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Cyber Crime

South Jersey Man Shared Child Pornography: Prosecutor South Jersey Man Shared Child Pornography: Prosecutor
South Jersey Man Shared Child Pornography: Prosecutor A 48-year-old man from Burlington County has been charged with possessing and sharing child pornography, authorities said. Dominic Constantine, of Marlton, was taken into custody at his residence on Wednesday, July 3, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw and Evesham Township Police Chief Walt Miller. He was charged with Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) on a File Sharing Program (First Degree), Possession of CSAM with Intent to Distribute (First Degree), Distribution of CSAM (First Degree), and Possession of CSAM (Second Degree), they said. He wa…
CHILD SEX STING: German 'Perv To Some Extent' Admits Flying Into NJ To Abuse Children CHILD SEX STING: German 'Perv To Some Extent' Admits Flying Into NJ To Abuse Children
Child SEX Sting: German 'Perv To Some Extent' Admits Flying Into NJ To Abuse Children UPDATE: A German man admitted in federal court in Newark that he flew to New Jersey for what he thought would be sex with children as young as 10 years old. Christian Stefan Walther, 39, of Erfurt, communicated with what turned out to be two undercover New Jersey State Police detectives via email, phone, and an encrypted messaging app, authorities said. The officers had posed as members of a group of predators who had access to young children, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Walther, who called himself a "perv to some extent," expressed a "desire to engage in sexual …
Westfield Students Made AI-Generated Nude Images Of Female Classmates: Officials Westfield Students Made AI-Generated Nude Images Of Female Classmates: Officials
Westfield Students Made Ai-generated Nude Images Of Female Classmates: Officials The Westfield School District said it is investigating after male students made AI-generated nude images of their female classmates. Mary Ann McGann, a spokeswoman for the district, said the incident took place over the summer and was brought to the attention of administrators on Friday, Oct. 20. The Wall Street Journal first reported the story on Thursday, Nov. 2.  The administration began an immediate investigation and police were notified, McGann said. All the images have been deleted and are not being circulated, Principal Mary Asfendis said in an e-mail to parents. Citing confide…
Clifton Man Seized In $13M Indian Tech Support Scam: Seniors, Small Biz Owners Among Victims Clifton Man Seized In $13M Indian Tech Support Scam: Seniors, Small Biz Owners Among Victims
Clifton Man Seized In $13M Indian Tech Support Scam: Seniors, Small Biz Owners Among Victims FBI agents seized a Clifton man in connection with an India-based $13 million tech support scam that targeted more than 7,000 victims, most of them elderly or small business owners, authorities said. Manoj Yadav, a 40-year-old Indian-American, collected an estimated $2.2 million for his services before sending the rest to an unspecified number of associates overseas, federal investigators charged. Together, the cyber-scammers “misled their numerous victims into thinking that they were a legitimate technology support company affiliated with a major software company,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. …
Youth Pastor Blackmailed Boys For Nude Sex Acts: Prosecutor Youth Pastor Blackmailed Boys For Nude Sex Acts: Prosecutor
Youth Pastor Blackmailed Boys For Nude Sex Acts: Prosecutor A youth pastor was sentenced to 25 yers in New Jersey State Prison for coaxing boys to send him nude photos and then blackmailing them, authorities said. Sean Higgins, 32, of Palmyra committed the crimes in 2020 while serving as the youth pastor and music leader at Harbor Baptist Church in Hainesport, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw. He was also a teacher at the Harbor Baptist Academy, a private K-12 school that is housed in the same facility. Higgins pleaded guilty earlier this year to four counts of child endangerment for each of the four victims. None …
Were Yours Contacted? Pedo Got Kids To Strip Online, Then Shared Screenshots: Bergen Prosecutor Were Yours Contacted? Pedo Got Kids To Strip Online, Then Shared Screenshots: Bergen Prosecutor
Were Yours Contacted? Pedo Got Kids To Strip Online, Then Shared Screenshots: Bergen Prosecutor An unemployed Bergen County man paid children to strip during webchats so he could take screenshots that he then viewed and shared, authorities charged. Edward A. Torres, 23, tried destroying the evidence during a court-approved raid of his Union Place apartment off Harding Avenue, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Detectives from his Cyber Crimes Unit had learned that Torres “used the Internet to view, download, possess, and distribute items depicting nude and/or sexually explicit prepubescent and pubescent children,” the prosecutor said. He got children to produce some of those…
