Tag:

Money Laundering

Ringwood Woman Stole $700K From Law Firm: Union County Prosecutor Ringwood Woman Stole $700K From Law Firm: Union County Prosecutor
Ringwood Woman Stole $700K From Law Firm: Union County Prosecutor A 54-year-old Ringwood woman was arrested and charged on Thursday, Dec. 12 with stealing more than $700,000 from the law firm she worked at, authorities said. Between 2018 and 2024 Colleen Hallenbeck, who was employed as a paralegal for a Union County-based law firm, misappropriated funds from various estates handled by the firm, Union County Prosecutor William Daniel said. Hallenbeck was responsible for distributing funds from estate accounts to beneficiaries. However, she wrote hundreds of unauthorized checks, totaling in excess of $700,000, for deposit into accounts s…
Two Newark Men Plead Guilty To Trafficking Fentanyl: Feds Two Newark Men Plead Guilty To Trafficking Fentanyl: Feds
Two Newark Men Plead Guilty To Trafficking Fentanyl: Feds Two Newark men pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Dec. 18 to being members of a drug trafficking organization that distributed hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl analogues, authorities said. From January 2014 through September 2020, Thomas Padovano, 50, and Bartholomew Padovano, 72, agreed to import and distribute various controlled substances and controlled substance analogues, including fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, methylone, and ketamine, US Attorney Philip Sellinger said. The Padovanos placed orders with a source in China and distributed the controlled substances and analogues in Ne…
NJ Mansion Seized From Chinese Billionaire Fraudster Listed At $33M NJ Mansion Seized From Chinese Billionaire Fraudster Listed At $33M
NJ Mansion Seized From Chinese Billionaire Fraudster Listed At $33M A historic Bergen County estate seized from a Chinese billionaire indicted in a $1 billion fraud scheme last year has hit the market for $33 million. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Carl Gambino (@carlgambino.realestate) The Crocker Mansion, located at 675 Ramapo Valley Road in Mahwah, spans 50,000 square feet and sits on 12.5 gated acres. Originally built in 1907, the property features 21 bedrooms, a pool house, tennis courts, and a guest house. It was declared a historic landmark by Mahwah Township due to its unique place in loc…
Romanian Duo Charged in $289K Bitcoin-For-Fake-Gold Cryptocurrency Scam In Bergen County Romanian Duo Charged in $289K Bitcoin-For-Fake-Gold Cryptocurrency Scam In Bergen County
Romanian Duo Charged in $289K Bitcoin-For-Fake-Gold Cryptocurrency Scam In Bergen County A year-long investigation has led to charges against two Romanian men accused of orchestrating a cryptocurrency scam involving fake gold and Bitcoin valued at approximately $289,000, and a Bergen County victim, authorities said. The suspects, 33-year-old Ciprian A. Tiber and 43-year-old Ahmed Zarei, remain at large and are believed to have returned to Romania following the alleged fraudulent transaction in September 2023, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced. The investigation began when Hasbrouck Heights police contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crime…
Secret Rutgers Drug Network Exposed: Seven Arrested In Undercover Bust, Prosecutors Say Secret Rutgers Drug Network Exposed: Seven Arrested In Undercover Bust, Prosecutors Say
Secret Rutgers Drug Network Exposed: Seven Arrested In Undercover Bust, Prosecutors Say A covert social media network used by Rutgers University students to buy and sell drugs led to seven arrests following a months-long investigation, authorities said. The seven were arrested as part of the "Operation RU Pharm" investigation, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said in a news release on Thursday, Dec. 5. The undercover operation exposed a private social media network used by Rutgers students to distribute and purchase drugs. Investigators said they uncovered the online platform created by a former Rutgers student. Dealers posted menus of drugs for students w…
Westfield Man Admits To Defrauding COVID Relief Fund Of $900K: Feds Westfield Man Admits To Defrauding COVID Relief Fund Of $900K: Feds
Westfield Man Admits To Defrauding COVID Relief Fund Of $900K: Feds A 66-year-old Westfield man recently admitted to fraudulently obtaining a $900,000 PPP loan during the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities said.  Joseph McKeon applied for PPP loans on behalf of his New Jersey company, falsely claiming a higher number of employees and inflated payroll figures, US Attorney Philip Sellinger said. To support his claims, McKeon submitted forged documents, including bank statements and tax returns, Sellinger said. McKeon withdrew significant amounts of cash and transferred portions of the money, including a $315,504 transaction to an Indiana title company, Selli…
