Trio Ran $500K Luxury Car ID Theft Ring On LI, Dragged Cop While Fleeing: DOJ Trio Ran $500K Luxury Car ID Theft Ring On LI, Dragged Cop While Fleeing: DOJ
Trio Ran $500K Luxury Car ID Theft Ring On LI, Dragged Cop While Fleeing: DOJ Three men are accused of running a sophisticated identity theft ring that used stolen personal information of unsuspecting victims to buy luxury cars—some of which were stored on Long Island. The defendants—Tiansi Gong, 26, of Manhattan; Kevin McCarthy, 31, of Selden; and Matthew Hibner, 36, of Huntington Station—are accused of conspiring to obtain high-end vehicles using stolen identities, then stashing the cars at a lot on Zorn Avenue in Yaphank. Investigators determined that the scheme involved more than $500,000 in fraudulent vehicle loans tied to at least 35 identity theft victims, acc…
Scam Hits A Grand Slam At Maryland MiLB Ballpark With QR Code Con, Sheriff Warns Scam Hits A Grand Slam At Maryland MiLB Ballpark With QR Code Con, Sheriff Warns
Scam Hits A Grand Slam At Maryland MiLB Ballpark With QR Code Con, Sheriff Warns A sneaky scam at a Maryland minor league ballpark may have cost fans more than just a ticket and hot dog. The Charles County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a case of fraud at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, where altered QR codes were found on parking signs, officials are cautioning. Instead of linking to the official payment system, the tampered QR codes redirected people to a fake website that stole credit card info. The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs had no idea the signs had been altered, and payments made through the team’s official website and app are still safe, authorities s…
$250K Hard Drive Scam Run On Tech Giant By Wyncote Man, AG Alleges $250K Hard Drive Scam Run On Tech Giant By Wyncote Man, AG Alleges
$250K Hard Drive Scam Run On Tech Giant By Wyncote Man, AG Alleges A Montgomery County man ran a $250,000 hard drive scam on a global tech company using fake names and prepaid cards, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said on Wednesday, July 2. Kwan Woo Lee, 29, of Wyncote, allegedly purchased hundreds of hard drives from Seagate Technology, then filed warranty claims saying they were defective. Under company policy, Seagate issued replacements on the promise the originals would be returned. But investigators say Lee never returned the hard drives — which were fully functional — and instead resold them on the secondary market. To avoid being charge…
Verizon Manager In Mahwah Accessed Customer's Private Data, Police Say Verizon Manager In Mahwah Accessed Customer's Private Data, Police Say
Verizon Manager In Mahwah Accessed Customer's Private Data, Police Say A Verizon store manager in Bergen County has been charged with computer crime after police say he accessed a customer's personal and financial information without permission. The incident happened on Tuesday, June 24, when a woman went to a Verizon store in Mahwah to purchase a new phone, the Mahwah Police Department said in a press release. She reported that employees transferred data from her old phone to her new one. After she left the store, she noticed a locked note containing sensitive personal and financial information was open on the screen of her old phone, which had been returned …
Weymouth Woman Who Stole $1.2M From Holbrook Glass Company Gets 3 Years In Prison Weymouth Woman Who Stole $1.2M From Holbrook Glass Company Gets 3 Years In Prison
Weymouth Woman Who Stole $1.2M From Holbrook Glass Company Gets 3 Years In Prison A Weymouth woman who stole more than $1.2 million from her employer over two years is heading to jail after pleading guilty to multiple charges of theft and fraud, authorities said.  Ashley Sumner, 39, admitted to embezzling funds while working as an accountant for Allstate Glass in Holbrook. Sumner used her position to make unauthorized credit card charges, wire transfers, and direct deposits to herself, the Norfolk County District Attorney said.  “The defendant was a trusted employee with access to company credit cards who was responsible for the payroll and paying the company’s…
Four Diners Used Movie Money To Pay For Meal: Gloucester Twp PD Four Diners Used Movie Money To Pay For Meal: Gloucester Twp PD
Four Diners Used Movie Money To Pay For Meal: Gloucester Twp PD Four suspects are at large after they paid for a meal at a restaurant in Sicklerville using phony movie money, authorities said on Tuesday, July 1. On Friday, May 23 at 7:32 p.m., the suspects entered Villari's Lakeside Restaurant on Sicklerville Road and ordered and ate $120 worth of food, Gloucester Township police said. At 8:40 p.m., two suspects exited through the front doors and entered a silver or gay sedan, police said. The other two suspects exited through the side door, ran to the same vehicle and fled the area, police said. The suspects paid for their meal with six movie prop coun…
Mays Landing Woman Stole $147K, Faked Child's Cancer To Delay Case: Prosecutor Mays Landing Woman Stole $147K, Faked Child's Cancer To Delay Case: Prosecutor
