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Tag: U.S. Postal Inspection Service
Cyberfootsies: Ex-NJ Couple, Money Washer Confess $4.5M Online Romance Scam
UPDATE: A former New Jersey couple and a local businesswoman have admitted scamming more than 100 lonely hearts out of $4.5 million in an elaborate online romance scheme, federal authorities charged.
Martins Inalegwu, 35, took a deal from the government, pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Camden on Monday, March 25 to conducting an unlawful money-transmitting business and evading taxes for four straight years.
Inalegwu's wife, Steincy Mathieu, 27, had already pleaded guilty to tax evasion last November.
Oluwaseyi Fatolu, 56, of Springfield, followed her by admitting this past …
Spring City Identity Thief Stole Victims' Mail, Opened Credit Cards In Their Names: DA
A Spring City man is charged with more than 500 counts in two separate cases of alleged forgery, identity theft, and related offenses, according to the Chester County District Attorney's Office.
Joshua Hartmann, 41, stole mail from residents in Schuylkill Township, Phoenixville, Malvern, Tredyffrin, Upper Providence, and Lower Providence for months, prosecutors claim.
Authorities say he used the victims' information to change their addresses on file with government agencies, then stole their identities and opened credit cards in their names.
Tredyffrin…
North Jersey Man, 65, Admits Sharing Horrific Child Sex Videos, Including One Of Girl Under 5
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A video of a girl believed to be 3 to 5 years old astride a shirtless, bearded tattooed man was among the evidence that apparently convinced a North Jersey retiree to plead guilty in federal court to trafficking child pornography, records show.
The clip was among 65 videos and 250 images that Gaetano Lapegna, 65, had collected of "prepubescent children engaged in sexual acts with adults and other children," an agent with U.S. Homeland Security Investigations Newark cited in a complaint.
Lapegna, of Sussex County, shared many of them with what turned out to be HSI agents, the complai…
Man Who Robbed Letter Carrier, Stole Mail In Howard County Gets Decades In Prison: Uspis
A man who robbed a letter carrier and stole mail in Maryland is heading to prison for decades, authorities announced.
Teshan D. Jordan, 27, of Temple Hills, was sentenced to 35 years in prison with 12 years suspended, United States Postal Service Inspection Service officials said in a release on Thursday, Feb. 29.
Jordan was found guilty in a Feb. 16 jury trial of armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, use of firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, and theft after working with Fermon R. Nichols to follow and rob a USPS letter carrier in Columbia and steal their postal …
Father, Son Busted With Drugs For Sale, Illegal Gun In Blackstone: Police
A father and son face a mountain of felonies after police found an illegal gun, more than 100 grams of cocaine, and several other drugs inside their Worcester County home, authorities said.
Michael Pitler, age 45, and Zachary Pitler, age 21, both of Blackstone, were arrested on Friday, Feb. 16, after police and federal agents raided their home in the area of Michelle Lane, officials said.
“Through these arrests we have removed a significant amount of narcotics from our community,” Blackstone Police Chief Gregory Gilmore said. “Our department takes our commitment to narcotics…
Elderly Bergen Couple's Trusted Personal Assistant Stole $2.9M Of Their Money, Feds Charge
An elderly Bergen County couple had $2.9 million stolen by a now-former Ridgewood Public Library tech administrator whom they'd hired to be a part-time assistant at their home, federal authorities said following his arrest.
Charles Gallo, 34, of Hawthorne, was responsible for managing the victims’ monthly bills, handling their banking and helping them with email and other issues involving technology after being hired in 2018, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
The couple trusted Gallo with their personal bank accounts, credit card accounts, online retail accounts and email, the U.S. at…
Feds: Crooked Bookkeeper Admits Embezzling $900G From Restaurants In NJ, NY, PA (Update)
A bookkeeper from New Jersey admitted in federal court that he embezzled more than $900,000 from restaurants he worked for in the Garden State, New York and Pennsylvania, authorities said.
Richard Winter, 53, of Pompton Lakes authorized bank wire transfers from some of them, pocketed vendor payments to others and issued checks payable to cash that he then deposited into his own bank accounts, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Sellinger said.
