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High-Living Ex-Bergen Stockbroker Arrested By IRS For Ducking $4.3M In Taxes, Feds Say High-Living Ex-Bergen Stockbroker Arrested By IRS For Ducking $4.3M In Taxes, Feds Say
High-Living Ex-Bergen Stockbroker Arrested By IRS For Ducking $4.3M In Taxes, Feds Say A disgraced stockbroker from Bergen County was arrested Thursday by IRS agents who said he lived the high life while shortchanging Uncle Sam $4.3 million. Jason Kronick, 48, of Woodcliff Lake made headlines after he was fired from one job for alleged “unauthorized trading and unauthorized positions,” then resigned from after allegedly omitting $330,000 in judgments against him on his job application. Kronick, who eventually filed for bankruptcy, earned $20 million during tax years 2008 through 2010, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said Thursday. Honig said Kronick: used roughly $1.…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ Man Convicted In $1.3M 'Mortgage Recovery' Scheme NJ Man Convicted In $1.3M 'Mortgage Recovery' Scheme
NJ Man Convicted In $1.3M 'Mortgage Recovery' Scheme A South Jersey man was convicted in federal court for his role in a scheme to defraud the IRS of more than $3 million. Jurors in U.S. District Court in Camden agreed that John Barry Jr., of Pemberton and accomplices in New York and elsewhere doctored tax returns that helped clients eliminate outstanding mortgage debts by claiming that a substantial amount of taxes had already been withheld. In exchange, Barry collected 20 to 35 percent of the refunds and split the money with his co-conspirators, federal prosecutors said. (Barry also didn’t file his own 2016 return or report any of his ill-…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Feds: Sussex Man Admits Spending $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Vehicle, More Feds: Sussex Man Admits Spending $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Vehicle, More
Feds: Sussex Man Admits Spending $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Vehicle, More A Sussex County man who was seized by federal agents as he tried to board a flight to Pakistan admitted fraudulently collecting $5.6 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic business loans that he put to personal use, authorities said. Azhar Sarwar Rana, 30, of Newton, used the money -- designed to keep struggling small businesses afloat during the pandemic – to millions in the stock market, make a payment to a luxury car dealership and send hundreds of thousands of dollars to accounts in Pakistan, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Rana submitted an application for a stimulus loan und…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Mailman Admits Stealing, Cashing Checks From Hackensack, Maywood, Leonia Residents Mailman Admits Stealing, Cashing Checks From Hackensack, Maywood, Leonia Residents
Mailman Admits Stealing, Cashing Checks From Hackensack, Maywood, Leonia Residents A postal carrier admitted Thursday that he stole and cashed checks sent to customers on his routes in Hackensack, Maywood and Leonia. Juan Torres, 28, of Hackensack told a federal judge in Newark via teleconference that he deposited more than $27,000 in stolen checks – including one for $1,505 -- into a bank account that he controlled, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents and investigators got wise to him, however, she said. Rather than face a trial, Torres took a deal from the government, pleading guilty to bank theft in exchange for leniency. …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Hudson Doctor's Employee Admits Role In $24.8M Kickback Scheme Hudson Doctor's Employee Admits Role In $24.8M Kickback Scheme
Hudson Doctor's Employee Admits Role In $24.8M Kickback Scheme UPDATE: Dominoes continued to fall in the federal takedown of a $24.8 million kickback scheme when a Jersey City woman who worked for a local doctor took a plea deal. Yudelka “Vicky” Ayala, 42, admitted conspiring with six co-defendants associated with the now-defunct Prime Aid Pharmacy in Union City to boost prescription sales through kickbacks and bribes to health care professionals in New Jersey and New York. Prime Aid, which also had a location in the Bronx, processed expensive medications used to treat various conditions, including Hepatitis C, Crohn’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Man Admits Using Postal Workers, Students To Steal, Forge COVID Stimulus Checks NJ Man Admits Using Postal Workers, Students To Steal, Forge COVID Stimulus Checks
NJ Man Admits Using Postal Workers, Students To Steal, Forge COVID Stimulus Checks A Union County man admitted recruiting postal service employees to steal federal COVID stimulus checks and then paying high school students to help cash them, authorities said. Tashon Ragan, 21, of Hillside was among a group of thieves associated with a group called “The Members” who paid US Postal Service employees in cash to steal credit cards and blank checkbooks from the mail, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. They then “forged the signatures of the accountholders and negotiated the checks by making them payable to individuals,” Honig said. Some were New Jersey high school st…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Bergen Exec From Passaic County Admits $91.5 Million Bank Fraud, Questions Remain Bergen Exec From Passaic County Admits $91.5 Million Bank Fraud, Questions Remain