NJ Man Admits Hiring Hitman To Kill Teen He Shared Sexual Photos With Online: Feds NJ Man Admits Hiring Hitman To Kill Teen He Shared Sexual Photos With Online: Feds
NJ Man Admits Hiring Hitman To Kill Teen He Shared Sexual Photos With Online: Feds A Camden County man who shared sexually explicit photos with a 14-year-old child online admitted to paying $20,000 in bitcoin to have the child killed, authorities said. John Michael Musbach, 31, of Haddonfield, pleaded guilt to an indictment charging him with knowingly and intentionally using and causing another to use a facility of interstate and foreign commerce, that is the internet, with the intent that a murder be committed, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. In the summer of 2015, Musbach reportedly exchanged sexually explicit photographs and videos with the victim, a …
NJ Police Officer Hacked Victim's Facebook, Snapchat To Leak Her Naked Photos: Prosecutor NJ Police Officer Hacked Victim's Facebook, Snapchat To Leak Her Naked Photos: Prosecutor
NJ Police Officer Hacked Victim's Facebook, Snapchat To Leak Her Naked Photos: Prosecutor A 22-year-old South Jersey police officer hacked into a woman's social media account and distributed nude photos that she took of herself — including of some from when she was a minor — to her online friends and contacts, authorities said. Ayron Taylor, 22, of Delran, a Mount Laurel police officer, was charged with several counts of computer crime, endangering the welfare of a child and invasion of privacy, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw said. The investigation began last month after the victim contacted the Evesham Township Police Department and reported that her Snap…
Hateful Images, Messages Sent To Westwood Regional Students Probed By Cyber Crime Detectives Hateful Images, Messages Sent To Westwood Regional Students Probed By Cyber Crime Detectives
Hateful Images, Messages Sent To Westwood Regional Students Probed By Cyber Crime Detectives An underage saboteur used the online account of a Westwood Regional High School student to email hateful messages to most of the victim’s classmates – among them, an image of a Ku Klux Klansman accompanied by an anti-Semitic caption, authorities said. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Cyber Crimes Unit and Washington Township police are investigating the bias incident, which district officials traced to a “non-district minor’s” IP address, Schools Supt. Jill Mortimer wrote in a message to parents and staff members. “Please know this was not a breach of our network or system,” Mortimer emphasiz…
14 Men Arrested On Child Porn, Endangerment Charges In Ongoing Jersey Shore Sting: Prosecutor 14 Men Arrested On Child Porn, Endangerment Charges In Ongoing Jersey Shore Sting: Prosecutor
14 Men Arrested On Child Porn, Endangerment Charges In Ongoing Jersey Shore Sting: Prosecutor A series of investigations led by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Computer Crimes Unit and the Monmouth County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force has resulted in the arrests of 14 men this year, authorities said on Thursday, Aug. 11. From the beginning of 2020 to present, approximately 550 CyberTips have resulted in a total of 77 arrests in Monmouth County, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey. The majority of this year's investigations originated via CyberTips that were forwarded to our office by the National Center for Missing and Exploi…
Repeat NJ Sex Offender Gets 15 Years Behind Bars: AG Repeat NJ Sex Offender Gets 15 Years Behind Bars: AG
Repeat NJ Sex Offender Gets 15 Years Behind Bars: AG A 52-year-old New Jersey sex offender who was out on parole when he sent sexually explicit photos of himself to underage girls and a video of himself masturbating to an undercover detective was sentenced to 15 years behind bars, authorities said. Joseph M. Graber III, of Marlton, was sentenced under the  Lunsford Act Friday by Superior Court Judge Christopher Garrenger in Burlington County, Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced Friday, May 13. Graber will remain a registered sex offender under Megan’s Law, have limited use of the Internet, pay mandatory fines and pe…
Air Force Lieutenant Who Recorded Kids On Hidden Bathroom Cameras Gets Prison Time Air Force Lieutenant Who Recorded Kids On Hidden Bathroom Cameras Gets Prison Time
Air Force Lieutenant Who Recorded Kids On Hidden Bathroom Cameras Gets Prison Time A Waldorf Air Force Lieutenant who worked in cyber security and used a hidden camera to record four minor victims in a bathroom was sentenced to federal prison time in Maryland, according to officials. Jason Daniel Ort, 36, was sentenced Wednesday, May 5 to 11 years in federal prison followed by 15 years of supervised release and orders to register as a sex offender, for transportation of child pornography, announced by the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland's Office.  Ort pleaded guilty after admitting to placing several hidden cameras in different rooms and…
