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27°
Thursday, dec 26
Tag:
IRS
Sports
Ex-Eagles Player Wendell Smallwood Jr. Pleads Guilty To
Covid-
19, Tax Fraud
Former Philadelphia Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood Jr., of Mullica Hill, New Jersey, a Super Bowl champion, pleaded guilty to federal charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the IRS on Wednesday, Dec. 20, in Wilmington, Delaware, according to federal court documents obtained by Daily Voice. The plea agreement outlines Smallwood's admission of guilt to defrauding COVID-19 relief programs and engaging in tax fraud schemes. Smallwood, 30, faces a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison and significant financial penalties, including resti…
News
Punched Federal Corrections Officer At PA Prison Lands Kentucky Drug Trafficker Extra 41 Months
A Kentucky drug trafficker serving time in Pennsylvania has been sentenced to an additional 41 months in prison for punching a corrections officer at the Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) Allenwood, federal officials announced on Monday, Dec. 23. Demetrius Catching, 34, formerly of Nicholasville, Kentucky, attacked the officer in 2016 while serving a 60-month sentence for distributing crack cocaine. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani, will run consecutively to the 148 months Catching is already serving for drug distribution and money laundering convic…
News
IRS Sending Special Payments To 1 Million Americans: Here's What To Know
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced it will issue automatic payments this month to nearly one million taxpayers who didn’t claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns. These payments aim to assist eligible individuals who missed claiming the credit, which provides up to $1,400 per person for those who didn’t receive the full amount of their Economic Impact Payments (EIPs). Who Will Receive Payments? Eligible taxpayers include those who filed a 2021 tax return but either left the Recovery Rebate Credit field blank or entered $0 despite qualifying. Payments wil…
News
Holiday Deals Or Fraud? IRS Issues Warning For These Scams
As the holiday shopping season begins, the IRS reminds everyone that it’s not just your credit card balance you need to watch — it’s also your personal information. As part of its ninth annual National Tax Security Awareness Week, the IRS is warning taxpayers about a rise in holiday scams. The scammers aren’t interested in gifts under your tree; they’re after your Social Security number and financial information instead. Here’s how scammers are getting creative—and how you can stay safe: Phishing Emails: Be wary of emails pretending to be from reputable retailers, shipping companie…
Lifestyle
NJ Woman Behind Elmo's Viral Tweet In Disbelief: 'Wildest Week Of My Life'
Elmo checked in. And the internet responded. Christina Vittas, 25, a Wayne native who now lives in Hoboken, is the social media manager for Sesame Street's furry red monster. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Christina Vittas (@c_vittas) On Jan. 29, Vittas tweeted out a seemingly innocent question to Elmo's followers. "Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?" Vittas, whose LinkedIn page shows she's been working at Sesame Street for 3 years, never could've predicted what followed: Hundreds and thousands of response…
Business
South Philly Cheesesteak Proprietors Get Prison Time For Tax Scheme, Feds Say
A father-son pair of cheesesteak shop owners were sentenced to prison last week for hiding $8 million in revenue from tax collectors, say federal prosecutors. Nicholas Lucidonio, 57, and Anthony Lucidonio Sr., 84, the proprietors of Tony Luke's in South Philadelphia, will each spend 20 months behind bars, said the Justice Department in a release. The Lucidonios, of New Jersey, carried out a "decade-long conspiracy to defraud the IRS" from 2006 to 2016, prosecutors said. The pair only deposited a portion of their earnings into the business's bank accounts and gave "inco…
News
Climate
OF FEAR: Jersey Doc Admits Harboring Indian Nationals As Unpaid Domestics
A Jersey Shore doctor must pay $642,212 to two undocumented women from India whose true identities she hid for eight years while harboring them as unpaid domestics, federal authorities said. Harsha Sahni, 66, of Tinton Falls, also must cover $200,000 worth of treatment of a brain aneurysm that one of the women suffered while they worked in her and her family's homes, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Federal prosecutors required the payments as part of a plea deal that allowed Sahni to avoid the potential consequences of a conviction at a trial, the U.S. attorney said. In exchange, S…
News
Prominent NJ Attorney Stole $2M From Family's Offshore Bank Account, Feds Charge
