Cyber-Casanova From NJ Admits Duping Dozens Of Lonely Hearts Out Of $1.14M Cyber-Casanova From NJ Admits Duping Dozens Of Lonely Hearts Out Of $1.14M
Cyber-Casanova From NJ Admits Duping Dozens Of Lonely Hearts Out Of $1.14M A New Jersey man admitted that he orchestrated an online scam that conned dozens of unsuspecting women on dating sites out of more than a million dollars – and led one of them to suicide. Rubbin Sarpong, 37, of Millville pocketed the money and bought property in Ghana, along with luxury cars, expensive jewelry, top-shelf booze, designer clothes and more, federal authorities said. Then he flaunted it on Instagram. Sarpong had catfishing accomplices, several of whom live in Ghana, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael Honig said. Posing as American military personnel stationed oversea…
Fort Dix Prison Inmate Convicted In Dark Web Child Porn Ring Fort Dix Prison Inmate Convicted In Dark Web Child Porn Ring
Fort Dix Prison Inmate Convicted In Dark Web Child Porn Ring A convicted child-porn trafficker who was due to be paroled after serving more than six years at the federal prison in Fort Dix was found guilty last week of participating in a ring of inmates who shared child sex-abuse images using contraband cellphones and memory cards. Given the circumstances, William H. Noble, 56, of Lowell, MA will be sentenced this time to a mandatory minimum of 15 years, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Noble was a month away from being paroled from the Federal Correctional Institution at Fort Dix when he was arrested by the FBI in February …
Feds: Accomplice Of NJ Bank Employee Admits Swiping $600,000 From Customers With Stolen IDs Feds: Accomplice Of NJ Bank Employee Admits Swiping $600,000 From Customers With Stolen IDs
Feds: Accomplice Of NJ Bank Employee Admits Swiping $600,000 From Customers With Stolen IDs A Bronx man admitted that he conspired with a South Jersey bank employee to steal more than $600,000 from unsuspecting victims after swiping their IDs, federal authorities said. Lamar Melhado, 32, used screenshots of customers’ information and signatures that were supplied to him and others by Jamere Hill-Birdsong of Gloucester City, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said Thursday. Hill-Birdson, who worked for a call center at a Mount Laurel bank, recruited co-workers to take photos or screenshots of customers’ information and signatures and then pass them on to him and Melhado, she sai…
Thief Who Swiped 94,000 Credit Card Numbers At Michaels Stores In NJ, NY, CT, PA Sentenced Thief Who Swiped 94,000 Credit Card Numbers At Michaels Stores In NJ, NY, CT, PA Sentenced
Thief Who Swiped 94,000 Credit Card Numbers At Michaels Stores In NJ, NY, CT, PA Sentenced UPDATE: A member of an ID theft ring that stole more than $600,000 from customers at Michaels stores in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and elsewhere was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison on Thursday. Jose “Tito” Salazar, 45, 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 hun…
FEDS: India-Based Phone Scammers Admit Conning Elderly NJ Victims Out Of $600,000 FEDS: India-Based Phone Scammers Admit Conning Elderly NJ Victims Out Of $600,000
Feds: India-Based Phone Scammers Admit Conning Elderly NJ Victims Out Of $600,000 Two Indian nationals admitted Wednesday that they conned mostly elderly New Jersey victims out of $600,000 through a variety of phone scams, including posing as government officials and online support techs. Zeeshan Khan, 22, and Maaz Ahmed Shamsi, 24, operated India-based call centers that made robocalls to mostly elderly U.S. residents, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Once contact was made, members of the international ring “would coerce or trick the victims into sending large sums of cash through physical shipments or wire transfers to other members of the cons…
NJ Man Convicted In $1.3M 'Mortgage Recovery' Scheme NJ Man Convicted In $1.3M 'Mortgage Recovery' Scheme
NJ Man Convicted In $1.3M 'Mortgage Recovery' Scheme A South Jersey man was convicted in federal court for his role in a scheme to defraud the IRS of more than $3 million. Jurors in U.S. District Court in Camden agreed that John Barry Jr., of Pemberton and accomplices in New York and elsewhere doctored tax returns that helped clients eliminate outstanding mortgage debts by claiming that a substantial amount of taxes had already been withheld. In exchange, Barry collected 20 to 35 percent of the refunds and split the money with his co-conspirators, federal prosecutors said. (Barry also didn’t file his own 2016 return or report any of his ill-…
Pro Poker Player Seeks $1.25M In Damages For Lifetime Borgata Ban Pro Poker Player Seeks $1.25M In Damages For Lifetime Borgata Ban
