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NJ Man Promised Victims Luxury Cars, Instead He Kept Their $202K: Cops
A 32-year-old Rahway man has been arrested after he was given more than $200,000 to purchase luxury vehicles that the victims never received, authorities said.
Jonathan Najarro, who ran J and J Auto Sound and Security Corporation, became the center of an investigation last October, when the victims reported he had $202,920 of their money, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said.
The theft occurred between July 2022 and October 2022 in Somerville, said McDonald alongside Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of County Detectives Francisco Roman Jr., and Somerville…
Guilty: Woman Defrauded Medicaid By Billing For NJ Ex's Care While Really At Work In Michigan
A substitute teacher from Michigan was convicted of billing Medicaid for giving care to her stroke-stricken Morris County ex-boyfriend while she was actually back home at work.
Michael Ann Ellis, 62, of Flint, MI, was found guilty by jurors in Morristown who heard testimony from, among others, a schools superintendent from her district during a four-day trial, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said.
Evidence also included timesheets and payroll records with school locations, dates, and hours for more than four years that Ellis collected $45,000 from the New Jersey Medicaid Prog…
Park Ranger Billed Mercer County 298 Hours Of Work While At Home: Prosecutor
A park ranger from Mercer County spent about 298 hours at home when he said he was at work, a complaint shows.
James J. Romano III falsified 64 patrol logs between July 27, 2002, and Jan. 17, 2023, which totaled 298.5 hours and $5,728 in stolen wages, according to the criminal complaint filed by the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office.
Romano III, 34, of Hamilton, was charged in March with official misconduct, tampering with public records and theft by deception, according to the complaint.
Ex-Con From Viral Jersey Shore Arrest Video Charged With 1,500 Heroin Bags, Pounds Of Pot, More
An ex-con whose Point Pleasant boardwalk arrest became part of a viral video was busted once again on drug charges, this time along with his roommate, authorities said.
A SWAT team led a raid on the Grand Street apartment in Garfield that Zakee Murphy, 32, shares with fish tank technician Ryene Perry, 34, landing both in jail on various drug-related counts, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
Murphy has been arrested dozens of times in multiple counties over the past decade, records show.
This time he's accused of using the Garfield home to stash the drugs along with more than $8,…
Jersey Shore Man Admits Stealing $230K From Friend In Fake Investment Scheme: Prosecutor
A 70-year-old man from Ocean County has admitted to stealing $230,000 from another man through fake investments, authorities said.
John Hammond, of Ortley Beach, pleaded guilty to theft by deception, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
An investigation by the Toms River Township Police Department Detective Bureau revealed that between May 2017 and February 2019, Hammond deceived a friend by convincing him to invest $230,000 with him, promising large returns on his investment, Billhimer said.
Over the course of nearly two years, the victim de…
Unregistered Home Contractor Charged With $150K In 'Improvement' Thefts On Jersey Shore
A 35-year-old Ocean County man was charged with theft by deception for home contracting, authorities said.
On Thursday, June 23, Toms River Police Detective Robert O’Neill arrested and charged Robert Cohan, of Lakehurst, with theft as well as multiple counts of unregistered home improvement contracting, police said.
Beginning in February, and continuing through May, Cohan allegedly targeted the residents of the Gardens of Pleasant Plains in a home improvement contracting scheme. He was soliciting the residents to do driveway, sidewalk, as well as roof, door and othe…
NY Woman Nearly Scammed 80-Year-Old Hamilton Man Out Of $15K, Police Say
A New York woman was charged after police say she tried — and almost succeeded — in scamming an 80-year-old Hamilton man out of $15,000.
Mildreth Santamaria-Tirado, 40, of Corona, is accused of trying to fraudulently collect $15,000 from a Hamilton man on Friday, April 15, the Hamilton Police Division said.
The victim received a call from a man claiming to be from the FBI stating that his daughter had been arrested for possessing 100 pounds of marijuana earlier that day, police said.
The man allegedly told the victim that he would have to pay 10 percent of a $200,000 bail to secure his dau…
Busted: Bronx Couple Scammed Nearly $10K From Elderly South Jersey Woman, Police Say
A man and woman from the Bronx were caught by police after they allegedly scammed nearly $10,000 from an elderly South Jersey resident.
Raul Santos-Marte, 39, and Karina De Los Santos-Polanco, 34, called the victim claiming to represent her nephew on Tuesday, March 1, Hamilton Police said in a news release.
The pair told the victim that her nephew had been arrested for crashing into a pregnant woman while drunk driving before another party got on the phone and claimed to represent an attorney with the Legal Aid Society out of Manchester, NY, and asked for $9,800 in cash, police said.
The v…
Men Wanted In NJ Grandparent Scam After Pretending To Be Jailed Grandkids: Prosecutor
A pair of New York men are wanted by authorities for pretending to be New Jersey residents' jailed grandchildren asking for bail money, scamming them out of thousands of dollars, authorities said.
Jorge Peguero-Mendez, 34, and Richard Quinones-Perez, 24, both of the Bronx, New York, are wanted on charges of theft by deception and conspiracy to commit theft by deception, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.
An elderly victim from Barnegat was contacted in December 2021 by an individual claiming to be her grandson, authorities said. The individual informed her that he had b…
