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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 …
Member Of Burglary Crew That Targeted Asian Homeowners On 'Hit List' In NJ, NY, PA, Sentenced
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A confessed member of a burglary ring that targeted Asian-American small business owners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison.
Kevin Jackson, 57, of Rahway, NJ, must serve a little over two years before he'll be eligible for release because there's no parole in the federal prison system.
Jackson was part of a second-story crew that the FBI said worked from a hit list of dozens of homes in the four states based on “stereotype and opportunity" from Dec. 2, 2016, to March 20, 2019.
One of Jackson's associates told detectives t…
Biz Owners Take Pleas After NJ Feds Seize Record $14M Worth Of Cisco Networking Knockoffs
Three North Jersey business owners admitted importing and selling cheap knockoffs of Cisco Systems networking equipment after federal agents seized an unprecedented $14 million worth of the devices from their warehouse in Passaic County.
Musa Karaman, 35, of North Arlington, was the last of the trio to take a deal from the government, pleading guilty to trafficking counterfeit goods in U.S. District Court in Newark on Thursday, Aug. 24.
Accomplices Sadri Ozturan, 37, of Hawthorne, and Israfil "David" Demir, 38, of Secaucus both pleaded guilty to the same charges on Aug. 8, U.S. Attorney for…
Heard But Not Seen: Nigerian National Nabbed In $250,000 Audiobooks Scheme, NJ Feds Say
A Nigerian national living in Bangladesh contracted with more than 600 voice actors to produce audiobooks of written works that he didn't hold the rights to, federal authorities in New Jersey charged.
Anyanwu Benjamin Chizitere, 30, of Enugu, Nigeria, was part of a group that collected more than $250,000 by infringing on the copyright of a Newark-based company and its authors, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
Chizitere worked for a financial services business that provided online money transfer and digital payment services to the company, the U.S. attorney said.
He po…
NJ Youth Pastor Indicted For Online Sex Exploitation Of 13 Boys In Multiple States: Prosecutor
A Burlington County teacher and youth pastor has been indicted for coaxing underage boys on social media to send him nude pictures and videos, then using that material to blackmail his victims into performing sexual acts on themselves for his enjoyment, authorities said.
A grand jury indicted Sean Higgins, 31, of Palmyra on 75 total counts that included charges of aggravated sexual assault, criminal sexual contact, cyber harassment, child endangerment, and obscenity to a minor, they said.
Thirteen of the counts were first-degree charges, according to Burlington County Prosecutor …
Feds Charge MD Man In $246,390 401(k) Theft From NJ Employee
A Maryland man conspired with others to steal $246,390 from a New Jersey worker’s 401(k), federal authorities charged.
Oladapo Sunday Ogunbiyi, 40, of Greenbelt, and others secretly tapped into the fund, added a bank account belonging to someone else and began steering money into it, an indictment returned by a grand jury in U.S. District Court alleges.
“Ogunbiyi and others directed that the fraud proceeds be converted into cashier’s checks, which were provided to Ogunbiyi,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
“He then deposited the cashier’s checks into bank accounts under his control…
Feds: Cali Con Man Hacks Law Firm Email, Collects $755,000 From Bergen Victim, US Government
A Bergen County property owner got fooled into wiring $560,000 to a con man from California who also collected nearly $195,000 in small business loans by fraud, authorities said.
Eric Bullard, 59, of Los Angeles hacked an email account at a law firm representing the victim, then wrote to the client with instructions to wire the money into an escrow account identified as “Eric’s Commercial LLC,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said.
The account at the time held all of $40, Honig said.
The day the transfer was posted, Bullard was seen on surveillance footage withdrawing $96,275 in 10 s…
Prosecutor: California Man Arrested After Trip To New Jersey For Sex With Girl, 14
A 22-year-old California man was arrested after he took a trip to New Jersey where he twice had sex with a 14-year-old girl he had been talking to online, authorities said.
Justin R. Ganutan, of Stockton, CA, was having an online relationship with the girl when he traveled from the West Coast to Somerset County, to meet the girl, Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson said Monday.
The victim, a Somerset County resident, told detectives she had sexual intercourse with Ganutan twice in Franklin Township during a trip he took last December specifically to meet her, Robertson said…
Union County Man Caught With More Than 7,000 Child Porn Files Gets 7+ Years In Fed Pen
A Union County man found with more than 1,000 videos and 6,000 or so images of child pornography was sentenced Wednesday in Newark to more than seven years in federal prison.
Nicholas Pecil, 33, of Rahway, "used a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to download and share videos and images of child sexual abuse," U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said.
Special agents with the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations found the more than 7,000 images during a warranted search of his home in May 2017, Carpenito said.Pecil took a plea deal rather than going to trial, admitting that he made the files…
