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U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

Reality Bites NJ ‘Real Housewives’ Ex Convicted Of Hiring Mobster To Beat Wife’s New Man Reality Bites NJ ‘Real Housewives’ Ex Convicted Of Hiring Mobster To Beat Wife’s New Man
Reality Bites NJ ‘Real Housewives’ Ex Convicted Of Hiring Mobster To Beat Wife’s New Man 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Reality bit the ex-husband of “Real Housewives of New Jersey” cast member Dina Manzo when he was convicted Tuesday of getting a mob soldier to throw her new beau a beating. Restaurateur Thomas Manzo, 59, who lives in the affluent Bergen County suburb of Franklin Lakes, rejected a plea deal from federal prosecutors and took his chances with a jury. That didn’t go so good. Jurors in U.S. District Court in Newark convicted Manzo on June 4 of committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering, along with conspiracy and falsifying documents during a grand jury investigation. Althou…
NJ Feds: PA Sex Offender Recorded Tryst With Minor In UK NJ Feds: PA Sex Offender Recorded Tryst With Minor In UK
NJ Feds: PA Sex Offender Recorded Tryst With Minor In UK A registered sex offender from Pennsylvania who authorities said recorded himself and a minor having sex in the United Kingdom is now in federal custody in New Jersey. Gregory J. Barger, 38, of Morrisville, PA, was originally one of 21 accused predators arrested by undercover investigators with the New Jersey attorney general's and Mercer County (NJ) prosecutor's offices in what became known as "Operation Risky Business" in the spring of 2022. It came to light during that probe, however, that Barger had flown to the United Kingdom, where he recorded video and still images on his phone of hi…
UPDATE: Number Of Victims Of Repeat Sex Trafficker Reaches Four In NJ, PA, Authorities Charge UPDATE: Number Of Victims Of Repeat Sex Trafficker Reaches Four In NJ, PA, Authorities Charge
Update: Number Of Victims Of Repeat Sex Trafficker Reaches Four In NJ, PA, Authorities Charge The number of alleged victims of a paroled sex trafficker from New Jersey has reached four, federal authorities said. Amin Sharif, 48, of Newark had been free for a year after serving nearly a decade in federal prison when he returned to pimping women and girls, authorities said. Federal agents seized Sharif on sex trafficking charges in January 2022, and have held him since then, while continuing an ongoing investigation that produced an indictment that cites the additional victims. Sharif "used several social media platforms and profiles to recruit women and minors to engage in sex acts…
LOTTERY LOSERS: South Jersey Scammer Admits Laundering $4M From Innocent Victims LOTTERY LOSERS: South Jersey Scammer Admits Laundering $4M From Innocent Victims
Lottery Losers: South Jersey Scammer Admits Laundering $4M From Innocent Victims A South Jersey man admitted laundering more than $4 million from victims who were tricked into thinking they'd won the lottery. Pablo Estrada, 26, of Florence, received the proceeds through various scams over the course of 2½ years, including one in which victims received an unexpected notification that they'd won a large sum in a lottery, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. They were required to pay fees and expenses, however, before their winnings could be released, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey said. Many fell for the scheme, Sellinger said. Estrada dumped the money into va…
Burglar With Hit List Of Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA, DE Gets 50 Months In Federal Prison Burglar With Hit List Of Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA, DE Gets 50 Months In Federal Prison
Burglar With Hit List Of Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA, DE Gets 50 Months In Federal Prison UPDATE: A member of a second-story crew who targeted Asian and Asian-American homeowners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware for burglaries was sentenced to a plea-bargained four years and two months in federal prison, authorities said. Randi Barr, 42, of Union County, NJ, was part of a group that worked from a hit list of dozens of homes based on “stereotype and opportunity,” federal authorities said. Local, state and federal law enforcement authorities who teamed up to smash the ring found notes in the defendants’ cars that had the home addresses of individuals of Asian des…
