Feds: South Jersey Bookkeeper Stole $2.6M From Philly Corporation, Blew Funds On Luxury Trips Feds: South Jersey Bookkeeper Stole $2.6M From Philly Corporation, Blew Funds On Luxury Trips
Feds: South Jersey Bookkeeper Stole $2.6M From Philly Corporation, Blew Funds On Luxury Trips A former bookkeeper for the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC) has been arrested on accusations she stole more than $2.6 million from the corporation over the course of seven years and blew the funds on gambling and luxury vacations, federal officials said. Angela DiPietro-Sabatine, 57, of Pennsauken, NJ, was charged by indictment with ten counts of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft and aiding and abetting, Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. The DRWC is non-profit, quasi-governmental entity whose m…
Feds: Wyckoff Man Busted Using Dead Brother's Identity To Get COVID Relief Loan Feds: Wyckoff Man Busted Using Dead Brother's Identity To Get COVID Relief Loan
Feds: Wyckoff Man Busted Using Dead Brother's Identity To Get COVID Relief Loan A Bergen County man stole his dead brother’s identity to get a $150,000 COVID economic disaster loan, said federal authorities who arrested him Thursday. Nathanael Zimmerman, 40, of Wyckoff also orchestrated a mortgage fraud scheme among applicants for Federal Housing Administration-FHA insured loans, submitting bogus bank statements and collecting a portion of the proceeds, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. The loans defaulted and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development lost more than $300,000, she said. Last year, Zimmerman used his deceased brother’s personal iden…
Mother, Daughter In Westchester Charged In $1.6M COVID-19 Relief Scheme Mother, Daughter In Westchester Charged In $1.6M COVID-19 Relief Scheme
Mother, Daughter In Westchester Charged In $1.6M Covid-19 Relief Scheme A Mount Vernon city employee, her daughter, and a former resident are facing charges for allegedly taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to bilk the government out of more than $1.6 million in loans earmarked for small businesses and then accepting kickbacks. Andrea Ayers, a civilian employee of the Mount Vernon Police Department, and her daughter, Alicia Ayers, who operates a travel agency were arrested in the city on Tuesday, March 23 for allegedly submitting applications for more than 300 people to claim federal loans for businesses that did not qualify for. A third suspect, Traci Pr…
Feds Pursue Bank Accounts, Mansion Bought By Bergen Lawyer With $9M In COVID Relief Funds Feds Pursue Bank Accounts, Mansion Bought By Bergen Lawyer With $9M In COVID Relief Funds
Feds Pursue Bank Accounts, Mansion Bought By Bergen Lawyer With $9M In COVID Relief Funds Federal authorities have moved to seize 11 bank accounts, an investment account and a million-dollar Cresskill home bought by a Cliffside Park lawyer accused of scamming lenders out of $9M intended for small businesses crippled by COVID-19. Jae H. Choi, 48, got the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds from three lenders on behalf of non-existent businesses that he claimed provided educational services, an indictment returned by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Newark alleges. Choi fabricated the existence of hundreds of employees, manipulated bank and tax records, and falsified a d…
Long Island Woman Sentenced For ID Theft, Credit Card Fraud Scheme Long Island Woman Sentenced For ID Theft, Credit Card Fraud Scheme
Long Island Woman Sentenced For ID Theft, Credit Card Fraud Scheme A Long Island woman on supervised release after being convicted of running scams in Kentucky will spend years in prison and was ordered to pay more than a million dollars in restitution for an identity and credit card fraud scheme. Amityville resident Lisa Reid, 47, has been sentenced to 90 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release after she targeted dozens of victims as part of an elaborate scheme that ran for nearly two years. In addition to her time behind bars, Reid was also ordered to pay $1,009,235.69 in restitution to her victims. U.S. Attorney John Durham said…
Former CT Resident Admits To Vehicle Odometer Roll Back Scheme, Feds Say Former CT Resident Admits To Vehicle Odometer Roll Back Scheme, Feds Say
Former CT Resident Admits To Vehicle Odometer Roll Back Scheme, Feds Say A former Connecticut resident has admitted to selling multiple vehicles with altered odometers over the course of more than a year. Wilfred Albanese, 49, formerly of Waterbury, pleaded guilty this week to fraud and identity theft charges stemming from the sale of numerous used vehicles with altered odometers. According to federal officials, between approximately August 2014 and October 2015, Albanese, while residing in Missouri, sold approximately 48 vehicles with altered odometers to unsuspecting purchasers.  As part of the scheme, Albanese purchased high-mileage used vehicles and t…
