$3 Million Fraud: East Orange Man Stole From Medicaid: AG
A 63-year-old East Orange man was arrested and charged with stealing more than $3 million from Medicaid by filing false claims, authorities announced Tuesday, Sept. 23.
Vicente Lopez ran a psychological counseling service to Medicaid beneficiaries, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. After Joyce Lopez, Vicente’s sister, died in 2021, he took sole control of the company, Platkin said.
Lopez billed or directed his employees to bill Medicaid for psychological services for over 34,000 individual claims and received approximately $3.4 million from Medicaid, despite that neither he,…
Fans Duped In $200K Jason Kelce Forgery Scheme: Philly Man Pleads Guilty
A Philadelphia man has pleaded guilty to his role in a $200,000 fake memorabilia scheme involving forged Jason Kelce signatures on more than 1,100 items, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said and court records show as of Monday, Aug. 25.
Scheme Involved Fake Signatures, Phony Verification
Robert Capone, 51, admitted to forging and distributing fraudulent memorabilia falsely labeled as being signed by the former Philadelphia Eagles center. He pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Aug. 5 to felony charges of theft by deception, conspiracy, and deceptive business practices, along with a mi…
Too Good To Be True: Lyndhurst Man Fooled Into $75K Scam Over Months, Cops Say
A $75,000 scam that spanned three months ended with an arrest in Lyndhurst, police said.
A township resident reported on Tuesday, Aug. 12, that they had fallen victim to an unsolicited scam beginning April 20, according to Chief Richard Jarvis. Over the next several months, the victim transferred money both digitally and in person, believing they were participating in an investment opportunity, Jarvis said.
Detective Michael Giangeruso was assigned to the case and identified a pattern in how the organized criminal enterprise was operating, police said. On Friday, Aug. 22, at approximately 9…
Home Improvement Scammer Who Swindled Elderly Glen Rock Victim Out Of $25K In Custody: Cops
A New York man accused of scamming elderly North Jersey residents out of nearly half a million dollars has been caught, authorities said.
At 12:07 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 11, the NYPD apprehended Abba Cohen, 40, of Flushing, NY, who was wanted out of Glen Rock having previously been arrested and released out of Woodland Park, local officials said Monday, Aug. 18.
In Glen Rock, Cohen was sought on charges of conspiracy to commit theft by deception and receiving stolen property stemming from a January 2024 home improvement scam that cost an elderly resident $25,800, Police Chief Dean A…
Two People Tried to Get Bribe From Union Township Business Owner: AG
Two people were charged on Thursday, June 5, with trying to get a bribe from a Union Township business owner, claiming a personal connection with an official in the township, authorities said.
Steven Carr, a 54-year-old Staten Island resident, and Whitney DaSilva, a 38-year-old Kearny resident face charges of bribery and conspiracy, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. Carr also faces charges of theft by deception, Platkin said.
Between February and May 2024, the owner of a Union Township business was involved in administrative proceedings with the township related to his estab…
$23.5K Immigration Scam Busted: Harrisburg Woman Accused Of Duping Local Family
A Harrisburg woman pocketed $23,500 from a man trying to bring his family from Vietnam to the U.S.—then vanished, Swatara Township police detailed in court documents obtained by Daily Voice on Thursday, June 5.
Gracie Deguia-Reed, 54, is accused of orchestrating an immigration sponsorship scheme that unraveled over five months. The victim told police he made several cash payments—$7,500, two installments of $3,000, and a final $10,000—in hopes of helping six relatives emigrate to the U.S.
Text messages and hand-written receipts provided by the victim show Deguia-Reed claimed she could spons…
Teaneck Volunteer Stole $36K From Non-Profit: Prosecutor
A Teaneck woman is accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from a Bergen County non-profit using fake checks and a stolen identity, prosecutors said.
Karen A. McEvoy, 57, was arrested on Friday, May 30, and charged with theft by deception, forgery, and impersonation, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
An investigation began in February 2025, when the Teaneck Police Department contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit about an alleged theft at a non-profit based in Bergen County.