South Jersey Man, 71, Takes Plea Deal After Philly FBI Finds 45,000 Child Porn Files South Jersey Man, 71, Takes Plea Deal After Philly FBI Finds 45,000 Child Porn Files
South Jersey Man, 71, Takes Plea Deal After Philly FBI Finds 45,000 Child Porn Files A 71-year-old South Jersey man admitted collecting child pornography, federal authorities said. FBI agents reported finding more than 45,000 "videos and images of children being sexually abused" on electronic devices seized during a court-approved search of the Collingswood home of Robert Giles in April 2022, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Rather than risk the consequences of a trial, Giles took a deal from the government, pleading guilty this past week in U.S. District Court in Camden to possession of child pornography, Sellinger said. Chief U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb s…
Feds: It's 30 Years With No Parole For NJ Dad, 62, Who Made, Shared Child Rape Streams, Videos Feds: It's 30 Years With No Parole For NJ Dad, 62, Who Made, Shared Child Rape Streams, Videos
Feds: It's 30 Years With No Parole For NJ Dad, 62, Who Made, Shared Child Rape Streams, Videos UPDATE: A 62-year-old New Jersey father of three must spend the next 30 years in a federal penitentiary with no opportunity for parole for producing and sharing live streams and videos of children being sexually assaulted – some of them by him. Antonio Del Prado of Millburn must serve out the entire plea-bargained sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton also sentenced him to 10 years of supervised release. Del Prado theoretically would have to live into his 90s to ever breathe free air again -- and into his 100s before the gove…
Atlantic City Councilman In Bigger Trouble Now, Charged By Feds With Voter, Unemployment Fraud Atlantic City Councilman In Bigger Trouble Now, Charged By Feds With Voter, Unemployment Fraud
Atlantic City Councilman In Bigger Trouble Now, Charged By Feds With Voter, Unemployment Fraud An Atlantic City councilman who was accused last year of assaulting his wife and endangering his daughter was busted by federal authorities for voter and unemployment fraud. MD Hossain Morshed, 49, a Democrat who represents the city’s Fourth Ward, was charged in a complaint unsealed Friday, March 17, in U.S. District Court in Camden. Morshed falsified voter registrations, lied to the FBI and filed bogus unemployment benefit claims with the state, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. According to Sellinger, Morshed gave a prospective voter in the June 2019 primary a pre-filled voter regi…
FRAGRANT OFFENSE: Five 'Scent-enced' In $1.3M NJ Perfume Heist FRAGRANT OFFENSE: Five 'Scent-enced' In $1.3M NJ Perfume Heist
Fragrant Offense: Five 'Scent-enced' In $1.3M NJ Perfume Heist Five men who boosted more than $1.3 million worth of perfume from a New Jersey warehouse are headed to federal prison. The Florida quintet had gotten away with two tractor-trailers full of stolen fragrances – which they transported home – then were caught when tried again in East Brunswick several months later. All five refused plea deals, went to trial in U.S. District Court in Trenton and were convicted last April of transporting stolen property in interstate commerce and conspiracy.  Sentenced on Tuesday, Jan. 10, were Carlos Duvergel, 58, of Miami Gardens, Florida, who got 33…
Repeat Child Porn Collector From Atlantic City Gets 11 Mandatory Years Repeat Child Porn Collector From Atlantic City Gets 11 Mandatory Years
Repeat Child Porn Collector From Atlantic City Gets 11 Mandatory Years UPDATE: A previously-convicted child porn collector from Atlantic City was sentenced Thursday to more than 11 years in federal prison -- without parole -- for doing it again, authorities said. Cory Newman, a 46-year-old former U.S. Navy petty officer, must serve out just about all of the sentence handed down on Jan. 5 because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Newman had previously spent more than four years behind bars following a 2007 conviction on similar charges when he showed up on law enforcement radar once again, authorities said. Agents of Homeland Security Invest…
‘Macho’ Man Who Shared Child Porn Through Phone On Gmail, Social Media Gets 8 Years: NJ Feds ‘Macho’ Man Who Shared Child Porn Through Phone On Gmail, Social Media Gets 8 Years: NJ Feds