Bergen Exec From Passaic County Admits $91.5 Million Bank Fraud, Questions Remain Now that an executive of a Glen Rock property management company has admitted his role in a $91.5 million loan fraud, questions remain about an "unnamed co-conspirator." Barton Schack, 65, of Ringwood, told a federal judge in Newark this week that he helped the other participant fraudulently secure a massive commercial mortgage loan by lying about how many tenants were in a network of medical office buildings used as collateral and how much rent they’d paid, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. The pair then pocketed millions of dollars in rent from the properties -- which …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Newark Bizman: I Laundered $23M For Dominican Drug Network Newark Bizman: I Laundered $23M For Dominican Drug Network
Newark Bizman: I Laundered $23M For Dominican Drug Network A Newark man admitted that he laundered $23 million for a Dominican drug network while awaiting trial for doing it before. Edwin Deleon-Batista, 37, told a federal judge in Newark that he collected huge amounts of cash from drug sales in New Jersey, New York, and Florida and converted them to cashier’s checks at local banks. Deleon-Batista was free on bond for federal money laundering charges following his arrest in New York in April 2019, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachel A. Honig said. Soon after, he “began using a stolen identity and obtained a fraudulent Florida driver’s licen…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Morris County Contractor Who Cheated IRS Out Of $261,758 Gets 18 Months In Fed Pen Morris County Contractor Who Cheated IRS Out Of $261,758 Gets 18 Months In Fed Pen
Morris County Contractor Who Cheated IRS Out Of $261,758 Gets 18 Months In Fed Pen A Morris County contractor must serve 18 months in federal prison before he'll be eligible for release for cheating on his taxes, authorities said. Roger Magill, 51, of Wharton, cashed business checks from his businesses -- Reliable Construction (also known as Reliable Paving) and and Hackensack Pavers (also known as Hackensack Paving) -- using a bogus identity at several check-cashing businesses, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachel A. Honig said. He then deposited the cash into accounts without reporting it to the IRS, evading $261,758 in personal income taxes in the process, Honig said. Rather t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ Tax Preparer Gets 5 Years In Fed Pen For $1.6M IRS Scam NJ Tax Preparer Gets 5 Years In Fed Pen For $1.6M IRS Scam
NJ Tax Preparer Gets 5 Years In Fed Pen For $1.6M IRS Scam A twice-convicted tax preparer who helped New Jersey clients scam the IRS out of $1.6 million is headed to federal prison for the next five years. Joseph Kenny Batts, 52, of Elkridge, MD became the third of five men sentenced for preparing bogus tax returns at Tax Pro’s and Tax Solutions & Associates in Essex and Union counties. Batts, who already had a federal tax fraud conviction on his record, was the only one of the group to go to trial. U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp convicted him of conspiracy to defraud the United States, as well as five counts of aiding in preparing fals…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ Contractor Admits Using Check Casher To Duck $1.7M In Federal Taxes NJ Contractor Admits Using Check Casher To Duck $1.7M In Federal Taxes
NJ Contractor Admits Using Check Casher To Duck $1.7M In Federal Taxes A Union County contractor admitted cheating the federal government out of $1.7 million in personal and corporate income taxes. Olger Fallas, 49, of Union, told a U.S. District Court judge in Newark via videoconference this week that he used a check-cashing business to pocket payments form customers to his Essex County companies, Olger Fallas Painting and Olger Fallas Properties. He also admitted depositing hundreds of thousands of dollars in customer payments into bank accounts that weren’t associated with either business. Rather than go to trial, Fallas accepted a deal from the governmen…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: NJ Tax Preparer From PA Pocketed Stimulus Check Before Indictment For False Returns Feds: NJ Tax Preparer From PA Pocketed Stimulus Check Before Indictment For False Returns
Feds: NJ Tax Preparer From PA Pocketed Stimulus Check Before Indictment For False Returns A Pennsylvania man who worked as a tax preparer in Newark collected a fat stimulus check weeks before a federal grand jury indicted him for filing 44 bogus returns, authorities said. Rather than go to trial, Sylvain Dienhoue, 53, of Tobyhanna pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns during a video-conferenced hearing with a federal judge in Newark. Dienhoue, who owned and operated Cadi’s Multi Services, used “fabricated and inflated figures, including expenses and itemized deductions,” in order to generate inflat…

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by Jerry DeMarco