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CRYPTO CRIME: Rapping 'Crocodile of Wall Street,' Husband Nabbed In $4.5 Billion Bitcoin Bust CRYPTO CRIME: Rapping 'Crocodile of Wall Street,' Husband Nabbed In $4.5 Billion Bitcoin Bust
Crypto Crime: Rapping 'Crocodile of Wall Street,' Husband Nabbed In $4.5 Billion Bitcoin Bust The self-described “Crocodile of Wall Street” and her husband were arrested by federal agents in Manhattan on Tuesday, Feb. 8, on charges of conspiring to launder billions of dollars in cryptocurrency stolen in a bombshell hack of a virtual currency exchange. Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, 34, and Heather Rhiannon Morgan, a 31-year-old business blogger/rapper, weren’t charged in the 2016 theft from Bitfinex of what at the time was $71 million worth of cryptocurrency – now valued at $4.5 billion. They are charged with conspiring to (a) commit money laundering and (b) defraud the United States, …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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FEDS: NJ Men Busted Following Three Fentanyl-Laced NYC Drug-Delivery Deaths FEDS: NJ Men Busted Following Three Fentanyl-Laced NYC Drug-Delivery Deaths
Feds: NJ Men Busted Following Three Fentanyl-Laced NYC Drug-Delivery Deaths Two North Jersey men worked for a drug-courier service that peddled fentanyl-laced cocaine responsible for killing three customers in a single day, federal authorities in Manhattan charged. Billy "Jason" Ortega, 35, of West Milford was the dispatcher who sent Kaylen Rainey, 30, of Manhattan to three different city addresses on March 17, 2021 after promoting "new batches" of drugs, an FBI complaint on file in the Southern District Court of Manhattan alleges. Three customers -- Amanda Scher, Julia Ghahramani and Ross Mtangi -- all died after ingesting the coke, authorities said. Scher texted…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Former Rockland Owner Of Failed Nursing Homes In NJ, 11 Other States Charged In $39M Tax Dodge Former Rockland Owner Of Failed Nursing Homes In NJ, 11 Other States Charged In $39M Tax Dodge
Former Rockland Owner Of Failed Nursing Homes In NJ, 11 Other States Charged In $39M Tax Dodge An insurance broker from Rockland County who ran a failed nationwide network of nearly 100 nursing homes from an office over a Bergen County pizzeria ducked nearly $39 million in payroll taxes, a federal indictment unsealed on Monday alleges. Joseph Schwartz, 62, was arrested at his Suffern home last Thursday. A federal judge in Newark released him to home confinement hours later, with conditions, pending trial. Then came the unsealing announcement on Monday, also out of Newark. Schwartz’s Skyline Healthcare LLC amassed 95 nursing homes in 11 states nationwide in less than two years – incl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Ring Member Convicted In $565,091 IRS Scam That Sent Refund Checks To Same NJ Town Ring Member Convicted In $565,091 IRS Scam That Sent Refund Checks To Same NJ Town
Ring Member Convicted In $565,091 IRS Scam That Sent Refund Checks To Same NJ Town A New Jersey woman was convicted of participating in a massive ID theft scheme that had $565,091 in tax refunds from the IRS sent to a small section of the same town. Awilda Henriquez, 35, took her chances with a trial after three of her accomplices took guilty pleas. She was found guilty in U.S. District Court in Camden on Thursday of 27 counts involving defrauding the federal government, mail theft, stealing government money and aggravated ID theft, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Ring members filed more than 3,300 tax returns in 2013 using the names and Social Security numbe…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Cyber-Casanova From NJ Admits Duping Dozens Of Lonely Hearts Out Of $1.14M Cyber-Casanova From NJ Admits Duping Dozens Of Lonely Hearts Out Of $1.14M
Cyber-Casanova From NJ Admits Duping Dozens Of Lonely Hearts Out Of $1.14M A New Jersey man admitted that he orchestrated an online scam that conned dozens of unsuspecting women on dating sites out of more than a million dollars – and led one of them to suicide. Rubbin Sarpong, 37, of Millville pocketed the money and bought property in Ghana, along with luxury cars, expensive jewelry, top-shelf booze, designer clothes and more, federal authorities said. Then he flaunted it on Instagram. Sarpong had catfishing accomplices, several of whom live in Ghana, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael Honig said. Posing as American military personnel stationed oversea…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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High-Living Ex-Bergen Stockbroker Arrested By IRS For Ducking $4.3M In Taxes, Feds Say High-Living Ex-Bergen Stockbroker Arrested By IRS For Ducking $4.3M In Taxes, Feds Say
High-Living Ex-Bergen Stockbroker Arrested By IRS For Ducking $4.3M In Taxes, Feds Say A disgraced stockbroker from Bergen County was arrested Thursday by IRS agents who said he lived the high life while shortchanging Uncle Sam $4.3 million. Jason Kronick, 48, of Woodcliff Lake made headlines after he was fired from one job for alleged “unauthorized trading and unauthorized positions,” then resigned from after allegedly omitting $330,000 in judgments against him on his job application. Kronick, who eventually filed for bankruptcy, earned $20 million during tax years 2008 through 2010, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said Thursday. Honig said Kronick: used roughly $1.…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ Man Convicted In $1.3M 'Mortgage Recovery' Scheme NJ Man Convicted In $1.3M 'Mortgage Recovery' Scheme
NJ Man Convicted In $1.3M 'Mortgage Recovery' Scheme A South Jersey man was convicted in federal court for his role in a scheme to defraud the IRS of more than $3 million. Jurors in U.S. District Court in Camden agreed that John Barry Jr., of Pemberton and accomplices in New York and elsewhere doctored tax returns that helped clients eliminate outstanding mortgage debts by claiming that a substantial amount of taxes had already been withheld. In exchange, Barry collected 20 to 35 percent of the refunds and split the money with his co-conspirators, federal prosecutors said. (Barry also didn’t file his own 2016 return or report any of his ill-…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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More Stimulus Money Could Be On The Way, Feds Say More Stimulus Money Could Be On The Way, Feds Say
More Stimulus Money Could Be On The Way, Feds Say Haven’t received any federal stimulus checks yet? Well, now a fourth payment from the U.S. Treasury Department may arrive soon, federal officials say. Debate persists in the U.S. Congress and among other public officials over how many dollars will be spent and who will get the money, according to multiple news media reports. A couple dozen congressmen are pushing for new federal stimulus checks with a guarantee that the money will make it to Americans' bank accounts. Some lawmakers also are requesting that the federal government figures out ways to get the money to anyone without a bank…

