Rye, NY
Breaking News
Doctor From Rye Charged For 'Prolific Seven-Year Fraud Scheme,' Feds Say Doctor From Rye Charged For 'Prolific Seven-Year Fraud Scheme,' Feds Say Doctor From Rye Charged For 'Prolific Seven-Year Fraud Scheme,' Feds Say
Doctor From Rye Charged For 'Prolific Seven-Year Fraud Scheme,' Feds Say An eye doctor from Westchester who had practices throughout the Hudson Valley and Fairfield County who was previously charged with healthcare fraud has been sentenced for attempting to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic through loan fraud. Westchester resident Ameet Goyal, age 58, of Rye, who operated The Eye Associates Group, with practices in Rye, Mount Kisco, Wappingers Falls in Dutchess County, and Greenwich, has been sentenced to 96 months in prison for orchestrating a seven-year fraud scheme and for obtaining government loans intended for small businesses during the pandemic. In addition t…

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by Zak Failla
Brookfield, CT
Breaking News
CT Woman Sentenced For Stealing $103K From Bank Customer CT Woman Sentenced For Stealing $103K From Bank Customer CT Woman Sentenced For Stealing $103K From Bank Customer
CT Woman Sentenced For Stealing $103K From Bank Customer A former Bank of America manager will spend time behind bars after being sentenced for stealing more than $100,000 from a vulnerable customer at the branch she was employed, federal authorities announced. Hartford County resident Lee Blanchette, age 59, of Farmington, was sentenced in district court to 12 months and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for stealing from the customer. US Attorney Leonard Boyle said that Blanchette, a relationship manager at Bank of America, had the authority to cause temporary ATM cards to be activated and assigned to a customer’s…

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by Zak Failla
Newark, NJ
Breaking News
Conspirator Who Used NJ High School Students To Cash Stolen COVID Stimulus Checks Gets 4 Years Conspirator Who Used NJ High School Students To Cash Stolen COVID Stimulus Checks Gets 4 Years Conspirator Who Used NJ High School Students To Cash Stolen COVID Stimulus Checks Gets 4 Years
Conspirator Who Used NJ High School Students To Cash Stolen COVID Stimulus Checks Gets 4 Years One of a nest of criminals who paid New Jersey high school students to cash COVID stimulus checks stolen from the mail was sentenced to four years in federal prison. Because there's no parole in the federal prison system, Jeffrey Bennett, 27, of Irvington, must serve just about all of the plea-bargained sentence rubber-stamped by a U.S. District Court judge in Newark via videoconference on Monday, Feb. 14. Bennett -- a reputed associate of a group called "The Members" -- recruited U.S. Postal Service employees to steal checks, checkbooks, debit cards, and credit cards from the mail in excha…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Brookfield, CT
Breaking News
Uptick In Stolen, Altered Checks Reported In Fairfield County Town Uptick In Stolen, Altered Checks Reported In Fairfield County Town Uptick In Stolen, Altered Checks Reported In Fairfield County Town
Uptick In Stolen, Altered Checks Reported In Fairfield County Town A Fairfield County town is seeing an uptick in the number of "check washing" cases. Check washing is the process of erasing the details from an already completed check to allow them to be rewritten, Lt. David Wolf of the Westport Police Department said. In most instances, checks that have been put in mailboxes and are awaiting pickup by a postal employee are stolen.  Once stolen, the suspect alters the check by changing the payee as well as the amount and then cash or deposit it at a bank, Wolf said. In Westport, Wolf said the checks that end up being “washed…

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by Kathy Reakes
Lower Merion-Narberth, PA
Breaking News
TD Bank Manager Charged In Philly Area Fraud That Scammed Victim Of Over $15,000 TD Bank Manager Charged In Philly Area Fraud That Scammed Victim Of Over $15,000 TD Bank Manager Charged In Philly Area Fraud That Scammed Victim Of Over $15,000
TD Bank Manager Charged In Philly Area Fraud That Scammed Victim Of Over $15,000 A TD Bank manager and one of her co-conspirators were arrested for their involvement in a Philadelphia area conspiracy that scammed a victim of over $15,000, authorities said. Patrice Singh, 26, provided the victim's bank account information to two men, who then made $17,125 in unauthorized withdrawals from the victim's account, Lower Moreland Township police said. The frauds happened on July 31, 2021, and Aug. 1, 2021, in Philadelphia and Lower Moreland, according to police. Christian Giles and Justin Varvaro, Singh's co-conspirators, attempted to withdraw an additional $3,000, but T…

