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Feds: Fort Lee Woman Gets 27 Months For Stealing $300,000 From ID Theft Victims Feds: Fort Lee Woman Gets 27 Months For Stealing $300,000 From ID Theft Victims
Feds: Fort Lee Woman Gets 27 Months For Stealing $300,000 From ID Theft Victims A confessed cybercriminal from Fort Lee was sentenced Monday to 27 months in federal prison for snatching nearly $300,000 from the accounts of ID theft victims, authorities said. Briana Burford was caught using Bitcoin to make the purchases through “carding” sites that traffic in stolen credit card and bank account information, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Rather than risk trial, she took a deal from the government, pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Newark in November 2019 to wire fraud. Federal authorities didn’t say whether the deal reached with Burford nearly two …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Bergen Broker Gets 18 Months In Fed Pen For 'Short Sale' Scam Bergen Broker Gets 18 Months In Fed Pen For 'Short Sale' Scam
Bergen Broker Gets 18 Months In Fed Pen For 'Short Sale' Scam A Bergen County real estate broker was sentenced to a year and a half in federal prison for his role in a $4.6 million “short-sale” scheme. Steve Young Kang, 66, of Ridgefield, and others sold properties to an accomplice, Mehdi Kassai, for substantially less than they were worth, Acting Principal Assistant U.S. Attorney and Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Agarwal said. The conspirators used false documents, straw buyers and cosmetic property damage, while also restricting the ability of others to bid on and buy those properties, Agarwal said. Kassai then “sold many of those propert…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: Middlesex County ID Thief Forged, Cashed $211,887 US Treasury Check Feds: Middlesex County ID Thief Forged, Cashed $211,887 US Treasury Check
Feds: Middlesex County ID Thief Forged, Cashed $211,887 US Treasury Check A Middlesex County identity thief collected $211,887 by forging a stolen U.S. Treasury check, federal authorities said Tuesday. Federal agents arrested Bernard Lopez, 40, of Sayreville, in Florida on Monday, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. They charged him with bank fraud, theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft. Lopez “used a victim’s Social Security number and business documents pertaining to a sham business that he had created to open a fraudulent bank account in that business’ name,” Carpenito said. He then altered a stolen U.S. Treasury check to be made payable to…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Bergen Brokers Admit $4.6M 'Short Sale' Scam Bergen Brokers Admit $4.6M 'Short Sale' Scam
Bergen Brokers Admit $4.6M 'Short Sale' Scam Two Bergen County real estate brokers – one from Ridgefield, the other from Norwood – admitted their roles in a $4.6 million “short-sale” scheme. Steve Young Kang, 64, of Ridgefield, and Young Jin Son, 49, of Norwood, New Jersey, told a federal judge in Newark on Thursday that they recruited others to participate in the bank and wire fraud conspiracies. Kang sold his own properties and recruited others to sell properties to a co-schemer, Mehdi Kassai, for substantially less than they were worth by using false documents, straw buyers and cosmetic property damage, as well as restricting the a…

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by Jerry DeMarco