Tag:

Aggravated identity theft

NJ Attorney Awaits Sentence For Pocketing $2M From Client's Offshore Account, More NJ Attorney Awaits Sentence For Pocketing $2M From Client's Offshore Account, More
NJ Attorney Awaits Sentence For Pocketing $2M From Client's Offshore Account, More UPDATE: A once-prominent attorney from Jersey City is awaiting sentencing after admitting in federal court that he swindled a family he represented out of $2 million and then committed another crime while on pretrial release. The family had retained James R. Lisa, 68, to gather millions that had been moved into offshore bank accounts by relatives decades ago and to resolve any tax issues that arose as a result, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Soon after being retained, he moved more than $6 million back into the United States but told the family the funds still remained offshore, th…
Prominent NJ Attorney Stole $2M From Family's Offshore Bank Account, Feds Charge Prominent NJ Attorney Stole $2M From Family's Offshore Bank Account, Feds Charge
Prominent NJ Attorney Stole $2M From Family's Offshore Bank Account, Feds Charge A prominent attorney from Jersey City went to great lengths to swindle $2 million from a family he represented, federal authorities charged. The family had retained James R. Lisa, 67, to gather millions that had been moved into offshore bank accounts by relatives decades ago and to resolve any tax issues that arose as a result, they said. Soon after being retained, he moved more than $6 million back into the United States but told the family the funds still remained offshore, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Lisa kept them waiting for two years before giving them $4 million while cl…
NJ Scammer Admits Selling Bogus Tom Brady Super Bowl Rings NJ Scammer Admits Selling Bogus Tom Brady Super Bowl Rings
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…
NJ Man Busted By FBI For Selling Bogus Tom Brady Super Bowl Rings NJ Man Busted By FBI For Selling Bogus Tom Brady Super Bowl Rings
NJ Man Busted By FBI For Selling Bogus Tom Brady Super Bowl Rings A New Jersey man admitted posing as a former New England Patriots player in order to buy and sell specially made Super Bowl rings that he claimed were given to Tom Brady's family as gifts, federal authorities charged. Scott V. Spina Jr., 24, of Roseland ordered three replica Super Bowl LI rings engraved with the name "Brady," then sold them to an auction house for $100,000, receiving a significant profit, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said in a release. One ring reportedly sold for more than $337,219 at an auction. Spina took a deal from the government …
Feds: Wyckoff Man Busted Using Dead Brother's Identity To Get COVID Relief Loan Feds: Wyckoff Man Busted Using Dead Brother's Identity To Get COVID Relief Loan
Feds: Wyckoff Man Busted Using Dead Brother's Identity To Get COVID Relief Loan A Bergen County man stole his dead brother’s identity to get a $150,000 COVID economic disaster loan, said federal authorities who arrested him Thursday. Nathanael Zimmerman, 40, of Wyckoff also orchestrated a mortgage fraud scheme among applicants for Federal Housing Administration-FHA insured loans, submitting bogus bank statements and collecting a portion of the proceeds, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. The loans defaulted and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development lost more than $300,000, she said. Last year, Zimmerman used his deceased brother’s personal iden…
Feds Pursue Bank Accounts, Mansion Bought By Bergen Lawyer With $9M In COVID Relief Funds Feds Pursue Bank Accounts, Mansion Bought By Bergen Lawyer With $9M In COVID Relief Funds
Feds Pursue Bank Accounts, Mansion Bought By Bergen Lawyer With $9M In COVID Relief Funds Federal authorities have moved to seize 11 bank accounts, an investment account and a million-dollar Cresskill home bought by a Cliffside Park lawyer accused of scamming lenders out of $9M intended for small businesses crippled by COVID-19. Jae H. Choi, 48, got the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds from three lenders on behalf of non-existent businesses that he claimed provided educational services, an indictment returned by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Newark alleges. Choi fabricated the existence of hundreds of employees, manipulated bank and tax records, and falsified a d…
Feds: Ring In NJ, NY Used GPS To Track Vehicles Before Stealing, Reselling Them Online Feds: Ring In NJ, NY Used GPS To Track Vehicles Before Stealing, Reselling Them Online