A prominent attorney from Jersey City went to great lengths to swindle $2 million from a family he represented, federal authorities charged. The family had retained James R. Lisa, 67, to gather millions that had been moved into offshore bank accounts by relatives decades ago and to resolve any tax issues that arose as a result, they said. Soon after being retained, he moved more than $6 million back into the United States but told the family the funds still remained offshore, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Lisa kept them waiting for two years before giving them $4 million while cl…
News
Bene
(
Phish
)
Iary
: Scam FBI Email Says You’re Owed $4.1M — And Are Suspected Of Tax Evasion
This one’s rich (no pun intended): A familiar phishing scam that claims federal authorities have seized $4.1 million intended for you from a shady foreign diplomat is again making the rounds. A surety bond for the princely sum was found in two consignment boxes seized at JFK Airport in Queens, NY, along with documents bearing YOUR name, according to the hoax email. The author, who claims to be FBI Deputy Director Paul M. Abbate in Washington, D.C., then offers to “walk you through the process of clearing and claiming the money.” That’s the good news. “After questioning the diplomat t…
News
2 PA Nursing Facilities Falsified Records In 2 Conspiracy Schemes:
Usdoj
Indictment
Five individuals and two for-profit nursing facilities in Pennsylvania have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh in connection to two conspiracy schemes, authorities say. Brighton Rehab and Mount Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, along with the following people were indicted on 15 counts, US Attorney Cindy Chung and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced on Tuesday, August 9: Sam Halper, 39, of Miami Beach, Florida. Eva Hamilton, 35, of Beaver. Susan Gilbert, 61, of Lawrence. Michelle Romeo, 46, of Hillsville. Johnna Haller, 41, of Monaca. The I…
News
Owners Of Popular Philly Cheesesteak Joint Plead Guilty In Tax Fraud Scheme
The owners of a popular Philadelphia cheesesteak joint pleaded guilty Monday, May 9 to federal charges in a tax fraud scheme, authorities said. Anthony Lucidonio, Sr., 84, of Philadelphia, and Nicholas Lucidonio, 56, of New Jersey, the owners of Tony Luke’s on Oregon Avenue were accused of hiding more than $8 million from the IRS for around a decade, according to the US Attorney's Office. Federal prosecutors say the father-son duo did this by paying their employees in cash to avoid withholding payroll taxes between 2006 and 2016. The pair were indicted in 2020. The pros…
Business
IRS May Charge Penalty If You're In One of These Categories, Report Says
Some Americans may find unexpected items in their mailbox as the IRS levies certain tax penalties against them if they find themselves in one of several categories, according to a new report. According to fool.com, individual taxpayers, business owners, and those who entrust their finances to others could face potential penalties for these infractions: Individual Taxpayers Failure to file: A penalty is levied for those who fail to file their taxes each year; Failure to pay: Those who owe the IRS money after filing and fail to pay may also be financially dinged; Inaccurate return: Those w…
News
Crypto
Crime
: Rapping 'Crocodile of Wall Street,' Husband Nabbed In $4.5 Billion Bitcoin Bust
The self-described “Crocodile of Wall Street” and her husband were arrested by federal agents in Manhattan on Tuesday, Feb. 8, on charges of conspiring to launder billions of dollars in cryptocurrency stolen in a bombshell hack of a virtual currency exchange. Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, 34, and Heather Rhiannon Morgan, a 31-year-old business blogger/rapper, weren’t charged in the 2016 theft from Bitfinex of what at the time was $71 million worth of cryptocurrency – now valued at $4.5 billion. They are charged with conspiring to (a) commit money laundering and (b) defraud the United States, …
News
Feds
: NJ Men Busted Following Three Fentanyl-Laced NYC Drug-Delivery Deaths
Two North Jersey men worked for a drug-courier service that peddled fentanyl-laced cocaine responsible for killing three customers in a single day, federal authorities in Manhattan charged. Billy "Jason" Ortega, 35, of West Milford was the dispatcher who sent Kaylen Rainey, 30, of Manhattan to three different city addresses on March 17, 2021 after promoting "new batches" of drugs, an FBI complaint on file in the Southern District Court of Manhattan alleges. Three customers -- Amanda Scher, Julia Ghahramani and Ross Mtangi -- all died after ingesting the coke, authorities said. Scher texted…
News
Former Rockland Owner Of Failed Nursing Homes In NJ, 11 Other States Charged In $39M Tax Dodge
An insurance broker from Rockland County who ran a failed nationwide network of nearly 100 nursing homes from an office over a Bergen County pizzeria ducked nearly $39 million in payroll taxes, a federal indictment unsealed on Monday alleges. Joseph Schwartz, 62, was arrested at his Suffern home last Thursday. A federal judge in Newark released him to home confinement hours later, with conditions, pending trial. Then came the unsealing announcement on Monday, also out of Newark. Schwartz’s Skyline Healthcare LLC amassed 95 nursing homes in 11 states nationwide in less than two years – incl…
