Acting United States Attorney Michelle L. Jacobs announced today that a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Wisconsin returned a three-count indictment charging two defendants with mail fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341. The defendants were identified as Angela Martin-Mulu, a/k/a Angela Martin (age 35), and Edward Bosire (age 39) both of Illinois. The defendants are Kenyan citizens who arrived in the United States in 1999, and received political asylum in 2007.

According to the indictment, the defendants targeted religious orders in Wisconsin and elsewhere, claiming, among other things, to be suffering from malaria and tuberculosis, and in need of money to pay medical bills and educational debt. In fact, the defendants maintained two apartments in Chicago and Bolingbrook, Illinois, spent much of the money at casinos, and other things unrelated to medical or educational debt. Before the fraud scheme was discovered, the defendants obtained approximately $815,000 from an order of nuns in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. It is believed that additional religious groups and churches may also have been victimized.

The defendants were charged based on a year-long investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Anyone with additional information on this matter is requested to contact the Milwaukee Office of the FBI at (414) 276-4684.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon P. Giampietro. If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and 3 years of supervised release.

It should be noted that an indictment is merely the formal method of charging an individual and does not constitute inference of his or her guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until such time, if ever, that the government establishes his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

WASHINGTON – A former chief operating officer of Investment Properties of America, based in Richmond, Va., pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud and to making a material false statement to federal investigators, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Dana Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.

On July 10, 2008, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment against Lara Coleman, 40, for her role in a scheme to defraud and obtain millions of dollars in client funds held by the 1031 Tax Group (1031TG), a qualified intermediary company owned by the same person who owned Investment Properties of America.

Coleman, a resident of Houston, entered the guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Richmond before U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne.  Coleman pleaded guilty to one count of the superseding indictment that charged her with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and to a one-count information charging her with making a material false statement to federal investigators.

According to the plea agreement and statement of facts, Coleman and others used 1031TG and its subsidiaries in a scheme to obtain millions of dollars of client funds by false pretenses.  Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code allows investment property owners to defer the capital gains tax that would otherwise be due on properties sold, if the proceeds are used to purchase new property in a specified time frame.  To facilitate such exchanges, investment property owners deposit the proceeds from the sale of their property with qualified intermediaries and sign exchange agreements, which include various promises by the qualified intermediaries to clients regarding the safekeeping of exchange funds in trust.

In the plea agreement and statement of facts, Coleman admitted that 1031TG falsely represented that it would hold client funds solely to complete the clients’ 1031 exchanges.  Coleman admitted that after obtaining clients’ exchange proceeds with that false promise, she and others misappropriated approximately $132 million in client funds to support the lavish lifestyle of the owner of 1031TG, pay operating expenses for the owner’s various companies, invest in commercial real estate and purchase additional qualified intermediary companies to obtain access to additional client funds.  In addition, Coleman admitted that she lied to federal investigators about statements that she had made in 2006 to internal attorneys for Investment Properties of America about the amount of money that she and others had misappropriated.

Coleman has agreed, under the terms of the plea, to a sentence of 10 years in prison. At sentencing, scheduled for May 1, 2009, she also faces a $500,000 fine.  In addition, the indictment seeks forfeiture of all funds and assets owned by Coleman that were derived from or connected to the misappropriation of the approximately $132 million in 1031TG funds.

In related cases, Robert D. Field II and Richard E. Simring have pleaded guilty to participating in the conspiracy to defraud 1031TG customers. Field was the chief financial officer and Simring was the chief legal officer of a holding company that was set up, in part, to oversee both Investment Properties of America and 1031TG, however neither company was ever officially made a subsidiary of the holding company. Both men are also scheduled to be sentenced on May 1, 2009.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Dry for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Brigham Cannon of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.  This continuing investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service and the FBI.

Acting United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley announced today that Dereck Lorenzo Dunston, age 40, of Evington, Virginia was sentenced in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Lynchburg after previously pleading guilty to a variety of fraud charges related to a credit card mastering scheme that operated throughout the Western District of Virginia.