Feds: Ring In NJ, NY Used GPS To Track Vehicles Before Stealing, Reselling Them Online FBI agents arrested the ringleader of a Newark-based, multi-state ring whose members attached GPS devices to vehicles to determine where and when it was easiest to steal them, authorities said. Members of the ring run by Warren Guerrier, 43, of Newark “scouted out vehicles at apartment complexes, hotels, or shopping centers in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Wednesday. They then photographed desired vehicles – mostly older Honda or Acura models -- and attached GPS trackers so they map out where the owners went with them, he sai…
Feds: Middlesex County ID Thief Forged, Cashed $211,887 US Treasury Check Feds: Middlesex County ID Thief Forged, Cashed $211,887 US Treasury Check
Feds: Middlesex County ID Thief Forged, Cashed $211,887 US Treasury Check A Middlesex County identity thief collected $211,887 by forging a stolen U.S. Treasury check, federal authorities said Tuesday. Federal agents arrested Bernard Lopez, 40, of Sayreville, in Florida on Monday, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. They charged him with bank fraud, theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft. Lopez “used a victim’s Social Security number and business documents pertaining to a sham business that he had created to open a fraudulent bank account in that business’ name,” Carpenito said. He then altered a stolen U.S. Treasury check to be made payable to…
Bookkeeper Who Embezzled Nearly $1.6M From Florham Park Company Sentenced Bookkeeper Who Embezzled Nearly $1.6M From Florham Park Company Sentenced
Bookkeeper Who Embezzled Nearly $1.6M From Florham Park Company Sentenced A Philadelphia man was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for using PayPal to embezzle a huge amount of cash from his Florham Park employer, the U.S. Attorney for Eastern Pennsylvania said in a statement.  Peter Goodchild, 56, carried out the scheme for a decade beginning in 2005, when he opened an account using the electronic payment service in the name of his employer, QwikSource, a computer consultancy.   Goodchild, who was employed as a bookkeeper, transferred money from QwikSource to the PayPal account, then transferred the money again to a PayPal account belo…
Paterson 5 Admit Swiping $300,000 In Checks From Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex Mailboxes Paterson 5 Admit Swiping $300,000 In Checks From Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex Mailboxes
Paterson 5 Admit Swiping $300,000 In Checks From Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex Mailboxes Taking plea deals from the government, five Paterson men admitted stealing $300,000 in checks from mailboxes in Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex and Middlesex counties. Some “broke into mail collection boxes using pry bars, usually late at night…then fraudulently deposited them into various bank accounts, often within a day of being stolen,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Newark to conspiring to commit bank fraud: Ismael Alicea, Jr., 25; Yerrisson Garcia-Rodriguez, 23; Jerry Lake-Rodriguez, 25; Brayan Ulloa-Ulloa, 24. Johan Lake-Rodriguez, 26. …
Kenilworth Man Forced Business Owner To Take Bad Check At Gunpoint: Feds Kenilworth Man Forced Business Owner To Take Bad Check At Gunpoint: Feds
Kenilworth Man Forced Business Owner To Take Bad Check At Gunpoint: Feds A 29-year-old Kenilworth man who is accused of running credit card scams to finance a high-flying lifestyle faces a number of additional federal charges for allegedly forcing the owner of an online business to take a bad check and then pay him the amount in cash, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey said Tuesday.  Raymond Scura wrote at least one bad check to the business owner in February. When the owner demanded cash instead, Scura drove with him to a bank, where he pulled a gun. Scura then forced the business owner to provide him with his ATM PIN, punched in the number and deposited the …
Feds: Five Caught, One Sought In Thefts Of $300,000 In Checks From North Jersey Mailboxes Feds: Five Caught, One Sought In Thefts Of $300,000 In Checks From North Jersey Mailboxes
Feds: Five Caught, One Sought In Thefts Of $300,000 In Checks From North Jersey Mailboxes At least $300,000 in checks were stolen from mailboxes in Bergen, Passaic and other counties by a Paterson-based ring that immediately deposited them into bank accounts, said federal authorities who arrested five accused crew members and were searching for a sixth. Some “broke into mail collection boxes using pry bars, usually late at night…then fraudulently deposited them into various bank accounts, often within a day of being stolen,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Monday. Besides Bergen and Passaic, the defendants stole checks from U.S. Postal Service boxes in Morris, Essex and Middl…