Diamond District Operators From NJ, Long Island Busted In $673M Money Laundering Scheme: Feds Diamond District Operators From NJ, Long Island Busted In $673M Money Laundering Scheme: Feds
Diamond District Operators From NJ, Long Island Busted In $673M Money Laundering Scheme: Feds Four businessmen from New Jersey and one from Long Island laundered millions of dollars a day in cash through fronts they set up in New York City’s Diamond District, federal authorities charged. Federal agents tied the quintet to $673 million in dirty money laundered through the illicit operations over the past four years, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. In exchange, Raj Vaidya, 26; Rakesh Vaidya, 51; Shrey Vaidya, 23; and Neel Patel, 26, all of Edison; and Youssef Janfar, aka “Joe Rodeo,” 57, of Great Neck, NY collected sizable fees, he said. The three Vaidyas and P…
Paterson Jewelry Store Robbery Part Of Multi-State Crime Spree Involving DC Rapper: Feds Paterson Jewelry Store Robbery Part Of Multi-State Crime Spree Involving DC Rapper: Feds
Paterson Jewelry Store Robbery Part Of Multi-State Crime Spree Involving DC Rapper: Feds Three masked men who robbed a Paterson jewelry store of more than $1 million worth of merchandise at gunpoint last year were part of a violent East Coast crime ring that included a Washington, DC-based rapper, federal authorities said Wednesday. Trevor Wright – aka “Taliban Glizzy” – was among 16 defendants named in an indictment unsealed by federal authorities in the nation’s capital on Aug. 30. Mohammad Sheik had only just opened the Paradise Jewelry Store at the corner of Main Street and Delaware Avenue in Paterson several weeks earlier when the place was robbed last fall. It was one o…
16 Indicted In Crime Ring Targeting Asian-American Jewelers Across Mid-Atlantic: Feds 16 Indicted In Crime Ring Targeting Asian-American Jewelers Across Mid-Atlantic: Feds
16 Indicted In Crime Ring Targeting Asian-American Jewelers Across Mid-Atlantic: Feds An indictment of 16 members of a violent mid-Atlantic crime ring has been unsealed and the federal agencies are naming names.  Of the 16, eight of the alleged crime ring members were arrested in the morning on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, police in Fairfax County, Virginia announced later that day.  They were all arrested in connection to a violent crime spree that took place between Jan. 7, 2022, through Jan. 27, 2023.  The crime ring members were all from Maryland and the District of Columbia. They met with their accused leader – Trevor Wright, also known as “Taliban Glizzy” …
Ex-NJ Corrections Officer's Crypto Scam Targeted Police, Firefighters, EMTs: Authorities Ex-NJ Corrections Officer's Crypto Scam Targeted Police, Firefighters, EMTs: Authorities
Ex-NJ Corrections Officer's Crypto Scam Targeted Police, Firefighters, EMTs: Authorities A retired New Jersey corrections lieutenant preyed on his peers with a cryptocurrency scheme that cost participating police, firefighters, EMTs, and other first responders more than $620,000, state and federal authorities said. John DeSalvo, 47, of Linwood, also pulled a $100,000 investment scam that authorities said went to covering his credit card bills, day trading in cryptocurrencies and payments to a contractor who handled a luxury bathroom renovation for him. DeSalvo -- who worked for the New Jersey Department of Corrections for 13 years before retiring in 2010 -- created and promote…
LOTTERY LOSERS: South Jersey Scammer Admits Laundering $4M From Innocent Victims LOTTERY LOSERS: South Jersey Scammer Admits Laundering $4M From Innocent Victims
Lottery Losers: South Jersey Scammer Admits Laundering $4M From Innocent Victims A South Jersey man admitted laundering more than $4 million from victims who were tricked into thinking they'd won the lottery. Pablo Estrada, 26, of Florence, received the proceeds through various scams over the course of 2½ years, including one in which victims received an unexpected notification that they'd won a large sum in a lottery, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. They were required to pay fees and expenses, however, before their winnings could be released, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey said. Many fell for the scheme, Sellinger said. Estrada dumped the money into va…
South Jersey Couple Used Facebook, Teenage Son In Drug-Dealing Operation: Prosecutor South Jersey Couple Used Facebook, Teenage Son In Drug-Dealing Operation: Prosecutor
South Jersey Couple Used Facebook, Teenage Son In Drug-Dealing Operation: Prosecutor Investigators said they found thousands of drug deals on Facebook and evidence a couple was using their 14-year-old son to deliver drugs. An Atlantic County grand jury indicted John Garman, 38, and Donna Shiffler, 39, of Somers Point on Wednesday, Aug. 2, authorities said. They each were charged with numerous drug offenses, child endangerment and money laundering, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office. Their Facebook account was called "Garmans Goods," selling marijuana, THC products and hallucinogenic mushrooms, the prosecutor said. The couple was arrested on May 25, …
