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Monday, mar 17
Tag:
Bank Fraud
Real Estate
Chinese Billionaire Fraudster's Former Mansion Is Most Expensive NJ Listing At $33M
A historic Bergen County estate seized from a Chinese billionaire indicted in a $1 billion fraud scheme last year has become the most expensive residential listing in New Jersey, on the market for $33 million (scroll down to see the complete listing with photos). The Crocker Mansion, located at 675 Ramapo Valley Road in Mahwah, spans 50,000 square feet and sits on 12.5 gated acres. Originally built in 1907, the property features 21 bedrooms, a pool house, tennis courts, and a guest house. It was declared a historic landmark by Mahwah Township due to its unique place in local history. In Mar…
Police & Fire
Former South Jersey Man Admits To Check Stealing, Mail Carrier Robbery Scheme: Feds
A former Penns Grove man admitted to his role in a scheme to steal checks and rob mail carriers, authorities said. Dezhon McCrae, 25, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, possession of a stolen postal key, possession of stolen mail, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. According to court documents and statements, McCrae was part of a “card cracking” conspiracy between May 2018 and February 2020. Suspects stole checks from the mail and other so…
Police & Fire
Skimming Device Found On ATM At South Jersey 7-Eleven
A skimming device was found on an automatic teller machine at 7-Eleven in Burlington County, authorities said. It was found by a customer at the convenience store on Route 130 on Monday, April 1, Cinnaminson police said. A review of surveillance footage revealed the device was placed on the ATM at 9:21 p.m. on March 22, Cinnaminson police said. Skimmers are card readers designed to look like a part of the ATM. They collect debit card numbers and PIN codes. The stolen data is then used to make counterfeit debit cards. Anyone who used a debit or credit card since March 22 is advised to revi…
Police & Fire
$2M NJ Scammer Who Claimed Dead People As Biz Partners Gets 3 Years, No Parole
UPDATE: A scammer from Sussex County who fraudulently collected more than $2 million in federal funds by identifying people who'd been dead for more than a decade as business partners must spend the next three years in federal prison. John Jhong, 54, of Sparta, actually submitted bogus applications for more than $15 million in federal pandemic aid earmarked to help struggling companies during COVID-19, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Jhong "turned these vital relief programs into his personal ATM," spending the more than $2 million he illegally collected on personal expenses, the U.…
Police & Fire
Feds: Mailbox ‘Fisher’ Who Plagued Bergen, Morris, Hudson Gets 27 Months Without Parole
UPDATE: A member of a crew that fished more than $100,000 worth of checks from mailboxes in Bergen, Hudson and Morris counties is headed to federal prison for more than two years. Brando Mancebopujols, 24, will have to serve just about all of the plea-bargained 27-month sentence because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Mancebopujols, formerly of Paterson, admitted that he and his associates pocketed the money by depositing the checks into bank accounts that they controlled, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. As many as 40 postal boxes had been broken into…
Police & Fire
Ex-Hudson Sheriff's Officer Admits $98,000 Short-Sale Mortgage Scheme For Jersey Shore Home
A former Hudson County sheriff’s officer admitted defrauding a bank to duck $98,000 in mortgage payments on a Jersey Shore home, federal authorities said. Osbado Hernandez, 54, of Avenel, conspired with others to lie about a bogus short sale of his house in Keansburg so that the unidentified bank would discharge what was left on his mortgage, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Hernandez bought the property for $239,900 in 2006, financing it through a mortgage loan from the victimized bank, a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Trenton says. He ended up behind on the payments,…
News
'We Don't Want To End Up In Orange Jumpsuits,' Said CEO Arrested For $175M Scam In NJ
A former CEO whose star once shone so bright she made the Forbes 30-Under-30 list could soon be swapping her business suits for prison jumpsuits — something she'd been dreading. "We don't want to end up in orange jumpsuits," is what Charlie Javice apparently said months before her New Jersey arrest Monday, April 3, according to federal prosecutors. The 31-year-old founder of Frank, a for-profit company that simplified the student loan application process, is facing federal charges for falsifying data sets, ultimately scamming J.P Morgan Chase out of $175 million officials said. It wasn't i…
News
Mortgage Fraud: NJ Developer, Attorney Admit Swindling Lenders Out Of $3.5M
A New Jersey real estate developer and a lawyer admitted running a multi-layered mortgage fraud that cost banks more than $3.5 million in losses, federal authorities said. Developer Victor Santos, 63, of Watchung, paid stand-in "straw" buyers $5,000 each to first purchase a dozen properties in Newark and then secure tenants to lease them, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. A group of conspirators including him and attorney Fausto Simoes, 69, of Millington, covered the costs -- including fees and mortgage payments, the U.S. attorney said. "Santos, Simoes, and others also caused the sub…
Police & Fire
Burlington County Man Admits Bank Fraud Totaling $523K, Feds Say
A Burlington County man admitted his role in a conspiracy to steal bank customer identities, authorities said. He used that information to steal more than $520,000, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger. Jamere Hill-Birdsong, 33, of Mount Holly, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Nov. 1 to an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, Sellinger said. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: From August 2016 through August 2017, Hill-Birdsong conspired with Lamar Melhado, of the Bronx, and others to defraud a Mount Laurel bank. Hill…
News
Hudson County Man Seized By Federal Agents In $1M ID Theft Scheme
A Hudson County man was seized by federal agents early Thursday on charges of pocketing more than $1 million from victims whose identities they said he stole. Marc Lazarre, 37, of Secaucus was charged with bank fraud and aggravated ID theft charges following his arrest the morning of Oct. 20, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Lazarre swiped bank account and personal identity information to open accounts in the victims’ names without their knowledge and then withdrew funds, Sellinger said. Lazarre also "unlawfully obtained checks made out to victims, used fraudulent identificati…
