Toms River Woman Charged With Theft for Diverting Part of Her Mother’s Social Security And Pension Income November 19, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in News.Tags: theft by unlawful taking
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Laura Lembo of Toms River, was charged on November 17th with third-degree theft by unlawful taking or disposition. The Ocean County grand jury indictment alleges that between May 2006 and October 2008, Lembo exercised unlawful control of the property of her 80 year-old mother, a Medicaid recipient.
An investigation determined that Lembo, who had power of attorney over her mother’s income – including her monthly Social Security and pension checks – allegedly failed to remit all of her mother’s income to the nursing care facility in which her mother resided. As a condition of continued Medicaid eligibility, this income, minus a small personal needs allowance, must be paid to the facility to partially cover the cost of the mother’s ongoing care. The investigation revealed that during the time in question, this income was $40,052.88 but, of this amount, Lembo allegedly paid the facility only $21,233.13 and kept the remainder for her own use.
Bernard Madoff “arrest net” widens with more arrests November 13, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in News.Tags: computer crime, Fraud, Madoff, Ponzi scheme
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Thought the Bernie Madoff saga was over? Think again. The Government will not pack up shop with Madoff’s plea and sentencing. They will continue to arrest and prosecute just about anyone who can be connected to Madoff’s ponzi scheme.
The latest arrests are for two former computer programmers for Bernard Madoff’s investment firm on charges they helped cover up his massive fraud for more than 15 years. Jerome O’Hara and George Perez are charged with conspiracy, falsifying books and records of a broker-dealer, and falsifying books and records of an investment adviser. The Securities and Exchange Commission has alleged that they provided technical support to produce false documents and trading records.
Of course, the Government will have to prove that these men shared Madoff’s intent which may be very difficult. However, the fact that these men are even associated with Madoff will make it very difficult for the defense. In my opinion, this case turns on whether or not these men are just associated with Madoff or if there is some actual evidence such as cooperating witnesses, documents or emails that show the conspiracy.
The amount they were paid may impact the case as well since if they were over paid, then the extra compensation will make it more likely that they were in on it. If their salary was normal, then it will be less likely that they risked criminal prosecution with no “skin in the game”.
Story is here.
Millstone man gets off easy for ponzi scheme November 9, 2009
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: Ponzi scheme
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I’d like to know more about this case. Michael D’Angelo was sentenced to three years in prison 10 months after pleading guilty to a second-degree charge of theft by deception in connection with securities fraud committed by his company, CMR Mngt. Group, LLC. He has agreed to pay a total of $670,177 in restitution and penalties and his ability to do so probably got him the deal.
He was charged by the state Divison of Criminal Justice in March 2008. An investigation revealed he convinced 26 investors to contribute more than $3.2 million to his company over the course of two years beginning in January 2004. Instead of making good on promises of 5 percent monthly returns generated by foreign currency trading and bank note trading, he used the new investments to pay off the original fund members. Like Madoff and all the others, this scheme works as long as you bring in new people. When the economy tanks and everyone wants their money, you get found out pretty quickly.
He also diverted large sums of money into the bank account of his wife, Diana D’Angelo and then used the funds to cover personal expenses that included their Monmouth County home and payments for high-end cars. Again, this is a classic example of what separates a bad investor and a crooked one. A bad investor suffers with everyone, a crooked one lives the high life.
Michael will be out of prison in about 6 to 9 months. After his home and other assets are sold, he’ll probably still have a nice chunk of change to pay back to his victims. The State could have probably hammered him with more charges but it seems like he had a good attorney that worked this out for him.
Story is here.
Former municipal construction code official arrested for embezzlement November 7, 2009
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: embezzlement, official misconduct
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Lisa Hare, the former assistant construction code official in Hamilton Township, NJ has been charged with second degree official misconduct. She is alleged to have taken money on several occasions between April 2004 and February 2007. The money was intended for building permits that should have been deposited in township’s bank accounts.
She left the job in 2007 and the financial irregularities were reported to
police earlier this year. She turned herself in to authorities on Friday.
