't. Ravelo, who’d been a partner with both firms, approved invoices submitted by her husband. …
Atlantic City Man Gets 6½ Years In Fed Pen For $2.5 Million Tax Fraud Atlantic City Man Gets 6½ Years In Fed Pen For $2.5 Million Tax Fraud
Atlantic City Man Gets 6½ Years In Fed Pen For $2.5 Million Tax Fraud An Atlantic City man was sentenced to 6½ years in federal prison for running a $2.5 million “mortgage recovery” tax scam. Kenneth Crawford Jr. will have to serve just about all of the sentence because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. The judge also ordered him to serve three years of supervised release and pay $1,393,511 in restitution to the United States. Crawford led a ring that obtained refunds from the IRS for clients who were facing foreclosure or behind on their mortgage payments and weren’t entitled to them, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Crawford and his accom…
Feds: Agents Find More Victims Of Elizabeth Pimp Who Beat, Raped Out-Of-State Escorts Feds: Agents Find More Victims Of Elizabeth Pimp Who Beat, Raped Out-Of-State Escorts
Feds: Agents Find More Victims Of Elizabeth Pimp Who Beat, Raped Out-Of-State Escorts For several years, an Elizabeth man lured out-of-state escorts to New Jersey with promises of tens of thousands of dollars for sex and then choked, raped and threatened them, federal authorities charged. FBI agents captured Jose Torres, 43, after finding four victims but suspected there were more. They were right. Two more travelled from New York to New Jersey to work for Torres as prostitutes, an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Newark this week says. Torres met the escorts through websites such as EROS, Erotic Monkey, Tryst and Backpage, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said.…
Feds: Englewood Bagman, 23, Helped Launder Millions For Mexican-Based Drug Ring Feds: Englewood Bagman, 23, Helped Launder Millions For Mexican-Based Drug Ring
Feds: Englewood Bagman, 23, Helped Launder Millions For Mexican-Based Drug Ring An Englewood bagman was busted by federal agents for his role in laundering more than $5 million for a Mexican-based drug organization, authorities said Wednesday. DEA agents watched as Ramfis Minaya, 23, gave an accomplice $100,000 in drug proceeds outside his home on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. He later emerged with another bag stuff with $100,000 in cash and was taken into custody, Carpenito said. Armed with a search warrant, agents found $5 million stashed at Minaya's apartment, according to a complain on file in U.S. District Court in Newark. Minaya, an unemployed fo…
Feds: Flier From DR Tries Smuggling 4½ Pounds Of Coke Into Newark Feds: Flier From DR Tries Smuggling 4½ Pounds Of Coke Into Newark
Feds: Flier From DR Tries Smuggling 4½ Pounds Of Coke Into Newark A traveler flew to Newark Airport from the Dominican Republic with 4½ pounds of cocaine hidden in his clothes, authorities said. Screeners nabbed Leandre Kemont Jefferson, 23, of Denver, after he arrived in Newark from Puerta Playa on Friday, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Jefferson had two kilos of cocaine “concealed inside of 12 vacuum packed bags, which were themselves wrapped in foil, and which was further concealed inside of clothing,” Carpenito said. Jefferson was scheduled for a video-conferenced first appearance Monday afternoon before a U.S. magistrate judge in Newark. Carpe…
Paramus Man Charged With Threatening To Kill Federal Judge Paramus Man Charged With Threatening To Kill Federal Judge
Paramus Man Charged With Threatening To Kill Federal Judge A Paramus man threatened to kill a federal judge whose address he bought online, said authorities who arrested him. William Kaetz, 56, mailed a message to the judge’s house last month asking that a case he had pending be expedited, asking that the judge be recused and saying that the “excessive delay” was “unacceptable to him,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Less than a week later, Kaetz left a voicemail telling the judge the case should have been decided weeks ago, that he “wanted the judge off his cases and off the bench, and adding that he “would not take ‘no’ for an answer,” the U.…
Feds: Two NJ Bloods Subset Leaders Nabbed With Pounds Of Fentanyl, Heroin Feds: Two NJ Bloods Subset Leaders Nabbed With Pounds Of Fentanyl, Heroin
Feds: Two NJ Bloods Subset Leaders Nabbed With Pounds Of Fentanyl, Heroin An investigation into drug trafficking in Monmouth and Middlesex counties and elsewhere led to the arrests of two reputed ranking Bloods gang members, federal authorities said Friday. Leonard “Clap” Wade, 49, of New Brunswick, and Ezra “Doonka” Strong, 30, of Brick, remained in federal custody, charged with conspiring to sell nearly a pound of fentanyl and nearly four ounces of heroin. Wade also is charged with being a convicted felon in possession of ammo, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Authorities have seized nearly two pounds of the lethal fentanyl, along with 1½ pounds of heroin, …
Passaic County Pair Bagged $80,000 In Back-To-Back Bank Robberies Passaic County Pair Bagged $80,000 In Back-To-Back Bank Robberies
