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92°
Wednesday, jun 26
Tag:
Forgery
Police & Fire
Bayonne Detectives Sting Staten Island Man Selling Stolen Cars On Facebook Marketplace: Police
A Staten Island man was off to the races selling stolen cars on Facebook Marketplace when Bayonne detectives put the brakes on the operation, authorities said. Using bogus identification, Devonte A. Thomas, 23, recently raked in $26,650 that police know about as “Alazim Olasupo Odu, selling a 2013 Infiniti and two Hondas from 2019 and 2020, Bayonne Police Capt. Eric R. Amato said. One of the victims called police after crossing paths with Thomas while looking for another car, the captain said. After quickly confirming that the car Thomas was selling had been stolen out of Newark, detective…
Police & Fire
NJ Woman Using Counterfeit $100 Bills Busted At Florida Business: Police
A 33-year-old New Jersey woman was arrested and charged in Florida with using multiple $100 bills, authorities said. Police in Brevard County were initially notified by two businesses about the phony money, the Cocoa Beach Police Department said on Facebook. After an investigation, police arrested Brenda Stefan Silvera Klembert and discovered additional victims, officers said. Klembert was charged with uttering forged instruments and theft, police said. Police did not say where in the Garden State, Klembert was from. Police didn't say where Klembert is from but online rec…
Police & Fire
Former CFO Of Low-Income Jersey Shore Apartments Stole $1.6M From Employer: Prosecutor
A former executive for a low-income apartment building in Long Branch is accused of stealing more than $1.6 million from his company for more than a decade, authorities said. John O'Donnell, 57, of Scotch Plains is charged with second-degree theft by unlawful taking, third-degree forgery, and third-degree false uttering, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced. O'Donnell was charged by summons on Thursday, Jan. 11. O'Donnell is the former chief financial officer of the company that owns Washington Manor. The Ocean Boulevard highrise has 100 housing units for seniors …
Police & Fire
Clark Township Mayor Charged With Forging Signatures In 24 Towns To Benefit Landscaping Biz: AG
Clark Township Mayor Salvatore Bonaccorso was charged Monday, Nov. 20 with forging paperwork to nearly 24 New Jersey towns to allow his landscaping company to remove underground tanks, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. Bonaccorso, 63, used township employees to help him run his private business, Bonaccorso and Son LLC, along with township devices like computers and fax machines, Platkin said following an investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability Corruption Bureau. While running his business, Bonaccorso posed as an engineer, using his name, license num…
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Woman Charged With Stealing $195K From Former Employer: Prosecutor
An Ocean County woman is accused of stealing nearly $200,000 from her former employer in Monmouth County, authorities said. Jessica L. Schott, 44, of Point Pleasant, was charged with theft by unlawful taking, forgery and false uttering, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said on Tuesday, Nov. 14. An investigation by the MCPO Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Bureau began earlier this year after a tip from a Wall Township-based company that used to employ Schott, Santiago said. The prosecutor did not name the company. A review of the company’s financial…
Police & Fire
NJ Woman, 72, Indicted For Using Dead Caregiver's Info To Keep Collecting Insurance Payments
A 72-year-old New Jersey woman used phony timesheets and a bogus bank account from a dead caregiver to fraudulently collect insurance payments for long-term care from him, state authorities charged. Leoncia Hutchinson of Metuchen deposited the payments from the Continental Casualty Company into a dedicated account, then slid the funds back into her own, an indictment returned by a grand jury in Trenton alleges. For six months, Hutchinson treated the man’s death as “a moneymaking opportunity,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in announcing the indictment on Wednesday, Nov.…
Police & Fire
Thelma & Louise? Out-Of-Staters With Phony Plate, Stolen IDs, Disguises Nabbed In North Jersey
Two out-of-state ID thieves with a cardboard license plate sped off from Oakland police down the wrong side of the road but were tracked down a short time later, authorities said. Sgt. Michael Griffin spotted the pair in a 2023 Nissan Maxima entering an exit and pulling up to a drive-through window at a TD Bank on Ramapo Valley Road around 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, Capt. Timothy Keenan said. The Maxima had tinted windows and an unreadable rear license plate apparently printed on a piece of cardboard, the captain said. Seeing the police, the driver backed out of the drive-through and sped …
Police & Fire
Former Employees Forged Over $65K In Checks From Somerset County Contracting Firm: Prosecutor
Two former workers at a contracting firm in Somerset County were arrested for allegedly forging checks from their employer and making more than $65,000 in unauthorized purchases. Carlos R. Escobar, 38, of Jefferson Avenue in North Plainfield, and Ciro A. Saenz-Puentes, 44, of Remson Avenue in New Brunswick, were each charged with theft by deception, forgery, and uttering a false document, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said in a release on Monday, Sept. 25. Escobar and Saenz-Puentes became the center of an investigation when the owner of the contracting company they were former…
Police & Fire
NJ Woman Embezzled $1.2 Million From Employer, DA Says
A high-ranking employee at a Pennsylvania furniture business is accused of embezzling more than $1 million from the company, authorities say. Linda Mansi, 53, of Tuckerton, New Jersey, is charged with multiple felonies from Arnold Office Furniture and Sunline Supply in Bridgeport, said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele's Office in a release Friday, July 28. Jay and Jordan Berkowitz, the owners of the stores, approached police in February about a "significant theft" from the company's coffers, the DA said. The Berkowitzes claimed Mansi — an employee sin…
Police & Fire
Toms River Woman Posed As Doctor, Prescribed Medicine Without A License: Prosecutor
A 62-year-old woman from Toms River has been charged with multiple offenses including practicing medicine without a license, authorities said. Maria F. Macburnie, also known as Marife L. Macburnie, was additionally charged with forgery, drug dealing and health care claims fraud, they said. Macburnie presented herself as Dr. Fe Almazon-Condit who is a relative of Macburnie’s with an active license to practice medicine, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz of the Drug Enforcement Administration's New Jersey Division. An inves…
Police & Fire
PTA School Treasurer Stole $12K Including Panera Bread Purchase On Jersey Shore: Prosecutor
A Manalapan woman who served as the treasurer for an elementary school’s PTA has been charged with stealing more than $12,000, authorities said. Roxanne Blasucci, 44, is charged with theft by unlawful taking and uttering a forged instrument, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago. The thefts included trying to conceal a $75.69 purchase at Panera Bread, he said. An investigation initiated earlier this year by the Manalapan Police Department that grew to also involve members of the MCPO Financial Crimes & Public Corruption Unit determined that Blasucci had serve…
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Bookkeeper Stole $358K From Apartment Association: Prosecutor
A 49-year-old bookkeeper has been charged with stealing more than $358,000 from the New Jersey Apartment Association, authorities said. Karly Simon-Sapp, of Plumsted Township, was charged with theft and forgery, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Plumsted Township Police Chief Earl Meroney. An investigation revealed that between January 2016 and January 2022, Simon-Sapp forged the signatures of both the NJ Apartment Association’s president and vice-president on over 100 checks written out to either herself or to cash, Billhimer said. Simon-Sapp then&nbs…
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Woman Bought $840K Home With Fake Documents: Prosecutor
A 32-year-old woman from Monmouth County bought a $840,000 home using bogus documents, authorities said. Sydne Phillips, of Allentown, was charged with two counts of theft by deception, impersonation and two counts of forgery, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw. She provided fraudulent documents to obtain a mortgage and attempted to use a fraudulent $76,000 check to cover the closing costs of the real estate transaction, Bradshaw said. She was taken into custody June 1 and held in the Atlantic County Justice Facility in Mays Landing pending a detention …
Police & Fire
Woman Sentenced For Stealing $108K From Jersey Shore Marina: Prosecutor
A 52-year-old woman from Ocean County has been sentenced to three years in New Jersey State Prison in connection with more than $108,000 stolen from her employer — a marina, authorities said. Lisa Dowd of Barnegat was sentenced on Friday, June 2 as a result of her previously entered guilty plea to theft, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. Dowd made restitution to the victim in the amount of $108,415, Billhimer said. An investigation by the Barnegat Township Police Department revealed that Dowd was an employee in the office of a marina in Barnegat Town…