News
Ring Member Convicted In $565,091 IRS Scam That Sent Refund Checks To Same NJ Town
A New Jersey woman was convicted of participating in a massive ID theft scheme that had $565,091 in tax refunds from the IRS sent to a small section of the same town. Awilda Henriquez, 35, took her chances with a trial after three of her accomplices took guilty pleas. She was found guilty in U.S. District Court in Camden on Thursday of 27 counts involving defrauding the federal government, mail theft, stealing government money and aggravated ID theft, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Ring members filed more than 3,300 tax returns in 2013 using the names and Social Security numbe…
News
Cyber-Casanova From NJ Admits Duping Dozens Of Lonely Hearts Out Of $1.14M
A New Jersey man admitted that he orchestrated an online scam that conned dozens of unsuspecting women on dating sites out of more than a million dollars – and led one of them to suicide. Rubbin Sarpong, 37, of Millville pocketed the money and bought property in Ghana, along with luxury cars, expensive jewelry, top-shelf booze, designer clothes and more, federal authorities said. Then he flaunted it on Instagram. Sarpong had catfishing accomplices, several of whom live in Ghana, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael Honig said. Posing as American military personnel stationed oversea…
News
More Stimulus Money Could Be On The Way, Feds Say
Haven’t received any federal stimulus checks yet? Well, now a fourth payment from the U.S. Treasury Department may arrive soon, federal officials say. Debate persists in the U.S. Congress and among other public officials over how many dollars will be spent and who will get the money, according to multiple news media reports. A couple dozen congressmen are pushing for new federal stimulus checks with a guarantee that the money will make it to Americans' bank accounts. Some lawmakers also are requesting that the federal government figures out ways to get the money to anyone without a bank…
Police & Fire
Chester County Man Charged With Tax Evasion -- Again
A 51-year-old Chester County man previously convicted on tax evasion charges in 2016 has been charged again for avoiding to pay most of the $5 million in restitution in that case, federal authorities announced. An indictment alleges that Michael Goldner, 51, of Paoli, accrued approximately $1,858,740 in tax debt between 2013 and 2017 and in 2016 involved himself in a scheme to avoid payments, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. Goldner allegedly had his employer make payments to Goldner's wife to pay for personal expenses including the mort…
News
Philadelphia Tax Preparer From MontCo Charged With Filing Bogus Returns
The owner of a Philadelphia tax preparation business filed bogus returns for clients, a 29-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury charges. Eric Amaefuna, 65, of King of Prussia took a number of steps to defraud the IRS at American Financial Stewardship (AFS) in northeast Philadelphia from at least 2014 through 2016, the indictment says. These included claiming false or inflated employee business expenses, losses and miscellaneous deductions, as well as increasing the stated amount of state and local taxes paid, the indictment returned in Philadelphia says. Amaefuna's clients, in …
News
Jersey Shore Bookie Admits Running Own ‘Pick Six’ Lottery, Cash Prizes Topped $100,000
A Jersey Shore bookmaker admitted in federal court on Tuesday that he operated his own lottery game in Hudson County using the numbers from the New Jersey Lottery Pick Six to award winners. Up to 8,000 participants at a time selected six numbers from 1 to 49 at $20 a pop, Edward O’Neill, 54, told a U.S. District Court judge in Newark. The sole winner of the illegal lottery was whoever matched all six numbers selected in the official Pick Six drawing. Prizes often exceeded $100,000, said O’Neill, of Beachwood, who skimmed a 10% vig off the total bets. Like bookies of days past, O’Neill per…
News
IRS Roots Out $440M In Fraud In First Year Of Pandemic Assistance, Hunts For More
Along with the welcome relief brought by the federal Paycheck Protection Program have come scams, more than 350 of which are tax and money laundering crimes that have totaled $440 million over the past year, the IRS says. On what will be the one-year anniversary of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act this Saturday, the service’s top officials pledged to continue rooting out the wrongdoing. “As we continue to navigate through this pandemic, businesses and families continue to struggle through financial hardships,” said Michael Montanez, the special agent in charge o…
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