‘Macho’ Man Who Shared Child Porn Through Phone On Gmail, Social Media Gets 8 Years: NJ Feds A South Jersey man must spend the next eight years in federal prison for trafficking child porn. Edwin “Macho” Torres, 39, of Bridgeton, must serve out the entire plea-bargained term because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Unlike many of his kind, Torres didn’t operate on the dark web. Instead, he used his phone to upload more than 100 videos of child sexual abuse through a Gmail account to a social media app, investigators said. This led special agents of the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force in Newark and the bureau’s Atlantic City Resident Agency…
Feds: NJ Dad Admits Making, Sharing Child Rape Livestreams, Videos Feds: NJ Dad Admits Making, Sharing Child Rape Livestreams, Videos
Feds: NJ Dad Admits Making, Sharing Child Rape Livestreams, Videos UPDATE: A New Jersey father of three admitted producing and sharing live streams and videos of children being sexually assaulted – some of them by him, federal authorities said. Homeland Security agents seized Antonio Del Prado, 61, during an October 2020 raid of his Millburn home after learning that he’d uploaded some of the images to a cloud, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. These included 56 images and 18 videos of child sexual abuse, according to a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark. A judge kept Del Prado detained, and investigators learned that he'd “had a woma…
MATCH DOT CON: It's Back To Prison For NJ Serial Dating Scammer Who Escaped Federal Custody MATCH DOT CON: It's Back To Prison For NJ Serial Dating Scammer Who Escaped Federal Custody
Match DOT CON: It's Back To Prison For NJ Serial Dating Scammer Who Escaped Federal Custody A serial dating scammer from Atlantic City who escaped from custody while serving time for conning women throughout the country must spend another 5½ years in federal prison. Patrick Giblin, 58, had already served several years behind bars -- and was months short of freedom -- when he made a break for it in July 2020, authorities said. Giblin bolted while being transitioned to a halfway house in Newark from a federal prison in Lewisburg, PA, to serve out the rest of his sentence for duping multiple women in an online dating scam, they said. It was the second time that he'd escaped federal …
NJ Megan's Law Offender Held By Feds In Sex Trafficking Of Missing PA Child, Others NJ Megan's Law Offender Held By Feds In Sex Trafficking Of Missing PA Child, Others
NJ Megan's Law Offender Held By Feds In Sex Trafficking Of Missing PA Child, Others UPDATE: A federal judge ordered the continued detention of a registered South Jersey sex offender who authorities said was caught trafficking a trio of children for sex, including a missing Pennsylvania youngster. Semaj A. Gilmore, 32, of Camden, has been in custody since April 2021. That's when authorities learned that "a missing juvenile from Pennsylvania was being advertised for sexually illicit activities on a website that is often used to advertise acts of prostitution," U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. An undercover agent contacted a phone number associated with the ad and end…
Jersey Shore Man Admits Recording Himself Sexually Assaulting Young Girl, Then Sharing It Jersey Shore Man Admits Recording Himself Sexually Assaulting Young Girl, Then Sharing It
Jersey Shore Man Admits Recording Himself Sexually Assaulting Young Girl, Then Sharing It A Jersey Shore man admitted recording himself sexually assaulting a young girl who authorities said was under 8 years old. FBI agents zeroed in on Christian Importuna, 27, of Englishtown, when he tried trading the videos with what turned out to be an undercover detective in March 2020, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. One of the videos shows a girl who appears less than 8 years old giving him oral sex, a complaint on file in U.S. District Court says. In the other, he is rubbing the crotch of a sleeping child who may be the same girl, it says. FBI investigators “linked the videos to…
Pennsylvania Predator Extorts NJ Child Into Sending $13,000, Self-Made Porn Pics, Feds Charge Pennsylvania Predator Extorts NJ Child Into Sending $13,000, Self-Made Porn Pics, Feds Charge
