Flight Attendant Sentenced To Prison For Smuggling Heroin To Pay For Daughter’s Medical Bills – October 9, 2020
A Malaysian flight attendant who funded her ailing daughter’s medical treatments by stuffing heroin into her underwear and smuggling it into Australia was sentenced to prison for more than nine years in prison.
Zailee Hana Zainal, 40, of Malindo Air, spent three months practicing how to walk confidently with a pillow between her legs to get used to having large packages of heroin in her crotch.
She would go on to store the drugs in the lavatory during her flights.
Zainal was a major player in a drug syndicate that imported millions of dollars of heroin into Melbourne using cabin crew members from Malindo and Malaysia Airlines, officials said.
She was paid about $1,700 for every package and the money was left in her vehicle when she returned to Malaysia
Zainal’s young daughter, 9-year-old Mia, was born with a severe medical condition, who lives with chronic pain, and has had to undergo multiple surgeries over the years that have left the family in financial difficulty.
In 2018, Malindo Air even asked its staff in an email for donations to help the family with the mounting medical expenses.
At first, Zainal tried selling cupcakes and Tupperware to raise money for her daughter, but ultimately she and her husband succumbed to the pressure and begged for assistance, according to News.com.au.
Former Library Employee Is Accused Of Stealing $1.3 Million In Printer Toner And Selling It Online – October 2020
City auditors in Austin, Texas, say a former public library employee fraudulently bought $1.5 million in printer toner, stole at least $1.3 million worth and then sold it online.
Auditors got a tip in March 2019 that Randall Whited was storing the stolen printer toner in his garage until he could sell it.
Whited was an accounting associate for the Austin Public Library and was responsible for making and approving purchases, cash receipts, billing and other accounting transactions. Whited had access to ten library credit cards and put at least $18,000 on them to buy items that appeared to be for personal use — including video games, virtual reality headsets, robotic vacuums and a drone.
Former Postal Employee Pleads Guilty To Disability Fraud For Failing To Disclose Side Job – October 2020
Heath Shelton of Smithton Illinois, has pleaded guilty to a single-count information charging him with making a false statement to obtain federal disability compensation under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act. According to court documents,
Heath Shelton started receiving federal disability payments in 2012. After injuring his back as a letter carrier with the United States Postal Service. In late 2019, he began working on a part-time basis at Complete Family Chiropractic & Wellness, his fiancé’s clinic. Shelton’s disability forms required him to disclose this side job so that his earning potential and overall compensation could be adjusted. But, in an effort to avoid a reduction of his benefits, Shelton failed to disclose his work at the clinic and falsely reported that he had not worked or had any involvement in any business enterprise during the relevant time period. As a result of his plea, Shelton will lose all disability benefits going forward.
Former Office Manager Charged For Embezzling $600,000+ From Employer Over 5 Years – October 8, 2020
The indictment alleges that Joan Chenoweth, who had control of the business’s financial records as well as control and access to the business’s credit cards and bank account, wrote unauthorized vendor checks to herself or to cash payable from Illini Contractor Supply’s bank account; wrote unauthorized payroll checks to herself that exceeded her salary; and, used the business’s credit cards to make payments to her personal credit cards. She allegedly used her position as office manager to avoid detection by making false entries in the business’s financial records and omitted true and correct entries. The business suffered a loss of approximately $624,152.
Former University Band Director Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $30,000+ – October 8, 2020
According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, Nathan Haymer served as Director of Bands at Southern University A&M College (Southern University) and, in that role, was responsible for leading Southern University’s marching band, which performed at Southern University athletic events and a wide variety of other events both within Louisiana and across the United States. Haymer’s duties included making purchases and paying expenses during the band’s trips.
From November 2016 through March 2018, Haymer intentionally misapplied more than $30,000 that Southern University had provided to him to be used for official band expenses. On more than a dozen occasions, Haymer submitted false documents, such as fictitious and forged invoices from purported vendors, knowing that he had not incurred the expenses reflected on the documents.
