Million dollar computer theft investigation ends in arrests January 20, 2010
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: fencing
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Harry Melber Jr. of Little Ferry, Joseph Corbisiero of Waldwick and Suresh Nallabathula of Roxbury charged in connection with the theft of $1.4 million worth of computer equipment from an East Hanover business. They were arrested on Jan. 8 at a trucking company warehouse in Camden County, following a 3 1/2-week undercover investigation involving East Hanover police, the State Police Cargo Theft Unit and High Impact Team and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.
Melber and Nallabathula were charged with second-degree conspiracy to commit burglary, fencing, theft and receiving stolen property. Corbisiero was charged with receiving stolen property and fencing. All three suspects were released on bail.
Story is here.
I made the NY Times! January 14, 2010
Posted by jefhenninger in Misc..Tags: Ponzi scheme
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Yesterday, I was interviewed by NY Times columnist Peter Applebome about a Ponzi schemes. His column was published today and you check out it here. Besides being interviewed, I had a great conversation with Peter. He’s got a great column that is published on Monday and Thursday. You can read his column from other days here. Based upon the traffic that it has sent to this blog in just a few hours, it is clearly a rather popular colum.
Brick, NJ man found guilty of tax evasion January 8, 2010
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: tax evasion, tax fraud
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John F. Mostler of Brick, NJ was found guilty Thursday of four counts of willfully attempting to evade and defeat paying federal income tax due on more than $470,000 earned over four years.
Story is here.
Essex County’s election superintendent charged with official misconduct January 8, 2010
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: official misconduct
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Carmine Casciano of West Caldwell has been charged with official misconduct. He is accused of giving unauthorized paid days off to employees who worked on political campaigns. In addition, he is also alleged to have ordered destruction of records related to the scheme.
Seems like someone flipped. His attorney needs to act fast to see who is on board and who’s not. This is an interesting case because he did not profit off of this like most people charged with official misconduct. The State will need some good witnesses to link all of this together.
Story is here.
Andrew Merola, Reputed NJ Gambino Family Member Enters Guilty Plea January 5, 2010
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: Racketeering
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Andrew Merola, one of 23 reputed Mafia members arrested in May 2008, faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years after pleading
guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy in federal court in Newark on Tuesday. He admitted to creating fake bar codes that were used to buy goods at reduced prices at Lowe’s, The Home Depot, Best Buy and others. Not exactly the stuff movies are made of huh?
Story is here.
Operation Bid Rig 3 Update: Ex-Assemblyman Van Pelt arraigned January 5, 2010
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: Corruption, New Jersey
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Daniel Van Pelt, a former state assemblyman and Ocean Township committeeman, appeared in federal court today to be arraigned on corruption charges. I’m still on the fence as to whether or not he will go to trial on the one count indictment of attempted extortion under color of official right.
With no disrespect to his attorney, Robert Fuggi, information I had was that he was going to get another attorney. Either that information was bad, he has given up on that route or that will happen later. His attorney is rather vocal compared with the other OBR3 defense attorneys; most of which have said little to nothing. Of course, you don’t try your case in the media so whose to say if it makes sense to speak to the media in the first place.
The problem with Van Pelt’s case is that there are several facts beyond change. First, Van Pelt was a powerful politician in Southern Ocean County. Second, he met with Dwek several times. Third, they discussed Dwek’s plans to build in Waretown. So, any defense must accept these facts.
In addition, you have the incredible success rate of the US Attorney’s Office and the fact that NJ residents hate politicians. I also don’t know if Al Santoro will testify against him. It seems like he could and there seems to be some quid pro quo between Santoro and Van Pelt.
Keep an eye out for a new indictment against Van Pelt in a few months. If one comes down, that should make it clear that the case is going to trial.
Story is here.
Man charged with theft of $1 million from relative January 5, 2010
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: misconduct by a corporate official, theft
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Samuel Franco of Brooklyn has been indicted for failure to make required disposition of property received, misconduct by a corporate official and misapplication of entrusted property in Monmouth County. The indictment also charged his company, Signature Investment Holdings LLC of Ocean Township, with failure to make required disposition of property received.
He is alleged to have made an agreement with a relative of his in August 2005 to invest $1 million in the purchase and sale of European bank instruments, such as bonds, certificates of deposit and notes. The agreement guaranteed the client would earn a 20 percent profit by December 2005.
By the end of 2005, the client did not receive his initial investment or the interest and in 2006, Franco made many claims that he would return the initial investment and the profits. An audit of a bank account associated with the firm showed none of the money went to any of the investment accounts and that Franco used the firm’s account to pay personal expenses such as the remodeling a Florida condominium and monthly payments to Mercedes Benz and American Express.
This is what gets everyone. Using personal expenses from the company account is generally a bad idea. Assuming this is all true, what account signed off on all this? As always, I wonder why this guy got indicted. Half the time, there is no reason for it.
Story is here.
Postal worker gets jail for gift card theft but may never serve a day January 4, 2010
Posted by jefhenninger in News.Tags: theft
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James Rosciano III, one of two former U.S. Postal Service workers who admitted stealing more than 500 employee incentive gift cards worth a total of $24,675 was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Frederick De Vesa (my favorite judge by the way) to serve 180 days in the Middlesex County jail and repay his half of the theft. He was also placed on probation for five years and the jail time is a condition of the probation. However, the jail time won’t start until July 1, 2014, because Rosciano is a single father responsible for his two sons.
