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Thursday, nov 21
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U.S. Justice Department
News
Pair Convicted In Worldwide Ransomware Attacks, Victimizing NJ Residents: Feds
Two foreign nationals pleaded guilty and were convicted on Thursday, July 18 to participating in the LockBit ransomware group and to deploying attacks on computer systems in New Jersey and worldwide, authorities said. LockBit was described as "one of the most destructive ransomware groups in the world," by U.S. Justice Department officials. Ruslan Magomedeovic Astamirov, 21, a Russian national from the Chechen Republic and Mikhail Vasiliev, 34, from Bradford, Ontario, a dual citizen in Canada and Russia, pleaded guilty to participating in the LockBit ransomware group that targeted critical …
News
NJ Teen Recruited Undercover Agent To Blow Up PSE&G Facilities, Nabbed At Newark Airport: Feds
A teenager from Middlesex County is facing federal charges for asking an undercover agent to destroy PSE&G electrical facilities in New Jersey, officials announced this week. Andrew Takhistov, 18, of East Brunswick, was arrested Wednesday, July 10 at Newark Liberty International Airport where he was planning to travel to Paris on his way to Ukraine, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Takhistov is charged with one count of soliciting another individual to engage in criminal conduct that involved destroying a public service enterprise group circuit breaker and substation, fede…
Police & Fire
Teaneck Tax Preparer Got $1.43M For Himself, $40M For Clients In COVID Scam: Indictment
A Teaneck tax preparer illegally collected $1.43 million for himself and $40 million for clients from the IRS by purposefully exploiting COVID-related credits that neither he nor they were entitled to, a federal indictment alleges. Leon Haynes, 50, was originally arrested on a criminal complaint last July. The investigation leading to the charges continued before a grand jury in Newark. The result: a 55-count indictment for tax evasion, preparing false returns, aggravated ID theft and mail fraud, authorities said. Haynes fraudulently sought more than $150 million from the IRS by claim…
Police & Fire
Kickbacks Convinced Doc To Scam Medicare Out Of Nearly $21 Million: NJ Feds
A doctor pocketed cash kickbacks from lab companies and others for filing more than $20.7 million in bogus Medicare claims for medically unnecessary -- and often expensive -- COVID and cancer genetic tests, among other scams, a federal grand jury in Newark has charged. Alexander Baldonado, 68, of Queens already was awaiting trial dating back to charges brought a few years ago when grand jurors in Newark this week returned a superseding indictment that digs deeper into the allegations. Baldonado approved lab tests billed to Medicare in exchange for cash payoffs "from a laboratory representat…
Police & Fire
Bloods Leader, Passaic County Man Busted with 28 Lbs Of Coke, 500 Lbs Of Pot At Teterboro: FBI
A high-ranking member of the Bloods with longstanding mob ties and a Passaic County man with a criminal history of his own were seized when they tried to fly to London out of Teterboro Airport with 28 pounds of cocaine and 500 pounds of pot on a private jet, federal authorities said. Leonardo Petrosillo, 45, of West Milford, and Edwin Spears, 49, of Newark brought three companions -- Spears’s girlfriend, an exotic dancer from Maryland and a friend of hers -- as a front for a dozen drug-stuffed bags of luggage, they said. The plane was to fly it all to John Lennon Airport in London, accordin…
Police & Fire
2 Broken Thumbs Down: Gambino Family Hothead Nearly Torches Jersey Shore Restaurant, Feds Say
Life imitated art when a reputed Gambino crime family captain threatened to burn down a Jersey Shore restaurant, then went to a service station across the street and tried to buy and fill a plastic gas can, federal authorities said. In what could’ve been a scene from any number of modern-day mob movies, Joseph Lanni of Staten Island became a walking cliché, the Justice Department said in announcing an organized-crime takedown that stretched all the way to Sicily. Lanni and fellow Staten Islander Vincent “Vinny Slick” Minsquero “became belligerent” after being asked to leave Roxy’s Bar and G…
Police & Fire
'PlugwalkJoe' Admits Unprecedented Twitter Hack That Included Musk, Kardashian, Biden: Feds
A 23-year-old British citizen who hacked the Twitter accounts of Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian and Bill Gates, among others, pleaded guilty in federal court to a host of related charges as part of a deal with the government. Joseph James O'Connor -- also known as "PlugwalkJoe" -- technically faces up to 77 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines but will likely get somewhere between 10 to 20 years when all is said and done. The Liverpudlian hacker admitted during a plea hearing in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday, May 9, that he committed one of the largest high-pro…
News
Bergen Man Admits Conning Seniors Out Of $1.6M While Awaiting Sentencing For Similar Scam
