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US Department of Housing and Urban Development

Police & Fire
Bogus Bean Counter Gets 5 Years For $1.5M Scam That Targeted NJ Schools, Nonprofits, More Bogus Bean Counter Gets 5 Years For $1.5M Scam That Targeted NJ Schools, Nonprofits, More
Bogus Bean Counter Gets 5 Years For $1.5M Scam That Targeted NJ Schools, Nonprofits, More 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A Hoboken woman was sentenced to five years in federal prison for posing as an accountant to steal more than $1.5 million from nonprofits, private schools and religious institutions, among other victims across the state. Yezenia Castillo, 47, will have to serve at least 85% of her sentence -- a few months over four years -- because there's no parole in the federal prison system. From 2012 through 2021, Castillo "falsely claimed to be a CPA who could provide various financial and accounting services to non-profit organizations throughout New Jersey, including private schools and reli…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Bogus Bean Counter Admits Pilfering $1.5M From Non-Profits In Englewood, JC, Elsewhere In NJ Bogus Bean Counter Admits Pilfering $1.5M From Non-Profits In Englewood, JC, Elsewhere In NJ
Bogus Bean Counter Admits Pilfering $1.5M From Non-Profits In Englewood, JC, Elsewhere In NJ A Hudson County woman admitted posing as a certified public accountant to con more than 100 private schools, religious institutions and other non-profit organizations in New Jersey out of $1.5 million, federal authorities said. Among those scammed by Yezenia Castillo, 46, of Hoboken, were a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing affordable housing to Englewood residents and a private elementary and intermediate school in Jersey City, a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark says. Posing as a CPA, Castillo got hired “to provide various financial and accounting services" th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
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…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: North Jersey Landlord Had Sex With 13 Tenants In Exchange For Rent Relief Prosecutor: North Jersey Landlord Had Sex With 13 Tenants In Exchange For Rent Relief
Prosecutor: North Jersey Landlord Had Sex With 13 Tenants In Exchange For Rent Relief The owner of hundreds of rental units scattered across 18 residential properties in Elizabeth has been arrested and criminally charged with forcing more than a dozen of his tenants into sexual acts in exchange for financial relief, authorities said. Joseph Centanni, 73, of Mountainside, is charged with eight counts of second-degree sexual assault, one count of second-degree attempted sexual assault, and 14 counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact in connection with incidents taking place at various times from 2016 into 2020, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Ex-Jersey City School Board Prez, Jersey Shore Lawyer Charged In $113,000 Embezzlement Schemes Ex-Jersey City School Board Prez, Jersey Shore Lawyer Charged In $113,000 Embezzlement Schemes
Ex-Jersey City School Board Prez, Jersey Shore Lawyer Charged In $113,000 Embezzlement Schemes A former Jersey City school board president pulled off a series of embezzlement schemes that netted more than $110,000 with the help of a Jersey Shore attorney, federal authorities said. Sudhan M. Thomas, 45, had previously been the acting executive director of the Jersey City Employment and Training Program (JCETP), which “received substantial amounts of funding from federal grants from the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Thomas -- known as "Tommy" -- paid personal debts and expenses with $45,000 that …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Consultant Admits Bribing Former NJ Assemblyman Consultant Admits Bribing Former NJ Assemblyman
Consultant Admits Bribing Former NJ Assemblyman A computer consultant admitted in federal court Wednesday that he bribed a former New Jersey state assemblyman currently under indictment in connection with a series of kickback schemes. Jeanmarie Zahore, 56, of Rahway told a U.S. District Court judge in Newark via teleconference that he made the corrupt payments when Willis Edwards III was the acting business administrator for the city of Orange. Zahore received a $350,000 contract without competitive bidding from the Orange City Council in September 2015 for JZ Nettech, a computer consulting business that he operated from his home, U.S. A…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds In Newark Bust Contractor Who They Said Scammed Public Library Feds In Newark Bust Contractor Who They Said Scammed Public Library
