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Company Hired To Replace 18,000 Lead Pipes In Newark Faked Work, Billed For It Anyway: Feds
Two people hired by the City of Newark to replace 18,000 lead pipes are facing federal charges after they intentionally left the pipes in the ground, hid them from officials, and then collected payment for work that they didn't properly perform, federal officials said.
Michael Sawyer, 57, of Burlington, and Latronia "Tee" Sanders, 55, of Roselle, are each charged by complaint with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, US Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said (click here for the complaint).
Citing charging documents, NJ Advance Media says JAS Group Enterprise Inc. (JAS), the company in which Sa…
Woman Charged With Selling $18M In Bogus Coupons Downloaded In NJ: Feds
A San Antonio, TX, woman was arrested and charged with selling more than $18 million worth of counterfeit coupons used at various retail stores across the United States — including New Jersey — for the purchase of household items, federal officials said.
From June 2020 through June 2024, Janet Bernal — who goes by the names Rocky, Rocky G, Rocky Gee, and RockyG-Kruella — orchestrated a scheme to produce and sell fraudulent, counterfeit coupons for use by purchasers at retail stores throughout the United States, including large pharmacies and grocery stores, U.S. Attorney Philip R. …
Pair Convicted In Worldwide Ransomware Attacks, Victimizing NJ Residents: Feds
Two foreign nationals pleaded guilty and were convicted on Thursday, July 18 to participating in the LockBit ransomware group and to deploying attacks on computer systems in New Jersey and worldwide, authorities said.
LockBit was described as "one of the most destructive ransomware groups in the world," by U.S. Justice Department officials.
Ruslan Magomedeovic Astamirov, 21, a Russian national from the Chechen Republic and Mikhail Vasiliev, 34, from Bradford, Ontario, a dual citizen in Canada and Russia, pleaded guilty to participating in the LockBit ransomware group that targeted critical …
Controller From NJ Who Embezzled $2.37M From Madison Avenue Firm Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen
UPDATE: A controller from Middlesex County was sentenced to more than two years in federal prison for embezzling $2.37 million from his Madison Avenue employer.
Gerard Beauzile, 63, South Plainfield, conducted an elaborate, long-running scheme to issue bogus checks to himself that he then deposited into his bank account, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Beginning a decade ago and continuing through the end of 2020, Beauzile admitted issuing 140 checks to himself from the Manhattan-based company, which offers news, analysis, research and data for the "global energy industry," accordin…
Feds: Crooked Bookkeeper Admits Embezzling $900G From Restaurants In NJ, NY, PA (Update)
A bookkeeper from New Jersey admitted in federal court that he embezzled more than $900,000 from restaurants he worked for in the Garden State, New York and Pennsylvania, authorities said.
Richard Winter, 53, of Pompton Lakes authorized bank wire transfers from some of them, pocketed vendor payments to others and issued checks payable to cash that he then deposited into his own bank accounts, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Sellinger said.
Winter serviced the clients' accounts payable through a company he created called Back Office Pro, a complaint on file in federal court in Newark say…
Feds: NJ Woman, 77, Embezzles $1M In Benefits Intended For Aunt Who Died In 1998
For the past 25 years, a South Orange woman has fraudulently collected more than $1 million in federal benefits intended for her dead aunt, authorities charged.
Janis Miller -- who is now 77 years old -- even went as far as trying to impersonate her aunt in a phone conversation with a Social Security worker, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
However, she couldn’t come up with her aunt’s exact birthdate – just an approximation, he said.
The embezzlement scheme came apart after that.
Miller was brought before a federal judge in Newark on Thursday, Dec. 21, and was released on a $100,0…
Garfield Man Conned Buddy Out Of $1.5M To Blow At Casinos, Fund Restaurant: Feds
A New Jersey man who admitted to conning a friend out of $1.5 million on a fake investment scheme in Boston to fund his restaurant and casino vacations will serve 18 months in prison, authorities announced.
Edwin Tavarez, 48, of Garfield, N.J., pleaded guilty to wire fraud in May and was sentenced on Monday, Dec. 18, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. He must also repay the $1,515,836 million he stole.
Tavarez conned a decades-long friend into "investing" in an industrial property in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, authorities said. Tavarez told his friend they …
NJ Man Who Cashed Dead Brother's Social Security Checks For 16 Years Heads To Federal Prison
An Essex County man who collected $237,000 in Social Security benefits for a brother who’d actually been dead for 16 years is headed to federal prison.
Silvano Chable, 54, of Irvington, applied for the benefits in 2000 on behalf of his brother, who’d been paralyzed in a car crash, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
His brother collected checks for 10 months before dying in May 21, 2001, the U.S. attorney said.
Rather than notify the Social Security Administration, Chable continued collecting – and cashing – the monthly benefit checks until late 2017, Sellinger said.
Chable took a ple…
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…
NJ Biz Owner Admits 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 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 complaint …
NJ's Billy McFarland Wants You To Live With Him As He Plans Fyre Festival 2 — No, Seriously
Billy McFarland is still trying to make Fyre Festival happen.
McFarland, who was raised in Short Hills, is planning Fyre Festival 2 in the Hamptons in August, and he's letting someone witness the craziness firsthand.
Fyre Festival 1 very much did not go as planned.
In a video posted to social media platforms on Thursday, July 20, McFarland said he is offering eight people the chance to live with him for two weeks in August as he plans Fyre Festival 2.
"You'll be there for all the crazy buildup, for the jet skis, the flights, the actual event itself, and of course the afterparty," McFarla…
Mastermind Of Historic $175M Psychic Mail Scam Convicted, Feds Cite More Than 1M Victims
The mastermind of a mass-mailing scam that stole $175 million from more than a million victims, most of them elderly or ailing, was convicted by a federal jury in New York City.
Patrice Runner, a 57-year-old Canadian and French citizen, directed a ruthless psychic mail scheme for over two decades, beginning in 1994, the jurors found.
It was one of the largest -- if not the largest -- scam of its kind ever, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday, June 16, in announcing the verdict reached a day earlier on Long Island.
Runner sent mailings to millions of Americans that claimed t…
