Sisters indicted for alleged title agency scam December 30, 2009
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: misconduct by a corporate official, theft by deception
add a comment
This is an interesting case. A Monmouth County grand jury returned a seven-count indictment on Monday against Rebecca Marchese-DePeri-Grande of Jackson, and her sister, Meredith Miller of Brick Township. They were co-owners of Spectrum Title Agency in Freehold and Marchese-DePeri-Grande owned R.M.J title Agency in Freehold where Miller was an employee.
It is alleged that between 2002 and 2005 the sisters stole $786,153 and spent the money on things such as luxury vehicles and vacations. Law enforcement became aware of the situation when clients complained their creditors were demanding payments that should have been made by the title agencies.
The sisters were charged with conspiracy, misapplication of entrusted property, theft by failure to make required disposition of property received and misconduct by a corporate official. Miller is also charged with two counts of bad checks and one count of theft by deception.
The state Department of Banking and Insurance is pursuing a separate investigation so you have to wonder if they had some advance notice that they were being investigated. My guess is that they did. Hopefully they had good attorneys that prepared them for all of this.
Story is here.
Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office arrests man for Internet luring December 29, 2009
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: child pornography, distribution of child pornography, endangering the welfare of a child
1 comment so far
Having dealt with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office on these cases, I can say that these guys are really good at what they do. They are constantly arresting people across New Jersey who have not learned anything from the “to Catch a Predator” series on NBC. While they are great to deal with, the judges up there are tough on these cases. Thus, it takes an attorney with experience with these cases to get a great result.
In this case, David Raymond N. Cegla of Bedminster has been charged with attempted sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a minor by engaging in sexually explicit dialogue and of endangering the welfare of a minor by distributing child pornography and by possession of child pornography. He faces up to 20 years if convicted on all charges. The BCPO reports that he is employed as an information technology manager at JP Morgan Chase in the Whippany. So, he has the money for a good attorney. Hopefully for his sake, he gets one.
Story is here.
Father and Son indicted for mortgage fraud December 16, 2009
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: Mortgage Fraud
1 comment so far
This is yet another example of a case that starts as a civil case that eventually turns into a criminal case. As a result, it is important that any civil case such as this is either handled by a criminal defense attorney or one is brought on as a consultant.
Attorney General Anne Milgram announced that a father and son were indicted with their real estate firms for allegedly stealing approximately $4.5 million from mortgage lenders by providing false information in home loan applications.
The state grand jury indictment charges Martin Gendel, 64, of Montville, Seth Gendel, 35, of Long Island, N.Y., and the real estate firms they owned and operated, Casey Properties LLC, Lee Alan LLP and Andrea Management LLC, all based in Totowa. Each defendant is charged with conspiracy, theft by deception and two counts of money laundering, all in the second degree. The charges stem from an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Major Crimes Bureau.
The indictment was returned on Tuesday (Dec. 15) but was sealed until today, when the Gendels were arrested on the charges by Division of Criminal Justice detectives, assisted by local authorities. Martin Gendel was arrested at home in Montville and is being held in the Morris County Jail. Seth Gendel was arrested at home on Long Island and is being held in New York State pending extradition to New Jersey.
Between December 2005 and September 2007, the defendants allegedly deceived seven mortgage lenders into providing approximately $4.5 million in loans for purchases of 14 homes. Six homes were in Paterson, six in Newark and two in East Orange.
“We charge that these defendants falsified applications so unqualified home buyers could obtain $4.5 million in loans,” said Attorney General Milgram. “As detailed in a civil fraud complaint we filed earlier this year, the loans drove a scheme in which the defendants recruited investors to buy overpriced urban properties, then diverted loan funds for their own enrichment, leaving behind run-down homes and investors facing foreclosure.”
It is alleged that the defendants submitted fabricated information about employment and earnings in loan applications and on HUD settlement forms so that buyers could obtain loans for which they were not qualified. In some instances, they included false information about rental agreements and income from the properties. Nine buyers purchased the 14 homes.
In addition, the defendants allegedly deceived lenders by representing that expenses listed on HUD forms and ultimately paid out were legitimate expenses for home repairs when, in fact, no repairs were authorized or made. Some of the applications were checked off as though the homes would be the primary residence of the buyer, when the defendants knew they were being purchased solely as rental investment properties. Other false information submitted with the applications included false savings account balances and false occupancy letters.
Since June 2008, the Attorney General’s Office has filed a total of 11 civil mortgage fraud lawsuits naming 102 individual and corporate defendants whose actions have affected more than 950 victims, as well as property worth more than $29.1 million. The Attorney General has obtained indictments or guilty pleas in eight criminal mortgage fraud cases involving a total of 15 defendants. These defendants have been charged with victimizing more than 60 individuals and banks in connection with loans worth more than $15 million. In addition, the Attorney General has filed notices of violation against nine New Jersey-based companies for offering mortgage loan modification services without a debt adjustment license. They were assessed $45,000 in civil penalties ($5,000 each) and directed to pay consumer restitution.
The civil complaint filed by the Attorney General’s Office in March charges Martin Gendel, Seth Gendel, Casey Properties and Lee Alan LLP with violating New Jersey’s Civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute. It charges the Gendels and six other defendants with using deception – and the credit information of their victims – to obtain fraudulent mortgage loans for the purchase of urban properties at grossly inflated prices. They convinced victims to buy homes in Newark, Paterson, Irvington and East Orange that were the subject of bogus appraisals, then profited by taking fees out at closing from the inflated equity.
The defendants told investors that Casey Properties would take care of all aspects of the sale and property management, including finding tenants, collecting rents, paying the mortgages and making needed repairs. However, Casey Properties never did maintain the homes or keep up the mortgage payments. In the end, victims had their credit ruined and were left responsible for dilapidated homes that had been foreclosed on and abandoned.
Pension padding attorneys may face criminal, civil and ethics charges for not doing work December 15, 2009
Posted by jefhenninger in News.2 comments
New Jersey Inspector General has released a report that paints a really bad picture of Gloucester County attorney Michael Angelini who has worked for state, county and municipal governments over a 27-year period. He has held as many as seven public jobs at one time which has boosted his annual anticipated public pension payment to more than $100,000.
The problem with all of that is that the IG says that the investigation revealed that Angelini did not serve as a employee, but rather an independent contractor because “attorneys from his law firm handled the work in his stead and also performed other legal work for the government entities suggesting that the entities hired a law firm not an employee”. As a result, the IG is of the opinion that he is not eligible for state pension enrollment.
Even worse than that though is that IG Coopers says that she will forward her findings to the state Division of Pensions, as well as the Division of Criminal Justice, the State Ethics Commission, the Division of Taxation, the Office of Attorney Ethics, and other state departments because she has no power to bring any action against him.
You have to wonder how much of this is related to politics. Angelini was key to former Senator Wayne Bryant during his federal corruption trial. With a Republican administration coming in soon, this could be big trouble for Angelini. With a massive budget gap, Gov. Christie could be looking to not only make an example out of Angelini but of others as well so save money on pension costs.
Story is here.
Theft of $600,000 worth of quarters leads to charges December 14, 2009
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: money laundering, official misconduct
add a comment
New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram announced that John P. Corea, former director of the Hoboken Parking Utility, was indicted on charges that he conspired to steal more than $600,000 in parking meter revenue that he allegedly split with a Toms River contractor whose company was hired by the City of Hoboken to collect coins from city parking meters.
According to Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni, Corea, 45, of Hoboken, was indicted today by a state grand jury on charges of conspiracy (1st degree), financial facilitation of criminal activity (money laundering) (1st degree), official misconduct (2nd degree), theft by unlawful taking (2nd degree), and misapplication of government property (2nd degree).
The contractor, Brian A. Petaccio, 49, of Toms River, owner and president of United Textile Fabricators LLC of Toms River, pleaded guilty on Sept. 30 to an accusation charging him with second-degree theft by unlawful taking for stealing more than $1.1 million in coins from Hoboken’s parking meters.
Corea allegedly used his official position to steer three separate no-bid contracts to United Textile Fabricators in November 2005 to collect the coins, count and manage them, and maintain the city’s parking meters. United Textile Fabricators is a coin-operated arcade game manufacturer.
After an audit in 2007 uncovered parking revenue shortfalls, Petaccio and his company returned approximately $575,000 to the city. However, Petaccio admitted in pleading guilty that he conspired with an official of the City of Hoboken – whom he did not name in court but had previously identified to investigators – to divert an additional sum, in excess of $600,000, which was never reported to the city and which the two men split. It is alleged that Corea is the official who conspired with Petaccio and split the money with him.
“Corea used his authority to steer three no-bid contracts to Petaccio, who admitted that he stole more than $1.1 million from the city, including funds in excess of $600,000 that he allegedly split with Corea,” Milgram added.
Under his plea agreement, Petaccio must pay $300,000 in restitution to the city and faces up to seven years in state prison. He must cooperate in the ongoing investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice and the New Jersey State Police.