Police & Fire
Central Jersey Man Charged With Practicing Law Without A NJ License: Prosecutor
A Middlesex County man has been charged with repeatedly practicing law in Monmouth County without a license, authorities said. Allen Yusufov, 37, of Monroe Township is charged with four counts of third-degree unauthorized practice of law and uttering a forged instrument, according to Monmouth County First Assistant Prosecutor Julia Alonso. Yusufov is legitimately licensed to practice law in New York state, Alonso said. An investigation initiated in January by the MCPO Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Unit found that Yusufov had provided legal services associated w…
Police & Fire
Accused NJ Mortgage Fraud Schemer Already Had A History, Records Show
Gerrmaioud Chape was no stranger to police and prosecutors in Bergen County. So it wasn’t surprising to some when county prosecutors charged him with stealing $525,000 from unwitting investors through mortgage fraud. Chape, 43, already had a petty criminal history that included arrests for speeding, shoplifting and drugs when Bogota police charged him in 2015 with pocketing $40,000 that a Colombian brother and sister saved to come to America. The money was supposed to be a down payment on a mortgage for the siblings’ new home, authorities said at the time, but Chape used it instead on pers…
Police & Fire
NJ Swindler Whose Family Helped Fleece $4.7M From Investors Gets 8 Years In State Slammer
UPDATE: A Teaneck con man who was captured after trying to flee the country must spend the next three years in state prison for running a Ponzi scheme with family and friends that fleeced dozens of unwitting investors out of $4.7 million. Chander Singh, 46, reshaped a failed company into an unscrupulous criminal venture by soliciting loans from investors to buy distressed properties, authorities said. Singh promised double-digit returns from what would be renovations of the ratholes, which he found with the help of his parents and brother, all of whom worked as real estate agents, they said…
News
NO
Parole
: Ex-NJ Trooper Gets 5 Years For Using ID To Skate From Traffic Stops While Suspended
UPDATE: A disgraced former New Jersey State Police sergeant was sentenced to five years in prison without parole after a jury convicted him of using an ID card to get out of a string of Jersey Shore traffic stops while he was suspended from the force. Ex-NJSP Sgt. Marc Dennis, 51, of Waretown, also must forfeit his pension and cannot be publicly employed in New Jersey ever again, state Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Dennis shouldn’t have had the identification card in his possession after being relieved of his authority during the suspension, Platkin said. The 17-year department…
Police & Fire
Thief Convicted Of Stealing Home, $110K+ From Victim Causing Her To Lose NJ Home
A 36-year-old Newark man has been convicted of theft and forgery that caused a woman to lose her home, authorities said. The thefts also caused the woman with a mental health condition to lose more than $110,000, according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens. ,After a four-day trial, the jury found Obadiah Salters guilty on all 24 counts of theft and forgery charges, Stephens said on Friday, March 17. In December 2016, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit initiated an investigation into alleged acts of forgery and theft by Salters against…
Police & Fire
Apartment Complex Manager Was Renting Out Units On Her Own, Pocketing Cash: Somerset Prosecutor
A Somerset County property manager was renting out apartments without her boss's knowledge and pocketing the "rent" for herself, authorities claim. Yessica Gonzalez, 44, of Ewing, is held at the county lockup on multiple charges of theft and forgery related to the scam that Prosecutor John P. McDonald says she ran for years. From 2019 to 2022, investigators say Gonzalez was "leasing" units at the Montgomery Township property where she worked without actually informing her employer about the new tenants. Prosecutors say she forged the property owner's name on the leasing d…
News
Bogus
Bucks
: East Brunswick Woman Used Counterfeit Cash At CT Walgreens, Police Say
A Central Jersey woman was arrested for using counterfeit cash at a Walgreens store in Connecticut, police said. Khadijah Latifah Tabitha Greene, 29, of East Brunswick, apparently used the money at the New Canaan sore last March, Lt. Marc DeFelice said. Greene was taken into custody on Thursday, Dec. 15 by New Canaan Police and charged with larceny and forgery, DeFelice said. She was processed and released on a $50,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, Dec. 29.
