April 27, 2012
Man charged in counterfeit money order scheme
from knownews.com
by Jamie Satterfield
A man living in a Knoxville motel is accused of being the middleman in a multimillion dollar counterfeit money order scheme with roots in Africa, federal court records show.
Bernard Addison is charged with mail fraud in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court and drafted by U.S. Postal Service Inspector Robert Wagner.
Addison is accused of conspiring with unknown people in Ghana, Africa, to dupe American citizens into cashing fake money orders and wiring the proceeds — minus their own cut — to the originators of the scheme.
The case against Addison began in October 2011 when U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted a package addressed to Addison and in care of the Motel 6 on Merchant Center Boulevard in Knoxville. The package contained 703 counterfeit money orders totaling more than $695,000.
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March 30, 2012
San Gabriel man convicted of $1 million fraud targeting Las Vegas casinos
from San Gabriel Valley Tribune
LAS VEGAS - A San Gabriel man faces up to 360 years in prison and $4.5 million in fines for defrauding La Vegas casinos out of more than $1 million, authorities said.
De Rong Shang, also known as Jason Shang, 50, was convicted Tuesday in federal court of 1 count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and 17 counts of mail fraud, U.S. Attorney's officials said in a written statement. He was ordered to return to court for sentencing July 16.
Shang, along with co-defendant Yuli Eaton, 47, of Redlands, who pleaded guilty before trial, used recruits to obtain casino credit marker in the scam, officials said.
Shang would give the recruits money to open bank accounts, which they would in turn use to obtain credit from casinos, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The recruits then played baccarat, using a technique called "rolling the chips" to make it look as if they were losing.
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March 20, 2012
Oakland postal employee charged with wire fraud
Man charged in counterfeit money order scheme
from knownews.com
by Jamie Satterfield
A man living in a Knoxville motel is accused of being the middleman in a multimillion dollar counterfeit money order scheme with roots in Africa, federal court records show.
Bernard Addison is charged with mail fraud in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court and drafted by U.S. Postal Service Inspector Robert Wagner.
Addison is accused of conspiring with unknown people in Ghana, Africa, to dupe American citizens into cashing fake money orders and wiring the proceeds — minus their own cut — to the originators of the scheme.
The case against Addison began in October 2011 when U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted a package addressed to Addison and in care of the Motel 6 on Merchant Center Boulevard in Knoxville. The package contained 703 counterfeit money orders totaling more than $695,000.
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March 30, 2012
San Gabriel man convicted of $1 million fraud targeting Las Vegas casinos
from San Gabriel Valley Tribune
LAS VEGAS - A San Gabriel man faces up to 360 years in prison and $4.5 million in fines for defrauding La Vegas casinos out of more than $1 million, authorities said.
De Rong Shang, also known as Jason Shang, 50, was convicted Tuesday in federal court of 1 count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and 17 counts of mail fraud, U.S. Attorney's officials said in a written statement. He was ordered to return to court for sentencing July 16.
Shang, along with co-defendant Yuli Eaton, 47, of Redlands, who pleaded guilty before trial, used recruits to obtain casino credit marker in the scam, officials said.
Shang would give the recruits money to open bank accounts, which they would in turn use to obtain credit from casinos, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The recruits then played baccarat, using a technique called "rolling the chips" to make it look as if they were losing.
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March 20, 2012
Oakland postal employee charged with wire fraud
by Henry K. Lee
A U.S. Postal Service employee has been charged in federal court with wire fraud and conspiracy for allegedly billing the government more than $4 million using fraudulent invoices after steering contracts to a truck-leasing company that he and his wife helped to operate.
Balvinder Singh Chadha, who served as manager of postal vehicle service operations in Oakland, oversaw contracts with outside vendors and "knew that he was ethically prohibited from participating in USPS contracts in which he or his spouse had a financial interest," according to the charging document filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Oakland.
Instead, Chadha in 2005 nominated a trucking business that he and his wife operated and had invested in, Golden Pacific Logistics Inc. as a truck-leasing vendor for the postal service, federal prosecutors said.
From 2005 to 2009, Chadha submitted fraudulent invoices to the postal service, overstating the number of trucks leased and the mileage incurred by the vehicles, authorities said.
March 19, 2012
Gov't job scam is shut by AG, FTC
from The Arizona Daily Star
The Arizona attorney general and the Federal Trade Commission have permanently shut down a Tucson-based company that preyed on job seekers by selling materials and services it promised would result in well-paying federal government jobs.
The settlement with the owners of Government Careers Inc. bans the firm from ever selling employment-related products or services.