A Bergen County man admitted in federal court that he ran a mail-fraud scheme that conned senior citizens out of more than $1.6 million while awaiting sentencing for his role in a similar fraud, authorities said. Ryan Young, 40, of Upper Saddle River, had pleaded guilty in February 2018 to participating in a large-scale international mail-fraud scheme that fleeced victims of $50 million. The scammer sent fraudulent prize notification letters to victims in the U.S. and other countries falsely claiming that they’d won money or valuable prizes, such as luxury cars, federal authorities said. V…
News
NJ Nurses Have Licenses Revoked, Ordered To Stop Practicing Amid Fake Nursing Diploma Scam
Nearly 50 nurses in New Jersey had their permanent or temporary licenses nullified in the wake of a federal investigation into five now-closed Florida universities that issued bogus diplomas, state authorities announced. According to New Jersey Attorney Genearl Matthew J. Platkin, 20 nurses received notices ordering them to immediately cease and desist any nursing practice in the state. They were also required to notify their employers, he said on Thursday, March 9. Any who continue to practice nursing in New Jersey could face fines or other penalties, the attorney general said. Each of th…
News
Springsteen Tickets Going For Less Than A Soda At Some Venues
Trouble in the heartland: That darkness on the edge of town might just be empty seats during Bruce Springsteen's current tour. Ticket prices for Springsteen's Tuesday night Feb. 21 show with the E Street Band in Tulsa, Oklahoma, dropped as low as $6 each -- with fees -- as resellers found themselves forced to dump. His Valentine's Day shindig at the Toyota Center in Houston saw hundreds of tickets left at as little as 10 bucks and hundreds more between $25 and a C-note days before the big night. A portent of things to come? Good question. Okies who scouted Ticketmaster for seats found the…
News
Ex-NJ Business Owner From Brooklyn Admits Ducking Taxes On $4.1M Company Buyout
UPDATE: A former New Jersey business owner admitted short-changing the IRS by $1.1 million after selling his stock to the company. David Seruya, 42, of Brooklyn sold his shares to the Edison-based home-warranty company for more than $4.1 million in a 2014 buyout, federal authorities said. The deal included a lump sum payment and installment payments spread out over 24 months, according to the U.S. Justice Department. On three straight tax returns, from 2014 through 2016, Seruya gave his return preparer “false and incomplete income information,” underreporting the income he received from th…
News
California Man Went To Justice Kavanaugh's Home With Intent To Kill: Feds
A California man has been charged with the attempted murder of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh after telling dispatchers his intent was to do just that Wednesday, June 8, federal officials said. Nicholas John Roske, 26, of Simi Valley was found dressed in all black carrying a backpack and suitcase outside of Justice Kavanaugh's home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, the US Justice Department said. Here's the perp who wanted to kill Kavanaugh, Nicholas John Roske pic.twitter.com/Zt0hZJEv80 — 🍊 Terrance 🌴 (@Orsin_Buggy) June 8, 2022 Roske called the Montgomery County Emergency line saying …
News
Feds: Postal Supervisor In NJ Sold 400 Vax Cards That She Printed At Work
A U.S. Postal Service supervisor from New Jersey openly sold 400 bogus COVID vaccine cards that she printed at her job -- while claiming that a graphic design degree was "paying off" for her, federal authorities charged. Lisa Hammell, 39, of the South Jersey town of Turnersville, sold the cards for from $20 to $100 after advertising them on social media, an indictment returned by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Newark says. Two of the buyers were from New Jersey and another was a federal employee in Virginia whose mother needed the card because she worked in a hospital and had to be …
News
Murderous East Coast MS-13 Leader From NJ Sentenced In MD To Life
A Jersey Shore MS-13 overlord who ran the gang’s East Coast operation was sentenced in Maryland to life in federal prison on Friday, April 1 for a “reign of terror” across several states, the U.S. Justice Department announced. Miguel Angel “Reaper” Corea Diaz, 41, of Long Branch, NJ will have to serve out the sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. The capture of Corea Diaz was “one of the biggest takedowns of a high-ranking MS-13 leader in the United States," a district attorney in Nassau County said after he was indicted on Long Island in December 2018. Corea Dia…
News
Ex-Fox News Producer Charged In NY Federal Court With Helping Sanctioned Russian Oligarch
A founding Fox News producer was indicted in federal court in Manhattan for violating U.S. sanctions against Russia when he helped an oligarch there launch a propaganda network, the Justice Department announced. John Hanick, a 71-year-old U.S. citizen, was discretely seized in London early last month, federal authorities disclosed with the unsealing of an indictment against him on Thursday, March 3. Justice Department officials said they're seeking Hanick's extradition for helping Konstantin Malofeyev establish Tsargrad TV after the oligarch was sanctioned for his role in financing pro-Mosc…
News
