NJ Man Admits Hatching $400,000 Homeless GoFundMe Scam NJ Man Admits Hatching $400,000 Homeless GoFundMe Scam
NJ Man Admits Hatching $400,000 Homeless GoFundMe Scam The mastermind of a GoFundMe scheme that conned 14,000 donors across the country out of $400,000 to purportedly benefit a homeless veteran admitted in federal court in New Jersey on Monday that he and his ex-girlfriend pocketed most of the money. Mark D’Amico, 42, formerly of Bordentown, admitted concocting a bogus feel-good story about the supposed victim coming to the rescue of Katelyn McClure after she ran out of gas on Route 95 on her way home to New Jersey from Philadelphia. Both McClure and the homeless man, Johnny Bobbitt Jr., were in on the scheme, authorities said. Together, D’Am…
Serial NJ Bank Robber Who Served 18 Years Headed Back To Fed Pen For At Least 16 More Serial NJ Bank Robber Who Served 18 Years Headed Back To Fed Pen For At Least 16 More
Serial NJ Bank Robber Who Served 18 Years Headed Back To Fed Pen For At Least 16 More A convicted bank robber from Camden who just couldn’t stop is headed back to federal prison for more than 16 years. Anthony L. Livingston, 50, robbed a PNC Bank in Gloucester Township on July 14, 2018 (photos above), a day after he’d been released after serving more than 18 years in federal prison for robbing eight South Jersey banks in 2000 and 2001, authorities said. Ten days after the Gloucester holdup, Livingston tried to recruit a homeless man to rob another PNC branch, this one in Stratford, they said. Livingston “instructed the man on how to rob the bank, gave him a demand note to s…
Cyber-Casanova From NJ Admits Duping Dozens Of Lonely Hearts Out Of $1.14M Cyber-Casanova From NJ Admits Duping Dozens Of Lonely Hearts Out Of $1.14M
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…
NJ, PA Trio Trafficked Dozens Of 'Ghost Guns,' Indictment Charges NJ, PA Trio Trafficked Dozens Of 'Ghost Guns,' Indictment Charges
NJ, PA Trio Trafficked Dozens Of 'Ghost Guns,' Indictment Charges Two Philadelphia men and one from Camden trafficked no fewer than two dozen untraceable “ghost guns” from Pennsylvania into New Jersey, a grand jury indictment alleges. Even more guns, as well as parts, large-capacity magazine and ammo, were seized during the investigation, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said Tuesday. According to the indictment returned in Trenton, Eduardo T. Lazo Jr., 26, of Camden, organized the operation and sold the illegal guns in Camden. Juan Enrique Fernandez, 29, and Ericknell Rivera-Mercado, 31, both of Philadelphia, are accused of bringing th…
NJ Woman Admits Trying To Bribe Tow Lot Operator To Steal Gun From Ex-Con's Impounded Car NJ Woman Admits Trying To Bribe Tow Lot Operator To Steal Gun From Ex-Con's Impounded Car
NJ Woman Admits Trying To Bribe Tow Lot Operator To Steal Gun From Ex-Con's Impounded Car A South Jersey woman admitted trying to bribe the operator of an impound lot to break into a police-seized vehicle and steal a gun belonging to an ex-con who'd served time on weapons offenses, federal authorities said. Saidah "Sacha" Davis, 41, and Anthony "Papa Smurf" Parker, 37, went to the home seeking the help of the employee, who worked at a Camden tow lot that held vehicles seized as evidence by Camden County police, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Detectives were waiting for a judge to approve a warrant to search the vehicle, which Davis said created a "pro…
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…
Indian NJ Dad Who Abducted Son Four Years Ago Captured In England, Extradited To US Indian NJ Dad Who Abducted Son Four Years Ago Captured In England, Extradited To US
Indian NJ Dad Who Abducted Son Four Years Ago Captured In England, Extradited To US A federal magistrate judge on Friday ordered the detention of a former New Jersey resident who was captured in England after kidnapping his son four years ago. Amitkumar Kanubhai Patel, 38, “obstructed the parental rights of his child’s mother by kidnapping the child and failing to return him to the United States when ordered to do so,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. He even told the mother that he was “never bringing the child back to the United States,” Honig said. Patel, most recently of Vadodara, India, had lived with the Cherry Hill woman from August 2015 through Ju…