The attorney general's complaint alleges Government Careers Inc. and defendants Richard and Rimona Friedberg lied in their state and national advertisements on job-search websites such as Careerbuilder.com or Yahoo! Hot Jobs and in local newspapers. The allegedly false advertisements offered federal "Postal" jobs; "Wildlife" jobs; "Border Patrol" agent jobs; and "Administrative Support and Clerical" jobs.
The settlement with the owners of Government Careers Inc. bans the firm from ever selling employment-related products or services.
The attorney general's complaint alleges Government Careers Inc. and defendants Richard and Rimona Friedberg lied in their state and national advertisements on job-search websites such as Careerbuilder.com or Yahoo! Hot Jobs and in local newspapers. The allegedly false advertisements offered federal "Postal" jobs; "Wildlife" jobs; "Border Patrol" agent jobs; and "Administrative Support and Clerical" jobs.
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Little Rock man pleads guilty in $700,000 mail fraud case
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March 19, 2012Little Rock man pleads guilty in $700,000 mail fraud case
from todaysthv.com
by Jessica Johnson
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - A Little Rock man pleads guilty in $700,000 mail fraud case.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice and attorney Christopher R. Thyer, 42-year-old Lee Charles Johnson pleaded guilty in court Thursday.
Authorities say from January 2007 through May 2011, Johnson falsely ran TJC Group, Johnson Food Group, and Keystone Hybrid Fund, selling securities and investment opportunities to at least 46 couples, individuals, and entities. Johnson, however, wasn't licensed to give financial advice or to sell securities in the state.
Johnson admitted to authorities that each victim was told they would have individual accounts where their money would be deposited, and that the funds wouldn't be withdrawn from the account. Johnson drafted contracts guaranteeing the victims a 12-15 percent return on their investment.
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March 14, 2012
Ex-Woodbury retailer sentenced for role in theft ring that hit Target, others
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March 14, 2012
Ex-Woodbury retailer sentenced for role in theft ring that hit Target, others
from Star Tribune
by Paul Walsh
A onetime east metro retailer has been sentenced for his role in an organized ring that stole millions of dollars in DVDs and electronics from major retailers for several years.
Christopher A. Janota, 43, of St. Paul, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Minneapolis to six months in prison and six months of home confinement for conspiring to transport stolen property. Janota, who pleaded guilty in December, also was ordered to pay more than $750,000 in restitution.
Janota, who owned Media Exchange in Woodbury, was part of a plot that police and U.S. Postal inspectors say began in 2007 and involved about 100 "boosters" who spent several years pilfering millions of dollars worth of goods from stores such as Target and Best Buy and selling them for pennies on the dollar to Janota and other retailers.
The case started when Woodbury police officer Chris Huhn noticed a stream of people hauling crates full of new CDs, DVDs, video games and high-end electronics to the Media Exchange store in the Valley Creek Mall. The Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force joined the investigation and identified two shoplifting gangs, as well as lone operators.
Huhn, joined by U.S. Postal Inspector Troy Sabby, seized truckloads of merchandise and business records from Media Exchange and a company called InetDVD.com in 2007, effectively shutting them down.
Sabby said the businesses had been reselling the stolen property as high-quality "used" goods through eBay, Amazon.com, and their own Internet and retail outlets.
Nine co-conspirators have pleaded guilty to related charges.
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March 12, 2012Portland man indicted for sending threatening letters to Congress, officials
from The Portland Tribune
A 39-year-old Portland man was indicted Friday in connection with nearly 100 threatening letters sent to federal officials across the nation.
A federal grand jury indicted Christopher Lee Carlson with one count of mailing a letter with a threatening communication and one count of mailing a letter threatening to use a biological weapon against a U.S. Senator.
A federal investigation determined that Carlson mailed about 100 envelopes containing white powder and threatening letters to members of the U.S. Congress and certain members of the news media. The letters were postmarked in Portland.
One of the letters was sent to House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio. Another that contained what was thought to be a lethal white powder was sent to Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Baltimore.
Carlson is in custody and will be arraigned in federal court on Monday.
During the past few weeks, the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Capitol Police have recovered more than 100 threatening letters sent to U.S. senators and representatives. All letters have tested negative for toxic substances.
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Prison for Prior Lake maker of $230K in bogus postage meter stamps
from Star Tribune
by Paul Walsh
A Prior Lake man who found it funny that it was so easy to make phony postage meter stamps has been sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered pay nearly a quarter-million dollars in restitution.
Andre G. Mehilove, 32, who also went by at least two other names, was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in St. Paul after pleading guilty to counterfeiting the stamps thousands of times.
