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Victims Scammed Out Of $2.2M By NJ Couple In 'Publishers Clearing House Lottery' Scheme: Cops
A couple from Secaucus is facing a litany of charges after scamming residents in multiple states out of more nearly $2.2 million, police said.
Akeem Lee and Majda Hodzic-Lee called victims in Florida, Minnesota, Arizona, Kansas, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Nebraska, saying they'd won the "Publishers Clearing House Lottery," Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller said.
In exchange for the vehicles and large sums of money the victims were told they won, they were required by Lee and Hodzic-Lee to send cash, money orders and/or gift cards for taxes, fees and IRS …
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…
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…
NJ Biz Owner Didn't Give Hurt Landscaper Worker's Comp, Woman Stole $19K In Unemployment: AG
Two New Jersey residents are facing federal charges for failing to provide workers compensation to an injured employee and stealing more than $19,000 in unemployment funds, authorities said.
Richard Hockenberry, 71, of Hawthorne, and Brianna Larkins, 34, of Secaucus, were both charged by way of indictment for the employment benefit-related crimes, Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced Monday, May 9.
One of Hockneberry's employees at his landscaping company became injured at work on Feb. 26, 2018, Platkin said. On May 4, 2018, the victim filed a Workers’ Compensation…
Scam ALERT: Men Used Counterfeit $100 Bills At Several NJ Gas Stations, Police Say
Two men have been charged after allegedly using counterfeit bills at several gas stations throughout the Garden State, authorities said Friday.
Mohammad Kamara, 30, of Newark, and Tonney Manyango, 29, of Sayreville, are accused of asking for $3.00 worth of gas at QuickChek in Cedar Knolls, paying with a counterfeit $100 bill, and asking for change for a second counterfeit $100 bill on Jan. 4, Hanover Police said.
A follow-up investigation found that several other convenience stores throughout New Jersey had recently experienced a similar scam between Jan. 4 and Jan. 6, authorities said.
Th…
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…
State: Jersey Shore Chiropractor, 73, With Fraud History Files 261 Bogus Insurance Claims
A Bayonne-based chiropractor from the Jersey Shore with an insurance fraud conviction already on his record did it again, state authorities charged.
Charles B. Boas, 73, of Matawan, got probation seven years ago after pleading guilty to collecting nearly $13,000 through bogus claims, records show.
State officials announced Wednesday that they'd caught him in an even bigger scam -- this time involving hundreds of false submissions to Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield.
A grand jury in Trenton indicted Boas on 261 counts involving health care claims fraud, theft by deception and tax evasions, Ac…
