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Paramus Man Who Owned WNY Pharmacy Pleads Guilty To Fraud, Bribery Paramus Man Who Owned WNY Pharmacy Pleads Guilty To Fraud, Bribery
Paramus Man Who Owned WNY Pharmacy Pleads Guilty To Fraud, Bribery A Paramus man who owned a now-closed pharmacy in West New York admitted bribing a psychiatrist and defrauding public and private insurers in a scheme involving high-priced medications, the U.S. Attorney said Monday.  Eduard Shtindler, 36, carried out the bribery scheme for five years beginning in 2012. Schtindler, the owner of the shuttered Empire Pharmacy, sent employees to deliver the payments -- sometimes in the form of $100 bills stuffed into pill bottles -- to the Hudson County psychiatrist in exchange for steering patients to Empire.  Schintdler was heard on a recording refe…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Store Owner From Teaneck Gets 3 Years In Fed Pen For Pocketing In $750,000 Food Vouchers Store Owner From Teaneck Gets 3 Years In Fed Pen For Pocketing In $750,000 Food Vouchers
Store Owner From Teaneck Gets 3 Years In Fed Pen For Pocketing In $750,000 Food Vouchers A Newark store owner from Teaneck who was captured after fleeing the country was sentenced Thursday to 37 months in federal prison for scamming the government out of more than $750,000 in a food voucher scam. U.S. District Court Judge Brian R. Martinotti also sentenced Jamil Bader, 60, to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $754,424. Bader put a small grocery store that he owned on Clinton Avenue in Newark in another person’s name because he’d been banned from participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) because of similar wrongdo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Authorities: Little Ferry Sergeant Nabs Philly Trio With Bogus Credit Cards, Checks Authorities: Little Ferry Sergeant Nabs Philly Trio With Bogus Credit Cards, Checks
Authorities: Little Ferry Sergeant Nabs Philly Trio With Bogus Credit Cards, Checks A seat belt stop turned up several blank credit cards and checks, as well as those in the names of different people, said Little Ferry police who took three Philadelphia residents into custody. Sgt. John Adronaco smelled burnt marijuana after stopping the vehicle and speaking with the driver, 20-year-old Deiontae Rivas, Detective Lt. Ronald Klein said. Rivas and his two passengers "had different stories about where they were going and where they came from," Klein said. After finding a marijuana blunt along with the checks and credit cards, Adronaco took all three into custody, the lieutena…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
New Jersey Residents Among 27 Charged In Multimillion-Dollar Fraud Scheme New Jersey Residents Among 27 Charged In Multimillion-Dollar Fraud Scheme
New Jersey Residents Among 27 Charged In Multimillion-Dollar Fraud Scheme Four New Jersey residents were among 27 people arrested for their roles in a multimillion-dollar scheme to commit bribery and a no-fault insurance scam. The multi-state jurisdictional investigation that originated in Westchester County led to the arrests, 23 of whom were taken into custody in New York and New Jersey on Thursday, Nov. 7, with other suspects arrested in North Carolina, and Florida. Among those arrested were five 911 operators and an NYPD police officer. Those arrested in New Jersey were: Christina Garcia, 35, of Jersey City Tonja Lewis, 53, of Belleville Raymond Parke…

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by Zak Failla & Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Jersey City Fugitive Sentenced To 7 Years For Huge Shipping Scam Jersey City Fugitive Sentenced To 7 Years For Huge Shipping Scam
Jersey City Fugitive Sentenced To 7 Years For Huge Shipping Scam A 62-year-old Jersey City man who disappeared after he was indicted for massive fraud eight years ago and came back to the United States was sentenced to seven years in prison, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said in a statement.  Rajendra Patel, who was indicted in 2011 for defrauding five freight brokers out of a combined $2.6 million, was also ordered to make full restitution. He pleaded guilty in August.  The brokers, who serve as intermediaries between shippers and freight carriers, typically extend credit to shippers. Patel took advantage of this practice by building up a …