Mehilove said that he and his friends were amused at how easy it was to make the bogus stamps, noting that scrutiny by the U.S. Postal Service was lax, according to court documents.
He also told postal inspectors that he sent thousands of letters, many of them in bulk mailings soliciting real estate business.
And, court documents say, Mehilove also said he sold some of the phony stamps on eBay to about two dozen buyers.
According to the plea agreement, Mehilove said he created the counterfeit stamps using his personal computer and printer, using copies of postage meter stamps he had bought online.
Court documents show that Mehilove, who also used the names Andrejs Solanikovs and Andre George Solanikov, said he agreed to speak with postal inspectors because he wanted "to put all of this behind" him so he could avoid deportation to Latvia and then repay the Postal Service.
That payment now totals $230,000.
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February 29, 2012
Jail for mom who posed daughter
from The Sun Chronicle
by David Linton
The 41-year-old woman was sentenced in Attleboro District Court to serve three months of a maximum 2 1/2-year jail term in a plea-bargain agreement that reduced a felony indecent assault and battery charge against the mother to a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery.
In addition, prosecutors dropped the most serious charge of posing a child in the nude.
The balance of the jail term was suspended for three years with probation. The woman was sentenced to an additional three years of probation after pleading guilty to reckless endangerment of a child.
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U.S. Senior District Court Judge Jennifer B. Coffman also ordered 39-year-old Juan Warner to pay $3,849.52 in restitution.
Evidence at trial proved that in October 2009, Warner fired two shots at the rear door of a postal truck that had just passed his Boyle County residence. The bullets landed 18 inches from the mail carrier.
Immediately after the shots, the mail carrier called authorities. Shortly thereafter, Danville Police surrounded the residence and a brief standoff ensued. Prior to being taken into custody, Warner hid the firearm in the residence and it was later recovered by law enforcement officers.
After deliberating for approximately two and half hours the jury convicted Warner in September 2011 of assaulting a U.S. Postal Service worker with a dangerous weapon and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. The trial lasted two days.
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February 16, 2012
Mexico woman who perpetrated money order scam ordered to repay $34,000 to postal service
from Bangor Daily News
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February 22, 2012
Danville Man Sentenced To 10 Years For Assaulting Mail Carrier
from LEX 18
February 22, 2012
Danville Man Sentenced To 10 Years For Assaulting Mail Carrier
from LEX 18
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service jointly announced Wednesday that a Danville man who shot at a postal worker in 2009 was sentenced today to 10 years in prison.
U.S. Senior District Court Judge Jennifer B. Coffman also ordered 39-year-old Juan Warner to pay $3,849.52 in restitution.
Evidence at trial proved that in October 2009, Warner fired two shots at the rear door of a postal truck that had just passed his Boyle County residence. The bullets landed 18 inches from the mail carrier.
Immediately after the shots, the mail carrier called authorities. Shortly thereafter, Danville Police surrounded the residence and a brief standoff ensued. Prior to being taken into custody, Warner hid the firearm in the residence and it was later recovered by law enforcement officers.
After deliberating for approximately two and half hours the jury convicted Warner in September 2011 of assaulting a U.S. Postal Service worker with a dangerous weapon and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. The trial lasted two days.
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February 16, 2012
Mexico woman who perpetrated money order scam ordered to repay $34,000 to postal service
from Bangor Daily News
by Judy Harrison
PORTLAND, Maine — A homebound woman from the Oxford County town of Mexico was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court to two years of probation for a scheme that doubled her money by claiming money orders that she made out to herself had been lost.
Joanne Covais, 61, would purchase a money order, then claim it had been lost. Once she received a replacement check, Covais would deposit the money order and the replacement check into her checking account.
In addition to probation, U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby ordered her to pay $34,200 in restitution to the U.S. Postal Service.
Between 2005 and 2009, she received 41 replacement checks in the mail totaling more than $34,000, according to court documents. She deposited the money in a bank account she opened with someone else’s Social Security number.
Covais, who also used the name Joelle Cuvais, waived indictment and pleaded guilty in August to two counts of mail fraud and one count of Social Security fraud.
She faced up to 20 years in prison on the mail fraud counts and up to five years in prison for the Social Security fraud. On each count, Covais faced a fine of up to $250,000.
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February 6, 2012
Businessman faces felony charges over postal stamps
February 6, 2012
Businessman faces felony charges over postal stamps
from WFTV
WINTER PARK, Fla. —
A seemingly successful Winter Park businessman whose website touts features on Forbes and entrepreneur.com is facing several felonies over stamps.
The postal inspector's office said they rarely see anyone steal stamps. But 26-year-old Gary "Jason" Bergenske is accused of stealing $3,200 worth.
