Results tagged “fraud”

The double homicide that took the lives of a Marine Park husband and wife remains unsolved, but authorities are expected to arraign four individuals for money scams connected with the 2008 execution-style killings. So far, no one has been indicted for shooting and killing lawyers Christina Petrowski-Schwartz, 48, and Mark Schwartz, 50, in their Brooklyn home—but investigators believe the killings were connected with "wide-ranging financial scams" that might have involved the deceased attorneys. more ›

Last April Merrill Lynch hired stock broker Steven Mandala, giving him a $780,000 loan to lure him away from Maxim Group, where he was, they believed, a hot-shot partner who managed $300 million worth of assets. But now the firm says Mandala, 29, ran a savage burn on them, giving them forged pay stubs and tax returns to seem more successful than he was. Then, a week after depositing the loan into his parents' bank account, he bought a red Ferrari for $245,580. And as if the sight of an unscrupulous Wall Street guy throwing money away on a car wasn't shocking enough, Mandala "frequently did not show up at his new job and brought in only two or three clients with assets of about $20,000," says the Manhattan DA. more ›

A Bronx detective has become the newest poster child for crime statistic fraud over allegations that he ignored and attempted to downplay a brutal armed robbery attempt that left a college student with a broken jaw. Tatjana Sevilla, 22, fought off a gun-toting crook who tried to force his way into her family's Castle Hill home, but the perp struck her in the face and fractured her jaw. Despite the severity of her injuries and the fact the culprit was armed, Detective Rene Narvaez allegedly classified the crime as a minor infraction—and refused to look at surveillance footage that could have helped the investigation. more ›

The charges lobbed against Councilman Larry Seabrook (D-Bronx) by federal investigators are pretty stunning, but one count stands out from the rest: The allegation that the third-term politician doctored a $7 receipt for a bagel and drink so he was reimbursed $177. Thankfully, the city's press corps has followed up to see whether a $177 bagel exists, and if so, what it tastes like. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Councilman Larry Seabrook (D-Bronx) has reportedly been hit with a 13-count indictment on federal charges of money laundering, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail and wire fraud, extortion, and receiving an unlawful gratuity. Insiders told the Times that the Democrat—who represents Wakefield, Co-op City, Edenwald, Williamsbridge and Baychester—is suspected of helping a boiler company obtain city contracts. more ›

Friends and clients of real estate investor Adam Hochfelder thought they were buying shares in Lake George's Sagamore Resort and another property in Telluride, Colorado, but instead the money was going up Hochfelder's nose, among other places. The onetime-mogul—who underwent nasal reconstructive surgery because of his coke problem—says substance abuse led him to take over $2.5 million from investors and spend it on debts, private school for his kids, private jets, lawyer fees and expensive trips. He was arrested yesterday, and previously, in 2008, Hochfelder was charged with taking banks, family and friends for $17 million. “The facts of this case speak volumes about the defendant’s character,” the prosecutor said. “He did it with an outstanding level of arrogance and entitlement.” more ›

Believe it or not, Mayor Bloomberg is insisting that the NYPD's crime statistics are accurate—well, most of the time. "There's always going to be some fudging of the numbers, but it is tiny," the mayor said. "I have an enormous amount of confidence in the data." He also suggested that a study by two criminologists, which showed police precincts routinely fudge their data, may have been biased. According to Bloomberg, it was "paid for by one of the unions, so you've got to start wondering whether it was an independent study." more ›

Now that Bank of America has agreed to a $150 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has filed a lawsuit against the bank and its former CEO and CFO, accusing it of misleading the government and investors in its purchase of Merrill Lynch. Cuomo said, "This merger is a classic example of how the actions of our nation’s largest financial institutions led to the near-collapse of our financial system. Bank of America, through its top management, engaged in a concerted effort to deceive shareholders and American taxpayers at large..." more ›

A former Queens Assemblyman who resigned after being indicted for accepting bribes in the form of "consulting" fees was sentenced to six years in prison. Anthony Seminerio, 74, pleaded guilty to one charge of fraud after investigators alleged that he had taken up to $2 million in bribes, established a shell company to handle the "consulting" money, and was caught on tape accepting $25,000 from an FBI agent posing as a real estate developer. more ›

