Bergen Broker Gets 18 Months In Fed Pen For 'Short Sale' Scam Bergen Broker Gets 18 Months In Fed Pen For 'Short Sale' Scam
Bergen Broker Gets 18 Months In Fed Pen For 'Short Sale' Scam A Bergen County real estate broker was sentenced to a year and a half in federal prison for his role in a $4.6 million “short-sale” scheme. Steve Young Kang, 66, of Ridgefield, and others sold properties to an accomplice, Mehdi Kassai, for substantially less than they were worth, Acting Principal Assistant U.S. Attorney and Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Agarwal said. The conspirators used false documents, straw buyers and cosmetic property damage, while also restricting the ability of others to bid on and buy those properties, Agarwal said. Kassai then “sold many of those propert…
NJ Man Admits Using Postal Workers, Students To Steal, Forge COVID Stimulus Checks NJ Man Admits Using Postal Workers, Students To Steal, Forge COVID Stimulus Checks
NJ Man Admits Using Postal Workers, Students To Steal, Forge COVID Stimulus Checks A Union County man admitted recruiting postal service employees to steal federal COVID stimulus checks and then paying high school students to help cash them, authorities said. Tashon Ragan, 21, of Hillside was among a group of thieves associated with a group called “The Members” who paid US Postal Service employees in cash to steal credit cards and blank checkbooks from the mail, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. They then “forged the signatures of the accountholders and negotiated the checks by making them payable to individuals,” Honig said. Some were New Jersey high school st…
Feds: South Jersey Bookkeeper Stole $2.6M From Philly Corporation, Blew Funds On Luxury Trips Feds: South Jersey Bookkeeper Stole $2.6M From Philly Corporation, Blew Funds On Luxury Trips
Feds: South Jersey Bookkeeper Stole $2.6M From Philly Corporation, Blew Funds On Luxury Trips A former bookkeeper for the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC) has been arrested on accusations she stole more than $2.6 million from the corporation over the course of seven years and blew the funds on gambling and luxury vacations, federal officials said. Angela DiPietro-Sabatine, 57, of Pennsauken, NJ, was charged by indictment with ten counts of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft and aiding and abetting, Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. The DRWC is non-profit, quasi-governmental entity whose m…
Feds: Wyckoff Man Busted Using Dead Brother's Identity To Get COVID Relief Loan Feds: Wyckoff Man Busted Using Dead Brother's Identity To Get COVID Relief Loan
Feds: Wyckoff Man Busted Using Dead Brother's Identity To Get COVID Relief Loan A Bergen County man stole his dead brother’s identity to get a $150,000 COVID economic disaster loan, said federal authorities who arrested him Thursday. Nathanael Zimmerman, 40, of Wyckoff also orchestrated a mortgage fraud scheme among applicants for Federal Housing Administration-FHA insured loans, submitting bogus bank statements and collecting a portion of the proceeds, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. The loans defaulted and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development lost more than $300,000, she said. Last year, Zimmerman used his deceased brother’s personal iden…
Fugitive Admits Swiping 94,000 Credit Card Numbers At Michaels Stores In 19 States Fugitive Admits Swiping 94,000 Credit Card Numbers At Michaels Stores In 19 States
Fugitive Admits Swiping 94,000 Credit Card Numbers At Michaels Stores In 19 States A fugitive who was captured in Mexico admitted his role in stealing information from 94,000 credit and debit cards used by customers at Michaels stores in 19 states, including New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Jose “Tito” Salazar, 44, of Riverside, CA was part of a crew that replaced card-reading terminals at the arts and crafts retailer with wireless imitations that they used to capture customers' bank account numbers and PINs, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. They then created copycat cards that were then used to withdraw more than $500,000 from…
Feds: Teaneck Owner Of 70 Multi-Family Properties Admits $150M Bank Fraud Scheme Feds: Teaneck Owner Of 70 Multi-Family Properties Admits $150M Bank Fraud Scheme
Feds: Teaneck Owner Of 70 Multi-Family Properties Admits $150M Bank Fraud Scheme A Teaneck landlord admitted in federal court this week that he orchestrated a $150 million bank and securities fraud scheme that lasted nearly 10 years. Seth Levine, 52, told a U.S. District Court judge in Newark via teleconference that he and others pocketed cash they received by illegally refinancing 70 multi-family buildings containing nearly 2,500 apartments. Levine said he lied on refinancing applications about the rents collected, the number of apartments leased, expenses and the true owners of the complex, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. That wasn’t all: L…
Bergen Exec From Passaic County Admits $91.5 Million Bank Fraud, Questions Remain Bergen Exec From Passaic County Admits $91.5 Million Bank Fraud, Questions Remain