Pennsylvania Predator Extorts NJ Child Into Sending $13,000, Self-Made Porn Pics, Feds Charge An 18-year-old Pennsylvania man extorted nearly $13,000 from a New Jersey juvenile in exchange for not posting sexually explicit images that he'd convinced the victim to send him, federal authorities charged. Diego Ramos, 19, of Blakeslee, PA used multiple Instagram accounts and other social media and messaging platforms to successfully coerce the Perth Amboy minor into send him sexually explicit images and videos beginning late this past May, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. He'd already gotten the victim to pay $12,982 to stop him from publicly releasing those images when he "threa…
Feds: 82-Year-Old NJ Man Collected, Shared Hundreds Of Child Porn Vids, Pics Feds: 82-Year-Old NJ Man Collected, Shared Hundreds Of Child Porn Vids, Pics
Feds: 82-Year-Old NJ Man Collected, Shared Hundreds Of Child Porn Vids, Pics An 82-year-old Morris County man was charged with trafficking child porn after authorities said he shared videos with an undercover detective. William Harbeson, 82, of Boonton, was released by a federal judge in Newark on $100,000 unsecured bond, with conditions, after being charged by agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations New Jersey Division. Harberson “distributed videos of child sexual abuse via a publicly available online peer-to-peer file-sharing program,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said on Wednesday, Nov. 23. What Harberson did…
International Fugitive Wanted In Five-Kilo Cocaine Importing Ring Seized At Newark Airport International Fugitive Wanted In Five-Kilo Cocaine Importing Ring Seized At Newark Airport
International Fugitive Wanted In Five-Kilo Cocaine Importing Ring Seized At Newark Airport An international fugitive wanted for having couriers smuggle more than five kilos of cocaine into the U.S. on a cruise ship was seized at Newark Airport after a decade on the run, federal authorities announced. A federal magistrate judge ordered that Dennis "Death" Edwards, a 38-year-old Guyanese national, remain held without bail following a brief hearing in Newark on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Edwards had avoided capture since being indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiracy charges in 2012, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Authorities said he conspired to import cocaine from St. Maar…
'I Am The Attacker': Arrest Made In Threat That Shook Synagogues Across NJ 'I Am The Attacker': Arrest Made In Threat That Shook Synagogues Across NJ
'I Am The Attacker': Arrest Made In Threat That Shook Synagogues Across NJ Recent broad threats against synagogues and Jewish people in New Jersey earlier this month ended with the arrest of a teenager from the state, federal authorities announced on Thursday, Nov. 10. A manifesto posted by Omar Alkattoul, 18, of Sayreville in a forum frequented by extremists frightened the public, brought security to Jewish houses of worship and got the FBI involved last week. The concern stemmed from a contention in the Nov. 1 post that an attack had already occurred -- which active shooters have done in certain instances across the U.S. just before carrying out their fatal…
Delaware Man Stole $200K In Mid-Atlantic Jewelry Store Heists, Fled To Philly: Feds Delaware Man Stole $200K In Mid-Atlantic Jewelry Store Heists, Fled To Philly: Feds
Delaware Man Stole $200K In Mid-Atlantic Jewelry Store Heists, Fled To Philly: Feds A Delaware man is accused of stealing up to $200,000 in jewelry in an interstate crime spree that stretched the mid-Atlantic, federal authorities say.  Michael Larbi, 24, of Dover is charged in connection with a string of heists that took place between October 2020 and February 2021, said US Attorney Philip R. Sellinger in a release Friday, Nov. 4.  Federal investigators said the string of robberies began when Larbi walked into a jewelry store in Marlton, New Jersey on Oct. 28, 2020 and ran out with three rings valued at $77,420.  Authorities then believe Larbi…
Compulsive NJ Sex Offender, 76, Headed To Federal Prison For At Least 10 Years Compulsive NJ Sex Offender, 76, Headed To Federal Prison For At Least 10 Years
Compulsive NJ Sex Offender, 76, Headed To Federal Prison For At Least 10 Years A 76-year-old convicted South Jersey sex offender is looking at a minimum 10-year federal prison sentence after admitting that he collected hundreds of child porn photos and videos, authorities said. Joseph Cooper, 76, of Williamstown had served nearly 3½ years in federal prison on a 1999 child pornography conviction, which was followed by six months in the Gloucester County Jail for a 2011 child cruelty conviction, records show. Nearly a decade passed before authorities were at his door once again. “In October 2020, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Cooper’s residence …