Couple Who Took Over ‘Tiger King’ Park Surrender 138 Animals And Rights To Ever Exhibit Again
The couple who took over the once-popular “Tiger King” roadside animal park after Joseph “Joe Exotic” Maldonado-Passage went to prison have formally had all of their animals taken away and their rights terminated to ever exhibit any again, federal authorities said. Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe agreed to the measures, including terminating their interests in 97 endangered or threatened animals seized from their facility and abandoning their rights to an additional 41 animals covered by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), as part of a consent decree, the U.S. Justice Department announced Monday. Federa…
News
Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced
A Sussex County man was sentenced Tuesday to more than five years in federal prison for spending $5.6 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic business loans for himself, authorities said. Azhar Sarwar Rana, 31, of Newton will have to serve out just about all of the 64-month sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. The federal Paycheck Protection Program was designed to keep struggling small businesses afloat during the pandemic. Rana used the money, instead, to invest millions in the stock market, make a payment to a luxury car dealership and send hundreds of thous…
News
192 Vets' Home Residents, 2 Nurses Died Of
Covid-
19: US Justice Department Probes NJ Facilities
The federal government is investigating NJ veterans homes where hundreds of veterans -- as well as nurse -- reportedly died of COVID-19. Federal investigators from the U.S. Justice Department reportedly were at veterans homes in Paramus and Menlo Park in Middlesex County this week, according to the Asbury Park Press. Menlo Park had 103 resident deaths while Paramus had 89. A nurse's aide also died at each facility from the virus, according to app.com It's part part of the U.S. government's investigation into problems with health-care at nursing homes with some of the high…
News
Feds: Sussex Man Admits Spending $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Vehicle, More
A Sussex County man who was seized by federal agents as he tried to board a flight to Pakistan admitted fraudulently collecting $5.6 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic business loans that he put to personal use, authorities said. Azhar Sarwar Rana, 30, of Newton, used the money -- designed to keep struggling small businesses afloat during the pandemic – to millions in the stock market, make a payment to a luxury car dealership and send hundreds of thousands of dollars to accounts in Pakistan, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Rana submitted an application for a stimulus loan und…
News
Central PA DoorDash Driver Impersonated Trump Family Members In 'Gays For Trump' Scam, Feds Say
A 22-year-old Central Pennsylvania man posed as members of the Trump family online to raise more than $7,000 for made-up political organization "Gays for Trump" then spent the money on his own living expenses, federal officials said. Joshua Hall, of Mechanicsburg, was arrested Tuesday for wire fraud and identity theft Tuesday, the FBI and US Justice Department announced in a joint statement. From September 2019 and December 2020, Hall posed as former President Trump's family members including his brother Robert Trump, teen son Barron and sister Elizabeth Trump Grau -- who is in her late 70s…
News
Murphy Closing Edna Mahan Women's Prison, Releases Report Into Violent Cell Extractions
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday announced he would be closing the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women amid a series of abuse and rapes. “Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women has a long history of abusive incidents predating our Administration, and we must now commit ourselves to completely breaking this pattern of misconduct to better serve incarcerated women entrusted to the State’s care. Murphy also released an investigative report detailing cell extractions at the facility that occurred on Jan. 11, calling them "disturbing and horrific." The 75-page document maintain…
News
NJ Releases Hate Crime Totals By Town, Race, More: Guess Which County Had The Most
Nearly 40% of all hate crimes reported in New Jersey last year were against Blacks, more than the combined total against whites, Jews, Latinos and Muslims, according to State Police crime figures released Tuesday. The town with the most reported bias incidents in 2020 was Lakewood, the figures show. More than half of all reported bias incidents in New Jersey last year involved straight harassment, as opposed to vandalism and other related crimes. More than 13% occurred at schools, parks or playgrounds. The county with the most, overall, was Monmouth. The preliminary data released Tuesday…
News
PA Man Arrested After Posting Photos, Videos Participating In Capitol Riots To Facebook
A Pennsylvania man was arrested for participating in the U.S. Capitol riot after posting photos and videos of himself participating. Andrew Wrigley was arrested in the Middle District of Pennsylvania on Friday. He was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. A special agent with the U.S. Capitol Police last week received screenshots of Wrigley's Facebook page that show he had posted multiple photographs of himself at the riots, the U.S. Justice Department said. …
