$1.5M Cosmetics Company Scam Sends Englewood Swindler To Federal Prison For 2½ Years
A former Englewood resident must serve nearly 2½ years in federal prison for scamming three investors out of $1.5 million.
Matthew Benjamin, 54, used the victims' money for car and house rental payments, food, international travel, legal fees, technology equipment and summer camp tuition for family members, among other purposes, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
Benjamin, currently of New York, told the victims that his purported company, Clear Solutions Group, had lucrative contracts to purchase closeout or excess cosmetic inventory from one company that he planned to …
Feds: NJ Drug Dealer Gets 10 Years, No Parole
An admitted drug dealer from Union County is headed to federal prison for 10 years.
Tyrell "Hell Rell" Wilson, 36, of Rahway, must serve out just about all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system.
Wilson was busted in September 2019 with ex-con Marvin "Black Jesus" Lagrier, 39, of Newark.
Authorities said they seized cocaine base, heroin, fentanyl, drug-packaging materials, a gun and several rounds of ammunition after searching Wilson's vehicle and a backpack he tossed while trying to flee.
They also recovered several Newark Housing Authority uniforms bearin…
Jersey Shore Man Who Labeled Shipment Of Iguanas As Toys Sentenced To Home Confinement
UPDATE: A Jersey Shore man who falsely labeled a package containing 10 live iguanas bound for Hong Kong as “toys" was sentenced by a federal judge Tuesday to a plea-bargained six months of home confinement as part of three years probation.
Jason Ksepka, 44, of Farmingdale, also was prohibited from "harassing, harming, pursuing, hunting, shooting, wounding, trapping, capturing, or collecting wildlife or attempting to engage in such conduct," U.S Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi also barred him from the "the import, export, transport, s…
Feds Charge JC Ex-Con, Newark Companion With Two Shootings During Multi-Robbery Spree
A Jersey City ex-con accused of shooting two clerks during a mid-evening armed robbery spree last month was charged by federal authorities along with a Newark woman who they said was with him.
Rodney Williams, 29, and Siobhan Chandler, 19, were captured after Williams crashed their getaway during a police chase following four holdups in under an hour on Nov. 14, authorities said.
All told, the couple robbed a Danforth Avenue deli, a Garfield Avenue gas station, a Communipaw Avenue supermarket and and a fast-food restaurant at Communipaw and Crescent avenues, they said.
Williams reportedly …
