Grieving Bridgewater Woman Victimized By NJ Gravestone Scammer: 'People Can't Find Closure' Grieving Bridgewater Woman Victimized By NJ Gravestone Scammer: 'People Can't Find Closure'
Grieving Bridgewater Woman Victimized By NJ Gravestone Scammer: 'People Can't Find Closure' Barbara Kalmus was still reeling from the death of her sister last May when she was preyed upon by Gregory Stefan, Jr. The Bridgewater resident was one of several people authorities say was grifted by Stefan, who was recently arrested on a warrant by police in Vineland for scamming customers out of thousands of dollars through his company Colonial Memorials, not long after it was revealed he had been doing the same with his father and brother with their Pennsylvania company, 1843 LLC. Following her sister's death due to cancer, Stefan reached out to Kalmus about getting a headstone for he…
LOWLIFE SLIME: Scammer With 'Child Support Issues' Swindles Well-Meaning Woman Out Of $1,500 LOWLIFE SLIME: Scammer With 'Child Support Issues' Swindles Well-Meaning Woman Out Of $1,500
Lowlife Slime: Scammer With 'Child Support Issues' Swindles Well-Meaning Woman Out Of $1,500 A lowlife with a BS story about child support troubles conned a well-meaning woman out of $1,500 outside a Clifton bank, authorities said. The 20-something scammer approached the 62-year-old Belleville resident at the ATM of the Citibank at the River Front Center shopping mall on westbound Route 3 in the afternoon on Sunday, April 2, Police Lt. Robert Bracken said. In his hand was a check that he said he needed to cash but couldn't because of "child support issues," the lieutenant said. After depositing the check into her own account, the woman transferred $1,500 via Zelle to the stranger,…
WHEW: Phony $18M 'Prize' Nearly Convinces Wyckoff Woman, 82, To Give Scammer $10,000 WHEW: Phony $18M 'Prize' Nearly Convinces Wyckoff Woman, 82, To Give Scammer $10,000
Whew: Phony $18M 'Prize' Nearly Convinces Wyckoff Woman, 82, To Give Scammer $10,000 An 82-year-old woman from Wyckoff came within a whisker of losing $10,000 to a scammer who managed to con her out of $500 by claiming that she’d won $18 million and a new luxury vehicle, authorities said. The caller from an unknown number told the woman that she'd won a Publishers Clearing House grand prize, Police Lt. Joseph Soto said. However, the caller said she’d have to buy $10,000 worth of gift cards – and then provide the numbers on them – to collect her prizes, Soto said. The woman bought a $500 card and gave the information to redeem it to the caller, the lieutenant said. He then…
Bergen Scam Victim Literally Gift-Wraps $25,000 In Cash Bergen Scam Victim Literally Gift-Wraps $25,000 In Cash
Bergen Scam Victim Literally Gift-Wraps $25,000 In Cash Yes, it’s difficult to believe, but an unwitting North Jersey victim literally gift-wrapped $25,000 in cash for a scammer to steal. It happened to a 75-year-old Glen Rock resident who got a pop-up home computer message directing her to contact Apple/Microsoft "due to an issue with their computer,” Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. The victim used the number provided by the scammer rather than do an independent search herself for whom to call, the chief said. A purported representative who answered told her that it would cost $25,000 to resolve the issue. So the victim withdrew the cash fr…
NJ Boardwalk Operator Banned 10 Years For Using Overinflated Basketballs, Posting False Prizes NJ Boardwalk Operator Banned 10 Years For Using Overinflated Basketballs, Posting False Prizes
NJ Boardwalk Operator Banned 10 Years For Using Overinflated Basketballs, Posting False Prizes A Jersey Shore game operator was banned from business for 10 years and fined $15,500 for over-inflating basketballs and displaying prizes that couldn’t be won, state authorities said. Some basketballs at games owned by Christine Strothers on the boardwalks in Wildwood and North Wildwood packed up to three times the amount of required pounds per square inch of inflation, state Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. This, as most players know, can make a ball ricochet wildly off a backboard or rim, the attorney general noted. Strothers also broke New Jersey’s amusement games lic…
$400G GoFundMe Scam: NJ Woman Serving Federal Time Gets 3-Year State Sentence $400G GoFundMe Scam: NJ Woman Serving Federal Time Gets 3-Year State Sentence
$400G GoFundMe Scam: NJ Woman Serving Federal Time Gets 3-Year State Sentence UPDATE: A woman who helped pull a notorious scam that conned 14,000 GoFundMe donors nationwide was nearly 150 miles away when a judge in South Jersey sentenced her to a plea-bargained three years in state prison on Friday, Jan. 6. Katelyn McClure, 32, of Bordentown will be released in July after completing a federal sentence at a low-security prison in Danbury, CT, for scamming well-meaning donors out of $400,000 to purportedly help a homeless veteran. At that point, the year and a day federal sentence will be deducted from her state term and a determination will be made whether she shoul…