NJ Police Officer Sent Dozens Of Child Porn Files Through ‘KIK’ Messaging App, Prosecutor Says NJ Police Officer Sent Dozens Of Child Porn Files Through ‘KIK’ Messaging App, Prosecutor Says
NJ Police Officer Sent Dozens Of Child Porn Files Through ‘KIK’ Messaging App, Prosecutor Says A New Jersey police officer was charged after allegedly sending dozens of child pornography and abuse files through a messaging application called ‘KIK,’ authorities announced Wednesday. Phillipsburg Police Officer Gary A. Ricker, Jr., 33, was charged with two counts of child endangerment, Warren County Prosecutor James L. Pfeiffer said in a release alongside local officials. Ricker was identified via a cyber-tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received on Monday, Jan. 31 that stated that someone in Phillipsburg was distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM)…
Five From NJ Charged With Pocketing More Than $1M From Aircraft Equipment Scam Five From NJ Charged With Pocketing More Than $1M From Aircraft Equipment Scam
Five From NJ Charged With Pocketing More Than $1M From Aircraft Equipment Scam A crew of con artists from New Jersey swindled more than $1 million from businesses nationwide that thought they were buying aircraft equipment and replacement parts, state authorities charged. For five years, the thieves cut deals online for the purported sale of specialized equipment, including airline ground support parts and hydraulic jacks, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. As soon as the payments arrived, members of the crew either made a bunch of cash withdrawals or slid the money into a Somerset County accomplice's account, Platkin said. The buyers got bup…
CRYPTO CRIME: Rapping 'Crocodile of Wall Street,' Husband Nabbed In $4.5 Billion Bitcoin Bust CRYPTO CRIME: Rapping 'Crocodile of Wall Street,' Husband Nabbed In $4.5 Billion Bitcoin Bust
Crypto Crime: Rapping 'Crocodile of Wall Street,' Husband Nabbed In $4.5 Billion Bitcoin Bust The self-described “Crocodile of Wall Street” and her husband were arrested by federal agents in Manhattan on Tuesday, Feb. 8, on charges of conspiring to launder billions of dollars in cryptocurrency stolen in a bombshell hack of a virtual currency exchange. Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, 34, and Heather Rhiannon Morgan, a 31-year-old business blogger/rapper, weren’t charged in the 2016 theft from Bitfinex of what at the time was $71 million worth of cryptocurrency – now valued at $4.5 billion. They are charged with conspiring to (a) commit money laundering and (b) defraud the United States, …
NYC Man Gets 38 Years Without Parole For Assisting ISIS, Stabbing Jail Guard NYC Man Gets 38 Years Without Parole For Assisting ISIS, Stabbing Jail Guard
NYC Man Gets 38 Years Without Parole For Assisting ISIS, Stabbing Jail Guard A Queens man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years without parole in federal prison for trying to support ISIS, followed by another eight years for assaulting a federal correctional officer. Ali Saleh, 28, will have to serve out just about all of the consecutive sentences because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Saleh “swore an oath of allegiance to ISIS” and embraced the terrorist organization’s directive to either travel to the Middle East or take action at home, a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn says. “I’m ready to die for the Caliphate, prison is nothing…
NJ Man Threatened To Leak 'Compromising' Pics Of Girl Who Tried Ending Relationship, Police Say NJ Man Threatened To Leak 'Compromising' Pics Of Girl Who Tried Ending Relationship, Police Say
NJ Man Threatened To Leak 'Compromising' Pics Of Girl Who Tried Ending Relationship, Police Say A 23-year-old Newark man was arrested after threatening to release "compromising" photos of a girl who tried ending her relationship with him, authorities in Middlesex said. Robert Arroyo was charged with making terroristic threats, stalking, invasion of privacy and two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, Middlesex Police Chief Matthew P. Geist said on Friday. Middlesex Borough Detectives Sean Flanagan and Daniel McCue reportedly arrested Arroyo at his home in Newark on Thursday, Geist said.  In November 2020, the Middlesex Police Department received a report that …
Grand Jury Indicts Convicted Rapist Accused Of Riding Bus 1,450 Miles To AC Motel For Kid Sex Grand Jury Indicts Convicted Rapist Accused Of Riding Bus 1,450 Miles To AC Motel For Kid Sex
Grand Jury Indicts Convicted Rapist Accused Of Riding Bus 1,450 Miles To AC Motel For Kid Sex A convicted rapist took a bus from Oklahoma to Atlantic City to meet two men he thought were bringing their pre-teen daughters for sex, an indictment returned by a state grand jury says. The “dads” turned out to be undercover members of the New Jersey State Police and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations. Aaron D. Craiger, 34, of Oklahoma City originally was arrested in March 2020 after he checked into a motel with condoms and pot that he wanted to smoke with the “girls,” ages 11 and 12, the indictment returned Friday in Trenton says. He has remained in custody since then. SEE: Oklahoma …
Hackensack Man Released On Child Porn Charges Hackensack Man Released On Child Porn Charges
Hackensack Man Released On Child Porn Charges UPDATE: A Bergen County-based insurance underwriter for entertainers, athletes and corporate executives was released pending court action on child porn charges, authorities said. Matthew Heitman, 33, was arrested Thursday during a raid of his Hackensack home, Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The former Upper Saddle River resident "used the Internet to view, download, and possess more than 1,000 digital files and distributed multiple digital files depicting nude and/or sexually explicit prepubescent and pubescent children," the prosecutor said. Heitman was discovered during a "months-long Inte…
NJ Software Engineer Busted With 10,000 Photos Of Child Sex Abuse, Authorities Say NJ Software Engineer Busted With 10,000 Photos Of Child Sex Abuse, Authorities Say
NJ Software Engineer Busted With 10,000 Photos Of Child Sex Abuse, Authorities Say A New Jersey man was arrested after more than 10,000 photos depicting child sex abuse were discovered on his computer, authorities said Monday. Joseph Poutre, 55, of Middletown, was charged with a single count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo said. Ruotolo's office began investigating following a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Spearheaded by Det. Craig Famoso, the investigation led to an IP address being used by Poutre, who at the time lived on the 2000 block of Princeton Avenue in Fa…
Racist Hackers Zoom Bomb Rider University Black Sorority Event Racist Hackers Zoom Bomb Rider University Black Sorority Event
Racist Hackers Zoom Bomb Rider University Black Sorority Event Officials at Rider University in Lawrenceville are condemning racism and hatred after a Zoom event for a black sorority was interrupted by dozens of individuals chanting racial slurs and content. The virtual "Galentine's Day" event was hosted by Zeta Phi Beta sisters and another Greek organization on Feb. 11, as part of the university's Black History Month celebration, NJ.com reports. Just five minutes before the party began, hosts noticed an "unusual number of users" waiting to enter the Zoom meeting, NJ.com says. A number of uninvited users then changed their Zoom names to racist phrase…
PA High School College Fair 'Zoom Bombed' With Racist, Pornographic Images PA High School College Fair 'Zoom Bombed' With Racist, Pornographic Images
PA High School College Fair 'Zoom Bombed' With Racist, Pornographic Images A foreign hacker may be to blame for the racist and pornographic images that were broadcast during a Zoom college fair for Montgomery County high school students Friday, district officials said.  The images were posted to the Harriton High School event attended by nearly 300 students, and shut down as soon as counselors were notified, the Lower Merion District said. The district announced a switch to full-remote learning for its high schools just this week, following a petition launched by students. District officials believe the event was set up without usual security measures. "Thi…
Prosecutor: South Jersey Pastor Blackmailed Youths In 4 States, Demanded Nude Snapchat Photos Prosecutor: South Jersey Pastor Blackmailed Youths In 4 States, Demanded Nude Snapchat Photos
Prosecutor: South Jersey Pastor Blackmailed Youths In 4 States, Demanded Nude Snapchat Photos A 30-year-old pastor from Burlington County is accused of coaxing underage boys to send him nude photos and videos, authorities said. The Baptist youth pastor and music leader of a Hainesport church then used the material to blackmail his victims into performing sexual acts on themselves for his enjoyment, according to Burlington Count Prosecutor Scott Coffina. Sean Higgins, 30, of Temple Boulevard in Palmyra has been charged with a total of 28 crimes he committed while posing as a teenage girl, Coffina said.  Higgins is youth pastor at Harbor Baptist Church, and also serves as a teac…
NO GAME: Feds Bust Accused Ringleaders Of Worldwide Videogame Hacking Crew NO GAME: Feds Bust Accused Ringleaders Of Worldwide Videogame Hacking Crew
NO Game: Feds Bust Accused Ringleaders Of Worldwide Videogame Hacking Crew Two accused ringleaders of one of the world’s most notorious videogame hacking groups were in FBI custody and an associate was being sought, federal authorities announced. All three are members Team Xecuter, a group that the government said develops and sells “jailbreak” devices that allow people to play pirated copies of games on their consoles. A federal indictment accuses Max “MAXiMiLiEN” Louarn, a 48-year-old French national, Gary “GaryOPA” Bowser, 51, of Canada, and Yuanning Chen, 35, of Shenzhen, China of creating and distributing the devices, which authorities said became more popula…