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Role Reversal: Wanted LI Fraudster Sought Jail Guard Job, Lands Behind Bars, Prosecutors Say
A schemer who admitted to stealing $77,000 from a Long Island lawyer — then jumped bail and skipped out on his sentence — has been returned to New York after applying for a new job in Colorado, authorities said Monday, April 13.
Osokam Ekufia, a 48-year-old Newark, NJ, man, tried to land a job as a jail guard at the Colorado Department of Corrections in October 2025, the Nassau County District Attorney’s office said Monday.
Instead, the department ran a background check on him and turned up his outstanding warrant in New York, prosecutors said.
“This defendant should have been occupying a…
Nassau County Man Dodged $600K In Workers’ Comp Premiums: DA
A construction company owner who underreported more than $3.5 million in payroll to dodge workers’ compensation premiums has been sentenced, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly announced on Wednesday, Dec. 3.
Mahendranauth Khargie, 36, and his Queens-based iron and erection company, GC Stud Inc., pleaded guilty on Oct. 21 to Insurance Fraud in the Third Degree, a felony. The company also pleaded guilty to failing to secure required workers’ compensation coverage, prosecutors said.
The pair were sentenced on Tuesday, Dec. 2, to a Conditional Discharge and ordered to pay $625,000 in…
NY Native Doctor Flooded Patients With 20K Oxycodone Pills In Health Care Fraud Scheme: DOJ
A physician forced patients into taking unwanted “Goody Bags” of drugs to get prescriptions, flooding them with oxycodone and defrauding health care plans out of millions, federal prosecutors said.
Neil K. Anand, M.D., 48, most recently of Bensalem, PA, but originally from Albany, NY, was convicted in April 2025 of conspiring to commit health care fraud, wire fraud, and the unlawful distribution of controlled substances. On Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Evidence at trial showed Anand and his conspirators require…
George Santos Surrenders To NJ Prison: Inside His New Life Behind Bars
Disgraced former New York Rep. George Santos is officially trading Cameo videos for commissary lines.
The ousted lawmaker, 37, surrendered to Federal Correctional Institution Fairton in New Jersey on Friday, July 25, to begin serving his seven-year sentence for wire fraud and identity theft.
And, true to form, Santos did not go quietly: “Well, darlings… The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed,” Santos told his 211,000 followers on X the night before.
“From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news, what a ride it’s been! Was it messy? Always. Glamorous…
$17M Scam Funded Shore Mini-Golf Buy, Long Island Homes For Main Line Adviser: DOJ
A Main Line investment adviser stole millions from clients—including friends, relatives, and retirees—to bankroll a luxury lifestyle and buy into a Jersey Shore mini-golf course, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced on Saturday, July 5.
Scott Mason, 66, of Gladwyne, was sentenced on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, to eight years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a sweeping fraud scheme that lasted over a decade. The Department of Justice says Mason stole more than $17 million while running his firm, Rubicon Wealth Management LLC, and never reported a cent to the IRS.
Inste…
Funeral Home Owner Who Stashed 190 Decaying Bodies Gets Maximum Federal Sentence: 'Inhumane'
A Colorado man who gave grieving families urns filled with dry concrete instead of their loved ones’ ashes has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison — the maximum possible sentence, authorities announced Friday, June 27.
Jon M. Hallford, 45, of Colorado Springs, was the owner of Return to Nature Funeral Home, which operated in Colorado Springs and Penrose alongside his wife, Carie Hallford.
Over a four-year period, Hallford failed to cremate or bury at least 190 bodies — while collecting more than $130,000 from families for services he never provided, the U.S. Attorney’s Office…
Syosset Attorney Admits Stealing $400K From Clients, Including Lottery Winner
A Long Island attorney formally confessed to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from her clients, including a lottery winner.
Daphna Zekaria, 54, of Syosset, pleaded guilty to grand larceny and related charges in Suffolk County Court on Wednesday, May 21, in connection with a series of thefts committed while working as a partner at the Huntington law firm Sokolski and Zekaria, P.C.
Zekaria admitted to using her position to siphon large sums from clients under the guise of holding funds for safekeeping or investing on their behalf, prosecutors said. In one case, she stole approximatel…
Disbarred LI Attorney Who Stole $25K From Real Estate Escrow Will Dodge Prison
A disgraced Long Island attorney won’t spend a day behind bars after confessing he stole $25,000 from a real estate escrow account.
Peter Saad Jr., 48, of Calverton, pleaded guilty to grand larceny in Suffolk County on Wednesday, April 16.
Saad, a former Riverhead attorney who has since been disbarred, represented the seller in a home sale in 2020. Because of unresolved permit issues, all parties agreed that $25,000 would be held in Saad’s escrow account until those issues were resolved.
Instead, Saad stopped responding to the parties and used the funds for personal expenses, according to…
NY Art Advisor Who Stole $6.5M From Clients In Years-Long Fraud Scheme Sentenced To Prison
A once-prominent Manhattan art advisor who defrauded her wealthy clients of more than $6.5 million in a years-long scheme is heading to prison.
Lisa Schiff, 54, a well-known contemporary art consultant, was sentenced to 30 months behind bars in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, March 19, after admitting to a massive fraud in which she stole money meant for art purchases and sales, instead using it to fund a lavish lifestyle and cover mounting debts.
Schiff ran her scheme for five years, from 2018 through 2023, using her company, Schiff Fine Art (SFA), to swindle at least 12 clients, one…
$80K Wage Theft: LI Company, Leaders Admit Cheating Workers Out Of Rightful Pay
A Long Island company, along with its top executives, confessed to shortchanging workers on public school projects and falsifying payroll records.
BJA Renovations Corp., a North Babylon-based asbestos removal and demolition company, and its manager, Joseph Demasco, 67, pleaded guilty to failing to pay more than $80,000 in required wages in Nassau County Court on Friday, March 14.
The wages were owed for work performed at schools in the Merrick and Oceanside Union Free School Districts between 2019 and 2021, according to the Nassau County DA’s office.
The company and its president, Nicholas…