Winter serviced the clients' accounts payable through a company he created called Back Office Pro, a complaint on file in federal court in Newark say…
3rd Member Of 'Hit List' Burglary Crew That Targeted Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA, Cops Plea
UPDATE: A third member of a burglary ring that targeted Asian-American small business owners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware has pleaded guilty, authorities confirmed.
Kevin Jackson, 57, of Rahway, was part of a second-story crew that the FBI said worked from a hit list of dozens of homes in four states based on “stereotype and opportunity."
One of Jackson's associates told detectives that Asians were targeted “because it was believed that the victims kept large sums of currency and jewelry in their residences,” an FBI complaint says.
Notes found in the defendants’ cars …
Member Of 'Hit List' Burglary Crew That Targeted Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA, DE Cops Plea
UPDATE: A burglar from a crew that targeted Asian and Asian-American small business owners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware took a deal from the government rather than risk the outcome of a trial, federal authorities said.
James Hurt, 47, of New York, was part of a second-story outfit that the FBI said worked from a hit list of dozens of homes in four states based on “stereotype and opportunity."
One of Hurt's associates told detectives that Asians were targeted “because it was believed that the victims kept large sums of currency and jewelry in their residences,” an FBI c…
Burglar With Hit List Of Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA, DE Gets 50 Months In Federal Prison
UPDATE: A member of a second-story crew who targeted Asian and Asian-American homeowners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware for burglaries was sentenced to a plea-bargained four years and two months in federal prison, authorities said.
Randi Barr, 42, of Union County, NJ, was part of a group that worked from a hit list of dozens of homes based on “stereotype and opportunity,” federal authorities said.
Local, state and federal law enforcement authorities who teamed up to smash the ring found notes in the defendants’ cars that had the home addresses of individuals of Asian des…
Man Indicted For Disguising $180K Of Cocaine As Presents In Freeport Bust, DA
A Long Island man has been accused of trafficking cocaine after nearly 2.5 kilograms of the drug was allegedly found in his home, hidden inside boxes of children’s toys, authorities announced.
Elson Forestier, 34, of Freeport, was arraigned on Wednesday, July 12 for multiple charges related to the possession and distribution of cocaine, the Nassau County District Attorney announced.
On Monday, May 15, a long-term investigation into Forestier came to a head when multiple agencies executed a search warrant of his Miller Avenue home.
Once inside, officers reportedly found 2.5 kilograms of …
Mastermind Of Historic $175M Psychic Mail Scam Convicted, Feds Cite More Than 1M Victims
The mastermind of a mass-mailing scam that stole $175 million from more than a million victims, most of them elderly or ailing, was convicted by a federal jury in New York City.
Patrice Runner, a 57-year-old Canadian and French citizen, directed a ruthless psychic mail scheme for over two decades, beginning in 1994, the jurors found.
It was one of the largest -- if not the largest -- scam of its kind ever, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday, June 16, in announcing the verdict reached a day earlier on Long Island.
Runner sent mailings to millions of Americans that claimed t…
Colombian Nationals Nabbed After NJ Home Break-In Nets Jewelry, Furs, Cash, More
Three Colombian nationals remain in federal custody and a fourth has already been deported after the government said they stole jewelry, a Rolex, an antique rifle, furs and cash in a home burglary in Union County.
The quartet also took a stamp collection, luxury bags and more after breaking into the Cranford home shortly before 5 p.m. last Nov. 30, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
They then loaded the valuables into a red Honda Accord that they'd driven there, an FBI complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark says.
Sellinger, who put the total value of the loss at more than …
Love At First Site: Ex-NJ Couple, Nigerian Wingman Charged In $4.5M Cyberfootsies Scam
A former New Jersey couple and a Nigerian national scammed more than 100 lonely hearts out of $4.5 million in an elaborate online romance scheme, federal authorities charged.
Martins Inalegwu, 34, of Philadelphia and Steincy Mathieu, 26, of Brooklyn cooked up the plot with Moses Chukwuebuka Alexander and several of his Nigerian brethren, an indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges.
Together, they trolled online dating and social media sites for willing marks, whom they “wooed with words of love” on the phone and in emails, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
T…