This is an odd sentence so I have to wonder if he was looking at more serious charges that were dismissed as a result of the plea. Regardless, I doubt he will see a day of jail time. In about 4 years, an attorney can file a motion to just end the probation without the jail. It shouldn’t be that difficult to do if this guy does the right thing.
Story is here.
New Jersey Unemployment Fraud Attorney January 3, 2010
Posted by jefhenninger in Misc..Tags: unemployment fraud
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Unemployment Fraud is treated as a serious crime in New Jersey. If you are suspected of unemployment fraud or you think you are under investigation, hiring a good unemployment fraud (unemployment insurance fraud) attorney may make the difference between success and disaster. If not handled properly, you can end up with a felony record and in jail or prison. Defendants’ names are published in press releases that will likely come up in search results on search engines such as Google. Thus, your future may be at stake!
In New Jersey, unemployment fraud is investigated by the New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development. Your first indication that you being investigated for unemployment fraud will likely be a letter from the Department of Labor. Otherwise, they may call you. Either way, they will be requesting information from you. Anything you say can be used against you. As soon as you realize that you are under investigation, call an experienced New Jersey unemployment fraud attorney right away. Bring him or her the letter and follow the directions given to you.
Unemployment fraud can occur when a person is collecting unemployment insurance benefits and does not report that they have gone back to work, when a person is working “under the table” (off the books) or if a person is working part-time.
With New Jersey’s budget spiraling out of control, the Department of Labor and the New Jersey Attorney General’s office is seeking to get back every dollar that was overpaid. Thus, convictions are becoming more common for even smaller amounts overpaid to ensure that funds are recovered and to act as a deterrent for others. Do not assume that you can handle this on your own! Many people have tried to ignore this only to wind up arrested, indicted and then convicted.
If you think, for any reason, that you are suspected of unemployment fraud or are under investigation, call Jef Henninger, Esq., the New Jersey unemployment fraud defense lawyer. Jef has successfully helped clients across New Jersey avoid prosecution for unemployment fraud and prison/jail. With offices in Newark, Jersey City, Woodbridge, New Brunswick, East Brunswick, Princeton, Freehold, Redbank, Eatontown and Toms River, Jef and his team of fraud defense attorneys are easy to reach from anywhere in New Jersey.
What is a proffer session and what should you do? January 3, 2010
Posted by jefhenninger in Articles.Tags: proffer session
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This article will explain what a proffer is, who should proffer and how a proffer works.
A proffer session, sometimes called a “Queen for a day” is an exchange of information between you, the suspect and law enforcement. You can generally admit to criminal activity and any admissions cannot be directly used against you later at trial. Proffer sessions are frequently used by law enforcement on the federal level such as the U.S. Attorney’s Office, although some state law enforcement agencies use proffer sessions as well. Furthermore, these sessions are usually used for white collar crime investigations and rarely used for “street crimes”.
The people at the proffer session will be you, your attorney one or more Assistant US Attorneys as well as members for law enforcement agencies involved in your case such as FBI, ATF, IRS Criminal Division, etc. The meeting takes place in a conference room, not a court room and it is rather informal. More importantly, there is no court reporter or audio recording so you are left with no one, unless your attorney will become a witness, to support your version of events. However, federal law enforcement usually has the highest professionalism and integrity so you rarely have to worry about someone “coloring” your statement.
There is no set format for a proffer session but you are there to give information, not get information. While the other side may give you a flavor of their case, it should be nothing more than what you attorney has already uncovered through prior discussions. Thus, preparation of the case and the client by an experienced white collar crime attorney is very important.
The outcome of the proffer session depends largely on your status. First off, if you are just a witness, you are not really there for a proffer session as you are not under any suspicion. For a proffer session, you are either a subject or a target. A subject means that the law enforcement agency is on the fence with regard to your status. It could go either way. Thus, the information given at the proffer session could turn you into a witness or a target.
If you are a target, then they think you are guilty. You just haven’t been arrested as a courtesy to you so that you will make a confession or they still need more evidence to make a solid case for trial. Rarely can you change their mind absent a polygraph test or some other evidence. Since polygraph tests are not admissible in court, there are only a handful of people around that can administer them. Thus, don’t expect to be offered one unless your attorney does a lot of convincing.
A plea offer may be provided to you at the end of the proffer session or soon there after. Another option is an immunity agreement which assures that you will not be prosecuted. In either scenario, you will likely have to agree to testify against others. If no agreement is reached, you will likely be free to leave. While nothing you said can be used against you to support the Government’s case, they can still use the information you gave them to further their investigation. Furthermore, if you are found to have deliberately lied to them, you can be charged in that regard, i.e. Martha Stewart.
While the decision to proffer, like all major decisions in a case, is up to you, it should not be made without the assistance of a skilled white collar crime attorney. There must be a purpose behind it. Just showing up to see what happens is a huge mistake that can lead to disaster. The attorney should discuss all pro’s and con’s as well as alternative options.
There are any number of reasons to proffer and not to proffer. If you have been contacted by any law enforcement agency or any other agency that requests you to make a proffer, give a statement or turn over any document, call an attorney right away. If you have an attorney that does not have experience in this area, it probably makes sense to replace that attorney or, at the very least, hire another attorney as a consultant. If you think you need an attorney for a white collar crime issue in New Jersey, New York or the surrounding areas, call me today. If you need me to come on as a consultant anywhere in the country, call me to discuss.