Bergen Exec From Passaic County Admits $91.5 Million Bank Fraud, Questions Remain Now that an executive of a Glen Rock property management company has admitted his role in a $91.5 million loan fraud, questions remain about an "unnamed co-conspirator." Barton Schack, 65, of Ringwood, told a federal judge in Newark this week that he helped the other participant fraudulently secure a massive commercial mortgage loan by lying about how many tenants were in a network of medical office buildings used as collateral and how much rent they’d paid, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. The pair then pocketed millions of dollars in rent from the properties -- which …
COVID-19: NJ Man, 51, Scammed $1.9 Million From Business Relief Funds, U.S. Attorney Says COVID-19: NJ Man, 51, Scammed $1.9 Million From Business Relief Funds, U.S. Attorney Says
Covid-19: NJ Man, 51, Scammed $1.9 Million From Business Relief Funds, U.S. Attorney Says A Sussex County man was arrested Thursday on accusations of having obtained nearly $2 million in fraudulent loans through the federal government’s COVID-19 business relief plan. John Jhong, of Sparta, applied for 10 fraudulent PPP loans for businesses of which he claimed to be an owner, manager and/or partner, according to a statement from New Jersey Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig. Jhong’s applications contained fraudulent statements and falsified records claiming to come from the IRS, authorities said. “In fact, according to IRS records, none of the tax documents Jhong submitted wi…
Feds: NJ Bank Employee, Bronx Buddy Swiped $600,000 From Customers With Stolen IDs Feds: NJ Bank Employee, Bronx Buddy Swiped $600,000 From Customers With Stolen IDs
Feds: NJ Bank Employee, Bronx Buddy Swiped $600,000 From Customers With Stolen IDs FBI agents caught a South Jersey bank employee and an accomplice from the Bronx who authorities said stole more than $600,000 from unsuspecting victims after swiping their IDs. Jamere Hill-Birdsong, 32, of Gloucester City, worked inside a bank call center where he recruited co-workers to help steal the identifications of call-in customers, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said Thursday. The conspirators took photos or screenshots of customers’ information and signatures that they forwarded to Hill-Birdson and Lamar Melhado, 31, of the Bronx, Honig said. They then had phony identificat…
Confessed Hackensack Schemer Who Stole $2M From Victims' Bank Accounts Gets 5+ Years In Fed Pen Confessed Hackensack Schemer Who Stole $2M From Victims' Bank Accounts Gets 5+ Years In Fed Pen
Confessed Hackensack Schemer Who Stole $2M From Victims' Bank Accounts Gets 5+ Years In Fed Pen A Hackensack woman who stole $2 million from various victims’ bank accounts through an elaborate scheme that included going to their homes is headed to federal prison for more than five years, authorities said Tuesday. Working with others, Alexis Taylor, 32, bought a “significant amount of stolen personal identifying information via the dark web, including bank account information and online security question answers,” Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachel A. Honig said. She then used the information to access victim accounts in New Jersey, New York and elsewhere, Honig said. Taylor a…
Feds: $250,000 In Mailed NJ Checks, Money Orders Stolen, Cashed By NYC Crew Feds: $250,000 In Mailed NJ Checks, Money Orders Stolen, Cashed By NYC Crew
Feds: $250,000 In Mailed NJ Checks, Money Orders Stolen, Cashed By NYC Crew More than $250,000 worth of checks and money orders were stolen from post office mailboxes in North Jersey by a group of thieves from the Bronx who quickly converted them to cash, federal authorities said. Crew members operated for nearly 14 months, stealing checks and money orders from the mail, altering them, depositing them into bank accounts and withdrawing the proceeds before the victims discovered the fraud. U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Jose Lopez Blanco, 22, got them access to the mailboxes with a U.S. Postal Service master key, Carpenito said. Law enforcement officers watche…
COVID-19: Feds Nab Fleeing Sussex Man Accused Of Pocketing $5.6M Small Biz Pandemic Loan COVID-19: Feds Nab Fleeing Sussex Man Accused Of Pocketing $5.6M Small Biz Pandemic Loan
Covid-19: Feds Nab Fleeing Sussex Man Accused Of Pocketing $5.6M Small Biz Pandemic Loan A Sussex County man who collected $5.6 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic loans that he wasn't entitled to was about to board a flight to Pakistan when federal agents arrested him, authorities said. Azhar Sarwar Rana, 30, of Newton, took the money -- designed to keep struggling small businesses afloat during the pandemic – and invested millions in the stock market, made a payment to a luxury car dealership and sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to accounts in Pakistan, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Rana submitted an application for a stimulus loan under the federal Paycheck Prote…