Investigators learned that McEvoy, who had been volunteering…
Exclusive: NJ Woman Accused Of Scamming SZA Now Charged In $560K Lancaster Hospital Fraud Case
A New Jersey woman who allegedly scammed Grammy-winning singer SZA and launched a suicide fundraiser is now criminally charged with stealing over $560,000 in hospital services by faking sickle cell anemia, authorities announced on Wednesday, May 28.
Taleah Javon McKnight, 30, is facing one felony count each of Theft by Deception and Theft of Services, according to East Hempfield Township police and the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office.
McKnight has previously lived at addresses in Roselle Park and Rahway, Union County, as well as Carteret, Middlesex County, New Jersey, accor…
Kutztown Man Faked Landlord Role To Steal $14K From Opioid Housing Program: Berks DA
A Kutztown man posed as a landlord to steal thousands of dollars meant to help recovering addicts get housing, Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams announced on Thursday, May 22.
Kody A. Kirkland, 32, forged documents, faked pay stubs, and filed phony applications to cash in on the State Opioid Response (SOR) Rental Assistance Program, according to county detectives. The taxpayer-funded program, managed by the Treatment Access and Services Center, Inc. (TASC), was created to help people struggling with addiction keep a roof over their heads.
Instead, investigators say Kirkland turne…
$100K Fairfield Scammer Turned Fugitive Busted At Southern Border, Police Say
A 56-year-old Mexican man has pleaded guilty to theft charges in Fairfield months after he fled the country, only to be captured at the southern border, authorities said.
On Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024, an employee at Care by Dank's on Route 46 in Fairfield received a phone call from someone pretending to be with FedEx, Fairfield police said. During the conversation, the employee was told to obtain all the money from the business safes and deposit it into a Bitcoin machine, police said.
The caller, later identified as Jose Renteria-Medellin, told the employee this was urgent an…
Pet Owners Scammed Out Of $650K In Cremation Scheme, Thousands Of Pets Dumped In Landfill: AG
A Pittsburgh funeral home owner stole over $650,000 from thousands of grieving pet owners by promising private cremations, but instead dumped the animals in a landfill and returned ashes from unknown sources, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced on Monday, April 28.
Patrick Vereb, 70, the owner of Vereb Funeral Home and Eternity Pet Memorial, is charged with Felony Theft by Deception, Felony Receiving Stolen Property, and Felony Deceptive Business Practices, according to Sunday.
Investigators say Vereb took payments for private cremations, burials, and ash returns between 202…
Glenside Agent Faked 332 Life Insurance Policies, Laundered $600K In Commissions: PA AG
A Montgomery County life insurance agent forged hundreds of policies using unsuspecting people’s identities to steal more than $600,000 in commissions, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced on Tuesday, April 15.
Dennis Wright, 42, of Glenside, is accused of creating 332 fake life insurance policies between June 2020 and February 2022, forging personal details and signatures — without the victims’ knowledge or consent — to earn sales commissions from National Guardian Life Insurance (NGL), investigators said.
Wright then funneled the $603,000 he received through multiple fake b…
Ex-NJ State Worker, East Orange Woman Among 10 Accused Of COVID Relief Theft: AG
Ten people, including a former state employee, were indicted last month for illegally collecting unemployment benefits and other crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities said.
Vanessa Allen, an East Orange resident, Jeffson Cues, a Newark resident, Nerlande Etienne, an Irvington resident and Rose Allen, an East Orange resident, collected unemployment benefits to which they were not entitled, Platkin said.
Allen was hired to work as a clerk for the Department of Labor during the pandemic, at the same time she was collecting unemployment benefits, Platkin said. She is charg…
$750K Stolen From Family, Friends In Financial Scam: Berks DA
A Berks County man is accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from family and friends over the course of more than a decade, authorities announced on Monday, April 7.
Santiago J. Torres, 41, of Sinking Spring, has been charged with 17 counts of Felony Theft by Deception, 11 counts of Felony Identity Theft, 11 counts of Felony Forgery, and seven counts of Felony Access Device Used to Obtain or Attempt to Obtain Property, according to Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams.
Detectives launched an investigation in August 2024 after multiple victims came forward with concer…