Former City Clerk Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement Of $300,00+ Of City Funds To Help Win Lotto – October 7, 2020
During 2017 and 2018, Randy James was employed by the City of Bay Springs, Mississippi, as City Clerk, and had control over certain financial aspects of the city. During this time, James embezzled just over $300,000 from Bay Springs between August 2017 and April 2018 by creating fraudulent invoices from fictitious companies for the costs of false services that were never approved or incurred by the city.
James diverted city funds by obtaining checks from the City of Bay Springs, cashing the checks at a local bank, and wiring those funds overseas to international scammers in the hope of winning money in a lottery scheme.
Former Chemist Sentenced To Prison For Embezzling $9 Million+ From Employer Over 19 Years – October 7, 2020
James Camp admitted that from April 1998 through November 2017, he defrauded Lubrizol Corporation of $9,256,712.54. During the scheme, he submitted fraudulent invoices for laboratory services from two companies he owned, knowing they had not been performed.
Camp admitted that one of those fraudulent laboratory charges included one from his company Bay Area Analytical in the amount of $2,774.06. Camp inputted the data into Lubrizol’s accounting system, causing it to be transmitted electronically.. That fraudulent charge was then bundled with other similar charges and paid via electronic funds transfer to Bay Area Analytical’s bank account at J P Morgan Chase Bank in the amount of $12,294.23.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/chemist-sent-prison-embezzling-millions
Former Employee Of Veterans Affairs Medical Center Conspired With Another Individual To Steal $7.8 Million+ Of HIV Medication – October 7, 2020
From January 2018 through November 2019, Wagner Checonolasco conspired with a Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) employee to steal prescription HIV medication from the VAMC in East Orange, New Jersey. The conspirator, who was employed as a pharmacy procurement technician at the VAMC pharmacy, placed large orders for HIV medication, purportedly on behalf of VAMC. After the medication was delivered, the conspirator stole it. Checonolasco and the conspirator met, frequently at the conspirator’s residence, so that Checonolasco could purchase the stolen HIV medication, which he then sold. Checonolasco and the conspirator conspired to steal $7.85 million worth of HIV medications.
U.S. Postal Employee Arrested For Dumping Mail, Including Election Ballots Sent To Residents – October 7, 2020
A U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier (Nicholas Beauchene) from Hudson County was arrested today for discarding mail, including 99 general election ballots sent from the County Board of Elections and intended to be delivered to West Orange residents, from his assigned routes in Orange and West Orange.
Approximately 1,875 pieces of mail – including 627 pieces of first class, 873 pieces of standard class, two pieces of certified mail, 99 general election ballots destined for residents in West Orange, and 276 campaign flyers from local candidates for West Orange Town Council and Board of Education – were recovered from dumpsters in North Arlington and West Orange on Oct. 2, 2020, and Oct. 5, 2020.
Former Finance Manager Sentenced To Prison For Stealing $725,000+ From Employer Over 7 Years – October 6, 2020
Antonia Barber held a sensitive position at Target Financial, where she was permitted to approve reimbursement requests from employees, issue reimbursement checks, pay vendors, and report to the owner as to the financial condition of the company. In 2008, Barber began writing hundreds of checks to a family member for bogus Records Management services that were never provided. Barber’s conduct escalated to writing herself checks for nonexistent expense reimbursement, totaling over $600,000.
Barber went so far as to report to the owner that the company was struggling financially, causing the owner to infuse money into the company to keep people employed and the business afloat. Barber’s scheme went on for seven years until the owner caught on to her theft, and reported it to law enforcement.
Former University Professor Sentenced To Prison For Stealing $225,000 Of Cancer Research Funds To Make Personal Mortgage – Tuition Payments – October 6, 2020
Dr. Geoffrey Girnun, a former Associate Professor and cancer researcher at Stony Brook University’s Department of Pathology of Medicine, was sentenced to prison for theft of government funds related to a grant he received to research the effect of certain molecules on cancer.