Passaic County Pair Bagged $80,000 In Back-To-Back Bank Robberies Two men nabbed by the FBI following bank robberies in Passaic and Little Falls just weeks apart were indicted by a federal grand jury in Newark. Nicholas Ortiz, 37, of Paterson, and Jose Soto, 49, of Passaic, have remained in federal custody since their March arrests for robbing a PNC branch in Passaic of $35,000 and a Valley National Bank in Little Falls of $45,000. One of them pointed a silver and black gun at customers and employees at the Main Street Valley National branch in Little Falls on Feb. 27, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. The other then "jumped over a teller counter …
BUSTED! Feds Charge NJ Postal Carrier With Dumping Election Ballots BUSTED! Feds Charge NJ Postal Carrier With Dumping Election Ballots
Busted! Feds Charge NJ Postal Carrier With Dumping Election Ballots Federal authorities on Wednesday arrested a postal carrier from Kearny who they said dumped 1,875 pieces of mail -- including general election ballots and campaign flyers – instead of delivering them. Nicholas Beauchene, 26, was nabbed by special agents of the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General after a Saddle Brook man reported finding dumped bundles of mail in a dumpster behind a North Arlington bank. Beauchene tossed 1,875 pieces of mail – including 99 general election ballots destined for residents in West Orange and 276 campaign flyers from local candidates for West Orang…
Mailman Charged With Stealing, Cashing Checks From Hackensack, Maywood, Leonia Residents Mailman Charged With Stealing, Cashing Checks From Hackensack, Maywood, Leonia Residents
Mailman Charged With Stealing, Cashing Checks From Hackensack, Maywood, Leonia Residents A postal carrier from Hackensack stole and cashed checks sent to customers on his route in town, in Leonia and in Maywood, said federal authorities who arrested him Wednesday. Juan Torres, 27, deposited the money into a bank account he controlled, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Torres was scheduled for a first appearance via videoconference Wednesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor in Newark. Special agents with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General have charged him with mail theft and bank fraud. Carpenito credited the agents and postal inspector…
Hudson 'Runner' In $3.5M Accident Insurance Fraud Scheme Gets Year And Day In Federal Prison Hudson 'Runner' In $3.5M Accident Insurance Fraud Scheme Gets Year And Day In Federal Prison
Hudson 'Runner' In $3.5M Accident Insurance Fraud Scheme Gets Year And Day In Federal Prison A Hudson County man is headed to federal prison for a plea-bargained year and a day for recruiting accident victims for an insurance fraud racket that racked up $3.5 million in bogus medical bills. Luis G. Aguirre, 57, of Kearny admitted in March that he worked as a “runner,” steering accident victims to various chiropractors, medical imaging centers and others who billed PIP insurance plans for medically unnecessary services. Health care providers gave Aguirre $500 in cash for each victim he delivered, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Aguirre and an employee from an auto body shop…
Feds: Essex County Man Shared Child Sex Abuse Videos Feds: Essex County Man Shared Child Sex Abuse Videos
Feds: Essex County Man Shared Child Sex Abuse Videos An Essex County man trafficked child sex abuse videos, said federal authorities who arrested him this week.Mauricio Calderon, 49, of Belleville had several of the images on devices at his home when federal Homeland Security agents arrested him,  U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Calderon shared "multiple graphic videos depicting the sexual abuse of minors" using an app, Carpenito said.He also "publicly posted in a chatroom multiple videos depicting the sexual abuse of children and also sent links that redirected to web-pages containing child pornography," the U.S. attorney said. …
SURPRISE! NYC Man Sent Penis Pics, Drove To NJ Motel For Sex With Underage 'Girl,' Feds Charge SURPRISE! NYC Man Sent Penis Pics, Drove To NJ Motel For Sex With Underage 'Girl,' Feds Charge
Surprise! NYC Man Sent Penis Pics, Drove To NJ Motel For Sex With Underage 'Girl,' Feds Charge Federal agents arrested a Bronx man who they said drove nearly 75 miles Wednesday to a South Jersey motel for what he thought would be sex with a 13-year-old girl after sending “her” penis pics. Eduardo Silva, 42, didn’t know that he’d actually been texting and chatting online with an undercover federal agent and not an underage girl, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito. Silva asked whether the purported minor was “into older guys” while “discussing his intent to travel and engage in sexual activity” after reaching out on a social media app, Carpenito said. “He also sent sexually explicit images…
Indictment: Union City Man Pressured Child Into Sending Sex Pics, Then Shared Them On Facebook Indictment: Union City Man Pressured Child Into Sending Sex Pics, Then Shared Them On Facebook
Indictment: Union City Man Pressured Child Into Sending Sex Pics, Then Shared Them On Facebook A Union City man who authorities said pressured a child into sending him sexually explicit images that he then shared on Facebook was indicted by a federal grand jury in Newark. Ramon Zelaya, 36, also “used Facebook to conspire with an individual in the Dominican Republic to sexually abuse the individual’s minor child, create images of that abuse and send the images to Zelaya, who then distributed the images among various Facebook accounts he controlled,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Zelaya, “representing himself as a teenaged boy, used Instagram communications to persuade a child to…