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Wednesday, dec 11
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Mail Fraud
Police & Fire
Teaneck Tax Preparer Got $1.43M For Himself, $40M For Clients In COVID Scam: Indictment
A Teaneck tax preparer illegally collected $1.43 million for himself and $40 million for clients from the IRS by purposefully exploiting COVID-related credits that neither he nor they were entitled to, a federal indictment alleges. Leon Haynes, 50, was originally arrested on a criminal complaint last July. The investigation leading to the charges continued before a grand jury in Newark. The result: a 55-count indictment for tax evasion, preparing false returns, aggravated ID theft and mail fraud, authorities said. Haynes fraudulently sought more than $150 million from the IRS by claim…
Police & Fire
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…
Police & Fire
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…
News
Love At First Site: Ex-NJ Couple, Nigerian Wingman Charged In $4.5M Cyberfootsies Scam
A former New Jersey couple and a Nigerian national scammed more than 100 lonely hearts out of $4.5 million in an elaborate online romance scheme, federal authorities charged. Martins Inalegwu, 34, of Philadelphia and Steincy Mathieu, 26, of Brooklyn cooked up the plot with Moses Chukwuebuka Alexander and several of his Nigerian brethren, an indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges. Together, they trolled online dating and social media sites for willing marks, whom they “wooed with words of love” on the phone and in emails, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. T…
News
Bergen Man Admits Conning Seniors Out Of $1.6M While Awaiting Sentencing For Similar Scam
A Bergen County man admitted in federal court that he ran a mail-fraud scheme that conned senior citizens out of more than $1.6 million while awaiting sentencing for his role in a similar fraud, authorities said. Ryan Young, 40, of Upper Saddle River, had pleaded guilty in February 2018 to participating in a large-scale international mail-fraud scheme that fleeced victims of $50 million. The scammer sent fraudulent prize notification letters to victims in the U.S. and other countries falsely claiming that they’d won money or valuable prizes, such as luxury cars, federal authorities said. V…
News
'Love Psychic' Convinced Client To Mail $90M In Jewels To Paramus, Federal Court Docs Say
A precious, pink, 13.15-carat diamond from Qatar was among the $90 million worth of jewelry that a New Jersey relationship psychic convinced a client to swipe in his quest for love, court papers say. John Lee, who has a mailing address on Route 17 in Paramus, met his alleged victim on a website called Purple Garden, where he posed as a "love expert" under the username 1111Giovanni1111, federal prosecutors said in court papers filed in Florida. Lee, of Davenport, FL, convinced his victim — who worked for a wealthy individual in Qatar — to send him jewelry to be cleansed of bad spirits in Jun…
News
Amtrak Worker Gets 18 Months Without Parole For Selling Stolen Agency Equipment
UPDATE: A now-former Amtrak employee from the Jersey Shore was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for selling hundreds of chainsaws and chainsaw parts that he stole from the agency. Jose Rodriguez, 49, of Brick, will have to serve out the entire sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Rodriguez had collected 114 chainsaws, 122 chainsaw replacement bars and 222 replacement chains worth more than $76,000 before he was caught, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. He sold the items through online auction and directly to buyers, using the U.S. Postal Serv…
News
NJ Feds: California Gal Admits Running $9.9 Million Counterfeit Coupon Scam
UPDATE: A California woman admitted in federal court in New Jersey that she created and sold more than $9.9 million worth of counterfeit coupons used at retail stores throughout the country. Using the name “Mandy Carr,” Tong Lor printed Carolina coupons with fake bar codes for household items such as diapers, laundry detergent, and toiletries and then mailed them to customers nationwide, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Lor, 34, of Modesto sold the counterfeit coupons via invitation-only Internet groups associated with her businesses: Mandy’s Treasure Box, Mandy's Knitting …
Police & Fire
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…
News
South Jersey Doc Goes To Federal Prison For Forging $500,000 Worth Of Employer's Checks
A South Jersey doctor was sentenced Monday to two years in federal prison for stealing more than $500,000 from his previous employer and using it to pay his bills. Walter Sytnik, 35, of Voorhees, forged checks for five years from checks he stole from the medical practice where he worked as a bookkeeper before going to medical school, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Sytnik also opened and maintained credit card accounts at the same banks as the doctor at the medical practice, then forged the doctor’s signature on the stolen checks and paid his credit card bills with them, Sellinger s…
