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Saturday, dec 28
Tag:
Jennifer Arbittier Williams
Police & Fire
Philadelphia Career Criminal Who Shot SWAT Officer Facing Federal Charges: Authorities
A Philadelphia career criminal who shot a SWAT officer serving a search warrant in February was charged by federal authorities Wednesday, May 4. Police arrived at 35-year-old Kristian Reyes' West Lehigh Avenue home in the Fairhill section of the city on Feb. 11 with the intention of arresting him on probation and parole violations, United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. He had drug-related convictions dating back to 2007, CoffeeorDie reports. After receiving no response, SWAT officers broke into the home and made their way up to the third-floor a…
Police & Fire
Serial Bank Robber Who Nearly Killed PA Trooper Trying To Arrest Him Gets 25 Years
A serial bank robber who nearly killed a Pennsylvania State Police trooper trying to arrest him was sentenced to 25 years in prison, authorities said. Christopher Larue, 44, was on supervised release after serving a 12-year prison sentence when he entered the QNB Bank in Perkasie brandishing a gun and robbing the bank of $11,000 on Oct. 19, 2020, United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. Larue, of Lansdale, was convicted in 2009 of five additional bank robberies, the attorney said. So, he fled, but a GPS tracking device hidden with the stolen money quickly le…
Schools
Temple's Moshe Porat Sentenced In Rankings Fraud Scheme
Former dean of Temple University's Fox School of Business Moshe Porat was sentenced to 14 months in prison after being convicted of fraud in a scheme to boost the school's rankings and draw more students in an effort to vastly increase the school's revenue, federal authorities said. Porat, 75, of Bala Cynwyd, was convicted in Nov. 2021 of conspiracy and wire fraud charges, according to the US Department of Justice. He was fired in 2018 on accusations the school inflated data used to rank programs. U.S. News & World Report first ranked online MBA programs in 2015 -- the same y…
Police & Fire
8 Philly Police Employees Indicted For Collecting Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Funds
Eight Philadelphia police department employees were indicted for collecting Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds, while also collecting their paychecks, federal authorities announced Tuesday. A grand jury on Nov. 18 returned indictments against Shannon Reynolds, 25, Monica Pelzer, 45, Yarelis Feliciano, 28, Najah Harrell, 32, Korey Kinard, 28, Keely Maude, 23, Tashika White, 50, and Paulette Johnson, 55, according to the U.S Department of Justice. All but Johnson, who is employed as a clerk, work as radio dispatchers for the police department. Each …
Police & Fire
Philly Priest Lied To FBI About Knowing Sex Abuse Survivor, Parishioner: Feds
An 83-year-old Philadelphia priest pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about not knowing a former parishioner and sexual abuse victim, authorities said. In Sept. 2019, Robert Brennan, of Perryville, MD, was charged with four counts of making materially false statements stemming from an April 2019 interview with FBI agents, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. Brennan worked with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1993 to 2004 as a priest at Resurrection of Our Lord Church, authorities said. The Philadelphia District Atto…
Police & Fire
Ex-Montco Deputy Sheriff Sentenced For Role In International Drug Trafficking Ring
A former Montgomery County deputy sheriff was sentenced to more than a decade in federal prison for his involvement in a global drug trafficking ring, authorities said. In October 2018, David Landis, 44, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import controlled substances, possession, and distributing drugs that resulted in "serious bodily injury," throughout Montgomery County and beyond, according to the U.S Department of Justice. From 2004 to 2014, Landis worked as a deputy sheriff in East Norriton Township, PhillyVoice reports. From early 2016 until about March 2017, Landis "cons…
Police & Fire
Bucks Man Tried To Meet FBI Agent Posing As 11-Year-Old Girl For Sex, Authorities Say
A federal jury found a 27-year-old Bucks County man guilty of multiple child exploitation offenses after he tried to meet an undercover FBI agent posing as an 11-year-old girl online for sex, authorities said. Kyle Paine, of Langhorne, was indicted on the charges in January 2020. The charges stem from an investigation in March 2019 when Paine attempted to meet the FBI agent posing as the young girl for sex, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. He also asked the "girl" to send him pornography of herself, Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. …
Police & Fire
Chester County Man Gets 28 Years In Prison For Sharing 'Homemade' Child Porn
A Chester County man was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison on Tuesday for recording and distributing "homemade" child pornography online, authorities said. Israel Faber, 34, pleaded guilty to three counts of manufacturing child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography in April, according to the U.S. Dept. of Justice. Faber was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release. Faber's charges stemmed from an undercover investigation into an online chat group for "homemade" child pornography, where he shared a video …
News
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…
Police & Fire
Family
Affair
: Philly Man Admits Attempted Armed Bucks County Bank Robbery With Sons
A Philadelphia man admitted to an attempted armed bank robbery in Bucks County in which his two sons were his accomplices, authorities said. In Jan. 2018, Ronald DeWitt Vines, 47, was charged by Indictment for attempting to commit armed robbery of the PNC Bank branch on Buck Road in Holland in late 2017, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. On the day of the incident, Vines placed a handgun against the side of a bank employee’s head, forcing her to open the bank door as she arrived for work that morning, and then forcing her inside the bank, auth…