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Yonkers ID Thief Nabbed At Teterboro Costco, Moonachie Police Say Yonkers ID Thief Nabbed At Teterboro Costco, Moonachie Police Say
Yonkers ID Thief Nabbed At Teterboro Costco, Moonachie Police Say A Yonkers woman was carrying stolen IDs, including a Pennsylvania woman’s driver’ license that she told Moonachie police was hers, authorities said. Police were called to the Teterboro Costco off Route 46 after Ivanna C. Estrella, 27, tried buying two iPhones with a stolen identity, Police Chief Richard Behrens said. Estrella “continued to tell [Officers Sean Mulligan and Frank Tamargo] that her name was the one shown on the license,” Behrens said. She finally handed over her real license when a check with the Pennsylvania motor vehicle database showed otherwise, he said. The arresting …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Morris Prosecutor: Franklin Woman Doctored Medical Records In Family Court Case Morris Prosecutor: Franklin Woman Doctored Medical Records In Family Court Case
Morris Prosecutor: Franklin Woman Doctored Medical Records In Family Court Case A Franklin woman was charged with forgery, perjury and falsifying records after she submitted bogus medical invoices in a family court case, authorities said Wednesday. Lynneann K. Groves, 37, filed the documents with the Family Part of Superior Court’s Chancery Division in March, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp said. “The documents were allegedly medical invoices totaling $2,800,” Knapp said, adding that investigators from his office’s Fraud Unit determined that they were phony. “The investigation also revealed several alterations to the original invoices,” with amounts claimed …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Elizabeth Firm Settles Claim It Lied About Veteran Ownership To Get Contracts Elizabeth Firm Settles Claim It Lied About Veteran Ownership To Get Contracts
Elizabeth Firm Settles Claim It Lied About Veteran Ownership To Get Contracts An Elizabeth construction firm has agreed to pay $2.4 million to settle allegations the company’s management lied when it said it was owned by a service-disabled military veteran in order to win government contracts, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito said Tuesday.  The U.S. government gives preference to companies owned by service-disabled veterans when awarding some contracts. Regiment Construction Corp. bid on and won multiple contracts between 2008 and 2015 set aside for companies owned by veterans, according to court documents.  Regiment did not admit wrongdoing in …

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Man Claiming To Be From UPS Swipes Fraudulent Purchase From Long Hill Porch, PD Says Man Claiming To Be From UPS Swipes Fraudulent Purchase From Long Hill Porch, PD Says
Man Claiming To Be From UPS Swipes Fraudulent Purchase From Long Hill Porch, PD Says A man claiming to be from UPS showed up to a Morris County home to swipe a package that had been delivered under the homeowners' names without their knowing, police said. The unknown man showed up around 10 a.m. Friday to the Bungalow Terrace home in Millington moments after they had been delivered, Long Hill police said. "The package contained cell phones purchased under the resident’s account without their knowing," police said. The investigation is ongoing.

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Chinese Nationals Used Newark Business To Avoid N. Korea Sanctions: Feds Chinese Nationals Used Newark Business To Avoid N. Korea Sanctions: Feds
Chinese Nationals Used Newark Business To Avoid N. Korea Sanctions: Feds Four citizens of China used front companies to conceal their business relationships with North Korean businesses that have been sanctioned by the U.S. government for dealing in weapons of mass destruction and other offenses, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito said. An indictment returned Monday by a federal grand jury in Newark charges Ma Xiaohong; her company, Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co. Ltd.; and three of its top executives – general manager Zhou Jianshu, deputy general manager Hong Jinhua and financial manager Luo Chuanxu – with violating U.S. law, conspiracy an…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Union Man Ran Unlicensed, $400M Check-Cashing Business: Feds Union Man Ran Unlicensed, $400M Check-Cashing Business: Feds
Union Man Ran Unlicensed, $400M Check-Cashing Business: Feds A 40-year-old Union resident was scheduled to appear in federal court Monday on charges he oversees a massive, illicit check-chasing empire, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.  Fernando Q. Martins, who owns a number of businesses in Newark, was arrested on Friday in connection with the $400 million check-cashing operation.  Martins allegedly cashed checks mostly from construction workers and others in the building trades since at least 2015. Martins also allowed customers to write checks to businesses he operated as part of the scheme, federal authorities said.  The scheme all…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Police: Butler Contractor, 49, Took $8,000 Without Doing Job Police: Butler Contractor, 49, Took $8,000 Without Doing Job
Police: Butler Contractor, 49, Took $8,000 Without Doing Job A 49-year-old Butler man charged a Chatham resident $8,000 for a bathroom renovation that wasn't done, said police who arrested him. Chatham Borough police said James Diliberto was charged with failing to: register with the state Division of Consumer Affairs; provide proof of commercial liability insurance; specify terms of a home improvement contract in writing. Dilberto was released pending a court appearance.

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by Cecilia Levine