Police & Fire
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…
News
Feds: Wanted Asbury Park Ex-Con Bloods Member Nabbed With Loaded Gun
A gang member from Asbury Park who was paroled earlier this year after spending more than four years in state prison was carrying a loaded gun when police grabbed him on an outstanding warrant, authorities said. Detectives from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office were watching along with local police when Lashawn Alford, 27, emerged from his Neptune City apartment and got into the back seat of a car that drove out of the complex, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Units moved in quickly and took Alford, a member of the Queen Street II Bloods, into custody, Carpenito said. On the floor…
News
Feds Accuse Couple Who Took Over ‘Tiger King’ Park Of Inhumane Animal Treatment
The couple who took over the once-popular “Tiger King” roadside animal park after Joseph “Joe Exotic” Maldonado-Passage went to prison are now in trouble themselves. The U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday that the federal government has taken Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe to court, accusing them and their company of inhumane treatment and improper handling of animals at the Oklahoma zoo. “The Lowes’ failure to provide basic veterinary care, appropriate food, and safe living conditions for the animals does not meet standards required by both the Animal Welfare Act and the Endangered Speci…
News
NJ
Covid-
19 Scammer Pocketed $1.8M In Taxpayer-Funded Rescue Loans, Feds Charge
A North Jersey businessman fraudulently secured nearly $2 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic loans he wasn't entitled to, then diverted the money into accounts held by family members, including his young children, federal authorities charged. Rocco A. Malanga, 48, of Hackettstown, “used a variety of false statements to fraudulently obtain approximately $1.8 million in federal COVID-19 emergency relief funds meant for distressed small businesses,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Thursday. He then diverted the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) money to “accounts under the control of his …
News
Federal Monitors Stationed At Polling Stations In 2 NJ Counties
Federal monitors were stationed in two New Jersey counties to protect voting rights on Election Day. U.S. Justice Department officials on Monday notified officials in Bergen and Middlesex counties that they would be among 44 jurisdictions in 18 states being monitored by representatives of its civil rights division. The monitors focused on compliance with federal voting rights laws, NorthJersey.com reports. National complaints regarding possible violations of federal voting rights were being accepted through the Justice Department's call center at 800-253-3931. Voter fraud was being w…
Police & Fire
Former NJ Corrections Officer Who Had Sex With 3 Inmates Gets 5 Years Behind Bars
A former New Jersey corrections officer who pleaded guilty to having sex with three inmates at a women's prison was sentenced to five years behind bars and was forced to forfeit his job and pension, authorities said. Ahnwar Dixon, 42, of East Orange, was sentenced Oct. 21 by the Superior Court Judge Angela Borkowski, Acting Hunterdon County Prosecutor Michael J. Williams said. He must serve two years before parole eligibility, authorities said. The U.S Justice Department recently found decades-long sexual abuse at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Hunterdon County,…
News
Feds Charge More Than 300 In U.S. With Violent Crimes ‘Under Guise’ Of Peaceful Protests
More than 300 “violent opportunists” nationwide are being prosecuted federally for crimes committed “under the guise of peaceful demonstrations” against racial injustice, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday. They include a saboteur who inadvertently engulfed himself in flames when he poured liquid from a gas can onto three U.S. Supreme Court vehicles in Washington, D.C., the department said in a release. Several defendants “leveraged social media platforms to incite destruction and assaults against law enforcement officers,” the release says. Nearly three dozen defendants are ch…
News
Feds: NJ Firm Pays $345G For Short-Changing Foreign Nationals In Trump-Opposed Visa Program
A Middlesex County staffing firm has agreed to pony up $345,000 to settle federal allegations that it underpaid highly-skilled foreign nationals who were brought to the U.S. to work under a special visa program currently under fire from the Trump Administration. Edison-based Savantis Solutions didn’t admit or deny the Justice Department’s allegations, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito said. Instead, it agreed to pay back wages and interest to current and former company employees who entered the United States on H-1B visas. Although federal authorities didn’t specify their nation…
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