Dunston, Steve Black and Ronald Edward Black, age 26, were charged in a 25-count indictment in February of 2008 with various counts related to credit card fraud. In July, all three men pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, identity theft and credit card fraud, one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Today in District Court, Dunston was sentenced to 42 months of Federal incarceration. Steve and Ronald Black are scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

“This fraud was as wide-ranging and complex as the geography of the Western District itself. These individuals operated throughout the District, making it difficult for law enforcement to track their fraudulent activities,” Acting United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley said today. “However, thanks to the tireless work of the men and women who investigated these crimes, the fraud was discovered and this defendant has been brought to justice.”

The fraud perpetrated by Black, Black and Dunston involved taking legitimate access device, or credit card, account numbers and encoding them onto counterfeit access devices. The owners of the legitimate account numbers were unaware their information was being placed onto counterfeit devices.

In order to obtain counterfeit cards, Black, Black and Dunston either traveled to New York to pick-up counterfeit access devices personally or had them mailed to a variety of addresses within the Western District of Virginia.

Throughout the Western District of Virginia, Black, Black and Dunston, who were known as the “Gas Men,” used the counterfeit access devices to purchase goods and services from a variety of local merchants, including: 7-eleven, Amoco Oil, Exxon Mobil, Kroger, Sheetz, Shell Oil and Wilco Hess. Specifically, the fraudulent charges were made at locations in Altavista, Bedford, Forest, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, Madison Heights, Roanoke and Salem.

Black, Black or Dunston would meet individuals at a Lynchburg area car wash and either follow or ride with those individuals to local gas stations. Once there, one or all of the defendants would utilize the pay-at-the pump feature and swipe a counterfeit access device as payment for the gasoline or merchandise just purchased. The defendants would then receive a cash payment for approximately half of the cost of the merchandise or gasoline charged to the counterfeit access devices. The proceeds of the transactions would then be split by Black, Black and Dunston.

As of January 2008, Capital One, the credit card company that had been defrauded the most, had more than 500 accounts compromised that accounted for more than 3,000 fraudulent transactions and over $131,000 in fraudulent charges to be made.

In the most egregious cases, the Sheetz store located at 14480 Wards Road in Lynchburg, received 1,198 fraudulent transactions in the six-month period between April and September of 2007. There were 620 fraudulent transactions made at the Wilco store located at 37332 Campbell Avenue in Lynchburg.

When arrested, Dunston was found to be in possession of eight counterfeit access devices on his person. Authorities found another 155 fraudulent access devices in various locations throughout his residence. Law enforcement officials also found an additional 50 counterfeit gift cards in a United States Postal Service 2-day priority mail envelope addressed to “Mr. Black” at Ronald Black’s home address. A total of 213 counterfeit access devices were found that day that represented a total of twenty different financial institutions from the United States and overseas.

The investigation of this case was begun by the Lynchburg Police Department and handled by the Central Virginia Computer Crimes Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Secret Service, the Virginia State Police, the Amherst County Sheriff’s Office, the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office and the Longwood University Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day is prosecuting the case for the United States.

Scheme Allegedly Involved Filing False Income Tax Returns Using Names of Clients of NYC Human Resources Administration & Center for Employment Opportunities

WASHINGTON – An 18-count indictment charging Odell Folks of Brooklyn, N.Y., Sharon Smith of Bronx, N.Y., Tanya Smith of Waterbury, Conn., and Keith Terry of Dallas, Ga., with conspiracy to file false claims for refund in the form of false income tax returns was unsealed today, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. The indictment was returned on Nov. 26, 2008, by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York.

According to the indictment, between approximately May 1, 2003, and Feb. 28, 2005, Folks and others engaged in a scheme to defraud the IRS through the submission of false income tax returns filed in the names of other individuals. The indictment alleges that Folks and Sharon Smith submitted the false income tax returns to the IRS in the names of clients of the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) and the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO). HRA offers a wide range of social service programs to individuals receiving public assistance. CEO provides comprehensive employment services for persons with criminal records, including temporary jobs for individuals recently released from prison. The indictment states that both Folks and Sharon Smith were employed as job counselors at CEO.