News
Feds: PA US Golf Worker Resold US Open Tickets Worth $3.4M For Profit
A Pennsylvania man employed by the United States Golf Association was charged with federal fraud for reselling U.S. Open tickets worth $3.4 million for profit, authorities said. Robert Fryer, 39, of Perkasie, is accused of stealing more than 23,000 U.S. Open admission tickets for the 2013 U.S. Open held at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, PA, and continuing through the 2019 U.S. Open held at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, CA, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. He sold those tickets to third-party ticket brokers in return for …
Police & Fire
Feds: Allentown Man Charged For Hiring Hitman To Kill Ex-GF, Tried To Arrange More Murders
After being charged with hiring a hitman to kill his ex-girlfriend, a Lehigh County man was newly charged with attempting to arrange the murders of two more people, authorities said. Dominic Luis Escalera, 37, allegedly traveled to Newark, NJ from Jan. 28 to Feb. 17 to organize the murders of two Allentown residents described in federal documents as M.R and A.R, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. He made an agreement to pay someone to commit the murders using drugs and cash, authorities said. The Indictment alleges that knowing Escalera had previously b…
Police & Fire
Feds: Philly Man Indicted For Bucks, Delaware County Sex Trafficking Ring
A Philadelphia man was charged by Indictment for operating a sex trafficking ring in Philadelphia, Bucks, and Delaware counties, federal authorities said. Kevin Smith, 27, is accused of "knowingly recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, and maintaining" a minor for the purpose of forcing them into prostitution for about a week in September 2019, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. Investigators also allege that Smith operated a sex trafficking ring various times over a period of two years from July 2015 to July 2017, authorities said. During …
Police & Fire
DelCo Man Gets 22 Years For Making Porn Of Ex-GF's 3-Year-Old Daughter
A Delaware County man was sentenced Wednesday to 22 years behind bars for shooting pornographic images of his ex-girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter, federal authorities said. David Carbonaro, 28, pleaded guilty in November 2019 to the crimes which allegedly occurred in his Upper Darby home shared by ex-girlfriend and co-defendant, Kayla Parker, of Dayton, Ohio, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. Not only did Carbonaro conduct photo shoots of the young girl in "sexualized poses," but he told Parker to sexually abuse the child for his viewing pleasure, …
News
Grandparent Scam: Here’s How Pair From PA, NY Stole $300,000 From Elderly Victims Across US
At least 50 elderly victims across the United States were conned out of more than $300,000 by a ring of grandparent scammers who included a Pennsylvania woman and New York City man who confessed in federal court. Jacqueline Velazquez, 37, of Reading, and Daniel Duran, 33, of Queens played key roles in the phone and email-based scheme, Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. Here’s how it worked, Williams said: Co-schemers based in the Dominican Republic called elderly victims throughout the U.S. Posing as a grandchild, or the grandchild’s attorney, they claimed they’d been j…
Police & Fire
Feds
: Philadelphia Man Admits Years-Long Sexual Abuse Of 8-Year-Old Girl
A Philadelphia man pleaded guilty to seven counts of manufacturing child pornography following an indictment that alleges he sexually abused an 8-year-old girl for more than two years and kept a photo and video record of the assaults, federal authorities announced. When Philadelphia police served an arrest warrant for Herbert Smith, 33, for his sexual assault of a different nine-year-old victim, they discovered him lying in bed with that victim, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. Police seized Smith’s digital devices, and the subsequent forensic ana…
Police & Fire
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…
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
Feds: Former MontCo Youth Swim School Employee Planned On Sexually Abusing Her Own Baby
A former employe of a Montgomery County youth swimming school was six months pregnant and told sex offenders online that she planned on sexually abusing her own baby when she gave birth, federal authorities said. Danielle Sebenick, 29, of Glenside, was sentenced to seven years in prison with ten years of supervised release by United States District Court Judge Petrese B. Tucker for her distribution and possession of child pornography. Sebenick in 2018 was identified as the administrator of a website dedicated to the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, and used the platform …
Police & Fire
West Chester University Student Gets 20 Years For Having 22K+ Images Of 'Sadistic' Child Porn
A former West Chester University student was sentenced to 20 years behind bars for his possession of more than 22,000 extremely graphic photos and videos of child pornography, federal authorities announced. Ryan Davis, 24, formerly of Glen Mills, (Delaware County) pleaded guilty in July 2019 to transporting and possessing "sadistic" pornography that depicted prepubescent children and included infants and toddlers being sexually abused, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. An investigation into Davis' online Dropbox account revealed that the …
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
PA Biz Indicted By DOJ For Supplying Hundreds Of Undocumented Workers To Farms, Tax Fraud