News
Feds: NJ, NY Postal Workers Stole Credit Cards To Buy $1.3M In Luxury Items For Online Resale
Three U.S. Postal Service workers from New Jersey and New York City masterminded a scheme to buy more than $1.3 million worth of designer clothes and accessories using credit cards that they stole from the mail, federal authorities charged. The items were then sold with the help of an entrepreneur who operated an online shopping site, they said. Nathanael Foucault, Johnathan “Junzie-J” Persaud, and Fabiola “Lady Fab” Mompoint passed the cards to a quintet of shoppers who bought the items at department stores in New Jersey and the city with the stolen credit cards, an indictment returned by …
News
7 Bounty Hunter Bloods Banged By Feds In NJ Gang War That's Left Four Dead, 10 Wounded
An ongoing gang war that has ignited gunfire during a funeral and outside a hospital has led to charges against seven reputed members of a New Jersey gang associated with the Bounty Hunter Bloods. Federal authorities used the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law to secure a grand jury indictment charging the defendants with conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said Tuesday, Sept. 20. All seven are members or associates of the Bounty Hunter Bloods, which operated under the umbrella of neighborhood street gangs known as “Parkside” in Somerset and “The Ville” in N…
Police & Fire
Police Seek ID For Suspect In Mercer County Bank Fraud, Forgery Investigation
Police are seeking the public’s help identifying the suspect in a Mercer County bank fraud investigation. The suspect — pictured above — is wanted for questioning in a forgery and bank fraud investigation in Ewing, local police said in a Tuesday, May 17 release. Additional details about the investigation were not released. Scroll down to view additional photos of the suspect. The Ewing Police Department Criminal Investigations Bureau is asking for assistance in identifying the individual... Posted by Ewing Police Department on Tuesday, May 17, 2022 Anyone with information about the s…
News
Feds: ID Thief Gets 4 Years For Stealing $600,000 From NJ Bank Customers
UPDATE: An admitted identity thief was sentenced to four years in federal prison for conspiring with a South Jersey bank employee and others to steal more than $600,000 from unsuspecting victims, federal authorities said. Lamar Melhado, 32, of the Bronx will have to serve just about all of the plea-bargained sentence handed down in U.S. District Court in Camden on Monday, March 7, because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Melhado received photos and screenshots of customers’ information and signatures from Mount Laurel bank call center employee Jamere Hill-Birdsong of Gloucest…
News
Conspirator Who Used NJ High School Students To Cash Stolen COVID Stimulus Checks Gets 4 Years
One of a nest of criminals who paid New Jersey high school students to cash COVID stimulus checks stolen from the mail was sentenced to four years in federal prison. Because there's no parole in the federal prison system, Jeffrey Bennett, 27, of Irvington, must serve just about all of the plea-bargained sentence rubber-stamped by a U.S. District Court judge in Newark via videoconference on Monday, Feb. 14. Bennett -- a reputed associate of a group called "The Members" -- recruited U.S. Postal Service employees to steal checks, checkbooks, debit cards, and credit cards from the mail in excha…
News
$6
Million
Scam
: Man Admits Role In Nigerian Bank Fraud Network Operating In NJ, PA, MD
A member of a sophisticated Nigerian-based fraud ring admitted his role in a massive conspiracy that scammed banks in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland out of $6 million. Ayanniyi Alayande, 47, of Darby, PA wasn't involved in the crudely constructed "Nigerian prince" emails schemes of the past. He ran with a ring that altered and cashed business checks stolen from the mail, authorities said. Alayande is the first of 12 defendants in the case to take a deal from the government and plead guilty rather than face trial. Members of the highly organized group altered the payee on the checks …
Police & Fire
Feds: International Fugitive Admits Role In $30 Million NJ Mortgage Fraud
A New Jersey mortgage company loan officer who’d been an international fugitive for several years admitted his role in a long-running, large-scale scam that cost lenders more than $30 million, authorities said. Isaac DePaula, 41, and a group of conspirators pulled off the scheme through a company called Premier Mortgage Services (PMS), according to a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark. The thieves targeted low-income areas, recruiting straw buyers to seek mortgages for properties they really couldn’t afford, federal authorities charged. The conspirators secured the loans by…
News
Where Did This NJ Town Get A Maserati To Auction Off? Answer: From A Federal Convict
A Maserati that’s being auctioned off by a small Bergen County town was seized from a confessed ID thief from Hackensack who's now serving federal prison time for swiping $2 million from various victims, Daily Voice has learned. She was a he at the time. Closter police confiscated the flash ride during a 2018 investigation that produced the arrest of Ralph Taylor -- who according to the U.S. Attorney's Office has become Alexis Taylor while behind bars. Working with others, Taylor bought a “significant amount of stolen personal identifying information via the dark web, includ…
News
Former Bookkeeper Who Embezzled $1.78M From NJ Steel Company Gets Six Years In Fed Pen
A former bookkeeper who embezzled $1.7 million from the Newark-based steel company she worked for must spend a plea-bargained six years in federal prison. There’s no parole in the federal prison system, which means Tammy L. Martinez, 49, of South Amboy, must serve out just about the entire term. For more than five years, Martinez forged her manager’s signature on bogus checks made out to her or to cash, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. She cashed the checks at area TD Bank branches where the company had an account or dropped the money into a personal account, a complaint on file…
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