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by Jon Craig
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Former Big-Time NJ Businessman Sent To Fed Pen For Payroll Scheme Former Big-Time NJ Businessman Sent To Fed Pen For Payroll Scheme
Former Big-Time NJ Businessman Sent To Fed Pen For Payroll Scheme A disgraced former up-and-coming New Jersey businessman who once tried to jump to his death from the George Washington Bridge is headed back behind bars. Jerry Carter Jr., 42, a self-described self-made millionaire was once touted as one of New Jersey’s “Top 40 Business People Under 40.’’ Then things went south. The Mercer County resident ended up spending more than two years behind bars on a tax evasion conviction after failing to report $1.8 million in income from a Hoboken payroll company he founded. Instead of staying straight following his release, Carter and two accomplices hatched a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Jersey Shore Contractor Admits Ducking $609,668 In Employment, Personal Income Taxes Jersey Shore Contractor Admits Ducking $609,668 In Employment, Personal Income Taxes
Jersey Shore Contractor Admits Ducking $609,668 In Employment, Personal Income Taxes The owner of a Jersey Shore construction and demolition company admitted in federal court Wednesday that he ducked employment and personal income taxes. Peter Alvarez, 54, of Atlantic Highlands didn’t report income from clients’ checks that he cashed and then used, in part, to pay employees at Mr. Demo, a construction and demolition business that he owned and operated in Leonardo, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Rather than face a trial, Alvarez took a deal from federal prosecutors. In exchange for leniency, the Middletown native pleaded guilty to evading employment and person…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Feds: Passaic County Union Plan Admin Charged In Tax Evasion Kickback Scheme Feds: Passaic County Union Plan Admin Charged In Tax Evasion Kickback Scheme
Feds: Passaic County Union Plan Admin Charged In Tax Evasion Kickback Scheme A Passaic County man working as a union health plan administrator is facing federal charges for his role in a kickback tax evasion scheme, authorities said. Jose Santa Maria, aka “Joe,” of North Haledon, served as a plan admin through a health and training fund-related company that provided admin services to a labor union, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Between 2013 and 2019, he failed to report his $750,000 earned from "Company-1" to the IRS, and failed to pay the associated income taxes, court papers say. Santa Maria also paid $50,000 to an unnamed individual in or…

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by Cecilia Levine
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NJ Con Man Who Swindled Elderly Out Of $2M Headed To Fed Pen NJ Con Man Who Swindled Elderly Out Of $2M Headed To Fed Pen
NJ Con Man Who Swindled Elderly Out Of $2M Headed To Fed Pen A confessed Somerset County con man is headed to federal prison for 6½ years for swindling elderly investors out of $2 million that he used, in part, to pay for his daughter’s college tuition and sorority fees. For nearly a decade, ex-financial advisor Daniel Rivera, 51, told primarily elderly investors that his Robbins Lane Properties was “staffed by experienced real estate professionals, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Rivera promised a “guaranteed monthly income” thanks to a rate of return based on secure investments, she added. The truth, Honig said, was: “Robbins Lane had …

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by Jerry DeMarco