Bergenske bolted from the room when WFTV walked into his Winter Park business with a camera.
His website touts he's the president and CEO of The Barter Network, a company that gets other businesses together to trade services.
But the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said he's a thief.
The postal inspector's office said they rarely see anyone steal stamps. But 26-year-old Gary "Jason" Bergenske is accused of stealing $3,200 worth.
Bergenske bolted from the room when WFTV walked into his Winter Park business with a camera.
His website touts he's the president and CEO of The Barter Network, a company that gets other businesses together to trade services.
But the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said he's a thief.
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February 1, 2012
Gardens man arrested in extortion attempt against Palm Beach family
from Palm Beach Daily News
by Margie Kacoha
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February 1, 2012
Gardens man arrested in extortion attempt against Palm Beach family
from Palm Beach Daily News
by Margie Kacoha
A Palm Beach Gardens man is in the county jail facing three federal charges of using the U.S. Postal Service in “mailing threatening communications” to a Palm Beach family, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed Thursday by the FBIn.
Alex Petersmarck, 32, is accused of sending a package that was received Jan. 13 at a Palm Beach home. The victim is listed in the federal court record as “the father” and only identified by the initials “M.G.”
In court documents, FBI special agent Scott Wilson wrote that Petersmarck tried to shake down “M.G.” for more than $5 million, and that the victim, his wife and their daughter have been followed and tracked for a year and a half.
“The author threatened to kill the daughter if they do not get the money. The letter referenced a planned abduction of the daughter or a poisoning of the daughter at some future event,” Wilson wrotes.
The investigation led to a Jan. 4 rendezvous at a Palm Beach restaurant where the daughter was to meet someone on business. She showed up, but the other person called to cancel the meeting, Wilson wrote.
When she returned to her car in the restaurant parking lot, she found a white teddy bear on the front windshield, according to Wilson. The father received a photo of what appeared to be the same stuffed toy, he wrote.
Alex Petersmarck, 32, is accused of sending a package that was received Jan. 13 at a Palm Beach home. The victim is listed in the federal court record as “the father” and only identified by the initials “M.G.”
In court documents, FBI special agent Scott Wilson wrote that Petersmarck tried to shake down “M.G.” for more than $5 million, and that the victim, his wife and their daughter have been followed and tracked for a year and a half.
“The author threatened to kill the daughter if they do not get the money. The letter referenced a planned abduction of the daughter or a poisoning of the daughter at some future event,” Wilson wrotes.
The investigation led to a Jan. 4 rendezvous at a Palm Beach restaurant where the daughter was to meet someone on business. She showed up, but the other person called to cancel the meeting, Wilson wrote.
When she returned to her car in the restaurant parking lot, she found a white teddy bear on the front windshield, according to Wilson. The father received a photo of what appeared to be the same stuffed toy, he wrote.
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January 26, 2012
Police arrest 16 in 25 raids on pot growers
from The Denver Channel
Posted by Alan Gathright and Kim Nguyen, Web Editors
About 10 more arrests are expected over the next week, authorities said.
Peters said the illegal pot trafficking crackdown did not involve medical marijuana. He said the probe targeted illicit growers who were shipping the pot out of state using the U.S. Postal Service.
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January 26, 2012
Police arrest 16 in 25 raids on pot growers
from The Denver Channel
Posted by Alan Gathright and Kim Nguyen, Web Editors
NORTHGLENN, Colo. -- Authorities arrested 16 people Wednesday morning during a sweeping metro area crackdown on marijuana traffickers where 25 homes were raided.
North Metro Drug Task Force Cmdr. Jerry Peters said the raids were part of a year-long investigation that culminated in recent grand jury indictments.
It was dubbed Operation Sweet Leaf.
It was dubbed Operation Sweet Leaf.
Law enforcement officers executed search warrants at 15 houses in Adams County, three in Broomfield, four in Denver, one in Weld County, one in Erie and one in Breckenridge, authorities said.
The arrests, which included men and women, happened without incident, Peters said. Six children were removed from some homes and placed in the care of social services, he added.
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January 24, 2012
Letter Carrier’s Tip Gets 40-lb. Marijuana Bust
from The Long Island Press
by Timothy Bolger
A Queens man was arrested for possession of more than 40 lbs. of marijuana after a letter carrier reported him acting suspiciously in North Woodmere on Monday afternoon, Nassau County police said.
January 18, 2012
Prosecutor: Anthrax hoaxer ‘an intelligent young woman’ in a ‘downward spiral’
from Seattle PI
by Levi Pulkkinen
A Kent woman who sent fake anthrax to the White House and King County government will likely be sentenced to time served and released.
