Fair 74°
Police & Fire
Bucks Man Claiming To Be Navy SEAL Scams VA Out Of $300K Bucks Man Claiming To Be Navy SEAL Scams VA Out Of $300K
Bucks Man Claiming To Be Navy SEAL Scams VA Out Of $300K A Bucks County man was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for falsely identifying as a military hero in order to receive federal government benefits, authorities said. In July 2020, Richard Meleski, 58, pleaded guilty to one count of healthcare fraud, two counts of mail fraud, one count of stolen valor, and related charges, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The Chalfont resident was accused of fraudulently claiming to have served as an elite Navy SEAL and falsely saying that he had been captured by the enemy in order to secure healthcare benefits from the Vet…

SHARE

by Nicole Acosta
News
FEDS: India-Based Phone Scammers Admit Conning Elderly NJ Victims Out Of $600,000 FEDS: India-Based Phone Scammers Admit Conning Elderly NJ Victims Out Of $600,000
Feds: India-Based Phone Scammers Admit Conning Elderly NJ Victims Out Of $600,000 Two Indian nationals admitted Wednesday that they conned mostly elderly New Jersey victims out of $600,000 through a variety of phone scams, including posing as government officials and online support techs. Zeeshan Khan, 22, and Maaz Ahmed Shamsi, 24, operated India-based call centers that made robocalls to mostly elderly U.S. residents, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Once contact was made, members of the international ring “would coerce or trick the victims into sending large sums of cash through physical shipments or wire transfers to other members of the cons…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: NJ Scammer Used Dead People’s Names To Get $1.9M COVID Relief Feds: NJ Scammer Used Dead People’s Names To Get $1.9M COVID Relief
Feds: NJ Scammer Used Dead People’s Names To Get $1.9M COVID Relief A Sussex County scammer identified people who’d been dead for years as business partners to help collect $1.9 million from the federal fund established to help struggling companies during COVID-19, authorities charged. John Jhong, 51, of Sparta, also submitted phony IRS documents with bogus Paycheck Protection Program applications to the lenders on behalf of 10 purported businesses, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Jhong converted a portion of the money intended for distressed businesses into a cashier’s check “that was used to fund a business account,” Honig said. Congress a ye…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco