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Woman Charged With Selling $18M In Bogus Coupons Downloaded In NJ: Feds
A San Antonio, TX, woman was arrested and charged with selling more than $18 million worth of counterfeit coupons used at various retail stores across the United States — including New Jersey — for the purchase of household items, federal officials said.
From June 2020 through June 2024, Janet Bernal — who goes by the names Rocky, Rocky G, Rocky Gee, and RockyG-Kruella — orchestrated a scheme to produce and sell fraudulent, counterfeit coupons for use by purchasers at retail stores throughout the United States, including large pharmacies and grocery stores, U.S. Attorney Philip R. …
South Jersey Man Who Scammed $500K+ Sentenced In Foreign Currency, Car Loan Schemes: Feds
A Mount Laurel man will spend several years in prison after scamming hundreds of investors and car owners out of more than $500,000, authorities said.
Michael Salerno, 55, was sentenced on Monday, Aug. 26 to three years and one month in prison, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Jacqueline Romero said in a news release. He had pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud after he was indicted for schemes in September 2020 and February 2023.
Salerno operated Black Diamond Forex, L.P., BDF Trading, L.P., Advanta Capital Markets, Inc., and Advanta FX between …
Mother, Son Admit Selling Cheap Parts To Military Through Jersey Shore Family Business: Feds
A New Jersey mother and son admitted to a years-long scheme to scam the Department of Defense by selling cheap military equipment not approved by their business's contracts, authorities said.
Linda Mika, 73, of Jackson, pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday, July 23 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. Her son, 53-year-old Kenneth Mika of Ewing, also pleaded guilty to the same charge on Tuesday, June 25.
According to court documents and testimony, Linda and Kenneth Mika defrauded the DoD and the Defe…
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 …
Controller From NJ Who Embezzled $2.37M From Madison Avenue Firm Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen
UPDATE: A controller from Middlesex County was sentenced to more than two years in federal prison for embezzling $2.37 million from his Madison Avenue employer.
Gerard Beauzile, 63, South Plainfield, conducted an elaborate, long-running scheme to issue bogus checks to himself that he then deposited into his bank account, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Beginning a decade ago and continuing through the end of 2020, Beauzile admitted issuing 140 checks to himself from the Manhattan-based company, which offers news, analysis, research and data for the "global energy industry," accordin…
Feds: Crooked Bookkeeper Admits Embezzling $900G From Restaurants In NJ, NY, PA (Update)
A bookkeeper from New Jersey admitted in federal court that he embezzled more than $900,000 from restaurants he worked for in the Garden State, New York and Pennsylvania, authorities said.
Richard Winter, 53, of Pompton Lakes authorized bank wire transfers from some of them, pocketed vendor payments to others and issued checks payable to cash that he then deposited into his own bank accounts, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Sellinger said.
Winter serviced the clients' accounts payable through a company he created called Back Office Pro, a complaint on file in federal court in Newark say…
Feds: NJ Woman, 77, Embezzles $1M In Benefits Intended For Aunt Who Died In 1998
For the past 25 years, a South Orange woman has fraudulently collected more than $1 million in federal benefits intended for her dead aunt, authorities charged.
Janis Miller -- who is now 77 years old -- even went as far as trying to impersonate her aunt in a phone conversation with a Social Security worker, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
However, she couldn’t come up with her aunt’s exact birthdate – just an approximation, he said.
The embezzlement scheme came apart after that.
Miller was brought before a federal judge in Newark on Thursday, Dec. 21, and was released on a $100,0…
NJ Man Who Cashed Dead Brother's Social Security Checks For 16 Years Heads To Federal Prison
An Essex County man who collected $237,000 in Social Security benefits for a brother who’d actually been dead for 16 years is headed to federal prison.
Silvano Chable, 54, of Irvington, applied for the benefits in 2000 on behalf of his brother, who’d been paralyzed in a car crash, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
His brother collected checks for 10 months before dying in May 21, 2001, the U.S. attorney said.
Rather than notify the Social Security Administration, Chable continued collecting – and cashing – the monthly benefit checks until late 2017, Sellinger said.
Chable took a ple…
Ex-NJ Corrections Officer's Crypto Scam Targeted Police, Firefighters, EMTs: Authorities
A retired New Jersey corrections lieutenant preyed on his peers with a cryptocurrency scheme that cost participating police, firefighters, EMTs, and other first responders more than $620,000, state and federal authorities said.
John DeSalvo, 47, of Linwood, also pulled a $100,000 investment scam that authorities said went to covering his credit card bills, day trading in cryptocurrencies and payments to a contractor who handled a luxury bathroom renovation for him.
DeSalvo -- who worked for the New Jersey Department of Corrections for 13 years before retiring in 2010 -- created and promote…
NJ Biz Owner Admits Conning Customers Out Of $2.1M By Substituting Dirt, Debris For Scrap
The owner of a New Jersey-based scrap metal company told a customer that dirt and debris found packed into a container shipped to Korea that was supposed to hold aluminum scrap was a mistake, authorities said.
Turns out it wasn’t.
Creed White, 64, of Freeland, Maryland, admitted in federal court in Camden this week that he scammed a dozen or so businesses out of more than $2 million, authorities said on Thursday, Aug. 3.
Using the name “Dan Stein,” White contacted one of the victims through an Internet message board on behalf of his Camden-based company American Scrap company, a complaint …
Love At First Site: Ex-NJ Couple, Nigerian Wingman Charged In $4.5M Cyberfootsies Scam
A former New Jersey couple and a Nigerian national scammed more than 100 lonely hearts out of $4.5 million in an elaborate online romance scheme, federal authorities charged.
Martins Inalegwu, 34, of Philadelphia and Steincy Mathieu, 26, of Brooklyn cooked up the plot with Moses Chukwuebuka Alexander and several of his Nigerian brethren, an indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges.
Together, they trolled online dating and social media sites for willing marks, whom they “wooed with words of love” on the phone and in emails, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
T…
