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Bank Fraud

Mail Handler Steals $22K From Businesses In 4 PA Counties: Police Mail Handler Steals $22K From Businesses In 4 PA Counties: Police
Edison Pena-Roman Stole $22K From Various Businesses: Police An Allentown mail handler was charged for stealing more than $22,000 in checks from businesses in four counties, according to police. Edison Pena-Roman, 45, is facing multiple felony charges for stealing checks from businesses throughout Bucks, Lehigh, Montgomery, and Northampton counties, the Hilltown Township Police Department said in a Monday, Oct. 21 news release. Pena-Roman was working for an unnamed, Bath-based transportation company that delivers mail to and from various post offices, according to police. The investigation into Pena-Roman began in February when a Hilltown Township b…
Philly Woman Stole $184K In COVID Relief Money For Butt Lift: Warrant Philly Woman Stole $184K In COVID Relief Money For Butt Lift: Warrant
Philly Woman Stole $184K In COVID Relief Money For Butt Lift: Warrant A Philadelphia woman is accused of fraudulently cashing a COVID-19 relief check and spending the money on plastic surgery.  In an arrest warrant obtained by Local10.com, authorities said 30-year-old Ashley Stibbins-Parker made a bank account for a Georgia entity called "City of Weston LLC.''  Investigators believe she used the account to collect $184,838.72 in federal CARES Act funding meant for the real City of Weston in Florida.  Broward County commissioners sent the money to Weston City Hall via check in February 2021, but by the next month, it had been deposited into Sti…
3 More Men Arrested In Convicted Hacker's $2 Million Scheme At Pennsylvania Banks: AG 3 More Men Arrested In Convicted Hacker's $2 Million Scheme At Pennsylvania Banks: AG
3 More Men Arrested In Convicted Hacker's $2 Million Scheme At Pennsylvania Banks: AG Three more men have been taken into police custody inconnection to with a $2 million bank scheme, according to an updated release by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office.  Less than one week ago, we reported that Carl Gonzalez, 19 of Highspire and Tyreese Lewis, 22, of Harrisburg, had been arrested for allegedly impersonating Pennsylvania bank employees and customers. Now, Jaire Amari Cotton, 22, of Harrisburg; Lavon Whittaker, 22, of Harrisburg; and Zyaire Monserrat, 22, of Steelton, join them in the Dauphin County Prison on the following changes.  Corrupt organizations Id…
Convicted Hacker Steals $2 Million From Pennsylvania Banks: AG Convicted Hacker Steals $2 Million From Pennsylvania Banks: AG
Convicted Hacker Steals $2 Million From Pennsylvania Banks: AG Two men stole approximately $2 million from banks by impersonating employees and customers – something one of them had experience doing before, authorities say.  According to the Office of the Attorney General, investigators found that the young men allegedly targeted financial institutions and consumers in Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, and York Counties. Carl A. Gonzalez, 19, of Highspire, was arrested Thursday and arraigned. His bail was set at $10,000. Tyreese Lewis, 22, of Harrisburg, was recently arrested in Los Angeles and arraigned in Dauphin County. He is being held wit…
Man Left For Dead Under Bridge Was Robbed By Evicted Pair: Montco DA Man Left For Dead Under Bridge Was Robbed By Evicted Pair: Montco DA
Man Left For Dead Under Bridge Was Robbed By Evicted Pair: Montco DA Two 20-year-old people who had been evicted from their apartment robbed and killed of a man whose body was found under a Montgomery County bridge last month, authorities said. Ana Gonzalez-Munguia, 20, and Erick Galo-Ponce, 20, beat 23-year-old Nilson Velazquez-Cardona to death before his body was found under the Stony Creek Bridge on W. Marshall Street Saturday, Dec. 17 around 7:30 a.m. — Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Norristown Acting Police Chief Michael Bishop said. Dr. Ian Hood of the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, who found that the male died of blu…
7 Bounty Hunter Bloods Banged By Feds In NJ Gang War That's Left Four Dead, 10 Wounded 7 Bounty Hunter Bloods Banged By Feds In NJ Gang War That's Left Four Dead, 10 Wounded
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…
$150M BANK FRAUD: Teaneck Landlord Gets 8 Years, No Parole $150M BANK FRAUD: Teaneck Landlord Gets 8 Years, No Parole
$150M Bank Fraud: Teaneck Landlord Gets 8 Years, No Parole A Teaneck landlord must spend the next eight years in federal prison -- without parole -- for orchestrating a $150 million bank and securities fraud scheme. Seth Levine, 53, was the founding partner, owner, and managing member of Norse Holdings, the parent company to more than 70 subsidiaries, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Each of the subsidiary companies owned one or more multifamily buildings, mostly in New Jersey, he said. Beginning in 2009, Levine directed a scheme for nearly a decade to fraudulently refinance the multifamily properties by lying on refinancing appli…