Repeat Child Porn Collector From Atlantic City Faces 10-Year Minimum In Federal Prison Repeat Child Porn Collector From Atlantic City Faces 10-Year Minimum In Federal Prison
Repeat Child Porn Collector From Atlantic City Faces 10-Year Minimum In Federal Prison A convicted child porn collector from Atlantic City is headed back to federal prison for at least 10 years for doing it again, authorities said. Cory Newman, 46, previously served most of a 51-month sentence following a 2007 conviction on similar charges, records show. Homeland Security Investigations agents "discovered electronic devices containing numerous videos and images of children being sexually abused" during a raid of Newman's Pacific Avenue home in May 2021, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Some were stored on a laptop and others on an external hard drive, according to an…
Feds: NJ Family Services Caseworker Busted With Child Porn Tried To Traffic Minor For Sex Feds: NJ Family Services Caseworker Busted With Child Porn Tried To Traffic Minor For Sex
Feds: NJ Family Services Caseworker Busted With Child Porn Tried To Traffic Minor For Sex UPDATE: A now-former New Jersey child services worker who was busted on child porn charges at Newark Airport nearly a year ago also tried to traffic a minor for prostitution, federal authorities said they've learned. Trent Collier, a 56-year-old onetime "family service specialist" for the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency, had arrived on a flight from the Dominican Republic last October when images of child pornography were found on his cellphone, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. "One image depicts a fully nude prepubescent boy and fully nude prepubescent girl on…
PA Man Admits Traveling To NJ For What He Thought Was Sex With 14-Year-Old PA Man Admits Traveling To NJ For What He Thought Was Sex With 14-Year-Old
PA Man Admits Traveling To NJ For What He Thought Was Sex With 14-Year-Old A Pennsylvania man admitted traveling to New Jersey for what he thought would be sex with a 14-year-old partner, federal authorities said. Quentin Anthony Blount, 29, of Easton, was one of a dozen men nabbed in an undercover roundup of accused predators who investigators said trolled social media for what would be the statutory rape of underage girls and boys. He took a deal from the government rather than risk trial, pleading guilty on Thursday to traveling with the intent to engage in sex. Blount, like the other defendants, virtually hooked up with what he thought was an underage teen af…
GUILTY: Jurors Convict Jersey Shore Porn Collector Who Threw Devices Into Creek To Avoid FBI GUILTY: Jurors Convict Jersey Shore Porn Collector Who Threw Devices Into Creek To Avoid FBI
Guilty: Jurors Convict Jersey Shore Porn Collector Who Threw Devices Into Creek To Avoid FBI A man who threw an iPad and iPhone containing child pornography into a Jersey Shore creek – only to have a drone help the FBI find them -- was convicted by federal jurors of several related charges. Charles F. Browne, 52, of South River, became a target of investigators after officials at Dropbox Inc. tipped them off, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. The FBI obtained the uploaded files, which included Browne’s resume along with images of prepubescent children being sexually abused, the U.S. attorney said. Investigators approached Browne in April 2019 as he left his then-home in…
GUILTY: Kidnapping Rapist Who Cancelled Plea Deal Convicted In Rampage Through PA, NJ, NY GUILTY: Kidnapping Rapist Who Cancelled Plea Deal Convicted In Rampage Through PA, NJ, NY
Guilty: Kidnapping Rapist Who Cancelled Plea Deal Convicted In Rampage Through PA, NJ, NY An ex-con who kidnapped and raped his ex-girlfriend in Pennsylvania, torched a used car dealership in Paterson and crashed a stolen SUV into police cars on either side of the George Washington Bridge rolled the dice and lost. After originally pleading guilty to several charges, Luis Figueroa, 41, withdrew his plea and took his chances with federal jurors in Newark. They ended up convicting him following a two-week trial. So now, instead of the 26-year deal that he originally accepted from the government, Figueroa could be sentenced to nearly 50 years in federal prison. The rampage had an “…