In approximately 2013 and 2017, respectively, Girnun formed two sham companies, Atlas Metabolomics, LLC (Atlas) and Empyrean Biosciences, LLC (Empyrean) that purportedly provided research items and equipment for the defendant’s cancer-related research projects. From approximately December 2013 to approximately September 2019, Girnun submitted fraudulent electronic invoices to Stony Brook University for payment to the sham companies for equipment, goods and services that were never received or provided. Stony Brook University then used NIH and the university’s grant and foundation funds to pay the sham companies over $200,000.
Girnun withdrew the fraudulently obtained grant funds from Atlas and Empyrean’s bank accounts and used the money for personal expenses, including payments toward the mortgage on his residence and tuition for his children.
Former Employee Sentenced To $381,000+ Of Wire Fraud Against Employer – October 6, 2020
Between May of 2011 and July of 2018, Tracy Cox used her position at a Gary, Indiana trucking company to defraud her employer. She diverted over $381,759 for her own use by creating approximately 400 unauthorized transfers. She devised a scheme in which she entered the payment system and authorized a series of check numbers to make them available for use by truck drivers. She then obtained the authorization codes for the checks, made them payable to herself, and filled in the dollar amount or obtained a cash advance. To cover her scheme, Ms. Cox altered years of bank statements to hide the true balances.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndin/pr/hammond-woman-ordered-pay-381759-restitution
Former Office Manager Charged With Stealing From Auto Dealership To Pay For Personal Expenses – October 6, 2020
Corrine Bowman is charged with one count of bank fraud. The crime is alleged to have occurred from 2017 to 2019 in Medicine Lodge. The indictment alleges Bowman, who was working for Bowe Chevrolet, used company funds to pay expenses for her and her family.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ks/pr/former-office-manager-charged-stealing-auto-dealership
Intentional Hospital Data Breach Caused By Contractor – October 6, 2020
The University Hospital Limerick (UHL) is in the process of contacting more than 630 patients concerning a breach of patient data at UHL. This relates to patients who attended the UHL Emergency Department between April 18 and April 22, 2019. 95 of the people affected are children.
The data includes patient names, dates of birth, and medicines dispensed, relating to patients who attended at the emergency department (ED).
The data in question was extracted from an automated system used in the ED to dispense medication safely. It was extracted, without UHL knowledge or approval, by an employee of a company which was then supporting this system; and not by any employee of the UHL.
This information was published online in the form of a file linked from a Twitter account.
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-40060229.html
Former General Services Administration Employee Sentenced To Prison For Accepting Bribes – October 5, 2020
Ronnie Simpkins was employed by the General Services Administration (GSA) as a Contract Specialist, informally known as a Contracting Officer, in procurement related positions.
Simpkins admitted that for approximately six years between 2011 and 2017, he accepted cash, meals, and furniture from two company officials, to use his position to help these company official maintain its GSA Schedule contract.
He admitted to meeting the company officials over a dozen times at various restaurants in Northern Virginia, the company officials’ residences, and other places, often outside of normal GSA business hours and on weekends. At these meetings, the company officials treated Simpkins to meals and gave him cash totaling thousands of dollars into the teens. In July 2016, Simpkins accepted more than $2,000 worth of furniture paid for by the officials. Simpkins admitted to taking more than $12,000 in cash and furniture from the company officials.
Veterans Affairs Medical Center Respiratory Therapist Pleads Guilty To Stealing And Selling COVID-19 Respiratory Supplies – October 5, 2020
Gene Wamsley admitted to stealing a ventilator and other respiratory medical equipment in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and selling it for his own gain.
