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Gravestone Scammer Barred From Practicing In PA Targets Murder Victim's Mom Gravestone Scammer Barred From Practicing In PA Targets Murder Victim's Mom
Gravestone Scammer Barred From Practicing In PA Targets Murder Victim's Mom A New Jersey mom who fell victim to a headstone scammer just after she buried her 31-year-old son last year is sharing her story in hopes of putting a stop to a man she says should've been stopped long ago. Nearly a month after Luz Vasquez's son, Chad Stuart, was killed outside of a Vineland bar in September 2022, she was contacted by Gregory Stefan, Jr., who explained he was the owner of Colonial Memorials, a headstone company.  And he wanted Vasquez as a client. Vasquez set up a meeting with Stefan in her Vineland home on Oct. 21, 2022. "He was a professional man, and seemed sympatheti…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
NJ Boardwalk Operator Banned 10 Years For Using Overinflated Basketballs, Posting False Prizes NJ Boardwalk Operator Banned 10 Years For Using Overinflated Basketballs, Posting False Prizes
NJ Boardwalk Operator Banned 10 Years For Using Overinflated Basketballs, Posting False Prizes A Jersey Shore game operator was banned from business for 10 years and fined $15,500 for over-inflating basketballs and displaying prizes that couldn’t be won, state authorities said. Some basketballs at games owned by Christine Strothers on the boardwalks in Wildwood and North Wildwood packed up to three times the amount of required pounds per square inch of inflation, state Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. This, as most players know, can make a ball ricochet wildly off a backboard or rim, the attorney general noted. Strothers also broke New Jersey’s amusement games lic…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
$400G GoFundMe Scam: NJ Woman Serving Federal Time Gets 3-Year State Sentence $400G GoFundMe Scam: NJ Woman Serving Federal Time Gets 3-Year State Sentence
$400G GoFundMe Scam: NJ Woman Serving Federal Time Gets 3-Year State Sentence UPDATE: A woman who helped pull a notorious scam that conned 14,000 GoFundMe donors nationwide was nearly 150 miles away when a judge in South Jersey sentenced her to a plea-bargained three years in state prison on Friday, Jan. 6. Katelyn McClure, 32, of Bordentown will be released in July after completing a federal sentence at a low-security prison in Danbury, CT, for scamming well-meaning donors out of $400,000 to purportedly help a homeless veteran. At that point, the year and a day federal sentence will be deducted from her state term and a determination will be made whether she shoul…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Andrew Bucklandon Is NOT Missing: Here's How Social Scammers Get You Andrew Bucklandon Is NOT Missing: Here's How Social Scammers Get You
Andrew Bucklandon Is NOT Missing: Here's How Social Scammers Get You A boy named Andrew Bucklandon hasn't gone missing. He didn't leave for school and not return. He doesn't even exist. For those who've seen -- or, worse, shared -- the Facebook post about a purportedly missing boy the past couple of days, here are a few questions: Does the post include a town? A link? Contact details? It doesn't. Because it's bogus. Like any good phishing scam, the missing boy ploy tugs at the heartstrings and plays on the fears of those who want to help. They're actually helping the scammers find more victims. Phishers threw their latest line into social media waters on…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
ID Sought For Pair That Scammed More Than $3K In Gift Cards, Items From Lehigh Valley Kohl’s ID Sought For Pair That Scammed More Than $3K In Gift Cards, Items From Lehigh Valley Kohl’s
ID Sought For Pair That Scammed More Than $3K In Gift Cards, Items From Lehigh Valley Kohl’s Recognize them? Authorities are seeking the public’s help identifying two people that allegedly scammed thousands of dollars’ worth of gift cards and merchandise from a Lehigh Valley Kohl’s store. The couple — pictured above — scammed $3,200 in gift cards and other items from the Kohl's on Easton-Nazareth Hwy. in Easton on Saturday, July 30, Colonial Regional Police said. They are also suspected in similar thefts at other Kohl’s stores in the area, according to police. Anyone with information about the suspects’ identities is asked to contact CRPD Officer Font at 610-861-4820. All tips can…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Federal Convict Who Hatched $400,000 GoFundMe Scam Gets NJ Prison Time, Too Federal Convict Who Hatched $400,000 GoFundMe Scam Gets NJ Prison Time, Too