Feds: ID Thief Gets 4 Years For Stealing $600,000 From NJ Bank Customers Feds: ID Thief Gets 4 Years For Stealing $600,000 From NJ Bank Customers
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…
Conspirator Who Used NJ High School Students To Cash Stolen COVID Stimulus Checks Gets 4 Years Conspirator Who Used NJ High School Students To Cash Stolen COVID Stimulus Checks Gets 4 Years
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…
TD Bank Manager Charged In Philly Area Fraud That Scammed Victim Of Over $15,000 TD Bank Manager Charged In Philly Area Fraud That Scammed Victim Of Over $15,000
TD Bank Manager Charged In Philly Area Fraud That Scammed Victim Of Over $15,000 A TD Bank manager and one of her co-conspirators were arrested for their involvement in a Philadelphia area conspiracy that scammed a victim of over $15,000, authorities said. Patrice Singh, 26, provided the victim's bank account information to two men, who then made $17,125 in unauthorized withdrawals from the victim's account, Lower Moreland Township police said. The frauds happened on July 31, 2021, and Aug. 1, 2021, in Philadelphia and Lower Moreland, according to police. Christian Giles and Justin Varvaro, Singh's co-conspirators, attempted to withdraw an additional $3,000, but T…
$6 MILLION SCAM: Man Admits Role In Nigerian Bank Fraud Network Operating In NJ, PA, MD $6 MILLION SCAM: Man Admits Role In Nigerian Bank Fraud Network Operating In NJ, PA, MD
$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 …
Feds: International Fugitive Admits Role In $30 Million NJ Mortgage Fraud Feds: International Fugitive Admits Role In $30 Million NJ Mortgage Fraud
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…
Where Did This NJ Town Get A Maserati To Auction Off? Answer: From A Federal Convict Where Did This NJ Town Get A Maserati To Auction Off? Answer: From A Federal Convict
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…
Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced
Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced A Sussex County man was sentenced Tuesday to more than five years in federal prison for spending $5.6 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic business loans for himself, authorities said. Azhar Sarwar Rana, 31, of Newton will have to serve out just about all of the 64-month sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. The federal Paycheck Protection Program was designed to keep struggling small businesses afloat during the pandemic. Rana used the money, instead, to invest millions in the stock market, make a payment to a luxury car dealership and send hundreds of thous…
Former Bookkeeper Who Embezzled $1.78M From NJ Steel Company Gets Six Years In Fed Pen Former Bookkeeper Who Embezzled $1.78M From NJ Steel Company Gets Six Years In Fed Pen
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…
Feds: Accomplice Of NJ Bank Employee Admits Swiping $600,000 From Customers With Stolen IDs Feds: Accomplice Of NJ Bank Employee Admits Swiping $600,000 From Customers With Stolen IDs
Feds: Accomplice Of NJ Bank Employee Admits Swiping $600,000 From Customers With Stolen IDs A Bronx man admitted that he conspired with a South Jersey bank employee to steal more than $600,000 from unsuspecting victims after swiping their IDs, federal authorities said. Lamar Melhado, 32, used screenshots of customers’ information and signatures that were supplied to him and others by Jamere Hill-Birdsong of Gloucester City, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said Thursday. Hill-Birdson, who worked for a call center at a Mount Laurel bank, recruited co-workers to take photos or screenshots of customers’ information and signatures and then pass them on to him and Melhado, she sai…
Thief Who Swiped 94,000 Credit Card Numbers At Michaels Stores In NJ, NY, CT, PA Sentenced Thief Who Swiped 94,000 Credit Card Numbers At Michaels Stores In NJ, NY, CT, PA Sentenced
Thief Who Swiped 94,000 Credit Card Numbers At Michaels Stores In NJ, NY, CT, PA Sentenced UPDATE: A member of an ID theft ring that stole more than $600,000 from customers at Michaels stores in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and elsewhere was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison on Thursday. Jose “Tito” Salazar, 45, of Riverside, CA was part of a crew that replaced card-reading terminals at the arts and crafts retailer with wireless imitations that they used to capture customers' bank account numbers and PINs, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. They then created copycat cards that were then used to withdraw more than $500,000 from hun…