Convicted of sending white powder resembling the deadly bacteria to “President Obama-Sanchez” as part of a bizarre, meth-fueled series of threats, Kate Michelle Young was described by prosecutors a woman whose once promising life had been completely derailed by drugs.
Young, 26, was arrested in April and remained in federal custody pending a sentencing hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning in U.S. District Court. She previously pleaded guilty to sending false information by mail.
Describing Young’s offense as “potentially traumatic” to those targeted and disruptive to government functions, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Dion told the court Young, who has served eight months in federal detention, deserves a measure of mercy.
“Kate Young is an intelligent young woman whose life has gone terribly wrong,” Dion told the court, requesting the Young be sentenced to time served. “Her life since high school has been a ‘downward spiral highlighted by drug and alcohol abuse.’ …
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January 24, 2012
Letter Carrier’s Tip Gets 40-lb. Marijuana Bust
from The Long Island Press
by Timothy Bolger
A Queens man was arrested for possession of more than 40 lbs. of marijuana after a letter carrier reported him acting suspiciously in North Woodmere on Monday afternoon, Nassau County police said.
Duncan Jordan stopped a mail carrier as he approached a Hillcrest Place home and told the carrier the package he was delivering was for him, but the postal worker called 911 after Jordan walked away from the house instead of going inside, police said.
Officers apprehended the 40-year-old suspect nearby shortly later and found him in possession of drugs, police said.
Jordan was charged with criminal possession of marijuana. He will be arraigned Tuesday at First District Court in Hempstead.
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January 18, 2012
Prosecutor: Anthrax hoaxer ‘an intelligent young woman’ in a ‘downward spiral’
from Seattle PI
by Levi Pulkkinen
Convicted of sending white powder resembling the deadly bacteria to “President Obama-Sanchez” as part of a bizarre, meth-fueled series of threats, Kate Michelle Young was described by prosecutors a woman whose once promising life had been completely derailed by drugs.
Young, 26, was arrested in April and remained in federal custody pending a sentencing hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning in U.S. District Court. She previously pleaded guilty to sending false information by mail.
Describing Young’s offense as “potentially traumatic” to those targeted and disruptive to government functions, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Dion told the court Young, who has served eight months in federal detention, deserves a measure of mercy.
“Kate Young is an intelligent young woman whose life has gone terribly wrong,” Dion told the court, requesting the Young be sentenced to time served. “Her life since high school has been a ‘downward spiral highlighted by drug and alcohol abuse.’ …
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January 10, 2012
Killer who stole $2.2 million from elderly man: I love him
from komonews.com
by Levi Pulkkinen
SEATTLE -- A convicted killer who bilked an elderly eye doctor out of $2.2 million now says she was lost in love with the man.
Shea Saenger, a 61-year-old Whidbey Island woman, made the statement in court on Friday before she was sentenced to four years in prison. She previously pleaded guilty to a mail fraud charge and admitted to scamming the 82-year-old man out of his life savings. She is expected to be sentenced Friday in federal court in Seattle.
Having admitted to bilking the Alzheimer's Disease-stricken man - Ellensburg resident Norman D. Butler, Sr. - out of $2.2 million, Saenger in a plea for leniency now claims they loved each other.
"I would like for you to know that I love Norman Butler very much and I am sorry for what I have done to him," Saenger said in a letter to the court.
"If I could take care of him, I would happily do so," she continued. "I wish I could undo what I have done and go back in time."
Federal prosecutors offer a different picture of Saenger, who they describe as a longtime fraud who should be locked up for four years.
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January 10, 2012
Killer who stole $2.2 million from elderly man: I love him
from komonews.com
by Levi Pulkkinen
SEATTLE -- A convicted killer who bilked an elderly eye doctor out of $2.2 million now says she was lost in love with the man.
Shea Saenger, a 61-year-old Whidbey Island woman, made the statement in court on Friday before she was sentenced to four years in prison. She previously pleaded guilty to a mail fraud charge and admitted to scamming the 82-year-old man out of his life savings. She is expected to be sentenced Friday in federal court in Seattle.
Having admitted to bilking the Alzheimer's Disease-stricken man - Ellensburg resident Norman D. Butler, Sr. - out of $2.2 million, Saenger in a plea for leniency now claims they loved each other.
"I would like for you to know that I love Norman Butler very much and I am sorry for what I have done to him," Saenger said in a letter to the court.
"If I could take care of him, I would happily do so," she continued. "I wish I could undo what I have done and go back in time."
Federal prosecutors offer a different picture of Saenger, who they describe as a longtime fraud who should be locked up for four years.
CONTINUE>>>