Pro Poker Player Seeks $1.25M In Damages For Lifetime Borgata Ban A professional poker player is suing the Borgata after an apparently offhand comment he made to a desk clerk about jumping out of a window got him banned for life. Scott Robbins of Millbury, Massachusetts is seeking more than $1.25 million, a major portion of which he alleges represents lost earnings from Atlantic City poker tournaments, court papers show. The suit says Robbins, 54, was checking in at the popular hotel and casino for a Borgata $3,500 Main Event in September 2019 when a front desk clerk asked if he wanted a high or low floor for his room. “If I had to jump from a high floor…
Historic Drug Seizure Near Atlantic City Nets Fentanyl, Heroin, Coke, Feds Say Historic Drug Seizure Near Atlantic City Nets Fentanyl, Heroin, Coke, Feds Say
Historic Drug Seizure Near Atlantic City Nets Fentanyl, Heroin, Coke, Feds Say Local and federal authorities seized more than 30 pounds of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine – the area’s largest narcotics haul in history -- while raiding a basement drug mill just outside Atlantic City, authorities said. A federal judge in Camden ordered via videoconference that Ricardo Clavijo, 39, who lives in the Egg Harbor Township home, and Christopher Gonzalez, 37, of Pleasantville, remain held without bail, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Each is charged with conspiring to have and sell more than a kilo of heroin. “By all accounts, this case represents the largest single…
Federal Grand Jury Indicts South Jersey Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver Federal Grand Jury Indicts South Jersey Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver
Federal Grand Jury Indicts South Jersey Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver An angry South Jersey police officer doused a drunk driver with pepper spray twice after he’d been handcuffed, then filed a false report about the incident, an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Thursday alleges. Another officer had handcuffed the disruptive driver and was beginning to put him in the rear of a patrol vehicle at a local gas station when Bridgeton Police John Grier III “grabbed a large can of OC spray and pulled out the pin,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said. Grier, 49, of Cedarville, told the officer to “step back,” then asked the driver, “Do you want to …
NJ Feds: Ex-Con With 14-Year Prison History Admits Having Eight Guns, 400 Ammo Rounds NJ Feds: Ex-Con With 14-Year Prison History Admits Having Eight Guns, 400 Ammo Rounds
NJ Feds: Ex-Con With 14-Year Prison History Admits Having Eight Guns, 400 Ammo Rounds A Camden County man who’s already spent nearly 14 years behind bars will be headed to a federal penitentiary for another lengthy stretch after he admitted having eight guns and 400 rounds of ammunition in his car. Kareem McCargo, 38, was only 19 when jurors convicted him in 2001 of carjacking a female driver with a gun. He didn’t taste freedom again till he was in his 30s. That changed the night of Oct. 31, 2018, when Camden County police officers nabbed McCargo with the guns -- including three rifles, a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun and a 12-gauge shotgun – as well as the amm…
Feds: Ex-South Jersey Lawyer Gambled Away Investor’s $2.4M In Phony Eagles Season Tix Scheme Feds: Ex-South Jersey Lawyer Gambled Away Investor’s $2.4M In Phony Eagles Season Tix Scheme
Feds: Ex-South Jersey Lawyer Gambled Away Investor’s $2.4M In Phony Eagles Season Tix Scheme A disgraced South Jersey attorney with a confessed gambling habit was busted by federal agents for conning an investor out of $2.4 million in a loan scheme involving supposed Philadelphia Eagles season ticket holders, authorities said. Frank N. Tobolsky, 59, of Cherry Hill told the Delaware investor he was funding loans for clients using season ticket licenses as collateral, an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Camden says. There were no clients, it says. Tobolsky gambled “a substantial portion” of the money at Atlantic City casinos, among other personal uses, Acting U.S. Attor…
Masked Ex-Con Who Held Gun To Boy's Head In Camden Barbershop Robbery Gets 12 Years In Fed Pen Masked Ex-Con Who Held Gun To Boy's Head In Camden Barbershop Robbery Gets 12 Years In Fed Pen
Masked Ex-Con Who Held Gun To Boy's Head In Camden Barbershop Robbery Gets 12 Years In Fed Pen UPDATE: An ex-con who held a gun to a young boy's head while robbing a Camden barbershop was sentenced to nearly 12 years in federal prison. Benjamin Daye, 34, had been out of state prison barely a month when he put a gun to the child’s head and forced employees and customers to empty cash and belongings into a bag in November 2019. Rather than go to trial, he accepted a deal from the government. Daye was wearing a mask when he entered the Federal Street shop, put the boy in a headlock and threatened to harm him “unless everyone got on the floor,” a complaint on file in U.S. District Court…