Mays Landing Woman Stole $147K, Faked Child's Cancer To Delay Case: Prosecutor A 37-year-old Mays Landing woman pleaded guilty on Friday, June 27 to stealing $47,000 from an Ocean County senior community and lying about her child's cancer treatment to delay court proceedings, authorities said. Alicia Campbell pleaded guilty to theft and obstruction of justice, Ocean County Bradley Billhimer said. Per the terms of a plea agreement, Campbell is expected to be sentenced to six years in prison, Ocean County Prosecutor Billhimer said. Campbell was the former lifestyle director at Greenbriar Oceanaire Community & Golf Course in Waretown, Billhimer said, responsible…
Funeral Home Owner Who Stashed 190 Decaying Bodies Gets Maximum Federal Sentence: 'Inhumane' Funeral Home Owner Who Stashed 190 Decaying Bodies Gets Maximum Federal Sentence: 'Inhumane'
Funeral Home Owner Who Stashed 190 Decaying Bodies Gets Maximum Federal Sentence: 'Inhumane' A Colorado man who gave grieving families urns filled with dry concrete instead of their loved ones’ ashes has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison — the maximum possible sentence, authorities announced Friday, June 27. Jon M. Hallford, 45, of Colorado Springs, was the owner of Return to Nature Funeral Home, which operated in Colorado Springs and Penrose alongside his wife, Carie Hallford.  Over a four-year period, Hallford failed to cremate or bury at least 190 bodies — while collecting more than $130,000 from families for services he never provided, the U.S. Attorney’s Office…
PA Bookkeeper Stole $822K From Law Firm In NJ In 6-Year Remote Embezzlement: Bucks County DA PA Bookkeeper Stole $822K From Law Firm In NJ In 6-Year Remote Embezzlement: Bucks County DA
PA Bookkeeper Stole $822K From Law Firm In NJ In 6-Year Remote Embezzlement: Bucks County DA She worked remotely from Pennsylvania — and secretly funneled hundreds of thousands from her New Jersey law firm. Now, the 66-year-old bookkeeper is going to jail for a years-long financial betrayal. A former bookkeeper who siphoned more than $800,000 from a Bucks County-based law firm with operations in New Jersey has been sentenced to county jail, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office announced on Friday, June 27. Reese Esther Paul, 66, of Holland in Northampton Township, was handed a sentence of one year less a day to two years less a day in the Bucks County Correctional Facility, …
Ex-Aide To 2 NY Governors Accused Of Pocketing Millions In Kickback Scheme In 2nd Indictment Ex-Aide To 2 NY Governors Accused Of Pocketing Millions In Kickback Scheme In 2nd Indictment
Ex-Aide To 2 NY Governors Accused Of Pocketing Millions In Kickback Scheme In 2nd Indictment A former top New York State government official and her husband—already facing charges tied to acting as agents for China—are now accused in a multi-million-dollar kickback scheme tied to the COVID crisis. Linda Sun, 41, a former aide to Govs. Kathy Hochul and Andrew Cuomo, and her husband Chris Hu, 40, were indicted on additional charges including wire fraud and bribery by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn on Wednesday, June 25. According to a superseding indictment unsealed this week, Sun falsified information to steer lucrative PPE contracts to two vendors—one run by her cousin and the o…
Perth Amboy Beauty Salon Owner Admits She Fraudulently Obtained Covid Loan: Feds Perth Amboy Beauty Salon Owner Admits She Fraudulently Obtained Covid Loan: Feds
Perth Amboy Beauty Salon Owner Admits She Fraudulently Obtained Covid Loan: Feds A 42-year-old Perth Amboy woman pleaded guilty on Wednesday, June 25, to fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 loans and pandemic unemployment insurance benefits, authorities said. Damaris Valerio, who owns and operates La Vogue House of Beauty, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said. From April 2020 through December 2021, Valerio fraudulently obtained $194,212 in COVID-19 emergency relief funds, which were meant for distressed small businesses and pandemic unemployment insurance benefits for unemployed workers, by submitting false and fraudulent applica…
Walmart To Pay $10M After Scammers Exploit Money Transfer Services, FTC Says Walmart To Pay $10M After Scammers Exploit Money Transfer Services, FTC Says
Walmart To Pay $10M After Scammers Exploit Money Transfer Services, FTC Says Walmart will pay $10 million and change its money transfer practices after federal regulators said the company let scammers steal hundreds of millions of dollars from Americans. Walmart agreed to the payout in a settlement, the Federal Trade Commission announced on Friday, June 20. The agency's three commissioners unanimously approved the final order. The FTC accused the retail giant of allowing fraudsters to misuse its wire transfer services between 2013 and 2018. "Electronic money transfers are one of the most common ways that scammers tell consumers to send them money, be…