Feds In Newark Bust Contractor Who They Said Scammed Public Library Federal authorities on Thursday arrested a Union County businessman who they said pulled off a pair of scams, one of which cost the Orange Public Library $40,000. Shenandoah Adams Sr., 54, of New Providence initially bought an East Orange site on Hilton Street in 2014 on behalf of his property management company, then arranged for a $153,562 loan to a “close associate” knowing that person didn’t have the money to pay his company the balance of the $225,000 purchase price, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. At the March 2015 closing, Adams had his associate write a worthless check to cover …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: Belleville Real Estate Investor Nabbed In Million-Dollar Mortgage Scheme Feds: Belleville Real Estate Investor Nabbed In Million-Dollar Mortgage Scheme
Feds: Belleville Real Estate Investor Nabbed In Million-Dollar Mortgage Scheme A Belleville real estate investor doctored applications to obtain more than $1 million in mortgages that all defaulted, federal authorities said. Cabral Simpson, 43, and a group of co-conspirators left lenders and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development holding the bag by creating bogus bank statements and fake employee verification records for unqualified property buyers, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. They then transferred enough money into the buyers’ bank accounts to cover the property deposit, Carpenito said. The scheme "induced lenders to issue more than $1 million …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
State AG: Couple Denied Palisades Park Apartment Because They Aren't Korean State AG: Couple Denied Palisades Park Apartment Because They Aren't Korean
State AG: Couple Denied Palisades Park Apartment Because They Aren't Korean A Palisades Park real estate agent refused to show an apartment to a prospective tenant who wasn’t Korean, state authorities charged. KayMax Realty, Inc. and the couple who own the basement apartment are listed in a complaint filed by the state Division of Civil Rights, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Tuesday. Anna Ceylan, who was seeking to move to New Jersey from New York City, saw a Zillow.com ad in mid-February 2018 and called KayMax to arrange a tour of the four-bedroom unit, Grewal said. The agent listed as the contact “said she was too busy to talk and would call her back,” h…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paterson Co-Op That Threatened Eviction Over Grieving Daughter's Support Dog Must Pay $20,000 Paterson Co-Op That Threatened Eviction Over Grieving Daughter's Support Dog Must Pay $20,000
Paterson Co-Op That Threatened Eviction Over Grieving Daughter's Support Dog Must Pay $20,000 A Paterson co-op and its property management contractor will pay a former tenant $20,000 for trying to evict her and her daughter over an emotional support dog the girl got after her father’s death. Jerrica Spence had given the Brooks-Sloate Terrace Cooperative Association and its property management contractor a physician’s letter explaining that the dog, who was a gift, was critical to the daughter’s “ability to heal,” state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Friday. The girl suffered from “conduct disorder,” which Grewal said was “exacerbated by the death of her father.” State …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Morris Couple Admit $152,820 Superstorm Sandy Scam Morris Couple Admit $152,820 Superstorm Sandy Scam
Morris Couple Admit $152,820 Superstorm Sandy Scam A Morris County couple admitted pocketing $152,820 in taxpayer-funded Superstorm Sandy relief by claiming their damaged Jersey Shore home as their primary residence, state authorities charged. The home that Carmine Fusco and Lauri Fusco, 50, own on West End Drive in Point Pleasant that was damaged by the historic storm is actually a summer/weekend property, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Wednesday. Their primary residence at the time of the storm was, and continues to be, in East Hanover, he said. By lying on applications, the Fuscos received $2,280 from FEMA and $150,000 in …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
HUD: Paramus Landlord Refuses To Rent To Black Mom, Uses 'N' Word, 'White Power,' 'KKK' HUD: Paramus Landlord Refuses To Rent To Black Mom, Uses 'N' Word, 'White Power,' 'KKK'
HUD: Paramus Landlord Refuses To Rent To Black Mom, Uses 'N' Word, 'White Power,' 'KKK' A Paramus landlord texted racial slurs to a black mom while refusing to rent her an apartment, said federal housing authorities who’ve charged him with discrimination. John Graham “denied the opportunity to rent a two-bedroom apartment that was advertised on Craigslist because [the woman and her young son] are African-American,” the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said. Graham asked the woman to come see the apartment the same day that she called him after seeing the ad, the HUD complaint says. She said she couldn't and he hung up, it says. Then came a text exchange …

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by Jerry DeMarco