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by Nicole Acosta
Cherry Hill, NJ
Breaking News
$6 MILLION SCAM: Man Admits Role In Nigerian Bank Fraud Network Operating In NJ, PA, MD $6 MILLION SCAM: Man Admits Role In Nigerian Bank Fraud Network Operating In NJ, PA, MD $6 MILLION SCAM: Man Admits Role In Nigerian Bank Fraud Network Operating In NJ, PA, MD
$6 Million Scam: Man Admits Role In Nigerian Bank Fraud Network Operating In NJ, PA, MD A member of a sophisticated Nigerian-based fraud ring admitted his role in a massive conspiracy that scammed banks in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland out of $6 million. Ayanniyi Alayande, 47, of Darby, PA wasn't involved in the crudely constructed "Nigerian prince" emails schemes of the past. He ran with a ring that altered and cashed business checks stolen from the mail, authorities said. Alayande is the first of 12 defendants in the case to take a deal from the government and plead guilty rather than face trial. Members of the highly organized group altered the payee on the checks …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Newark, NJ
Breaking News
Feds: International Fugitive Admits Role In $30 Million NJ Mortgage Fraud Feds: International Fugitive Admits Role In $30 Million NJ Mortgage Fraud Feds: International Fugitive Admits Role In $30 Million NJ Mortgage Fraud
Feds: International Fugitive Admits Role In $30 Million NJ Mortgage Fraud A New Jersey mortgage company loan officer who’d been an international fugitive for several years admitted his role in a long-running, large-scale scam that cost lenders more than $30 million, authorities said. Isaac DePaula, 41, and a group of conspirators pulled off the scheme through a company called Premier Mortgage Services (PMS), according to a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark. The thieves targeted low-income areas, recruiting straw buyers to seek mortgages for properties they really couldn’t afford, federal authorities charged. The conspirators secured the loans by…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Hackensack, NJ
Breaking News
Where Did This NJ Town Get A Maserati To Auction Off? Answer: From A Federal Convict Where Did This NJ Town Get A Maserati To Auction Off? Answer: From A Federal Convict Where Did This NJ Town Get A Maserati To Auction Off? Answer: From A Federal Convict
Where Did This NJ Town Get A Maserati To Auction Off? Answer: From A Federal Convict A Maserati that’s being auctioned off by a small Bergen County town was seized from a confessed ID thief from Hackensack who's now serving federal prison time for swiping $2 million from various victims, Daily Voice has learned. She was a he at the time. Closter police confiscated the flash ride during a 2018 investigation that produced the arrest of Ralph Taylor -- who according to the U.S. Attorney's Office has become Alexis Taylor while behind bars. Working with others, Taylor bought a “significant amount of stolen personal identifying information via the dark web, includ…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Highland Lakes-Vernon, NJ
Breaking News
Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced
Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced A Sussex County man was sentenced Tuesday to more than five years in federal prison for spending $5.6 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic business loans for himself, authorities said. Azhar Sarwar Rana, 31, of Newton will have to serve out just about all of the 64-month sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. The federal Paycheck Protection Program was designed to keep struggling small businesses afloat during the pandemic. Rana used the money, instead, to invest millions in the stock market, make a payment to a luxury car dealership and send hundreds of thous…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Newark, NJ
Breaking News
Former Bookkeeper Who Embezzled $1.78M From NJ Steel Company Gets Six Years In Fed Pen Former Bookkeeper Who Embezzled $1.78M From NJ Steel Company Gets Six Years In Fed Pen Former Bookkeeper Who Embezzled $1.78M From NJ Steel Company Gets Six Years In Fed Pen
Former Bookkeeper Who Embezzled $1.78M From NJ Steel Company Gets Six Years In Fed Pen A former bookkeeper who embezzled $1.7 million from the Newark-based steel company she worked for must spend a plea-bargained six years in federal prison. There’s no parole in the federal prison system, which means Tammy L. Martinez, 49, of South Amboy, must serve out just about the entire term. For more than five years, Martinez forged her manager’s signature on bogus checks made out to her or to cash, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. She cashed the checks at area TD Bank branches where the company had an account or dropped the money into a personal account, a complaint on file…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Jersey City, NJ
Breaking News
Jersey City Man Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen For $450,000 Phony Passport Bank Fraud Scheme Jersey City Man Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen For $450,000 Phony Passport Bank Fraud Scheme Jersey City Man Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen For $450,000 Phony Passport Bank Fraud Scheme
Jersey City Man Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen For $450,000 Phony Passport Bank Fraud Scheme A Jersey City man must spend more than two years in federal prison for his role in a ring that used bogus passports and IRS refund checks to pocket more than $450,000. Mamadou Diallo, 44, also must pay $150,052 in restitution as part his plea deal with the government, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. For 6½ years, beginning in 2012, Diallo admitted, he and others stuck photos of themselves to passports bearing others’ names. They then used the bogus IDs to open bank accounts into which they deposited phony IRS refund checks. They withdrew the funds from ATM and teller termi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Cherry Hill, NJ
Breaking News
Feds: Accomplice Of NJ Bank Employee Admits Swiping $600,000 From Customers With Stolen IDs Feds: Accomplice Of NJ Bank Employee Admits Swiping $600,000 From Customers With Stolen IDs Feds: Accomplice Of NJ Bank Employee Admits Swiping $600,000 From Customers With Stolen IDs
Feds: Accomplice Of NJ Bank Employee Admits Swiping $600,000 From Customers With Stolen IDs A Bronx man admitted that he conspired with a South Jersey bank employee to steal more than $600,000 from unsuspecting victims after swiping their IDs, federal authorities said. Lamar Melhado, 32, used screenshots of customers’ information and signatures that were supplied to him and others by Jamere Hill-Birdsong of Gloucester City, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said Thursday. Hill-Birdson, who worked for a call center at a Mount Laurel bank, recruited co-workers to take photos or screenshots of customers’ information and signatures and then pass them on to him and Melhado, she sai…

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by Jerry DeMarco