Prosecutors claim that Eliyahu Ezagui is a thief who took $2.6 million from condominium buyers and more than $10 million from banks, but the Brooklyn developer says he was G-d sent. According to his lawyer, Ezagui received "a blessing" from deceased Rabbi Schneerson before committing his subprime mortgage fraud. "It was a mitzvah to him, a Hebrew word that means a good deed and an obligation," said the defense lawyer in her opening statement. more ›

News has gotten out that three laptops which contained social security numbers of 1,400 students, alum, and prospies were stolen from a Columbia University office last week. It turns out this isn't the first time the school has massively and mistakenly divulged the sensitive information of its affiliates—back in 2007 Columbia leaked over 5,000 names and social security numbers via a Google Doc! “I’m not terribly surprised, given that it’s happened before, but at the same time, I can’t believe they let it happen again,” wrote one undergrad in an email to Bwog. more ›

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo just keeps rolling along; between going after State Sen. Pedro Espada and considering a run for the Governorship, he also helped shut down United Homeless Organization's scam operation last month. Now, he's filing suit against two nonprofit immigrant services organizations—International Immigrants Foundation and International Professional Association—for allegedly scamming immigrants by making false promises of citizenship and charging exorbitant fees. Cuomo said, ""People don't want to come forward. Well, we have an executive order. I know, technically we have an executive order. People feel—my luck, I'll be the one, I'll call, I'll get into trouble. Because it's remarkable: years and years, thousands of people victimized. Nobody came forward." more ›

While AT&T; takes a lot of heat for their horrific service here in New York, Verizon gets criticized constantly for putting up the most loathed building in the city — which practically sucks the soul out of the skyline (we are looking at it right now). more ›

On Wednesday, it was reported that Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff was in the medical facility at a federal prison in Butner, NC—and one TV station heard that Madoff's injuries were consistent with an assault. However, the Bureau of Prisons said he was being treated for dizziness and hypertension. more ›

Earlier this year it was reported that 40-year-old Dwight Newton had siphoned $620K into his bank account, from his place of employment, the Brooklyn Museum. The Daily News has an update on the former museum manager, who admitted yesterday that he stole the money by cutting checks for faux employees. more ›

Investigators claim that an administrator for New York University's chemistry department heisted $409,000 from the school through a phony invoice scam. John Runowicz, 47, is accused of "scavenging" through the trash outside of Warehouse Wines on Broadway — just one block from his office — and fishing out liquor receipts that he would use to request petty cash reimbursements from NYU for chemistry department expenditures. more ›

Today, the Wall Street Journal reported, "The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing a computer-security breach targeting Citigroup Inc. that resulted in a theft of tens of millions of dollars by computer hackers who appear linked to a Russian cyber gang, according to government officials." And the attack allegedly focused on Citibank. more ›

Police arrested a 48-year-old man suspected of taking over a city-owned parking lot in Lower Manhattan when it was closed and charging drivers to park their cars. Brooklynite Steven Pappas is accused of breaking into the South Street parking facility on at least two weekend days in September, putting a sign outside, and asking motorists for $10 per day for a parking spot, according to the Post. more ›

Deborah Yannicelli of Long Island and Maurice Keshner of Brooklyn, will walk away with $1.6 million and over $250,000 respectively after blowing the whistle on three city-based home health-care companies who were fraudulently collecting government money for uncertified home health aides. The reward money is part of the $24 million recovered from the companies after the two finked. Yannicelli's lawyer, Timothy McInnis said: "She's delighted. She's been waiting for a long time for this." more ›

Suspected Ponzi schemer Philip Barry was in court yesterday, to pleading not guilty to several counts of fraud. The "investor" had promised clients in his Bay Ridge neighborhood 12-21% returns, but, the feds charge, only used the money to pay his own bills, speculate on real estate in Sullivan County... and start a mail-order porn business. His clients/victims were upset he's been out free on bail; one told the Post, "It’s like I’m a rape victim and I have to see my rapist. He shouldn’t be out on the street." more ›

