Jersey City, NJ
Breaking News
Former Union City Pharmacy At Center Of $65M Scam, Authorities Say Former Union City Pharmacy At Center Of $65M Scam, Authorities Say Former Union City Pharmacy At Center Of $65M Scam, Authorities Say
Former Union City Pharmacy At Center Of $65M Scam, Authorities Say A pharmacy in Union City and another one in the Bronx netted nearly $100 million combined through fraud, kickbacks and other illicit means, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey said Monday.  Prime Aid Pharmacy established relationships with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to receive reimbursements for medications, including specialized medicines. The PBMs acted as a go-between with Medicare and Medicaid and Prime Aid, authorities said.  Starting a decade ago, principals connected with Prime began paying bribes and kickbacks to physicians and physicians' employees to bolster business …

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by Paul Milo
Elizabeth, NJ
Breaking News
Springfield Broker Who Bilked Clients Of Millions Sentenced To Prison Springfield Broker Who Bilked Clients Of Millions Sentenced To Prison Springfield Broker Who Bilked Clients Of Millions Sentenced To Prison
Springfield Broker Who Bilked Clients Of Millions Sentenced To Prison An ex-broker and financial adviser from Springfield who admitted pocketing clients' money instead of investing it has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey said Friday.  Gary Basralian, 72, who worked at a securities firm in Jersey City, defrauded clients for a decade beginning in 2007, using clients' money to make payments on his BMW and credit cards, authorities said.   In one case, Basralian created a phony spreadsheet and sent it to a client who wanted to know why an account decreased in value. Basralian used the phony document to …

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by Paul Milo
Jersey City, NJ
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Federal Case: North Bergen Man Charged With Knocking Out Postal Worker Federal Case: North Bergen Man Charged With Knocking Out Postal Worker Federal Case: North Bergen Man Charged With Knocking Out Postal Worker
Federal Case: North Bergen Man Charged With Knocking Out Postal Worker A 34-year-old North Bergen man was arrested after a parking dispute at a local post office turned violent last month, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito said Tuesday.   Eduardo Perez parked his pickup in an employee space at the Woodcliff Station post office June 22, authorities said. When Perez returned to retrieve the vehicle after the station closed, a postal vehicle was blocking the entrance to the parking lot, per the policy at the post office.  The exit remained open but Perez allegedly demanded that postal workers move the vehicle so he could leave through th…

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by Paul Milo
Newark, NJ
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Newark Man Sentenced To A Decade In Prison On Weapons Charge Newark Man Sentenced To A Decade In Prison On Weapons Charge Newark Man Sentenced To A Decade In Prison On Weapons Charge
Newark Man Sentenced To A Decade In Prison On Weapons Charge A 50-year-old Newark man with an extensive history of arrests was sentenced Wednesday to ten years in federal prison for weapons offenses. As a convicted felon, Reginald Moultrie was legally barred from owning or possessing a weapon, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito said in a statement. But on July 20, 2017, he was in possession of an assault rifle with a high-capacity magazine, Moultrie admitted in court. As part of a plea deal Moultrie also admitted he arranged the sale of 17 firearms between May and September 2017. His nephew, Richard Lowman, previously pleaded guilty to con…

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by Paul Milo
Jersey City, NJ
Breaking News
Jersey City Man Charged In House-Flipping Scam That Cost Banks Millions Jersey City Man Charged In House-Flipping Scam That Cost Banks Millions Jersey City Man Charged In House-Flipping Scam That Cost Banks Millions
Jersey City Man Charged In House-Flipping Scam That Cost Banks Millions A real estate investor from Jersey City has been charged for his part in a scheme to use false documents and other methods to artificially inflate the value of homes bought on short sale, U.S, Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito said. Anthony Garvin, 49, was charged Tuesday with bank fraud conspiracy in an indictment superseding earlier charges of bank fraud filed in January. Garvin belonged to a group that allegedly bought homes with mortgages in default using home-equity loans obtained with false information and documents. The group would persuade a bank to sell the property at a los…

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by Paul Milo
Newark, NJ
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Elizabeth, Maplewood Scammers Bought Rolls Royce, Other Fancy Cars With Bad Checks Elizabeth, Maplewood Scammers Bought Rolls Royce, Other Fancy Cars With Bad Checks Elizabeth, Maplewood Scammers Bought Rolls Royce, Other Fancy Cars With Bad Checks
Elizabeth, Maplewood Scammers Bought Rolls Royce, Other Fancy Cars With Bad Checks An Elizabeth man and a Maplewood resident were both found guilty last week of using phony checks and money orders to obtain a small fleet of luxury cars and to pay off a large mortgage balance, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey said. Germaine Howard King, a 43-year-old Elizabeth resident, used counterfeit money orders he created on a computer with the assistance of a woman named Melissa Reynolds, who previously pleaded guilty to fraud. The two tried to pay off two Mercedes Benzes using the money orders as well as a $432,000 mortgage. The financial institution mistakenly accepted the bogus m…