Feds: Ring In NJ, NY Used GPS To Track Vehicles Before Stealing, Reselling Them Online Feds: Ring In NJ, NY Used GPS To Track Vehicles Before Stealing, Reselling Them Online
Feds: Ring In NJ, NY Used GPS To Track Vehicles Before Stealing, Reselling Them Online FBI agents arrested the ringleader of a Newark-based, multi-state ring whose members attached GPS devices to vehicles to determine where and when it was easiest to steal them, authorities said. Members of the ring run by Warren Guerrier, 43, of Newark “scouted out vehicles at apartment complexes, hotels, or shopping centers in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Wednesday. They then photographed desired vehicles – mostly older Honda or Acura models -- and attached GPS trackers so they map out where the owners went with them, he sai…
Feds: Middlesex County ID Thief Forged, Cashed $211,887 US Treasury Check Feds: Middlesex County ID Thief Forged, Cashed $211,887 US Treasury Check
Feds: Middlesex County ID Thief Forged, Cashed $211,887 US Treasury Check A Middlesex County identity thief collected $211,887 by forging a stolen U.S. Treasury check, federal authorities said Tuesday. Federal agents arrested Bernard Lopez, 40, of Sayreville, in Florida on Monday, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. They charged him with bank fraud, theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft. Lopez “used a victim’s Social Security number and business documents pertaining to a sham business that he had created to open a fraudulent bank account in that business’ name,” Carpenito said. He then altered a stolen U.S. Treasury check to be made payable to…
COVID-19: Long Island Pharmacist Charged With Hoarding, Price Gouging Of N95 Masks COVID-19: Long Island Pharmacist Charged With Hoarding, Price Gouging Of N95 Masks
Covid-19: Long Island Pharmacist Charged With Hoarding, Price Gouging Of N95 Masks A Long Island pharmacist is facing charges for alleged price gouging of personal protective equipment during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Federal officials charged Suffolk County resident Richard Schirripa - also known as “the Mask Man” - with violating the Defense Production Act by hoarding and price gouging N95 masks; making false statements to law enforcement; committing healthcare fraud; and committing aggravated identity theft.  Schirripa, of Fort Salonga, had been wanted and turned himself in to authorities on Tuesday, May 26. Schirripa is accused of buying a…
Former Employee Admits To Making 40 Charges In NY/CT With Credit Cards Stolen From Customers Former Employee Admits To Making 40 Charges In NY/CT With Credit Cards Stolen From Customers
Former Employee Admits To Making 40 Charges In NY/CT With Credit Cards Stolen From Customers A convicted felon with a rap sheet dating back to the 1980s will spend more time behind bars after admitting to credit card fraud, identity theft and a host of other charges. Steven Finkler, 55, of New Haven, pleaded guilty in Bridgeport district court to one count of access device fraud, one count of wire fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. U.S. Attorney John Durham said that in August 2017, Finkler stole credit cards from two of his employer’s customers and used the cards to make more than 40 fraudulent charges in Connecticut and New York. The charges included Finkler…
Bookkeeper Who Embezzled Nearly $1.6M From Florham Park Company Sentenced Bookkeeper Who Embezzled Nearly $1.6M From Florham Park Company Sentenced
Bookkeeper Who Embezzled Nearly $1.6M From Florham Park Company Sentenced A Philadelphia man was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for using PayPal to embezzle a huge amount of cash from his Florham Park employer, the U.S. Attorney for Eastern Pennsylvania said in a statement.  Peter Goodchild, 56, carried out the scheme for a decade beginning in 2005, when he opened an account using the electronic payment service in the name of his employer, QwikSource, a computer consultancy.   Goodchild, who was employed as a bookkeeper, transferred money from QwikSource to the PayPal account, then transferred the money again to a PayPal account belo…
Paterson 5 Admit Swiping $300,000 In Checks From Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex Mailboxes Paterson 5 Admit Swiping $300,000 In Checks From Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex Mailboxes
Paterson 5 Admit Swiping $300,000 In Checks From Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex Mailboxes Taking plea deals from the government, five Paterson men admitted stealing $300,000 in checks from mailboxes in Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex and Middlesex counties. Some “broke into mail collection boxes using pry bars, usually late at night…then fraudulently deposited them into various bank accounts, often within a day of being stolen,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Newark to conspiring to commit bank fraud: Ismael Alicea, Jr., 25; Yerrisson Garcia-Rodriguez, 23; Jerry Lake-Rodriguez, 25; Brayan Ulloa-Ulloa, 24. Johan Lake-Rodriguez, 26. …