Fair 45°
Police & Fire
MontCo Contractor To Pay $43K For Ripping Off Clients: DA MontCo Contractor To Pay $43K For Ripping Off Clients: DA
MontCo Contractor To Pay $43K For Ripping Off Clients: DA A general contractor in Montgomery County will spend months in jail and pay thousands in restitution after pleading guilty to ripping off several Philadelphia area homeowners, authorities say.  Joseph E. Collopy, 46, of Lansdale, will spend nine to 23 months behind bars followed by seven years of probation, and must hand over a total of $42,856.96 to former clients, said Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub in a statement Thursday, Nov. 10.  Through his companies Macintosh Construction and Collopy Construction Inc., the DA said Collopy signed a contract to re…

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by Mac Bullock
Police & Fire
Philly Group Ran Illegal Puppy Selling Ring: AG Philly Group Ran Illegal Puppy Selling Ring: AG
Philly Group Ran Illegal Puppy Selling Ring: AG Five Philadelphia residents are in police custody for running an illegal puppy business, officials announced.  The group used counterfeit bills and phony checks to purchase expensive breed dogs in Lancaster County and resold them for a massive profit, said state Attorney General Josh Shapiro in a statement on Friday, Oct. 21.  The alleged conspirators would seek listings for in-demand puppies like French bulldogs and Yorkshire terriers, authorities said, and resell them for as much as $20,000 each, authorities said.  Investigators said they uncovered more than 30 separate in…

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by Mac Bullock
Schools
PA Charter School CEO Pleads Guilty To Stealing Funds From The US Government USDOJ PA Charter School CEO Pleads Guilty To Stealing Funds From The US Government USDOJ
PA Charter School CEO Pleads Guilty To Stealing Funds From The US Government Usdoj A charter school's CEO and President has pleaded guilty to stealing funds from a federal grant program that was meant for the school where he worked, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Leonard Hart, 50, of Mount Wolf, the former CEO and principal of Lincoln Charter School in York has admitted to submitting to LCS nearly 20 false and fraudulent reimbursement requests between 2018 and 2020, on Thursday Oct. 20, according to a release by the US Department of Justice. Hart "obtained by fraud and misapplied approximately $6,400," starting in May 201…

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
PA Woman Stole $162K In COVID-19 Relief Funds Intended For Renters Facing Eviction PA Woman Stole $162K In COVID-19 Relief Funds Intended For Renters Facing Eviction
PA Woman Stole $162K In Covid-19 Relief Funds Intended For Renters Facing Eviction A 53-year-old Pennsylvania woman stole more than $162,000 in COVID-19 relief funds intended for renters facing eviction or utility shut-off, authorities said. Tina M. Yorgey, of Norristown, was charged with multiple counts of theft, receiving stolen property, forgery, and other related offenses, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said on Friday, Sept. 30. Prosecutors say Yorgey received $162,680 in funding on nine COVID Emergency Rental Assistance and Utility Coalition (ERUC) applications by submitting fraudulent claims and forged documents. An investigation…

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by Nicole Acosta
Police & Fire
Nigerian Fraudsters Used Romance Scam Vic To Try Stealing $13M From PA Schools: DA Nigerian Fraudsters Used Romance Scam Vic To Try Stealing $13M From PA Schools: DA
Nigerian Fraudsters Used Romance Scam Vic To Try Stealing $13M From PA Schools: DA Detectives intercepted a plan to steal more than $13 million from a Pennsylvania school district, authorities announced Friday, Aug. 26. Fraudsters in Nigeria apparently hacked the Chester Upland School District's email system in 2021 and sent emails to the Department of Education requesting a payment change, 6abc reports citing Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer. A woman in Florida was apparently the victim of an online romance scam involving individuals in Nigeria, who convinced her to move the stolen money to accounts overseas, authorities said. The treasurer'…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
'I F*cking Killed My Wife' PA Dentist Found Guilty Of Murdering Wife On Safari 'I F*cking Killed My Wife' PA Dentist Found Guilty Of Murdering Wife On Safari
'I F*cking Killed My Wife' PA Dentist Found Guilty Of Murdering Wife On Safari A Pennsylvania dentist and big game hunter apparently hunted his wife and has been convicted of her murder on Monday, August 1, court records show. Lawrence Rudolph, 67, the founder of Three Rivers Dental in Pittsburgh, was arrested by the FBI in Mexico and extradited to the US in December for foreign murder and fraud charges in December 2021, according to court documents. He has been found guilty of killing his wife, Bianca, while in Zambia on a hunting safari in Oct. 2016, court documents show. Rudolph originally told authorities in Zambia that Bianca had shot herself accidentally in the…