The investigation began in January 2020 when VAMC reported two bronchoscopes, used for examining a patient’s airway, went missing from the hospital. A third bronchoscope was reported missing in April 2020. In all, Wamsley admits stealing and selling three bronchoscopes worth over $100,000 for just $15,750. Wamsley sold the scopes to a Florida resident via eBay. When WAMSLEY’s home was searched in June, law enforcement seized a fourth bronchoscope and a $6,000 sleep apnea device called a WatchPat that had been stolen from the VA Medical Center. Further investigation revealed that in April 2020, Wamsley also stole a $9,950 respirator and sold it via eBay to an Ohio man for just $6,000.
The total loss to the United States from the thefts is $132,291.
Former Amazon Employee Arrested For Wire Fraud Scheme Involving $95,000+ In False Refunds – October 5, 2020
Amazon announced that one of its former employees, Vu Anh Nguyen, was reported to the FBI in July 2020 for falsely issuing refunds for products ordered on Amazon.com to himself and his associates.
Nguyen worked as a Selling Support Associate, in which he provided support to Amazon’s third-party sellers and assisted in the creation of seller listings using a “Spoofer” account, which allows Amazon employees to view and edit third-party seller accounts and manually authorize refunds.
Between November 2019 and February 2020 Nguyen used his employee access to falsely and fraudulently issue 318 unauthorized refunds to himself and others, totaling $96,508.13, The refunds were not requested by legitimate purchasers and the transactions involved the use of interstate wires.
Former Employee Sentenced To Prison For $3 Million Embezzlement Scheme Over 6 Years – October 5, 2020
Steven Russo pleaded guilty in June 2020 to wire fraud related to the embezzlement scheme, and to filing false tax returns.
Steven Russo had served as the Director of Information Technology for a design and manufacturing company headquartered in Lancaster, PA, and over a period of almost six years embezzled money from the company in a variety of ways. His schemes included the use of sham corporations with virtual addresses, fake invoices, and access to the company’s credit cards and on-line accounts. Russo would use those company owned accounts to make unearned payments to the sham companies owned and controlled by him, and to purchase items that he kept for his personal use or sold for personal gain.
Former Employee Sentenced To Prison For $319,000 Of Wire Fraud – October 5, 2020
The conviction stemmed from incidents starting in 2015 until 2019, when Christopher Day, who was employed by Pedersen Machine, Inc., engaged in a scheme to steal tractor parts belonging to his employer, and selling them online.
Day would order the parts for himself but would not pay for them. Instead, he would make it appear that the parts were ordered on behalf of Pedersen Machine’s customers. When the parts arrived, he would take the parts home and canceled the orders on Pedersen Machine’s computer system so the legitimate customer did not receive an invoice. He would then sell the parts online from his home and convert the profits to his own use.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sd/pr/hudson-man-sentenced-wire-fraud
Former Executive Director Sentenced To Prison For $195,000+ Of Embezzlement – October 5, 2020
From 2014 to 2016, Tamiko Parker served as executive director of Collinwood and Nottingham Villages Development Corporation (CNVDC), a nonprofit that acquires, develops and leases property on the northeast side of Cleveland. In her role as executive director, Parker had access to CNVDC’s bank accounts, credit cards, debit cards, statements, and checks.
Parker misused various accounts through a variety of schemes, including making unauthorized cash withdrawals, having checks issued to her and using debit and credit cards to pay her expenses.
Parker used CNVDC’s debit card to make purchases at Harley Davidson, the Horseshoe Casino, Victoria’s Secret and in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. In addition, Parker used CNVDC’s credit card to purchase appliances at Home Depot for her home. Parker used CNVDC’s checking account to purchase an automobile in Michigan for $19,080. Parker also collected cash rental payments from tenants of the nonprofit and deposited the cash into her personal bank account.
As a result of Parker’s activity, CNVDC suffered a loss of $195,087.61.
Former Employee Of Boat Manufacturer Charged With Stealing Company Intellectual Property – October 1, 2020
The investigation began after representatives from Viking Yacht Company in Bass River Township contacted New Jersey State Police and indicated their internal information network had been compromised. The company had determined that proprietary intellectual property had been downloaded onto a USB device via the defendant’s desktop computer after his login information had been utilized to gain access.
