'Love Psychic' Convinced Client To Mail $90M In Jewels To Paramus, Federal Court Docs Say 'Love Psychic' Convinced Client To Mail $90M In Jewels To Paramus, Federal Court Docs Say
'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…
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…
Carload Of Fool's Gold Sinks Jersey City DEA Imposter's Plan For Riches: Feds Carload Of Fool's Gold Sinks Jersey City DEA Imposter's Plan For Riches: Feds
Carload Of Fool's Gold Sinks Jersey City DEA Imposter's Plan For Riches: Feds When a Massachusetts woman contacted federal authorities to report a man claiming to be one of them and asking for $330,000 in gold bars, they came up with a plan that would turn the tables and ultimately land the Jersey City imposter in police custody. The undercover agents set up a meeting with 38-year-old Gaurang Contractor in a Texas Roadhouse parking lot, and promised told two buckets of gold waiting for him inside a car's trunk. The gold was as real as his DEA badge. Investigators said Contractor contacted the woman in August and claimed to be a DEA agent named Oscar White, autho…
MATCH DOT CON: It's Back To Prison For NJ Serial Dating Scammer Who Escaped Federal Custody MATCH DOT CON: It's Back To Prison For NJ Serial Dating Scammer Who Escaped Federal Custody
Match DOT CON: It's Back To Prison For NJ Serial Dating Scammer Who Escaped Federal Custody A serial dating scammer from Atlantic City who escaped from custody while serving time for conning women throughout the country must spend another 5½ years in federal prison. Patrick Giblin, 58, had already served several years behind bars -- and was months short of freedom -- when he made a break for it in July 2020, authorities said. Giblin bolted while being transitioned to a halfway house in Newark from a federal prison in Lewisburg, PA, to serve out the rest of his sentence for duping multiple women in an online dating scam, they said. It was the second time that he'd escaped federal …
$2.4M Eagles Ticket Scam: Ex-South Jersey Lawyer Gets 4 Years In Fed Pen $2.4M Eagles Ticket Scam: Ex-South Jersey Lawyer Gets 4 Years In Fed Pen
$2.4M Eagles Ticket Scam: Ex-South Jersey Lawyer Gets 4 Years In Fed Pen A disgraced South Jersey attorney with a confessed gambling habit must spend the next four years in federal prison for conning an investor out of $2.4 million in a loan scheme involving supposed Philadelphia Eagles season ticket holders. Frank N. Tobolsky, 60, of Cherry Hill told the Delaware investor that he was funding loans for clients using season ticket licenses as collateral, an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Camden says. U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said Tobolsky put a "substantial portion" of the $2.4 million toward personal expenses, some of which…
Feds: Ex-Owner, CEO 'Pilfered' $3.9M From Bergen Pharma Company To Fund Lavish Lifestyle Feds: Ex-Owner, CEO 'Pilfered' $3.9M From Bergen Pharma Company To Fund Lavish Lifestyle
Feds: Ex-Owner, CEO 'Pilfered' $3.9M From Bergen Pharma Company To Fund Lavish Lifestyle The former founder and CEO of a Bergen County pharmaceutical firm embezzled $3.9 million from the business to help pay credit card charges, property taxes and his kid's private school tuition, an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Friday says. John Klein, 76, was arrested by federal agents last December. By that point, he'd been sued in federal court by several people with whom he either worked or collected investment money from at Cambridge Therapeutic Technologies in Teaneck, records show. Klein -- now of Tampa, Florida -- "looted and pilfered" the company to fund a "lavish" …
Accountant Busted Boarding Plane At Newark Airport Admits Stealing $3.5M From Clients: Feds Accountant Busted Boarding Plane At Newark Airport Admits Stealing $3.5M From Clients: Feds
Accountant Busted Boarding Plane At Newark Airport Admits Stealing $3.5M From Clients: Feds A Massachusetts money manager who police arrested last month at Newark International Airport trying to escape prosecution admitted to stealing $3.5 million from his clients, including the entire life savings of an elderly couple, federal authorities said.  Steven Xigoros, 55, pleaded guilty in a Boston court this week to two counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of filing a false tax return, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.  Xigoros worked as an accountant, tax preparer, and investment advisor who federal investigators said used th…