It is alleged that while Corea was director of the Hoboken Parking Utility, he improperly solicited Petaccio and United Textile Fabricators LLC and subsequently used his official position to assist the company in obtaining the three no-bid contracts. Each contract was for approximately $27,000 per year, just under the relevant statutory threshold at the time of $29,000, above which public bidding would have been required, allowing other companies to compete for the work.
Between June 2005 and April 2008, Corea allegedly conspired with the company to steal and launder more than $600,000 in parking meter revenues, while continuing to use his official position to assist United Textile Fabricators and conceal its illicit activities. The company’s contracts with the city were effectively terminated by April 2008.
The principal business of United Textile Fabricators is the manufacture, sale and leasing of arcade crane games, coin-operated machines with a crane-like claw that the player uses to try to grab a toy. The company installs its arcade machines in businesses throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The proceeds from the machines, which are shared with the company’s clients, are collected by company employees and transported to the company’s warehouse in Toms River where they are counted and bagged for deposit into the company’s main operating account at a local bank. The state’s investigation determined that coins from Hoboken’s parking meters were commingled with coins from the company’s arcade machines and deposited in one lump sum into the company’s operating account, concealing the source and ownership of the funds.
In pleading guilty before Superior Court Judge Francis R. Hodgson in Ocean County on Sept. 30, Petaccio admitted that he knowingly withheld from the City of Hoboken approximately $575,000 in parking meter revenues and misappropriated those public funds to pay a variety of personal expenses and business expenses unrelated to the company’s meter collection activities on behalf of the City of Hoboken. The state’s investigation determined that those personal expenses included credit card bills and car payments for a Porsche and a Mercedes. Petaccio and his company ultimately returned these funds to the city in several installments between October and December 2007, following an audit and inquiry by the city’s financial consultants and outside accountants.
However, it is alleged that, in addition to the $575,000 that Petaccio returned the city, he and Corea conspired to steal additional funds exceeding $600,000, which were never reported to the city. The two men allegedly worked out a scheme in which Petaccio reported to Corea the amount of coins collected each day, and Corea would tell him how much to put aside as the “take” to be split between them.
Former employee of Cerebral Palsy of North Jersey charged with theft December 14, 2009
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: credit card fraud
add a comment
Shaakerah Kelly of Bloomfield has been charged with theft by deception, forgery and fraudulent use of credit cards. The theft allegedly occurred over a three-year period beginning in June 2005. She worked in the accounts payable unit at Cerebral Palsy of North Jersey and allegedly deposited checks into her personal bank account. The total amount of the checks stolen totals $320,000. There is no indication as to where the credit card fraud charge comes from.
Story is here.
Yet another Operation Bid Rig 3 plea December 14, 2009
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: Operation Bid Rig III
add a comment
Just in time for the holidays, the pleas continue to roll in. This time its Charles Ammon of Lakewood who admitted to one count of conspiring to commit extortion. Ammon arranged meetings between Dwek (the Government’s informant) and a Lakewood building inspector who was also arrested in July. The inspector, Jeffrey Williamson, allegedly accepted cash bribes in exchange for clean inspection reports.
Story is here.
Surprise plea in Operation Bid Rig 3 December 3, 2009
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: Operation Bid Rig III
add a comment
This one is tough for me as I know Al Santoro. Thus, I’ll simply say that one, I’m just shocked, two, I was right about more pleas (see yesterday’s blog post) and finally, Santoro was not part of “the 44″; so who else is in plea discussions even though they have not been arrested?
Operation Bid Rig 3 Update – 8th guilty plea in case December 2, 2009
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: Operation Bid Rig III
add a comment
Former Jersey City arson investigator Michael Manzo who was also an unsuccessful candidate for the city’s municipal council, pleaded guilty to one count of extortion conspiracy today. He faces a sentence of about 10 to 16 months although its hard to know exactly where it will be in this post-Booker era.
There is no indication that I can find as to what type of deal Manzo cut with regard to testifying against any of the other defendants. However, with 8 guilty pleas already, I am sure you will see some of them taking the stand if these cases go to trial.
With this month just starting, I am almost 100% sure that you will see more pleas in this case this month. At least one defendant doesn’t seem to have made much progress yet as he still seems to be attorney shopping. I’m not dropping any names but I don’t see him going to trial even though he probably thinks he is. We’ll see.
Speaking of trial, it seems like attorney Brian Neary is getting ready to his client, Leona Beldini, to trial. Trial is scheduled for January but I think that time frame is wishful thinking at this point. This month should be interesting.
