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Cyber Crime

Police & Fire
PA Comcast User Caught On Kik With Child Porn: Police PA Comcast User Caught On Kik With Child Porn: Police
PA Comcast User Caught On Kik With Child Porn: Police A Lancaster County man was caught uploading child pornography police announced on Monday, Dec. 4.  Michael Edward Fine used his home internet connection to post child pornography onto the app KIK in October, local police found out from the Internet Crimes Against Children through a Cybertip, as explained in the police release. Through an investigation, the New Holland police learned that Fine "upload[ed] multiple videos containing child pornography" using his Comcast IP address, as stated in the release. A search warrant was issued and executed at Fine's home in the 100 block of East …

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
Ephrata Man Downloads Child Porn For Months: Police Ephrata Man Downloads Child Porn For Months: Police
Ephrata Man Downloads Child Porn For Months: Police A 21-year-old man was caught with numerous pornographic images of children on his computer — only discovered after a cyber tip, the police announced on Monday, Aug. 28.  The cyber tip led police to Matthew Joseph Puleo, who was arrested on Aug. 8, court documents show.  An investigation by the Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department Detective Division found that the Ephrata man possession of digital files downloaded between June 6, 2022, and Aug. 2, 2022. Puleo of the first block of Patience Lane, Clay Township has been charged with felony criminal use…

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
Youth Pastor Blackmailed Boys For Nude Sex Acts: Prosecutor Youth Pastor Blackmailed Boys For Nude Sex Acts: Prosecutor
Youth Pastor Blackmailed Boys For Nude Sex Acts: Prosecutor A youth pastor was sentenced to 25 yers in New Jersey State Prison for coaxing boys to send him nude photos and then blackmailing them, authorities said. Sean Higgins, 32, of Palmyra committed the crimes in 2020 while serving as the youth pastor and music leader at Harbor Baptist Church in Hainesport, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw. He was also a teacher at the Harbor Baptist Academy, a private K-12 school that is housed in the same facility. Higgins pleaded guilty earlier this year to four counts of child endangerment for each of the four victims. None …

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by Jon Craig
News
Man Found With 500+ Child Porn Images, West Earl Twp. Police Say Man Found With 500+ Child Porn Images, West Earl Twp. Police Say
Man Found With 500+ Child Porn Images, West Earl Twp. Police Say A Lancaster County Man is accused of possessing and distributing hundreds of images of child pornography, authorities say.  Adam Michael Lawr Shirk, 33, of Akron, turned himself into the police, with his attorney present, on Jan. 26 at 1:30 p.m., according to the West Earl Township police.  Police had been investigating Shirk since they received a cyber tip in the fall and executed a search warrant on Nov. 11, 2022.  Afterward, they forensically examined a laptop, tablet computer, and several cellphones they seized and found more than 500 images of child pornograph…

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by Jillian Pikora
News
Air Force Lieutenant Who Recorded Kids On Hidden Bathroom Cameras Gets Prison Time Air Force Lieutenant Who Recorded Kids On Hidden Bathroom Cameras Gets Prison Time
Air Force Lieutenant Who Recorded Kids On Hidden Bathroom Cameras Gets Prison Time A Waldorf Air Force Lieutenant who worked in cyber security and used a hidden camera to record four minor victims in a bathroom was sentenced to federal prison time in Maryland, according to officials. Jason Daniel Ort, 36, was sentenced Wednesday, May 5 to 11 years in federal prison followed by 15 years of supervised release and orders to register as a sex offender, for transportation of child pornography, announced by the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland's Office.  Ort pleaded guilty after admitting to placing several hidden cameras in different rooms and…