Federal Convict Who Hatched $400,000 GoFundMe Scam Gets NJ Prison Time, Too UPDATE: A New Jersey man already serving federal prison time for a GoFundMe scheme that conned 14,000 donors across the country out of $400,000 to purportedly benefit a homeless veteran got a state prison sentence, as well. The plea-bargained five-year term approved by a Superior Court judge in Mount Holly on Friday will run at the same time as the 27-month federal sentence that Mark D'Amico of Trenton received in April. The difference is that there's no parole in the federal prison system, which keeps D'Amico in the medium-security United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, PA for more than…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Woman Who Pulled $400,000 GoFundMe Scam With Homeless Vet, Ex-BF Gets Federal Prison Time NJ Woman Who Pulled $400,000 GoFundMe Scam With Homeless Vet, Ex-BF Gets Federal Prison Time
NJ Woman Who Pulled $400,000 GoFundMe Scam With Homeless Vet, Ex-BF Gets Federal Prison Time UPDATE: A New Jersey woman who helped pull a scam that conned 14,000 GoFundMe donors across the country out of $400,000 to purportedly benefit a homeless veteran is headed to federal prison. Katelyn McClure, 32, of Bordentown got a far lighter sentence under the terms of her plea deal with the government than did her former boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, who concocted the cruel scheme. McClure was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Camden on Thursday to a plea-bargained year and a day in a federal penitentiary. D’Amico, the "mastermind," earlier this year got 27 months in a fed pen in exchange …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Bail Scam Artist Needs Bail After He Tried To Scam PA Grandma Out of $15K: Police Bail Scam Artist Needs Bail After He Tried To Scam PA Grandma Out of $15K: Police
Bail Scam Artist Needs Bail After He Tried To Scam PA Grandma Out of $15K: Police An 82-year-old grandma nearly lost $15,000 to a bail scam artist on Monday, June 13, police say. Engerbert Perez Jimenez, 26, of Reading, called the Lancaster County woman and pretended to be her son’s lawyer claiming her grandson was in a serious car crash and was in the ICU and needed $8,000, according to the release by the Northern Lancaster County Regional police department. The woman quickly went to the bank and withdrew cash and met the man in Warwick Township and surrendered the cash, but then he called her back and demanded another $7,000 in cash claiming he need bail money for her…

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by Jillian Pikora
Business
‘Devious:’ PA Pool Shop Owner Scammed 26 Clients Out Of Thousands For Years, DA Says ‘Devious:’ PA Pool Shop Owner Scammed 26 Clients Out Of Thousands For Years, DA Says
‘Devious:’ PA Pool Shop Owner Scammed 26 Clients Out Of Thousands For Years, DA Says A Pennsylvania pool shop owner was slapped with dozens of charges Tuesday after an investigation found that he had spent years scamming at least 26 customers out of thousands of dollars, the district attorney announced. Roger Kornfeind, of Bethlehem, faces 26 counts each of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, as well as 23 counts of home improvement fraud, Northampton County District Attorney Terence Houck said. Kornfeind — the owner of Hydro Dynamic Pools — has been defrauding customers at locations in Pen Argyl, Northampton County; Slatington, Lehigh County; and Oley, …

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by Valerie Musson
News
Detectives Turn Tables On Scammers Who Thought They'd Conned Bergen County Grandma Detectives Turn Tables On Scammers Who Thought They'd Conned Bergen County Grandma
Detectives Turn Tables On Scammers Who Thought They'd Conned Bergen County Grandma GOTCHA! Two gutless 20-year-olds from the Bronx thought they'd conned a Woodcliff Lake woman out of $6,000 with the "grandson in trouble" scam -- only they ended up being the ones who got punked. A caller claiming to be her grandson told the intended victim that he'd been arrested and needed bail money, WCL Police Lt. Chad Malloy said. The caller gave the grandmother the name and number of someone who he said was an attorney. That person would come to her house and collect the $6,000 from her, then bring it to court to secure his release, he told her. Grandma knew better, though. She went …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
FACT CHECK: Do Carjackers Put Plastic Bottles In Wheel Wells To Distract Drivers? FACT CHECK: Do Carjackers Put Plastic Bottles In Wheel Wells To Distract Drivers?