Police & Fire
NJ Pair Stole $164K From 94-Year-Old Connecticut Man's Checking Account: Police
A 94-year-old man from Connecticut lost $164,000 in thefts from his checking account, authorities said. The alleged thieves included a pair from Middlesex County, according to Old Saybrook, CT, police. Ashlee Crawford, 33, of Plainfield, and Shannon Outlaw II, 27, of North Brunswick, were charged with larceny and forgery, police said in a press statement. Crawford also was charged with a second count of forgery. The Old Saybrook man reported the theft to police in February after $164,284 disappeared from his checking account, police said. Crawford was observed on video surveillance f…
News
Five Chinese Nationals Seized At NJ Porsche Dealership In Major ID Theft Case
Five Chinese nationals remained held in the Bergen County Jail on ID theft and forgery charges, among other offenses, after one of them tried to lease a Porsche with a stolen New York driver's license, authorities said. Four men accompanied Yuxian Li, 32, as she tried to lease the vehicle at Porsche Englewood on Grand Avenue, records show. Police were called and took all five into custody after reportedly finding various pieces of evidence of ID and credit card theft, among other offenses. The men were identified as Jhong Chen, 23; Kai Wang, 25; Wulin Zhang, 29, and Weifa Huang, 47. All f…
Police & Fire
Pharm Company's Payroll Manager Wrote $900K In Checks To Herself, Family: Union Prosecutor
A Union County payroll manager for a local pharmaceutical wrote herself and her family more than $900,000 of checks from company finances over the course of five years, authorities said. Jennifer Grambor, 50, of Fanwood, became the center of an investigation in August 2021, when the company reported the alleged theft to the Union County Prosecutor's Office, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel said. The criminal complaint comes as a result of a year-long investigation led by Detective Alex Lopez of the Union County Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Unit, ultimately chargi…
Police & Fire
Ex-Jersey Shore Police Officer Stole From Real Estate Clients, Forged Documents: Prosecutor
A former Ocean Township police officer has been sentenced to probation for acts of theft and forgery associated with his former part-time work buying, renting, and selling real estate, authorities said. Cory R. Cole, 52, of Brielle was sentenced Thursday, Aug. 18 to three years of probation, after paying $8,400 in restitution to two victims, they said. Cole had previously resigned from the police department, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey An investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office first revealed that Cole had forge…
News
NJ Man Gets Federal Prison Time For Assisting Massage Parlor Prostitution
A former Bergen County resident must spend nearly three years in federal prison for producing bogus training certificates for massage parlors that sold sex. Naresh Rane, 68, gave 10 of those certificates to a former local councilman who was later found dead of suicide along with his wife, authorities said. Rane, formerly of Closter, owned and operated the now-defunct Axiom Healthcare Academy on Kennedy Boulevard in North Bergen, which touted itself as a provider of massage therapy training. Anyone who didn't want to go through the training could pay Rane anywhere from $1,000 to $2,600 for …
News
Port Authority Officer Charged With Filing Bogus Medical Reports To Collect Paid Leave
A 13-year Port Authority police veteran illegally milked a paid medical leave by submitting bogus records, authorities charged. Marie Paz, 43, was charged with two counts of forgery before being released pending a May 13 first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Jersey City, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Paz, of Woodhaven, Queens, "submitted falsified medical records to her employer to receive additional paid medical leave," Suarez said on Friday, April 29. The prosecutor credited her office's Public Integrity Unit and the Port Authority of New York and New Je…
Police & Fire
NJ Man Who Modified Pickup To Hold More Fuel Arrested For Bogus Gas Purchases:
Nysp
A 38-year-old North Jersey man who modified his truck to hold a significant amount of fuel was arrested for using a New York State Fleet Fuel Card to make bogus gas purchases, authorities said. Angel Alvarez-Michel, of Belleville, became the subject of an investigation on Sunday, April 24, after using the card to buy gas at Rockland County gas stations, New York State Police said. He was seen 2008 Ford F-350 with a temporary registration, State Police said. Alvarez-Michel was arrested during a traffic stop on State Route 17 in the Orange County town of Chester, police said. …
Police & Fire
3 Charged With Money Laundering For Manufacturing Counterfeit Cash In Morris County, Police Say
Three people were charged with money laundering and similar offenses after they were caught manufacturing counterfeit cash in Morris County, authorities said. The suspects — whose names were not released — were stopped by Roxbury Township Police for acting suspiciously on Friday, April 15, the department said. A follow-up investigation was launched after the suspects told officers conflicting stories, police said. Additional officers arrived at the scene and found that the suspects had been manufacturing counterfeit currency in Roxbury Township. The trio was arrested and charged with mone…
Police & Fire
Hudson County Corrections Officer Faked Medical Records For Extra Paid Leave, Prosecutor Says
A Hudson County correctional police officer faked medical records in order to get extra paid leave from his employer, authorities charged. Marko Nakhla, 34, was arrested on Wednesday, April 13, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. An investigation by the prosecutor’s office Public Integrity Unit found that Nakhla, of Bayonne, submitted falsified records to his employer to receive additional paid medical leave, Suarez said. Nakhla was charged with forgery and released following his arrest at the Prosecutor’s Office in Jersey City. He is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, Ma…
News
Shoe Salesman Turned Internist Wrote Himself Bogus Scripts For Years, NJ Authorities Charge
Sagy Grinberg could’ve been a modern-day success story. A former shoe salesman, he went to medical school in the West Indies, got married on top of Mt. Carmel and took a prized residency at Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark. Then things went sideways. For more than five years, state authorities said, Grinberg forged other doctors’ names on nearly 70 prescriptions for oxycodone, Adderall, Xanax, Cialis and a bunch of other drugs – apparently all for himself. The crimes came to light in March 2021, they said, when a Walgreens in Vauxhall notified a New Jersey doctor about a dozen scripts …
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