A bookkeeper and community organizer for the embattled antipoverty group Acorn raked in $500,000 in merchandise through a corporate rewards program with Verizon—goodies she had no right to claim, investigators say. As part of an expansive fraud that began five years ago, Donnett Davis allegedly opened a corporate rewards program for Acorn’s 10 to 20 phone lines with Verizon, but named herself as the recipient. She was also able to somehow add (allegedly) another 9,000 DOE phone lines to her rewards account. The haul was pretty sweet. more ›

While you were busy doing Sudoku at your temp job, industrious 19-year-old computer whiz Adeniyi Adeyemi was using his three month temp job to launch a $1.1 million fraud scheme, according to a 149-count indictment. During his stint in the IT department at Bank of New York Mellon in November 2001, Adeyemi allegedly stole personal identifying information from dozens of employees, using the information from more than 30 bank and brokerage accounts in their names. Over the next eight years he used the stolen identities to set up more than 30 fraudulent bank and brokerage accounts, prosecutors say. more ›

In an apparent first, six women posed as victims of domestic violence in order to jump to the top of the wait-list for government subsidized apartments, officials say. Over 127,000 families are on the New York City Housing Authority’s waiting list for Section 8 vouchers, which can be worth thousands of dollars a year. Qualifying tenants who get the vouchers pay 30 percent of their adjusted gross income toward the rent, and the government picks up the rest. And these women, who were all arrested over a period of four months, almost got away with it! more ›

Irving Picard, the trustee in charge of liquidating Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff's assets, now says many other people—not just Madoff's CFO Frank DiPascali—were involved with perpetrating the scheme. The NY Times reports, "According to a court document filed late on Friday, other longtime Madoff employees were in charge of managing 245 accounts for Madoff friends and family, and for them at least a few of the reported trades actually occurred." more ›

The son of a Harlem landlord is accused scamming potential buyers by trying to sell a building he did not own. The commercial property, located on a triangular lot just north of Central Park at 21-41 Lenox Avenue, was entirely owned by another man. But alleged grifter Henry Vargas told buyers the man, Manuel Duran Jr., was just an elderly farmer from the Dominican Republic whose share was only 10 percent. more ›

The Pepto pink palatial palace on Garfield Place is now off the market! That's not because it sold, either — the Brooklyn Paper reports that 92-year-old owner Bernie Henry's grandson is now "under investigation for forging key documents that have put a cloud over who has legal ownership of the building." Yikes! Some neighbors may be pleased to see the house stay pink for longer — one told the paper, “At first, you hate it because it’s new. But then you come to love it. And then you don’t want it to ever change.” more ›

Hindsight is 20/20: The NY Times reports the country's "largest independent securities regulator found that its staff members had missed numerous red flags that would have uncovered frauds run by Bernard L. Madoff and the Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford." Apparently the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s "predecessor, NASD, did not act from 2003 to 2005 on 'credible information from at least five different sources claiming that the Stanford C.D.’s were a potential fraud.'" While no whistleblowers specifically contacted Finra about Madoff (the SEC was warned), Finra did find " several facts worthy of inquiry...that, with the benefit of hindsight, should have been pursued." more ›

Irving Picard, the trustee who is liquidating whatever can be found of Ponzi king Bernard Madoff's fortune for in order to repay his thousands of victims, says that he's going to sue Madoff's two sons, Mark and Andrew, as well as his brother Peter and niece Shana, noting that they made $150 million over the years. All four were employed at Madoff's firm and Picard said he'll sue them for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty, "Whether or not they have a criminal problem we will pursue them as far as we can pursue them and if that leads to bankrupting them, then that's what will happen." more ›

Once a victim of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, alway a victim of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, but even the people trying to figure out the victims' claims are messing up: A laptop containing "names, addresses, Social Security numbers and some Madoff account information on 2,246 investors" was stolen from a car. more ›

Back in 2005, it was the biggest residential land deal in the history of the city—Hudson Waterfront Associates, the Hong Kong-based consortium that worked with Donald Trump to develop and market the massive Trump Place development on the West Side, sold a 77 acre parcel of land to Extell for $1.76 billion. Now the Manhattan DA's office revealed it just arrested the project director for tax evasion and are looking into whether Hudson Waterfront evaded taxes on a $17 million portion of deal. more ›