3 Brothers Tried To Defraud Postal Service, UPS, Citizens Bank 3 Brothers Tried To Defraud Postal Service, UPS, Citizens Bank
3 Brothers Tried To Defraud Postal Service, UPS, Citizens Bank Three brothers were charged by Indictment for trying to defraud the United States Postal Service, UPS, and Citizens Bank of hundreds of thousands of dollars, federal authorities said. Zumar Dubose, 32, of Atlantic City, NJ; Abdush Dubose, 34, of Boynton Beach, FL; and Kariem Dubose, 40, of Philadelphia, PA; were charged with mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Between October 2018 and April 2020, the Dubose brothers submitted over 1,200 fraudulent insured-parcel claims with USPS and UPS and received almost $300,000 in dishonest means, accordi…
Feds: Philly Man Charged With Stealing Nearly $1 Million In PPP Funds Feds: Philly Man Charged With Stealing Nearly $1 Million In PPP Funds
Feds: Philly Man Charged With Stealing Nearly $1 Million In PPP Funds A Philadelphia man was charged with two counts of bank fraud and nine counts of money laundering for stealing nearly $1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds and using it toward personal purchases, federal authorities said. It is alleged that in June 2020, Devron Brown, 50, received $937,500 in PPP loan proceeds, from a PPP loan application that contained false about his alleged construction business, Just Us Construction Inc., according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. Brown allegedly falsified the number of employees, the wages paid to t…
PA Restaurant Owner Arrested By Feds For PPP Scam Could Get 90 Years In Prison, $2.6 Mil. Fine PA Restaurant Owner Arrested By Feds For PPP Scam Could Get 90 Years In Prison, $2.6 Mil. Fine
PA Restaurant Owner Arrested By Feds For PPP Scam Could Get 90 Years In Prison, $2.6 Mil. Fine A restaurant owner has been arrested for bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering in connection with federal loans he obtained, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Scott Levy, 58, of Harrisburg, applied for PPP loans on behalf of his business, Hershey Road Family Restaurant, and received $227,500 in loans from the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the DOJ. The restaurant closed in July of 2020. Levy is accused of spending the majority of those funds on his personal expenses. The case alleges Levy transferred the…
Feds: South Jersey Bookkeeper Stole $2.6M From Philly Corporation, Blew Funds On Luxury Trips Feds: South Jersey Bookkeeper Stole $2.6M From Philly Corporation, Blew Funds On Luxury Trips
Feds: South Jersey Bookkeeper Stole $2.6M From Philly Corporation, Blew Funds On Luxury Trips A former bookkeeper for the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC) has been arrested on accusations she stole more than $2.6 million from the corporation over the course of seven years and blew the funds on gambling and luxury vacations, federal officials said. Angela DiPietro-Sabatine, 57, of Pennsauken, NJ, was charged by indictment with ten counts of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft and aiding and abetting, Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. The DRWC is non-profit, quasi-governmental entity whose m…
Fugitive Admits Swiping 94,000 Credit Card Numbers At Michaels Stores In 19 States Fugitive Admits Swiping 94,000 Credit Card Numbers At Michaels Stores In 19 States
Fugitive Admits Swiping 94,000 Credit Card Numbers At Michaels Stores In 19 States A fugitive who was captured in Mexico admitted his role in stealing information from 94,000 credit and debit cards used by customers at Michaels stores in 19 states, including New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Jose “Tito” Salazar, 44, of Riverside, CA was part of a crew that replaced card-reading terminals at the arts and crafts retailer with wireless imitations that they used to capture customers' bank account numbers and PINs, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. They then created copycat cards that were then used to withdraw more than $500,000 from…
Feds: NJ Bank Employee, Bronx Buddy Swiped $600,000 From Customers With Stolen IDs Feds: NJ Bank Employee, Bronx Buddy Swiped $600,000 From Customers With Stolen IDs
Feds: NJ Bank Employee, Bronx Buddy Swiped $600,000 From Customers With Stolen IDs FBI agents caught a South Jersey bank employee and an accomplice from the Bronx who authorities said stole more than $600,000 from unsuspecting victims after swiping their IDs. Jamere Hill-Birdsong, 32, of Gloucester City, worked inside a bank call center where he recruited co-workers to help steal the identifications of call-in customers, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said Thursday. The conspirators took photos or screenshots of customers’ information and signatures that they forwarded to Hill-Birdson and Lamar Melhado, 31, of the Bronx, Honig said. They then had phony identificat…