Story is here.
Five more charged in connection with 2007 election fraud in Essex County December 1, 2009
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: Election fraud
add a comment
Things are looking worse for New Jersey State Senator Teresa Ruiz as her husband and four others were arrested for the 2007 election fraud case that is on going. You have to wonder what the plea discussions will be with Ruiz’s husband. If he falls on the sword, they could forego prosecution of her. I don’t know her and I have no indication that she did anything wrong but there reaches a point where enough people around you have gone down, it starts to look bad for you.
In addition, with a number of people involved, which one(s) will flip on Ruiz just to save themselves even if they have to make something up? If Ruiz is smart, she has a good attorney that has been working hard to direct a large number of interviews to lock people into a statement before the State can get a hold of them or arrest them.
TRENTON – Attorney General Anne Milgram announced that five more people, including a freeholder who is the husband of State Senator Teresa Ruiz, were indicted today for election fraud in connection with absentee ballots they collected and submitted as workers for Ruiz’s 2007 campaign for the New Jersey Senate in the 29th District. Five other campaign workers for Ruiz were charged in four prior indictments.
According to Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni, a state grand jury returned two indictments today. One indictment charged Ruiz’ husband, Samuel Gonzalez, 39, and Joaquin Caceres, 50, both of Newark. Gonzalez is an Essex County freeholder and an aide to Newark City Councilman Anibal Ramos. Caceres is a senior program development specialist on the Newark mayor’s staff.
The second indictment charged Jonathon Kowalski, 32, of Newark, John Fernandez, 58, of Belleville, and Edwin Cruz, 48, of Newark. Kowalski works in fund-raising at the North Ward Center, and Cruz and Fernandez both work for the Essex County Department of Economic Development.
Each of the five defendants is charged with conspiracy (2nd degree), election fraud (2nd degree), absentee ballot fraud (3rd degree), tampering with public records or information (3rd degree), and forgery (4th degree).
According to Director Gramiccioni, Gonzalez, Caceres, Kowalski, Fernandez and Cruz are charged with tampering with documentation for messenger ballots, which are absentee ballots intended for use by homebound voters. They are charged with fraudulently submitting such ballots as votes in the Nov. 6, 2007 general election. The charges stem from an ongoing investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Corruption Unit.
“We charge that these campaign workers fraudulently submitted absentee ballots on behalf of residents who never received the ballots or had an opportunity to cast their votes,” said Attorney General Milgram. “Election fraud is a serious crime, particularly when voters are disenfranchised.”
At the time of the election, messenger ballots were for use only by those who were homebound due to illness, infirmity or disability. Such persons could complete an application designating a messenger or bearer who is a family member or a registered voter in the county. The bearer was thereby authorized to obtain an absentee ballot from the county board of elections, take it to the voter, and return a completed ballot to the county board. New rules regarding such ballots have since been adopted.
Gonzalez, Caceres, Kowalski, Fernandez and Cruz allegedly solicited applications for messenger ballots from individuals not qualified to receive them and fraudulently designated themselves as the authorized messengers or bearers. They allegedly obtained messenger ballots from the county clerk and submitted them to the board of elections as votes on behalf of voters who, in fact, never received or voted the ballots.
“We are continuing our investigation into allegations of fraud in the November 2007 general election in the 29th District,” said Director Gramiccioni. “The Division of Criminal Justice and Essex County Prosecutor’s Office are pursuing all leads concerning tampering with absentee ballots.”
Five other campaign workers for Ruiz were charged in four prior state grand jury indictments obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau.
Four campaign workers were charged with tampering with documentation for messenger ballots and fraudulently submitting such ballots as votes in the Nov. 6, 2007 general election.
One of them, Rocio Rivera, 50, of Lebanon Township, was indicted on Aug. 18. The other three were charged in two separate indictments on Aug. 4. One indictment charged Gianine Narvaez, 36, of Belleville, a data processing technician for the Essex County Commissioner of Registration and Superintendent of Elections, with official misconduct and other charges. The second indictment charged Angel Colon, 47, of Newark, an employee of the City of Newark Office of Affirmative Action, and Colon’s fiancée, Sorinette Rosario, 31, of Belleville, an employee of the Newark Welfare Department.
In addition, Ruiz campaign worker Antonio Santana, 58, of Newark, was indicted on March 23 on charges he fraudulently changed votes on absentee ballots during the election. That indictment alleges that Santana changed the votes on three absentee ballots that he collected from members of one family in October 2007.