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by Annie DeVoe
Police & Fire
NJ Police Officer Sent Dozens Of Child Porn Files Through ‘KIK’ Messaging App, Prosecutor Says NJ Police Officer Sent Dozens Of Child Porn Files Through ‘KIK’ Messaging App, Prosecutor Says
NJ Police Officer Sent Dozens Of Child Porn Files Through ‘KIK’ Messaging App, Prosecutor Says A New Jersey police officer was charged after allegedly sending dozens of child pornography and abuse files through a messaging application called ‘KIK,’ authorities announced Wednesday. Phillipsburg Police Officer Gary A. Ricker, Jr., 33, was charged with two counts of child endangerment, Warren County Prosecutor James L. Pfeiffer said in a release alongside local officials. Ricker was identified via a cyber-tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received on Monday, Jan. 31 that stated that someone in Phillipsburg was distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM)…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Five From NJ Charged With Pocketing More Than $1M From Aircraft Equipment Scam Five From NJ Charged With Pocketing More Than $1M From Aircraft Equipment Scam
Five From NJ Charged With Pocketing More Than $1M From Aircraft Equipment Scam A crew of con artists from New Jersey swindled more than $1 million from businesses nationwide that thought they were buying aircraft equipment and replacement parts, state authorities charged. For five years, the thieves cut deals online for the purported sale of specialized equipment, including airline ground support parts and hydraulic jacks, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. As soon as the payments arrived, members of the crew either made a bunch of cash withdrawals or slid the money into a Somerset County accomplice's account, Platkin said. The buyers got bup…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
CRYPTO CRIME: Rapping 'Crocodile of Wall Street,' Husband Nabbed In $4.5 Billion Bitcoin Bust CRYPTO CRIME: Rapping 'Crocodile of Wall Street,' Husband Nabbed In $4.5 Billion Bitcoin Bust
Crypto Crime: Rapping 'Crocodile of Wall Street,' Husband Nabbed In $4.5 Billion Bitcoin Bust The self-described “Crocodile of Wall Street” and her husband were arrested by federal agents in Manhattan on Tuesday, Feb. 8, on charges of conspiring to launder billions of dollars in cryptocurrency stolen in a bombshell hack of a virtual currency exchange. Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, 34, and Heather Rhiannon Morgan, a 31-year-old business blogger/rapper, weren’t charged in the 2016 theft from Bitfinex of what at the time was $71 million worth of cryptocurrency – now valued at $4.5 billion. They are charged with conspiring to (a) commit money laundering and (b) defraud the United States, …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
PA Pastor Heading To Prison For Child Pornography PA Pastor Heading To Prison For Child Pornography
PA Pastor Heading To Prison For Child Pornography A central Pennsylvania pastor has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, according to West Lampeter Township police. Jody Sambrick, 61, of West Lampeter Township, has been sentenced to serve 1 to 2 years in prison plus 8 years probation after pleading guilty to possessing child pornography and released charged, according to the release. Police were first made aware of his activity by a cyber tip received from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in 2018. A search warrant was obtained and was executed at his West Lampeter Township residence and his computers, accord…

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by Jillian Pikora
News
NYC Man Gets 38 Years Without Parole For Assisting ISIS, Stabbing Jail Guard NYC Man Gets 38 Years Without Parole For Assisting ISIS, Stabbing Jail Guard
NYC Man Gets 38 Years Without Parole For Assisting ISIS, Stabbing Jail Guard A Queens man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years without parole in federal prison for trying to support ISIS, followed by another eight years for assaulting a federal correctional officer. Ali Saleh, 28, will have to serve out just about all of the consecutive sentences because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Saleh “swore an oath of allegiance to ISIS” and embraced the terrorist organization’s directive to either travel to the Middle East or take action at home, a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn says. “I’m ready to die for the Caliphate, prison is nothing…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Undercover PA Man Helps Catch 9 Alleged Predators Attempting To Lure Children Using Dating Apps Undercover PA Man Helps Catch 9 Alleged Predators Attempting To Lure Children Using Dating Apps
Undercover PA Man Helps Catch 9 Alleged Predators Attempting To Lure Children Using Dating Apps A group of alleged child predators were apprehended by police in connection with a scheme to meet up with minors they meet via dating apps on Tuesday, according to police. The accused, allegedly thought they were talking to children on dating apps and were trying to meet up for sex, according to police. Musa Harris, 41, who calls himself the "Luzerne County Predator Catcher,” is not a police officer, but he messages people on dating apps claiming to be underage, police say. This is something Harris, a father with a young child, has been doing full-time since March 2020, according to an …

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
Lehigh Valley Woman Sentenced For Using Disabled Step Daughter To Create Child Porn Lehigh Valley Woman Sentenced For Using Disabled Step Daughter To Create Child Porn
Lehigh Valley Woman Sentenced For Using Disabled Step Daughter To Create Child Porn A Lehigh Valley woman is facing up to 53 years in state prison for using an intellectually disabled girl to produce child porn, authorities announced. Zoraida Flores, 48, was living in Allentown when she was accused of sexually abusing her 13-year-old step-daughter in May 2020, Pennsylvania Attorney General Shapiro said. Authorities received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children saying that Flores appeared to be sharing child pornography over Facebook.  Agents executed a search warrant and went to Flores’ Woodlawn Street apartment and seized…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
MontCo DA: Hilltown Police Officer Charged With Child Porn -- Again MontCo DA: Hilltown Police Officer Charged With Child Porn -- Again
MontCo DA: Hilltown Police Officer Charged With Child Porn -- Again A Hilltown police officer arrested on felony child pornography charges in May was charged again Thursday on similar charges, authorities said. Matthew Reiss, 47, of Palm, PA in Upper Hanover Township, now faces 1,700 felony counts of possessing child pornography, compared to the 10 felony counts he was initially charged with in May following an investigation into his email account, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's office. An investigation was launched on April 16 when the Montgomery County Detective Bureau received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and E…

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by Nicole Acosta
Police & Fire
DA: Hilltown Police Officer Busted With Child Porn In MontCo DA: Hilltown Police Officer Busted With Child Porn In MontCo
DA: Hilltown Police Officer Busted With Child Porn In MontCo A Hilltown Township police officer is out on bail after investigators found that an email account associated with his cell phone number contained 10 images of child pornography, authorities announced. Matthew Reiss, 47, of Palm., PA in Upper Hanover Township, was arrested and charged with 10 felony counts of child pornography, the Montgomery County District Attorney's office said. An investigation was launched on April 16 when the Montgomery County Detective Bureau received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding the upload of two chi…

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by Nicole Acosta