Tag: National Elder Fraud Hotline
Mastermind Of Historic $175M Psychic Mail Scam Convicted, Feds Cite More Than 1M Victims
The mastermind of a mass-mailing scam that stole $175 million from more than a million victims, most of them elderly or ailing, was convicted by a federal jury in New York City.
Patrice Runner, a 57-year-old Canadian and French citizen, directed a ruthless psychic mail scheme for over two decades, beginning in 1994, the jurors found.
It was one of the largest -- if not the largest -- scam of its kind ever, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday, June 16, in announcing the verdict reached a day earlier on Long Island.
Runner sent mailings to millions of Americans that claimed t…
CT Man Admits To Stealing $162K From Woman's Bank Account
A 23-year-old Connecticut man has admitted to stealing more than $162,000 from a woman's bank account by taking checks from her checkbook and forging her signature.
Gregory Ivy, of New Haven, pleaded guilty on Thursday, Sept. 15, to one count of bank fraud, according to Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Ivy began doing various jobs for a retired woman in 2018, and he started stealing checks from her checkbook in October of 2018, Avery said.
He wrote checks payable to himself, forged the woman's signature, and deposited them into his persona…
CT Trio Found Guilty In $5 Million Fraud Scheme
Three former Connecticut residents were found guilty of charges related to their participation in scams that defrauded hundreds of victims across the United States of a total of more than $5 million.
Farouq Fasasi, age 27, 31-year-old Rodney Thomas Jr., and 32-year-old Ralph Pierre, all ex-New Haven residents, were convicted on Tuesday, Feb. 15, of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering offenses, according to US Attorney Leonard Boyle.
Between August of 2015 and March of 2020, Fasasi, Thomas and others participated in lottery scams and romance scams to get victims to send them money, gift c…