Andrew Bucklandon Is NOT Missing: Here's How Social Scammers Get You Andrew Bucklandon Is NOT Missing: Here's How Social Scammers Get You
Andrew Bucklandon Is NOT Missing: Here's How Social Scammers Get You A boy named Andrew Bucklandon hasn't gone missing. He didn't leave for school and not return. He doesn't even exist. For those who've seen -- or, worse, shared -- the Facebook post about a purportedly missing boy the past couple of days, here are a few questions: Does the post include a town? A link? Contact details? It doesn't. Because it's bogus. Like any good phishing scam, the missing boy ploy tugs at the heartstrings and plays on the fears of those who want to help. They're actually helping the scammers find more victims. Phishers threw their latest line into social media waters on…
GOTCHA! 'Daughter In Trouble' Scammer Gets Punked By Paramus Police GOTCHA! 'Daughter In Trouble' Scammer Gets Punked By Paramus Police
Gotcha! 'Daughter In Trouble' Scammer Gets Punked By Paramus Police A cold-hearted scammer who tried to trick a Paramus woman out of $15,000 got duped herself, authorities said. The resident called borough police after getting a call from someone claiming to be a Hackensack police officer, Paramus Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg explained. The purported officer told her that her daughter had been arrested and needed bail money -- 15 large, in fact, the chief said. A courier named "Daisy" was going to pick up the cash to be delivered to her daughter's attorney, the caller said. Paramus Police Officer Nicole Capone spoke with the would-be victim, then …
Federal Convict Who Hatched $400,000 GoFundMe Scam Gets NJ Prison Time, Too Federal Convict Who Hatched $400,000 GoFundMe Scam Gets NJ Prison Time, Too
Federal Convict Who Hatched $400,000 GoFundMe Scam Gets NJ Prison Time, Too UPDATE: A New Jersey man already serving federal prison time for a GoFundMe scheme that conned 14,000 donors across the country out of $400,000 to purportedly benefit a homeless veteran got a state prison sentence, as well. The plea-bargained five-year term approved by a Superior Court judge in Mount Holly on Friday will run at the same time as the 27-month federal sentence that Mark D'Amico of Trenton received in April. The difference is that there's no parole in the federal prison system, which keeps D'Amico in the medium-security United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, PA for more than…
NJ Woman Who Pulled $400,000 GoFundMe Scam With Homeless Vet, Ex-BF Gets Federal Prison Time NJ Woman Who Pulled $400,000 GoFundMe Scam With Homeless Vet, Ex-BF Gets Federal Prison Time
NJ Woman Who Pulled $400,000 GoFundMe Scam With Homeless Vet, Ex-BF Gets Federal Prison Time UPDATE: A New Jersey woman who helped pull a scam that conned 14,000 GoFundMe donors across the country out of $400,000 to purportedly benefit a homeless veteran is headed to federal prison. Katelyn McClure, 32, of Bordentown got a far lighter sentence under the terms of her plea deal with the government than did her former boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, who concocted the cruel scheme. McClure was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Camden on Thursday to a plea-bargained year and a day in a federal penitentiary. D’Amico, the "mastermind," earlier this year got 27 months in a fed pen in exchange …
NOT TODAY, PAL: Fair Lawn Senior Turns Tables On 'Grandparent Scam' Artists NOT TODAY, PAL: Fair Lawn Senior Turns Tables On 'Grandparent Scam' Artists
NOT Today, PAL: Fair Lawn Senior Turns Tables On 'Grandparent Scam' Artists Not everyone falls for the "grandchild in trouble" scam. A Fair Lawn senior citizen who’d been targeted by scammers quickly figured out what was what and immediately called police. Detective Chris O’Shaughnessy responded to the Barry Place home after someone claiming to be a lawyer called a resident there and asked for $11,000 bail to get the would-be victim's granddaughter out of jail, Sgt. Brian Metzler said. A woman was waiting outside to pick up the money, the caller said. O’Shaughnessy found the woman, 21-year-old Destiny Gonzalez of New York, NY, “whose story would keep changing dur…
Camden Man Stole $18K From Woman In 'Grandson Jail' Scam, Prosecutor Says Camden Man Stole $18K From Woman In 'Grandson Jail' Scam, Prosecutor Says
Camden Man Stole $18K From Woman In 'Grandson Jail' Scam, Prosecutor Says A Camden man has been indicted for scamming an elderly woman out of $16,000 by falsely claiming the money was needed to bail her grandson out of jail, authorities said. A grand jury charged Yadiel Gonzalez, of Atlantic Avenue in Camden, with theft by deception, they said. The indictment was returned on Friday, May 20 and signed by Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina. An arraignment is scheduled for July 5 in Superior Court. The investigation began last year when a woman contacted Palmyra Borough police to report the scam, Coffina said. The investigation revealed that the initial con…