News
Ex-Amtrak Worker From NJ Admits Stealing, Selling Agency Equipment
UPDATE: For more than eight years, a now-former Amtrak employee from the Jersey Shore collected chainsaws and chainsaw parts from the agency, then sold them and kept the money. Federal authorities eventually caught on to Jose Rodriguez, 49, of Brick, then got a conviction for mail fraud. Hired in October 2007, Rodriguez worked as a senior engineer and repairman at Amtrak's North Brunswick facility, authorities said. Five years later, Rodriguez admitted in federal court, he began gathering equipment under the false pretense that they'd be used for company projects. Before he was caught in …
News
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 …
News
Postage
Scam
: Brothers Who Co-Owned Bergen E-Commerce Company Admit Cheating Gov't Out Of $3M
Two brothers who co-owned a Bergen County e-commerce company admitted short-changing the government by more than $3 million in postage by altering hundreds of thousands of labels intended for envelopes and slapping them on outbound packages. Jack Koch, 44, of Elmwood Park, and Steven Koch, 43, of Pompton Lakes, owned Fresh N Clear, a high-volume business that sold various household items online that were shipped o customers via the Postal Service, federal authorities said. Over the course of several months in 2020, the company bought 240,471 USPS Priority Mail postage labels, “almost all fo…
News
Long Island Man, 79, Charged in $13M 'Cash Prize' Mail Scam That Duped Seniors Nationwide
A 79-year-old Long Island man and two accomplices scammed mostly elderly victims out of $13 million through a pair of bogus "cash prize" direct-mail scams, federal authorities charged. Hundreds of thousands of mailings claimed the victims were "specially chosen" to receive a large cash prize, the government said. All they had to do was pay a "fee" of from $20 to $40 to collect their prize, a federal indictment says. Many unfortunately fell for it, authorities said. The indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn names Shawn Phillips, 52, of British Columbia, Canada, as the ring…
News
Feds: PA US Golf Worker Resold US Open Tickets Worth $3.4M For Profit
A Pennsylvania man employed by the United States Golf Association was charged with federal fraud for reselling U.S. Open tickets worth $3.4 million for profit, authorities said. Robert Fryer, 39, of Perkasie, is accused of stealing more than 23,000 U.S. Open admission tickets for the 2013 U.S. Open held at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, PA, and continuing through the 2019 U.S. Open held at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, CA, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. He sold those tickets to third-party ticket brokers in return for …
News
Grandparent Scam: Here’s How Pair From PA, NY Stole $300,000 From Elderly Victims Across US
At least 50 elderly victims across the United States were conned out of more than $300,000 by a ring of grandparent scammers who included a Pennsylvania woman and New York City man who confessed in federal court. Jacqueline Velazquez, 37, of Reading, and Daniel Duran, 33, of Queens played key roles in the phone and email-based scheme, Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. Here’s how it worked, Williams said: Co-schemers based in the Dominican Republic called elderly victims throughout the U.S. Posing as a grandchild, or the grandchild’s attorney, they claimed they’d been j…
News
Ex-Newark Police Officer Goes To Fed Pen For 9 Years For Kickback Scheme
A former Newark police officer is headed to federal prison for the next nine years for paying kickbacks to a corrupt official for a private security contract. Janell Robinson, 45, of Newark must serve just about all of the entire sentence because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Jurors in U.S. District Court in Newark convicted Robinson last February of conspiring in a massive corruption scheme with Linda Watkins Brashear, the former executive director of the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corporation (NWCDC). The NWCDC provided water to half a million New Jer…
News
Feds Charge Jersey Shore Pain Management Doc With Massive $24.6M Billing Fraud
A Jersey Shore pain management doctor accused of running a $24.6 million fraud scheme billed insurance plans for more than 24 hours worth of services in a single day no fewer than 900 times, federal authorities said Monday. Morris Antebi, 68, of Long Branch, also billed Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance companies frequently on dates when travel records show he was overseas -- including trips to China, Israel, Turkey, the Dominican Republic and across Europe – and at other times when he was otherwise out of state, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Antebi, who specializes in pain ma…