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by Paul Milo
Jersey City, NJ
Breaking News
Former Hudson County Official Accused Of Taking Bribes Former Hudson County Official Accused Of Taking Bribes Former Hudson County Official Accused Of Taking Bribes
Former Hudson County Official Accused Of Taking Bribes A Jersey City woman who worked for Hudson County’s Office on Aging took bribes to funnel patients in need of health aides to a businessperson who turned out to be a witness for the government, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey said. Myrtha Nicolas, 61, was charged last week with extortion under color of official right. She was released on a $100,000 bond. Nicolas served as a referral coordinator who connected disabled patients with companies that provide health aides as part of an effort by the state to help patients live independently.  In June 2016, a self-employed executive of a ho…

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by Paul Milo
Elizabeth, NJ
Breaking News
Linden Man, 3 Others Charged In $2.5M ‘Bust Out’ Identity Theft Scam Linden Man, 3 Others Charged In $2.5M ‘Bust Out’ Identity Theft Scam Linden Man, 3 Others Charged In $2.5M ‘Bust Out’ Identity Theft Scam
Linden Man, 3 Others Charged In $2.5M ‘Bust Out’ Identity Theft Scam Four men were arrested Thursday for using stolen personal information to create bogus identities as part of a scheme to defraud banks of millions of dollars, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carepenito said. Shahid Akhtar, 42, of Linden; Tassadiq Hussain, 70, of Sayreville; Asif Ali, 39, of Carteret; and Mohammad Mushtaq, 54, of Valley Stream, New York are each charged with one count of conspiring to defraud financial institutions. They were scheduled to appear in Newark federal court Thursday. Authorities say the four obtained valid Social Security numbers, dates of birth, drivers licen…

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by Paul Milo
Newark, NJ
Breaking News
Newark Man Used Fake Checks In $2M Nationwide Scam Newark Man Used Fake Checks In $2M Nationwide Scam Newark Man Used Fake Checks In $2M Nationwide Scam
Newark Man Used Fake Checks In $2M Nationwide Scam A 35-year-old Newark man admitted writing bogus checks for which he received millions in merchandise from home-improvement stores across the country, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey said Tuesday.  Lessie Dickerson III pleaded guilty in Newark to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced in September.  Dickerson wrote fraudulent checks for years, from 2013 until 2017, using them to obtain expensive items like hardwood flooring and air conditioners from retailers in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Delaware and other states, including New Jersey.  Working with ot…

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by Paul Milo
Wyckoff-Franklin Lakes, NJ
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FBI: Self-Described 'Candy Man,' 'El Chapo Of Opioids' Doctor From Oakland Busted FBI: Self-Described 'Candy Man,' 'El Chapo Of Opioids' Doctor From Oakland Busted FBI: Self-Described 'Candy Man,' 'El Chapo Of Opioids' Doctor From Oakland Busted
FBI: Self-Described 'Candy Man,' 'El Chapo Of Opioids' Doctor From Oakland Busted An Oakland doctor who authorities said called himself the “Candy Man” and the “El Chapo of Opioids” was arrested by the FBI and charged with prescribing oxycodone, Percocet and other pain medication without a legitimate medical reason -- and cooking the books to cover it up. FBI agents Monday morning raided the offices of Robert Delagente, 45, at North Jersey Family Medicine (NJFM) and High Mountain Health in Oakland, telling arriving patients to call back to make an appointment. Federal authorities began investigating Delagente after two former employees accused them of firing them because…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Fort Lee, NJ
Breaking News
US Attorney For NJ: Ukrainian Who Pushed 100M Malware Ads Worldwide Extradited From Netherlands US Attorney For NJ: Ukrainian Who Pushed 100M Malware Ads Worldwide Extradited From Netherlands US Attorney For NJ: Ukrainian Who Pushed 100M Malware Ads Worldwide Extradited From Netherlands
US Attorney For NJ: Ukrainian Who Pushed 100M Malware Ads Worldwide Extradited From Netherlands A Ukrainian national accused of infecting computers worldwide with more than 100 million pieces of malware was extradited from the Netherlands after being tracked down by the U.S. Secret Service and Dutch authorities, the government said Friday. Oleksii Petrovich Ivanov, 31, infected the computers –100 of them in New Jersey – using what’s known as “malvertising,” U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito said. The scheme was particularly dangerous, Carpenito said, because “it uses online ads to target millions of unsuspecting Internet users engaged in activities as routine as booking the…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Elizabeth, NJ
Breaking News
Union Man Pleads Guilty In Scheme To Swipe Credit Cards From The Mail Union Man Pleads Guilty In Scheme To Swipe Credit Cards From The Mail Union Man Pleads Guilty In Scheme To Swipe Credit Cards From The Mail
Union Man Pleads Guilty In Scheme To Swipe Credit Cards From The Mail A 22-year-old man from Union became the latest suspect to admit his role in a scheme to bribe postal workers in exchange for credit cards being sent in the mail to customers, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey said Monday.  Olagoke Araromi pleaded guilty to charges of bribery, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Araromi, who is scheduled to be sentenced in September, faces up to 15 years for the bribery charge, 30 years for the fraud charge and two years for identity theft, in addition to fines.  Araromi and Moussa Dagno, 24, of Harrison bribed the postal employees for the car…

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by Paul Milo