Philly Area Mom Who Once Faked Daughter's Kidnapping Now Accused Of Embezzlement In NJ Philly Area Mom Who Once Faked Daughter's Kidnapping Now Accused Of Embezzlement In NJ
Philly Area Mom Who Once Faked Daughter's Kidnapping Now Accused Of Embezzlement In NJ A former Pennsylvania mom now living in New Jersey who was once accused of faking her daughter's kidnapping has been charged with embezzling "tens of thousands" of dollars from her employer, authorities said. Bonnie Sweeten, 51, of Delanco, faces two counts of federal wire fraud charges, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced in a release on Monday, Oct. 17.  It's the second time Sweeten, formerly of Feasterville, has been accused of fleecing her employer — in 2012, she was sentenced to 100 months in prison after a federal court convicted her o…
7 Bounty Hunter Bloods Banged By Feds In NJ Gang War That's Left Four Dead, 10 Wounded 7 Bounty Hunter Bloods Banged By Feds In NJ Gang War That's Left Four Dead, 10 Wounded
7 Bounty Hunter Bloods Banged By Feds In NJ Gang War That's Left Four Dead, 10 Wounded An ongoing gang war that has ignited gunfire during a funeral and outside a hospital has led to charges against seven reputed members of a New Jersey gang associated with the Bounty Hunter Bloods. Federal authorities used the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law to secure a grand jury indictment charging the defendants with conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said Tuesday, Sept. 20. All seven are members or associates of the Bounty Hunter Bloods, which operated under the umbrella of neighborhood street gangs known as “Parkside” in Somerset and “The Ville” in N…
'Real Housewives' Star Admits To Running Decade-Long Telemarketing Fraud Scheme 'Real Housewives' Star Admits To Running Decade-Long Telemarketing Fraud Scheme
'Real Housewives' Star Admits To Running Decade-Long Telemarketing Fraud Scheme “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jennifer Shah has admitted to running a decade-long telemarketing scheme that tricked thousands of victims, including some from New Jersey, into bogus investment opportunities. Shah, age 48, of Utah, appeared in a federal courtroom in Manhattan on Monday, July 11, where she pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing. Federal prosecutors said between 2012 and March 2021, Shah trafficked “lead lists” of potential victims that her co-conspirators used to convince victims to pay thousands of dollars f…
Bergen Tour Company Manager, 76, Headed To Federal Prison For Embezzlement Scheme Bergen Tour Company Manager, 76, Headed To Federal Prison For Embezzlement Scheme
Bergen Tour Company Manager, 76, Headed To Federal Prison For Embezzlement Scheme UPDATE: A 76-year-old former Bergen County guided-tour company manager is headed to federal prison for 27 months for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from her employer. Estela Laluf Genin -- formerly of Rutherford and River Edge -- must serve the entire sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Laluf Genin began working at the East Rutherford-based company in 1989 and took a management position in 1996, federal authorities said. Between 2010 and 2016, she and an unidentified company accountant conspired to write checks against the firm’s bank accounts to c…
Tax Scammer From Bergen Gets 24 Months, No Bail, For Posing As 18 Different Refund Recipients Tax Scammer From Bergen Gets 24 Months, No Bail, For Posing As 18 Different Refund Recipients
Tax Scammer From Bergen Gets 24 Months, No Bail, For Posing As 18 Different Refund Recipients UPDATE: A confessed ID scammer from Tenafly was sentenced to two years and two days in federal prison for posing as 18 different people to collect tax refunds, authorities said. Emmanuel A. Barrientos-Fermin, 39, must serve all of the term because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Barrientos-Fermin previously admitted in US. District Court in Newark that he gave an unnamed co-conspirator a photo of himself that was used to produce bogus driver’s licenses with his picture on them. The co-conspirator also gave him matching Social Security cards, driver’s licenses and W-2 forms …