West New York Financial Advisor Gets 3+ Years for $4M Health Care Fraud Scheme: Feds West New York Financial Advisor Gets 3+ Years for $4M Health Care Fraud Scheme: Feds
West New York Financial Advisor Gets 3+ Years for $4M Health Care Fraud Scheme: Feds  A 55-year-old West New York financial advisor was sentenced to 41 months in prison on Monday, Nov. 18, for orchestrating a $4 million scheme to defraud public health insurance plans, authorities said. Kaival Patel was convicted last December in Camden federal court of conspiracy, health care fraud, and money laundering, US Attorney Phillip Sellinger said. Patel must also pay $4.72 million in restitution and serve three years of supervised release, Sellinger said. According to court documents and trial evidence, Patel operated ABC Healthy Living LLC, a company that marketed high-cost c…
NJ Ex-Con Charged In Deadly Attack Near Times Square NJ Ex-Con Charged In Deadly Attack Near Times Square
NJ Ex-Con Charged In Deadly Attack Near Times Square A New Jersey man recently released from prison has been arrested and charged with murder after a young Manhattan woman died from injuries sustained in an assault, according to the NYPD. Leslie Torres, 23, was walking on West 46th Street near 8th Avenue when she was attacked by Jaheem Warren, 33, of Prospect Park, on Tuesday, Oct. 29 around 1:35 p.m., according to NBC and the NYPD. Torres was left unconscious on the sidewalk in front of the Riu Plaza New York Times Square Hotel, NBC says. Torres, who lived on West 45th Street, was in critical condition when she arrived at Mount Sinai W…
FBI Thwarts Iran-Linked Plan To Assassinate Donald Trump, DOJ Says FBI Thwarts Iran-Linked Plan To Assassinate Donald Trump, DOJ Says
FBI Thwarts Iran-Linked Plan To Assassinate Donald Trump, DOJ Says An Iranian operative and two associates living in America have been charged in a murder-for-hire plot targeting United States citizens, including President-elect Donald Trump. Federal authorities have charged Farhad Shakeri, an alleged operative of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), along with two New York City associates in a plot to assassinate a US citizen critical of the Iranian government.  The case highlights the continued threat posed by Iran’s attempts to silence dissidents and even target top US. officials. According to the Department of Justice criminal complai…
North Jersey Man Helped Russia Acquire Millions In Military Equipment: Feds North Jersey Man Helped Russia Acquire Millions In Military Equipment: Feds
North Jersey Man Helped Russia Acquire Millions In Military Equipment: Feds A 43-year-old Saddle River man admitted on Friday, Nov. 1 to helping Russia acquire sensitive electronics for its miliary and intelligent services, authorities said. Vadim Yermolenko faces up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States for his role in a transnational procurement and money laundering network that sought to acquire sensitive dual-use electronics for Russian military and intelligence services, U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New Y…
NY Man Scams Elderly NJ Resident Out Of $432K In Home Improvement Scheme: Prosecutor NY Man Scams Elderly NJ Resident Out Of $432K In Home Improvement Scheme: Prosecutor
NY Man Scams Elderly NJ Resident Out Of $432K In Home Improvement Scheme: Prosecutor A New York man has been charged with money laundering on accusations he stole $432,000 from an elderly New Jersey resident in a home improvement scam, authorities said. Abba Cohen, 42, of Flushing, NY, received the money in his bank account as payment for a home improvement scam on an elderly Woodland Park resident, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. Authorities were notified on April 25, and following an investigation, Cohen was charged with one count of second-degree conspiracy to commit theft by deception; one count of second-degree receiving stolen property; and…
NJ-Based TD Bank Fined $3B For Allowing Drug Dealers, Human Traffickers To Launder Money: Feds NJ-Based TD Bank Fined $3B For Allowing Drug Dealers, Human Traffickers To Launder Money: Feds