A labor contractor and four of his employees were indicted on federal charges for a scheme in which they supplied hundreds of undocumented workers to Pennsylvania mushroom farms and failed to file taxes -- having already defrauded the U.S. out of nearly $2 million, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Miguel Morales, 48, of Quarryville -- who owns and operates Morales Contractor -- provided a contracted labor force to various mushroom farms in Chester County, PA, the first indictment says. Morales housed some of the workers in 10 properties that he owns across Lancaster and Chester co…
News
Feds: Rapping Philly Bloods Member Who Sold Drugs With Mom Gets 15 Years In Meth, Heroin Sting
A 29-year-old reputed gang member and Internet rapper was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for selling nearly two pounds of meth and heroin to an undercover Pennsylvania State Police detective, authorities said. Wiretaps caught conversations among Louis "Trouble" Morales, suppliers and customers during a three-month joint investigation of the FBI and State Police, Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. The investigators learned that Morales -- a member of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods Philadelphia Chapter -- had access to a "seemingly endless supply" of …
Police & Fire
Philly Man Who Threw Cinder Blocks At Driver Facing New Charges For Armed Robbery Of Pharmacy
A Philadelphia man who allegedly threw cinder blocks at a driver earlier this month is facing new charges for reportedly robbing a Kensington pharmacy, authorities announced. The indictment alleges that Gregory Stevens, 27, demanded oxycodone from a pharmacist at Universal Pharmacy on Kensington Avenue, to which the pharmacist told him it was in the back room of the pharmacy and led Stevens there to get it on Feb. 22, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams A struggle ensued when the pharmacist attempted to resist Stevens, and he shot the pharmacist …
Police & Fire
Philadelphia Felon Sentenced To 14 Years Behind Bars For Gun Trafficking 3 Weeks After Sister
A Philadelphia man was sentenced to 14 years in prison for being a felon in possession of firearms as part of his family’s gun trafficking "business," authorities announced. Mario Ramirez, 33, was sentenced on multiple gun trafficking charges three weeks after his sister, Elena Ramirez was sentenced to three years in prison for the same crime, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. Ramirez was charged with being a felon in possession of firearms in January 2019 when authorities recovered four of his guns that he had stored in his mother’s Philadelp…
Police & Fire
Feds
: NJ Man Facing Nearly 15 Years For Gunpoint Robbery Of 3 PA Convenience Stores
A New Jersey man is facing nearly 15 years behind bars for his alleged armed robbery of a Speedway gas station and convenience store in Allentown in 2017, federal authorities announced. Brandon Garcia, 22, of Jersey City, pleaded guilty in 2019 to multiple felonies arising from the Mar. 28, 2017 robbery, including Hobbs Act robbery, and using, carrying, or possessing a machine gun during a crime, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. During the robbery, it is alleged that Garcia used a long gun to threaten store employees and poked one employee with th…
Police & Fire
Bucks Landlord To Pay Feds $128K For Renting Subsidized Apartment To Mother-In-Law
A Bucks County landlord is expected to pay $128,000 to the federal government for allegedly renting a subsidized Section 8 apartment to his mother-in-law for 12 years, authorities said. The settlement resolves allegations that, between December 2008 and August 2020, Dmitry Royzman rented a subsidized apartment to his mother-in-law in violation of the Housing Choice Voucher Program’s (“HCVP”) requirements, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. In the settlement agreement, federal authorities allege that Royzman was a landlord in the HCVP, a program whereby H…
Police & Fire
Gunman Accused Of Firing Shots Into MontCo Democratic Committee Office Facing Federal Charges
A Pennsylvania gunman arrested by state authorities earlier this month is now facing federal charges after sending a threatening email to an executive and firing shots at the Montgomery County Democratic Committee Office on Jan. 20, authorities announced. Francis Nero, 48, of Eagleville, was federally charged on March 3 on charges of sending threatening communications and cyberstalking, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. MCDP Office Executive Director Brian Levy told Norristown police on Jan. 8 that he got a threatening email from someone on Ja…
Police & Fire
Philadelphia 'Pill Mill' Doc Who Exchanged Opioids For Sex Gets 5 Years
An 80-year-old Philadelphia doctor was sentenced to five years behind bars for illegally distributing opioids to patients for cash, and often in exchange for sex, authorities announced. Myron Rodos, of Ambler, pleaded guilty in November 2019, admitting that he illegally gave an additional 6,130 oxycodone (30 mg) pills and 3,670 methadone (10 mg) pills to patients in exchange for sex and money at his North Philadelphia "pill mill," Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. The charges resulted from a lengthy FBI investigation that produced audio and video recording…
Police & Fire
West Chester Closed-Door Pharmacy To Pay $225K In Civil Penalties For Illegally Selling Drugs
A West Chester closed-door pharmacy has been ordered to pay $225,000 in civil penalties for illegally selling drugs after receiving warnings from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), authorities announced. A civil lawsuit alleges that Source One Pharmacy Services LLC -- which operates as a pharmacy that is not open for business to the general public -- improperly documented and distributed drugs including opioids, Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. The complaint further alleges that Source One distributed some drugs to locations where the recipients …
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