According to the indictment, Folks and Sharon Smith obtained names and information of HRA and CEO clients and used that information to seek refunds by filing false tax returns with the IRS. Based on the false documents, the indictment alleges that the IRS issued income tax refunds in the form of U.S. Treasury checks and mailed the refunds to false addresses. The indictment further asserts that Folks and his co-conspirators obtained and cashed the refund checks. The indictment also states that Tanya Smith and Keith Terry used their bank accounts to cash some of those false Treasury checks.

Folks also was charged with eight counts of mail fraud, five counts of presenting false claims, and three counts of making and subscribing false income tax returns. Sharon Smith also was charged with seven counts of mail fraud and five counts of presenting false claims. Terry also was charged with five counts of presenting false claims and one count of making and subscribing a false income tax return.

"Stamping out tax refund fraud wherever it is found is a top priority for the Department of Justice and IRS," said Nathan J. Hochman, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Tax Division. "Those who try to steal the taxpayers’ money should know that there are severe consequences, including the potential for incarceration, steep fines and having to pay back all the stolen refund money."

If convicted of the conspiracy, defendants face the following maximum penalties: false claims – 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine; presenting false claims – five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine per count; mail fraud – 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine per count; and making or subscribing a false tax return – three years imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine.

"Refunds are issued to taxpayers who are entitled to them," said Eileen Mayer, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation. "Criminal Investigation and the Department of Justice will continue to work to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who prepare false tax returns to claim improper refunds."

This case is being prosecuted by Tax Division trial attorney Mark F. Daly and Assistant U.S. Attorney Shreve Ariail of the Eastern District of New York. This case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division office in Bridgeport, Conn., and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in New Haven, Conn.

An indictment is merely a formal charge by the grand jury. Each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in U.S. District Court.

More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division is available at www.usdoj.gov/tax

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CAR SALESMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO SELLING CUSTOMER DATA
TO IDENTITY THEFT RING; MEMBER OF RING PLEADS GUILTY

R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau Investigation, Michael Fithen, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, and Al Lamberti, Broward County Sheriff, announced that defendant Dayton Diaz, 26, of Miramar, and Kearn Matthew, 26, of Lauderhill, pled guilty today to conspiring to commit mail fraud. Matthew also pled guilty to a substantive count of mail fraud and to aggravated identity theft. Both defendants are scheduled to appear before the Honorable William J. Zloch for sentencing on January 6, 2009.

According to the criminal indictment and court documents, Dayton Diaz was employed as a sales manager at a South Florida car dealership. As a sales manager, Diaz had access to customer data, including their names, addresses, social security numbers, and birthdays. Diaz sold the customer data of more than 75 former customers of the car dealership to his co-conspirators. Using this information, Matthew and other co-conspirators would obtain a line of credit in the name of former customers and identity theft victims. Matthew and others would then buy computers on the internet and pay for the computers using the newly acquired line of credit.

The computers were shipped via an interstate mail carrier to the home address of the identity theft victim. Knowing the approximate date and time of delivery, Diaz, Matthew, and other co-conspirators would present false information to the delivery truck driver, falsely representing to be the identity theft victim and would take possession of the fraudulently purchased computers. In total, more than $600,000 in fraudulent purchases have been linked to the fraud scheme.

At sentencing, Diaz faces a maximum of 20 years imprisonment. Matthew faces a maximum of 60 years imprisonment.

Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Broward Sheriff's Office, United States Secret Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey A. Neiman.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/ or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov/.

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]]> http://www.workathometruth.com/blog/2008/11/13/car-salesman-pleads-guilty-to-selling-customer-data/feed/ 0 http://www.workathometruth.com/blog/2008/11/11/middlesex-county-couple-admits-fleecing-investors-of-25-million/ http://www.workathometruth.com/blog/2008/11/11/middlesex-county-couple-admits-fleecing-investors-of-25-million/#comments Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:01:47 +0000 Paul (Founder, WorkAtHomeTruth) http://www.workathometruth.com/blog/?p=596 Press release from United States Department of Justice

United States Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney, District of New Jersey
970 Broad Street, Seventh Floor
Newark, New Jersey 07102

NEWARK – A husband and wife from Middlesex County who operated a tax preparation business pleaded guilty today to participating in a scheme to defraud investors out of nearly $2.5 million and to evading the payment of federal income taxes, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Read more on Middlesex County Couple Admits Fleecing Investors of $2.5 Million…