Nj-based TD Bank Fined $3B For Allowing Drug Dealers, Human Traffickers To Launder Money: Feds TD Bank has agreed to pay about $3 billion in historic penalties after its relaxed policies allowed criminals to launder their money, authorities said. The Canadian bank with U.S. headquarters in Cherry Hill pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to not maintain an anti-money laundering program that complies with the Bank Secrecy Act, filing inaccurate currency transaction reports, and laundering money, the Justice Department said in a news release on Thursday, Oct. 10. TD Bank will pay more than $1.8 billion to resolve the DOJ's investigation and $1.3 billion in a penalty f…
$1.1M In Drugs, 5 Firearms, $65K Seized From NJ Man, Prosecutor Says $1.1M In Drugs, 5 Firearms, $65K Seized From NJ Man, Prosecutor Says
$1.1M In Drugs, 5 Firearms, $65K Seized From NJ Man, Prosecutor Says A 35-year-old Mercer County man is facing a slew of charges after investigators uncovered $1.1 million in drugs, five handguns, and $65,000 in cash from him, authorities said. James Nalbone Jr., 35, of Hamilton Township, was arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 7, following a month-long investigation, Acting Mercer County Prosecutor Theresa L. Hilton said. Detectives detained Nalbone at his home on Byron Avenue and executed a search warrant, Hilton said. Sgt. Tom Paglione's K-9 partner, Indy, gave positive indications of a drug odor at multiple locations within the premises, poli…
Felon From NJ Charged With Child Rape In Lebanon, PA: Affidavit Felon From NJ Charged With Child Rape In Lebanon, PA: Affidavit
Felon From NJ Charged With Child Rape In Lebanon, PA: Affidavit A New Jersey man with a felony criminal record in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey has been arrested on child rape charges police announced on Thursday, Aug. 1.  Jose Enrique "Enrico" Rivas, 47 of Newark, NJ, was arrested in New Jersey on a warrant issued by Lebanon City Police on Wednesday, July 31, as detailed in the police release. Rivas will be extradited to Lebanon, PA, the police explained.  A 13-year-old girl's guardian made the ChildLine call after the girl told them "I woke to his fingers in me and then he put his pp in me" and "I was just raped and he is still upstairs,…
AGAIN: Big Purple Bud Bus Guy, Woman Arrested After Series Of Raids Across NJ, NY, Cops Say AGAIN: Big Purple Bud Bus Guy, Woman Arrested After Series Of Raids Across NJ, NY, Cops Say
Again: Big Purple Bud Bus Guy, Woman Arrested After Series Of Raids Across NJ, NY, Cops Say The New York owner of a popular cannabis company known for its fleet of purple buses and vans was taken into custody, as was a woman, on Wednesday, July 10, following a series of raids across New Jersey and New York, authorities said. Searches on Bill Schlette’s Bud Bus Inc. locations Hewitt, Manahawkin, Keyport, and West Nyack, NY turned up $200,000 in cash, according to West Milford Police Capt. Parrello. Back in May, West Milford police executed search warrants at five Bud Bus locations in town where 150 pounds of marijuana were seized, along with $11,000 in cash, police said. A warrant …
Bayonne Pair Arrested For Selling Cocaine, Illegal Firearm Bayonne Pair Arrested For Selling Cocaine, Illegal Firearm
Bayonne Pair Arrested For Selling Cocaine, Illegal Firearm Two men were arrested in Bayonne on Tuesday, June 18 and charged with dealing cocaine, marijuana and pills, authorities said. Giovanny Alfaro and Jamie Juarez-Castillo, both 23, were arrested on Avenue C in Bayonne and found to be in possession of  more than 180 grams of suspected cocaine, more than three pounds of suspected marijuana, multiple quantities of Alprazolam and Oxycodone pills and more than $3,000 in suspected proceeds from narcotics transactions, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. During the course of the investigation, numerous transactions w…
23-Year-Old Taiwanese Operator Of $100 Million Dark Web Drug Market Seized By Feds At JFK 23-Year-Old Taiwanese Operator Of $100 Million Dark Web Drug Market Seized By Feds At JFK
23-Year-Old Taiwanese Operator Of $100 Million Dark Web Drug Market Seized By Feds At JFK Federal agents at JFK Airport seized a 23-year-old Taiwanese national who the Justice Department said owned and operated a dark web drug bazaar that produced well over $100 million in sales. The “Incognito Market” created by Rui-Siang Lin enabled its users to anonymously buy and sell drugs around the globe for nearly 3½ years, US Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and other federal officials announced on Monday, May 20. Lin -- also known as Ruisiang Lin, 林睿庠, Pharoah, and faro – mastermineded a clandestine e-commerce network where buyers could browse thousands of listings for heroin, LSD, …