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Tag: U.S. Postal Inspection Service
Ex-Library Staffer From Hawthorne Admits Embezzling $3.2M From Couple Who Trusted Him, Feds Say
A Passaic County man and former tech administrator at a Bergen County library admitted to embezzling more than $3.2 million from a local couple who had hired him as a part-time personal assistant, federal prosecutors said.
Charles Gallo, 34, of Hawthorne, pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to one count of wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said Friday, May 2.
Gallo began working for the victims in 2018, helping manage their bills, banking, emails, and tech issues, court documents say. From March 2022 to March 2023, Gallo used his access to steal millions, including making ATM withdra…
Nation’s Largest Covid-19 Tax Credit Scheme Uncovered In Central Islip: Usdoj
Federal authorities announced on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, that seven people have been charged in a $600 million COVID-19 tax credit fraud scheme, the largest of its kind in U.S. history, uncovered in Central Islip, New York.
Keith Williams, Jamari Lewis, Morais Dicks, Janine Davis, Tiffany Williams, James Hames Jr., and Ewendra Mathurin, all current or former New York residents, are accused of filing over 8,000 fraudulent tax returns between November 2021 and June 2023. The defendants allegedly exploited the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) and paid sick and family leave credit (SFLC), feder…
$1M Federal Insider Trading Scheme: Larchmont Man Shared Private Info, Feds Say
A Westchester man and Long Island resident are among four people charged in connection with their alleged involvement in an insider trading scheme that netted over $1 million in profits, federal officials announced.
David Cooper, age 38, of the Westchester village of Larchmont, and John Lowe, age 61, of the Suffolk County hamlet of Sayville, were arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
Three other men—Randy Grewal, 54, of Anthem, Arizona, and Richar…
Trio Stole $100K+ In Business Checks From Wall Township Mailboxes, Police Say
Two men and a woman from North Jersey were accused of stealing more than $100,000 in business checks from Wall Township mailboxes, authorities said.
James Miller, 37, of Passaic; Kaleik Easton, 29, of Bloomfield; and Asia Harrell, 31, also from Bloomfield; were arrested, the Wall Township Police Department said in a news release.
Investigators said businesses were defrauded out of more than $100,000 after checks were taken from their mailboxes. Police executed two search warrants at the suspects' homes and they were taken into custody on Wednesday, Sept. 19.
Detectives …
Suspicious White Powder Sent To Election Offices Across Country — Including CT
A package with a suspicious white substance was intercepted at a United States Post Office in Connecticut earlier this week and could be part of a much larger scheme to disrupt or scare election workers ahead of election day, authorities said.
The package was found at a West Hartford post office on Monday, Sept. 16, the Connecticut Secretary of State said in a news release. No one was injured, but the contents were sent to a lab for testing.
Election offices in New York, Tennessee, Wyoming, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, Massachusetts, …
Feds: Trio Who Trafficked Ghost Guns Through Hudson, Passaic Sentenced To 4-To-6 Years
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Three members of a ghost gun trafficking network in Passaic and Hudson counties must spend from four to six years in federal prison before they'll be eligible for release, authorities announced.
Ex-con Corey Jenkins Jr., 31, and Savion Clyburn, 21, both of Paterson, and Richard Mullane, 27, of Bayonne, were among the members of the D.I.Y. network that operated largely in both cities, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
They were targeted in an investigation in which the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) worked closely with vari…
Member Of 'Hit List' Burglary Crew That Targeted Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA Sentenced
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A member of a burglary ring that specifically targeted Asian-American small business owners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware was sentenced to a plea-bargained 33 months in federal prison.
James Hurt, 48, of New York, and other members of the second-story crew worked from what the FBI called a hit list of dozens of homes in the four states based on “stereotype and opportunity" from Dec. 2, 2016, to March 20, 2019.
The burglars often got into homes through unsecured upper-floor windows before seeking out cash, jewelry and guns, the FBI said
In one instance, th…
Thieves Snatch Teaneck Residents' Checks From Postal Boxes, Forge Them For $240,218
A criminal crew stole checks mailed by Teaneck residents from postal boxes, then changed the amounts to more than 100 times the totals and cashed them, federal authorities said.
Noah Aranzamendi, 25, of Brooklyn, and his associates used universal (or "arrow") keys to open the outdoor mailboxes, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
They then shared images via an encrypted message app of the checks, which were then altered, the U.S. attorney said.
The four checks, which were initially written out for a total of $1,896.59, ended up fetching a whopping $240,218, he said.
The crew sold the …
Member Of Burglary Crew That Targeted Asian Homeowners On 'Hit List' In NJ, NY, PA, Sentenced
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A confessed member of a burglary ring that targeted Asian-American small business owners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison.
Kevin Jackson, 57, of Rahway, NJ, must serve a little over two years before he'll be eligible for release because there's no parole in the federal prison system.
Jackson was part of a second-story crew that the FBI said worked from a hit list of dozens of homes in the four states based on “stereotype and opportunity" from Dec. 2, 2016, to March 20, 2019.
One of Jackson's associates told detectives t…
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 …
Chesco 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 Maryland 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 Central Mass: 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…