Three Bank Robberies With Shot Fired Send NJ Man To Fed Pen For 45 Years Three Bank Robberies With Shot Fired Send NJ Man To Fed Pen For 45 Years
Three Bank Robberies With Shot Fired Send NJ Man To Fed Pen For 45 Years A South Jersey man was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison for robbing three banks at gunpoint within weeks of each other, taking more than $22,000 combined and firing a shot at a customer. Stephan Byrd, 46, of Vineland will have to serve just about all of the sentence – meaning he’d have to live at least to 90 before he could again see freedom – because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Rejecting a deal from the government, Byrd went to trial and was convicted in federal court in Camden in April 2019. It began in June 2014, when Byrd robbed the Ocean City Home Bank in Ma…
FBI: Four From NJ, NY, PA Charged With Kidnapping Man, Demanding $100,000 Ransom FBI: Four From NJ, NY, PA Charged With Kidnapping Man, Demanding $100,000 Ransom
FBI: Four From NJ, NY, PA Charged With Kidnapping Man, Demanding $100,000 Ransom A group of men from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York kidnapped a man on a Camden street, beat him and held him captive while trying to extort a $100,000 ransom from his family, federal authorities charged. The victim was grabbed from behind last Thursday night by his abductors, who “covered his head, bound him with plastic restraints, assaulted him and put him into a vehicle,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. They then drove him to a city residence where they “continued to beat him with a hard object the victim could not see,” she said. “After several hours, the kidnappers …
Second Person Arrested In Deadly Pat's Steaks Shooting Second Person Arrested In Deadly Pat's Steaks Shooting
Second Person Arrested In Deadly Pat's Steaks Shooting A second person is facing charges for their alleged involvement in a shooting that left a New Jersey man dead last week at Pat's Steaks in Philadelphia, reports say. Jamie Frick, 36, of Newmanstown, was charged with murder Tuesday, however, her role in the incident was not made public, CBS3 reports. Paul C. Burkert, 36, of Reading, has already been charged with the July 22 shooting death of 23-year-old Camden, NJ resident David Padro. Pat's general manager Tom Francono told the Inquirer the two men were arguing in part over football, when "one guy grabbed the other guy and got him in a gri…
Purported Eagles-Giants Argument Leaves NJ Man Dead Outside Of Popular Philly Cheesesteak Joint Purported Eagles-Giants Argument Leaves NJ Man Dead Outside Of Popular Philly Cheesesteak Joint
Purported Eagles-Giants Argument Leaves NJ Man Dead Outside Of Popular Philly Cheesesteak Joint An argument between a Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants fan turned deadly when one killed the other while waiting in line for cheesesteaks early Thursday morning in Philly. Paul C. Burkert, 36, of Reading, pulled out a gun and shot 23-year-old Camden resident David Padro around 1 a.m. outside of Pat's Steaks, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The two had gotten into a dispute when things turned physical on Ninth and Wharton Streets, authorities said. Padro was rushed to Jefferson University Hospital where he died of a gunshot wound to the back, police said. Pat's general manage Tom…
Historic Drug Seizure Near Atlantic City Nets Fentanyl, Heroin, Coke, Feds Say Historic Drug Seizure Near Atlantic City Nets Fentanyl, Heroin, Coke, Feds Say
Historic Drug Seizure Near Atlantic City Nets Fentanyl, Heroin, Coke, Feds Say Local and federal authorities seized more than 30 pounds of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine – the area’s largest narcotics haul in history -- while raiding a basement drug mill just outside Atlantic City, authorities said. A federal judge in Camden ordered via videoconference that Ricardo Clavijo, 39, who lives in the Egg Harbor Township home, and Christopher Gonzalez, 37, of Pleasantville, remain held without bail, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Each is charged with conspiring to have and sell more than a kilo of heroin. “By all accounts, this case represents the largest single…