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by Jillian Pikora
News
Current, Former Wildwood Mayors, Commissioner Charged With Scamming Health Benefits Program Current, Former Wildwood Mayors, Commissioner Charged With Scamming Health Benefits Program
Current, Former Wildwood Mayors, Commissioner Charged With Scamming Health Benefits Program The city of Wildwood’s former and current mayor and a city commissioner broke the law – committing “breaches of the public trust” -- by collecting health benefits that they didn’t earn, state authorities said Friday. Wildwood Mayor Peter J. Byron, former Mayor Ernest V. Troiano Jr., and current City Commissioner Steven E. Mikulski were charged criminally for fraudulently participating in the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP), Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. In order to be eligible for the benefits, they needed to be full-time employees “whose hours of work are…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
$6.8M COVID-19 Scam: Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Gets 4+ Years, No Parole $6.8M COVID-19 Scam: Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Gets 4+ Years, No Parole
$6.8M Covid-19 Scam: Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Gets 4+ Years, No Parole A dual New York/Florida resident was sentenced in New Jersey to a plea-bargained 51 months in federal prison for fraudulently collecting more than $6.8 million in COVID-19 payroll protection loans -- $3 million of which he lost in the stock market. Gregory J. Blotnick, 35, will have to serve just about all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti sentenced Blotnick in Newark to two years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $4,577,631. Blotnick told the judge last f…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Theft Of $8.2M In HIV Meds From NJ Vets Hospital Gets Rx Tech 2½ Years Without Parole Theft Of $8.2M In HIV Meds From NJ Vets Hospital Gets Rx Tech 2½ Years Without Parole
Theft Of $8.2M In HIV Meds From NJ Vets Hospital Gets Rx Tech 2½ Years Without Parole UPDATE: A former pharmacy tech was sentenced to a plea-bargained 57 months in federal prison Thursday for stealing $8.2 million worth of HIV medications from a New Jersey veterans hospital to sell on the black market, authorities said. Lisa M. Hoffman, 50, of Orange, will have to serve just about all of the term because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas also sentenced Hoffman on Thursday to three years of supervised release while ordering her to pay the full $8.29 million in restitution – and to forfeit an additional $450,000. Hoffman wa…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
More Fraud, Theft Charges For PA Pool Shop Owner Who Scammed Dozens Of Clients, DA Says More Fraud, Theft Charges For PA Pool Shop Owner Who Scammed Dozens Of Clients, DA Says
More Fraud, Theft Charges For PA Pool Shop Owner Who Scammed Dozens Of Clients, DA Says A Pennsylvania pool shop owner accused of scamming dozens of clients out of thousands of dollars is facing additional fraud and theft charges, authorities announced Wednesday. Bethlehem resident Roger Kornfeind, who owns Hydro Dynamic Pools, was initially charged in January with 26 counts each of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, as well as 23 counts of home improvement fraud, DailyVoice.com previously reported. Starting in July 2018, Kornfeind, 58, failed to fully install pools for customers who had entered into a purchase agreement and paid at least $2,000 down,…

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by Valerie Musson
News
NJ: Elderly Siblings With 8th-Grade Educations Swindled In $500,000 Investment Scam NJ: Elderly Siblings With 8th-Grade Educations Swindled In $500,000 Investment Scam
NJ: Elderly Siblings With 8th-Grade Educations Swindled In $500,000 Investment Scam A former investment adviser swindled four elderly New Jersey customers out of $529,780 that he used for gambling, meals and car payments, state authorities said. Three of the victims conned by Mario E. Rivero, Jr. were elderly siblings who had eighth-grade educations, couldn't speak or read English and had "diminished capacity," Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said on Monday, March 14. Rivero -- who'd known the siblings for more than 10 years before becoming their financial professional -- told them and others that their money "would be invested in his mother's and fr…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Man Wanted For Identity Theft In Lehigh Valley, Police Say Man Wanted For Identity Theft In Lehigh Valley, Police Say
Man Wanted For Identity Theft In Lehigh Valley, Police Say Police are seeking the public’s help identifying a man wanted for fraud in the Lehigh Valley area. The man pictured above is a suspect in an identity theft case in Bethlehem, city police said Monday. Anyone with information about the man’s identity is asked to contact Bethlehem Police at 610-865-7000 or email Detective Molony at smolony@bethlehem-pa.gov.

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by Valerie Musson