Fact Check: Do Carjackers Put Plastic Bottles In Wheel Wells To Distract Drivers? Despite what someone you know might have shared, carjackers aren't going around shoving empty plastic bottles between motorists' tires and wheel wells as a distraction. Next month marks four years since the mythical "warning" emerged out of Africa and worked its way around the globe. The idea, it's said, is you'll hear the sound of the bottle being crushed and get out of your car to investigate. At that point, the carjacker robs you of your ride. The bogus alert begins: "PLEASE READ Police warn: if you find a plastic bottle near your car, you may be in danger." You won't and you're not, a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
BEWARE: 'Amazon' Phone Scammer Cons NJ Victim Out Of $10,000 BEWARE: 'Amazon' Phone Scammer Cons NJ Victim Out Of $10,000
Beware: 'Amazon' Phone Scammer Cons NJ Victim Out Of $10,000 A Glen Rock resident lost more than $10,000 in an Amazon telephone scam, authorities said. The victim had just made an Amazon purchase when a text arrived from a purported “customer service representative” claiming there’d been a $1,490.97 purchase that the resident didn’t make, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. The scammer then gave the victim a number to call to dispute the charge, he said. The victim called and was directed to buy gift cards “to fix the security breach,” the chief said. “Over the next five hours the victim purchased over $ 10,000 in gift cards from NIKE, TARGET and E-B…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
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…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NYC Crew Conspired To Scam Atlantic City Casinos Out Of $1.12 Million, Authorities Charge NYC Crew Conspired To Scam Atlantic City Casinos Out Of $1.12 Million, Authorities Charge
NYC Crew Conspired To Scam Atlantic City Casinos Out Of $1.12 Million, Authorities Charge A group of New York City con artists conspired to scam five Atlantic City casinos out of $1,120,000 by exchanging bogus bank checks for gaming chips, authorities said. The Hard Rock casino rejected a check and the Golden Nugget permitted only incremental amounts, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said Thursday. But Caesars, the Borgata and the Ocean Casino Resort all honored $284,000 checks, losing a combined total of $852,000, he said. The New Jersey State Police Casino Gaming Bureau and the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau began investigating soon a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
FBI: NJ Stockbroker Scams Investors Out Of $600,000 With Bogus Tix Biz FBI: NJ Stockbroker Scams Investors Out Of $600,000 With Bogus Tix Biz
FBI: NJ Stockbroker Scams Investors Out Of $600,000 With Bogus Tix Biz FBI agents busted a now-former stockbroker from Jersey City who they said ran a side hustle that scammed victims out of more than $600,000 through a fictional ticket-reselling business. Michael J. Clarke, 62, lost his job once it came to light that his promises of getting discounted tickets that he could later sell at premium rates for concerts and sporting events -- as well as seat licenses to the U.S. Open -- were lies, authorities said. Clarke, who was a licensed municipal securities trader, promised victims who fronted him the money for the purported ticket brokerage that they'd get a …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
SCAM ALERT! Police In Central Pennsylvania Warn Of Fake Hostage Shake Downs SCAM ALERT! Police In Central Pennsylvania Warn Of Fake Hostage Shake Downs
Scam ALERT! Police In Central Pennsylvania Warn Of Fake Hostage Shake Downs Prank calls have been taken to a scary new level, with callers claiming to have kidnapped and holding a family member hostage, according to Lower Paxton Township police. Multiple central Pennsylvania police departments are warning the public of scammers calling people from unknown numbers saying they have kidnapped family members. Frequently the callers will have enough information to sound believable, such as your name, address, phone numbers, and names of extended family members. Then the callers claim to have taken a family member hostage. Next they ask you to obtain cash and meet th…

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by Jillian Pikora