The timing of this is interesting. I would like to know more about why she left. I would want to examine all of her bank records from 2004 to 2007. Other issues to look into: any witnesses, were these checks or cash, what kind of records are there and can I get them now instead of later, any employment issues or disputes?
When it comes to white collar crime, it is either open and shut or its a lot of fun. Luckily for her, the old official misconduct charge should apply which will cut down on the prison time she would face. This is because the crime allegedly occurred before the statute was changed. Hopefully she gets a good attorney.
If you are charged with official misconduct, call me today to discuss your case.
Responding to a Federal Office of Inspector General (OIG) Subpoena November 4, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in Articles.Tags: Office of the Inspector General, OIG subpoena
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You and/or your company may receive a subpoena from something called the OIG or Office of the Inspector General. This could be very confusing and your business attorney may know nothing about the OIG, how to handle the subpoena or what this may be about. You need good advice ASAP as your response to this subpoena may have a long term impact on you and your company.
First, you have to understand that the OIG is not one actual agency. There are actually 69 different and autonomous OIGs. They employ criminal investigators, forensic auditors, evaluators, inspectors and a variety of other specialists. OIG Investigations may be internal, targeting government employees, or external, targeting grant recipients, contractors, or recipients of the various loans and subsidies offered through the thousands of federal domestic and foreign assistance programs. Most importantly for this post is that if they uncover criminal activity, they will turn that information over to the DOJ for prosecution.
All of the federal OIGs share information and some coordination through the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) and the Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency (ECIE), as created or amended in 1992 by Executive Order 12805.
Some of the OIG’s to be more concerned about include:
Environmental Protection Agency-OIG
Department of Health and Human Services-OIG
Department of Labor-OIG
Small Business Administration-OIG
Social Security Administration-OIG
Department of Transportation-OIG
Securities and Exchange Commission-OIG
Those are just a few examples but just because an OIG doesn’t sound criminal, doesn’t mean that you or your company are out of the woods. Take, for example, the Department of Labor. What could they possibly be concerned about in the criminal context? Well, just look at their home page:
In addition, the OIG is unique among Inspectors
General because it has an “external” program function to conduct criminal investigations to combat the influence of labor racketeering and organized crime in the nation’s labor unions. We conduct labor racketeering investigations in three areas: employee benefit plans, labor-management relations, and internal union affairs.
Surprising huh? Also keep in mind that a violation of a regulation may be a related to an on-going criminal investigation or one may lead to the other.
Now that you understand the seriousness of an OIG subpoena, you need a serious response. Make sure you retain an attorney that actually has a plan to not only handle the subpoena but to investigate the situation to determine any and all criminal liability and prepare accordingly. Too many attorneys seem to think that their job is to just help process the subpoena. In my opinion, that is just 2% of the attorney’s job.
Call me if you have received an OIG subpoena.
Unregistered contractors prosecuted in one county but not the other November 2, 2009
Posted by whitecollarcrimenews in News.Tags: Unregistered Contractor
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Interesting article here. Ocean County has been nailing unregistered contractors left and right but neighboring Monmouth County doesn’t really bother with them. Last year, the office prosecuted a total of 18 home-improvement contractors, 16 of whom were unregistered. So far this year, it is prosecuting 21 contractors, including 17 who are unregistered. Those numbers were boosted by a sting operation that resulted in charges brought against eight unregistered contractors.
While Monmouth County may not target unregistered contractors, they do prosecute contractors that rip off their customers. For example, they arrested Michael Rosko, onetime owner of Innovative Designs Inc. in Colts Neck. He took more than $72,000 from six customers in Monmouth and Ocean counties in 2007 and 2008, but never delivered or installed the cabinets. He pleaded guilty to the thefts and was placed on probation for five years. He was also ordered him to repay more $72,604 to his victims.
I’ve won these cases and I don’t agree that they are all criminal cases. I think some are just civil cases but since money issues are at the heart of the case, the contractors cannot hire a good attorney. As a result, they get sold out. I had a case that involved hundreds of thousands of dollars that got dismissed and my guy never paid a dime back to anyone. But then I read about these guys with a smaller dollar amount and they go to prison.
One way to really avoid all of this is for contractors to call a good attorney as soon as there is any sign of trouble.