Police Seize $360K From Home Of Alleged Elderly Scam Artist In South Jersey Police Seize $360K From Home Of Alleged Elderly Scam Artist In South Jersey
Police Seize $360K From Home Of Alleged Elderly Scam Artist In South Jersey Police in South Jersey seized about $360,000 when they searched the home of an alleged elderly scam artist, authorities said. Michelle Mendonca 42, of Galloway Township was charged with fraud, theft by deception and money laundering for scamming elderly out-of-state residents, Galloway police said. She was arrested at her home on South Pitney Road on Friday, July 14 at 10:35 a.m., they said. Officers of the Galloway Township Police Department conducted a warranted search of her home regarding a multi-state elder fraud investigation. Detective Tim Giberson of the Galloway Township Police D…
Couple From PA Charged In Computer Repair Scam That Conned Victims In NJ, Elsewhere Couple From PA Charged In Computer Repair Scam That Conned Victims In NJ, Elsewhere
Couple From PA Charged In Computer Repair Scam That Conned Victims In NJ, Elsewhere A Pennsylvania man whose wife was charged with a computer scam that allowed her to siphon money out of unsuspecting victims’ accounts had a similar scheme going, Bergen County authorities announced. Kuleep Sethi, 66, was arrested by detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office on theft, conspiracy and money laundering charges earlier this week -- five months after they busted his wife, Mona, for the same thing. The Furlong, PA couple scammed victims not only in New Jersey but throughout the world, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The thieves “created the belief that vic…
Hackensack Ex-Con Charged With ½ Pound Of Coke, $12G Sketchy Cash In Illegally Parked Corvette Hackensack Ex-Con Charged With ½ Pound Of Coke, $12G Sketchy Cash In Illegally Parked Corvette
Hackensack Ex-Con Charged With ½ Pound Of Coke, $12G Sketchy Cash In Illegally Parked Corvette A hardcore ex-con was charged with having nearly a half-pound of cocaine and $12,000 in suspect cash in a stolen car that he left idling in a fire lane outside a shopping mall in Hackensack. Jarrett Bruce, 39, was initially released at the Shops at Riverside just off westbound Route 4 after Lt. Sean Briggs ran a computer check, found a mismatched VIN and impounded the 2022 Chevy Corvette in early April, Hackensack Police Capt. Michael Antista said. Discovering that the ‘vette had been reported stolen, police had grounds to seek -- and obtain -- a search warrant. They found the drugs and cas…
Accused South Jersey Pot Dealer Had 32 Pounds Of Drug-Tainted Gummy Candy: Prosecutor Accused South Jersey Pot Dealer Had 32 Pounds Of Drug-Tainted Gummy Candy: Prosecutor
Accused South Jersey Pot Dealer Had 32 Pounds Of Drug-Tainted Gummy Candy: Prosecutor A man accused of manufacturing marijuana was caught with 32 pounds of THC-infused gummy candy and nearly $120,000 cash, authorities said. John Garman, 38, of Somers Point was arrested on Thursday, May 25, after a joint narcotics investigation conducted by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office’s Gangs, Guns, & Narcotics Unit, Somers Point Police Department, and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force. The investigation determined that Garman was operating a non-licensed cannabis manufacturing and distribution operation from his residence in Somers Point,…
Teaneck Swindler Whose Family Helped Fleece Investors Of $4.7M Gets 8 Years In State Slammer Teaneck Swindler Whose Family Helped Fleece Investors Of $4.7M Gets 8 Years In State Slammer
Teaneck Swindler Whose Family Helped Fleece Investors Of $4.7M 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…
'PlugwalkJoe' Admits Unprecedented Twitter Hack That Included Musk, Kardashian, Biden: Feds 'PlugwalkJoe' Admits Unprecedented Twitter Hack That Included Musk, Kardashian, Biden: Feds
'PlugwalkJoe' Admits Unprecedented Twitter Hack That Included Musk, Kardashian, Biden: Feds A 23-year-old British citizen who hacked the Twitter accounts of Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian and Bill Gates, among others, pleaded guilty in federal court to a host of related charges as part of a deal with the government. Joseph James O'Connor -- also known as "PlugwalkJoe" -- technically faces up to 77 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines but will likely get somewhere between 10 to 20 years when all is said and done. The Liverpudlian hacker admitted during a plea hearing in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday, May 9, that he committed one of the largest high-pro…