Police & Fire
Feds: NJ Couple's Online Dating Scam Costs Those Looking For Love $6 Million
A married South Jersey couple orchestrated an online dating scam that wooed victims out of more than $6 million, federal authorities said. Martins Friday Inalegwu, 31, and his wife, Steincy Mathieu, 24, both of Burlington County’s Maple Shade, employed several accomplices – many of them living in Nigeria – to romance victims online and then take their money, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito said. After making initial contact through dating and social media sites with phony identities, the thieves struck up what appeared to be romantic relationships with the victims either throug…
Police & Fire
Fed Jurors Convict Ex-Newark Police Officer Of Paying Kickbacks For No-Show Security Contract
Federal jurors in Newark convicted a former city police officer on Monday of paying kickbacks to a corrupt official for a no-show private security contract. Janell Robinson, 42, of Newark, was the ninth and final defendant convicted in a scheme to siphon money from the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corporation (NWCDC). Jurors deliberated for two hours before finding Robinson guilty of conspiring in a massive corruption scheme with Linda Watkins Brashear, the former executive director of the NWCDC, which provided water to half a million New Jersey residents before it was clos…
Police & Fire
Feds: Edgewater Man Collected $1.7M In Fake Insurance Claims To Courier Companies
He used some famous aliases – including the names of a late Italian film director and a current Turkish soccer goalie – but it eventually caught up to an Edgewater man who federal authorities said collected $1.7 million in bogus insurance claims to courier companies. Over the course of nearly three years, Enrico DiCaprio, 57, used the aliases “Sergio Leone” and “Hakan Arikan,” among others, to submit thousands of bogus claims that items shipped by two international courier delivery services were lost, damaged or stolen, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. They weren’t, the U.S. attorney sai…
Police & Fire
Morris Assisted Living Manager Admits Stealing Elderly Patient’s $237,000 For Cars, Rent, More
The business manager of a Morris County assisted living facility admitted Wednesday that she stole $237,000 from an elderly patient and used it to buy fine clothing, jewelry, cars and more. Marcella Drakeford, 46, of Jensen Beach, FL, also paid her rent and utilities, as well as bills for dental work with the victim’s money, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito added. Drakeford -- formerly of Hackensack and Englewood -- got limited access to the victim’s checking account after agreeing in December 2016 to manage her financial affairs and pay for her care, the U.S. attorney said. What neither the …
Police & Fire
Park Ridge Businessman Gets 61 Months In Fed Pen For Conning Toys R Us, Other Company Of $3M
A Park Ridge con man was sentenced Wednesday to 61 months in federal prison for using shell companies and phony invoices to scam both an international company he worked for and Toys R Us, where his now-deceased ex-wife had worked, out of $3 million. Philip Charles de Gruchy, 64, admitted conspiring to commit mail fraud and subscribing to false individual and corporate tax returns in U.S. District Court in Newark in March. de Gruchy, 64, was married at the time to Barbara Brown, an administrator with Toys R Us in Wayne who authorities said steered a contract to CEM Direct Marketing — a ficti…
Police & Fire
Feds: Montvale Tax Preparer Collected Returns Using Dead Man's ID
SADDLE RIVER, N.J. – A tax preparer from Montvale used a dead man's identity and a Las Vegas P.O. box to illegally collect refunds from the IRS -- while he was already awaiting trial on charges of helping scam the government out of more than $1.6 million, a federal grand jury charged. Federal agents early Friday arrested 53-year-old Wayne Dunich-Kolb after a grand jury in Newark returned a new 29-count indictment accusing him of filing bogus tax returns, stealing client refunds and committing identity theft “in connection with refunds stolen from a deceased taxpayer,” U.S. Attorney Craig Car…
Police & Fire
Park Ridge Businessman Admits Conning Toys R Us, Other Company Of $3M
UPDATE: A Park Ridge con man was sentenced Wednesday to 61 months in federal prison for using shell companies and phony invoices to scam both an international company he worked for and Toys R Us, where his now-deceased ex-wife had worked, out of $3 million. https://pascackvalley.dailyvoice.com/police-fire/park-ridge-businessman-gets-61-months-in-fed-pen-for-conning-toys-r-us-other-company-of-3m/741930/ ****** ORIGINAL STORY: A Park Ridge con man admitted Wednesday that he used shell companies and bogus invoices to scam an international company he worked for and Toys R Us, where his now-dec…
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