Federal Jurors Convict Ex-Paterson Police Sergeant Of Civil Rights Violations Federal Jurors Convict Ex-Paterson Police Sergeant Of Civil Rights Violations
Federal Jurors Convict Ex-Paterson Police Sergeant Of Civil Rights Violations UPDATE: A federal jury convicted a now-former Paterson police sergeant of stealing money from a suspect, then lying on reports to protect himself and his department accomplices. The guilty verdicts against Michael Cheff, 51, of Oakland on Thursday followed a five-day trial in U.S. District Court in Newark. They also prompted a statement from Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh: "Michael Cheff was fired [Thursday]. His trial revealed sickening and horrific acts committed by former officers who violated their oath to protect and serve. Paterson has taken significant steps to root out such conduct an…
FEDS: Bergen Doc Admits Buying Cancer Drugs For Multi-Million-Dollar Black Market Resale FEDS: Bergen Doc Admits Buying Cancer Drugs For Multi-Million-Dollar Black Market Resale
Feds: Bergen Doc Admits Buying Cancer Drugs For Multi-Million-Dollar Black Market Resale An Elmwood Park doctor admitted buying discounted prescription drugs used to treat cancer and other diseases so they could be sold for tens of millions of dollars on the black market, federal authorities said. Jon-Paul Dadaian, 53, a board-certified anesthesiologist and pain management specialist from Manhattan, used his medical license to buy the oncology medications under false pretenses "for the purpose of selling them for profit," U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. He also let others use his license for the same purpose, Sellinger said. All for $130,500, the U.S. attorney said. D…
Feds: Bergen Pill Mill Doc Who Called Himself 'El Chapo Of Opioids' Gets 6 Years, No Parole Feds: Bergen Pill Mill Doc Who Called Himself 'El Chapo Of Opioids' Gets 6 Years, No Parole
Feds: Bergen Pill Mill Doc Who Called Himself 'El Chapo Of Opioids' Gets 6 Years, No Parole A Bergen County doctor who called himself the “El Chapo of Opioids” was sentenced to six years in federal prison for doling out pain killers like candy and fudging medical records to cover it up. Robert Delagente, 48, of Oakland, must serve out the entire plea-bargained sentence approved by a federal judge in Newark on Thursday, May 5, because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Delagente, who’d practiced at North Jersey Family Medicine on Yawpo Avenue in Oakland, randomly wrote prescriptions for oxycodone, Percocet and more with no questions asked, then tried to cover his track…
Jersey Shore Man Found With Rifle, Silencer, Bogus Federal Agent Badges Takes Plea Jersey Shore Man Found With Rifle, Silencer, Bogus Federal Agent Badges Takes Plea
Jersey Shore Man Found With Rifle, Silencer, Bogus Federal Agent Badges Takes Plea A Jersey Shore man who was caught with a handful of phony federal agent IDs in his own name admitted also having a homemade rifle and a silencer. Jeffrey Backlund, 57, of Waretown, took a deal from the government rather than face trial, pleading guilty on Wednesday, April 27, to illegally possessing all of them, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Backlund was arrested after a warranted search prompted by a domestic disturbance in September 2020 turned up “a number of firearms and imitation federal identification badges,” Sellinger said. “They found one short-barreled, AR-style, .223 …
Bergen Tour Company Manager, 76, Headed To Federal Prison For Embezzlement Scheme Bergen Tour Company Manager, 76, Headed To Federal Prison For Embezzlement Scheme
Bergen Tour Company Manager, 76, Headed To Federal Prison For Embezzlement Scheme UPDATE: A 76-year-old former Bergen County guided-tour company manager is headed to federal prison for 27 months for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from her employer. Estela Laluf Genin -- formerly of Rutherford and River Edge -- must serve the entire sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Laluf Genin began working at the East Rutherford-based company in 1989 and took a management position in 1996, federal authorities said. Between 2010 and 2016, she and an unidentified company accountant conspired to write checks against the firm’s bank accounts to c…