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U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman

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Teen Charged With Attempting To Torch NYPD Vehicle Teen Charged With Attempting To Torch NYPD Vehicle
Teen Charged With Attempting To Torch Nypd Vehicle A teenager is facing an arson charge for allegedly attempting to torch an NYPD cruiser, federal officials announced. Queens resident Victor Sanchez-Santa, 19, has been arrested and charged after he was caught on surveillance video attempting to destroy the police car in midtown Manhattan earlier this month, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said. According to a complaint filed by the Southern District of New York Court, at approximately 1:25 a.m. on Tuesday, June 9, Sanchez-Santa stopped his Honda beside a marked NYPD vehicle on West 42nd Street in Manhattan.  It is alleged that San…

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by Zak Failla
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Ex-Senior Manager From Long Island Admits To $6M Wire Fraud Ex-Senior Manager From Long Island Admits To $6M Wire Fraud
Ex-Senior Manager From Long Island Admits To $6M Wire Fraud A Long Island man who previously served as a senior manager at a Manhattan global Internet company admitted to running a shell company and defrauding his employer as part of a multi-million-dollar scheme. Floral Park resident Hicham Kabbaj, 48, pleaded guilty to wire fraud for defrauding his former employer from August 2015 through May last year, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman announced. When he is sentenced, Kabbaj will face up to 20 years in prison. As part of his guilty plea, he agreed to forfeit homes in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and Hewitt, New Jersey. He will also pay $6,051,453 in r…

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by Zak Failla
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Massage Therapist Charged With Possessing Child Porn Massage Therapist Charged With Possessing Child Porn
Massage Therapist Charged With Possessing Child Porn A massage therapist was taken into custody by ICE Homeland Security agents on Long Island for allegedly purchasing thousands of child pornography files from an IP address linked to a Hudson Valley non-profit, officials said. Gary Pamperien, 65, was arrested on Wednesday, Nov. 13, in Hicksville following allegations that he was in possession of child porn between at least August 2017 and 2018, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman announced. Pamperien allegedly made his purchases from an IP address associated with a nonprofit educational retreat center in Dutchess County. It is alleged that Pa…

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by Zak Failla
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Tax Accountant From Queens Admits To Scamming Clients In Fraud, Money Laundering Scheme Tax Accountant From Queens Admits To Scamming Clients In Fraud, Money Laundering Scheme
Tax Accountant From Queens Admits To Scamming Clients In Fraud, Money Laundering Scheme A tax accountant from Queens admitted to scheming clients out of more than $750,000 as part of an elaborate scheme that allowed him to live a lavish lifestyle. Salvatore Arena, 47, pleaded guilty to defrauding clients who trusted him to prepare and pay their taxes, misappropriating $780,000 of client money for his own use over several years. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said that from January 2014 through March this year, Arena purported to offer tax services, including the preparation and payment of taxes, to clients of an accounting firm in Manhattan.  Instead of making payments o…

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by Zak Failla
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Ex-NYPD Officer From Area Sentenced For Fraud, Tax Evasion Ex-NYPD Officer From Area Sentenced For Fraud, Tax Evasion
Ex-nypd Officer From Area Sentenced For Fraud, Tax Evasion A former NYPD officer from the area will spend time behind bars for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in disability benefits over two decades while continuing to work security at a strip club. Gerard Scparta, 54, of Campbell Hall in Orange County, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for obtaining approximately $630,000 in disability benefits from the Social Security Administration and underreporting income on his taxes by approximately $268,000. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman noted that while Scparta was obtaining his disability benefits, he earned $1.6 million working as a sec…

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by Zak Failla
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Former CEO From Valley Stream Sentenced For Multimillion-Dollar Fraud, Embezzlement Scheme Former CEO From Valley Stream Sentenced For Multimillion-Dollar Fraud, Embezzlement Scheme
Former CEO From Valley Stream Sentenced For Multimillion-Dollar Fraud, Embezzlement Scheme A Long Island man who was the former CEO of Municipal Credit Union will spend time behind bars for defrauding and embezzling nearly $10 million during his time at the helm of the non-profit institution. Kam Wong, of Valley Stream, has been sentenced to 66 months in prison after pleading guilty to embezzlement from a federally insured credit union before U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl, who imposed his sentence this week. Beginning in 2007 and lasting through his arrest in May 2018, Wong was the CEO and president of the Municipal Credit Union (MCU), which has its headquarters in Manhatta…

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by Zak Failla
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Seaford Homeschool Tutor Sentenced For For Attempted Child Enticement Seaford Homeschool Tutor Sentenced For For Attempted Child Enticement
Seaford Homeschool Tutor Sentenced For For Attempted Child Enticement A Long Island homeschool tutor is heading to prison after attempting to entice an undercover police officer posing as a teenage girl. Jeffrey Weber, of Seaford, has been sentenced in Manhattan federal court to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty last December to attempted child enticement, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman announced this week.  Weber, 59, was also sentenced to five years of supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender when he is released from prison. Between Jan. 30 and Feb. 14 last year, Weber sent emails and text messages to engage in sexu…

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by Zak Failla
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Queens Man Convicted Of Sex Trafficking Offenses Queens Man Convicted Of Sex Trafficking Offenses
Queens Man Convicted Of Sex Trafficking Offenses A 23-year-old man from Queens has been convicted of sex trafficking a pair of minors, including one that lived in a residential treatment facility in Westchester County. Following a five-day trial, Luidji “Zoe” Benjamin, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and sex trafficking of a minor, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman announced this week. In 2015, Benjamin “engaged in sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of two minors,” Berman said. Benjamin recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, obtained, and maintained women for the purpose of commercial se…

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by Zak Failla