Cameron O’Connell stole intellectual property by secretly downloading data from his employer’s internal network using a USB storage device.
Former Social Security Administration Claims Specialist Sentenced To Prison for Misappropriating $732,000 in Fraudulent Benefits – October 2, 2020
Anne Aroste worked as a claims specialist at the SSA’s field office. Aroste was responsible for processing applications for Social Security benefits via the agency’s electronic records system. From 2013 to 2018, Aroste used the Social Security earnings records of deceased workers to create fraudulent applications for benefits. She then used her employee credentials to approve the applications and route the payments to bank accounts she controlled.
Aroste used the fraud proceeds to make credit card payments, mortgage payments, and car loan payments, including payments for a 2015 Mercedes-Benz sport-utility vehicle. She also used fraud proceeds to purchase clothing, groceries, jewelry, and cosmetics.
Former County Sheriff’s Office Administrative Deputy Sentenced To Prison For Embezzlement Of $198,000+ – October 2, 2020
Between 2012 and 2019, Mary Handzus was employed as the Administrative Deputy by the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office and stole $198,566 from the Sheriff’s Office account.
Freight Company Executive Charged With Embezzlement Of $550,000+ – October 2, 2020
As program manager for the international freight forwarding company, Morten Nielsen was responsible for the company’s contract relating to the Egyptian Foreign Military Sales program (EFMP), a program between the government of Egypt and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) that facilitates the sale and repair of military equipment from the DoD to Egypt. Nielsen was responsible for ensuring all safeguards and logistics for the transportation of certain classified material between the United States and Egypt and for submitting all paperwork and billing invoices on behalf of the company to the Egyptian government. Once approved, those invoices were forwarded to the DoD for payment to the company.
Nielsen allegedly sent fraudulent invoices on behalf of his employer to the Egyptian government that included charges for services performed by a sham company he created. The sham company did not perform any services for his employer. Once the fraudulent invoices were approved by Egypt and paid by the DoD, Nielsen caused his employer to pay the sham company he created over $550,000 over a two-year period.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/freight-company-executive-charged-embezzlement
Former Bank Of America Employee Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $1.5 Million From Client Company – October 2, 2020
Waqas Ali was the client relationship manager for the victim company, which was a Bank of America client. Ali opened a checking account in the name of the victim company without its knowledge or authorization, and between September 2016 and July 2017, fraudulently transferred over $1.5 million from the victim company’s accounts to a fraudulent account.
Ali used over $600,000 of the funds he fraudulently obtained to fund his lifestyle and pay for luxury items, including a Porsche SUV and retail items at Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Christian Louboutin and Tag Heuer.
Former IT Employee Of Hospital Sentenced To Prison For Un-Authorized Access To Employees Computers Over 5 Years – October 2, 2020
From 2013, to about 2018, Richard Liriano misused administrative access provided to him as an information technology employee at a New York City-area hospital, to log in to employee accounts, and copy other employees’ personal documents, including tax records and personal photographs, onto his own workspace computer for his own personal use.
To further his efforts to steal personal information from employees, Liriano, used various malicious programs that he installed on the hospital’s computer systems without authorization, to steal the user names and passwords of his primarily female co-workers. One of these programs is known as a keylogger, which surreptitiously recorded and sent victim employees’ keystrokes to Liriano, such as the usernames and passwords those employees entered to access their personal web-based email accounts. Through the course of this conduct, Liriano
stole usernames and passwords for at least approximately 70 email accounts belonging to hospital employees or persons associated with those employees.
Liriano then used those stolen usernames and passwords to log into the compromised accounts and obtain unauthorized access to other password-protected email, social media, photographs, and online accounts to which the compromised accounts were registered. Among other things, Liriano conducted searches for sexually explicit photographs and videos in the Compromised Accounts.
Liriano’s computer intrusions into the hospital’s computer networks caused over $350,000 in losses.
Former Kentucky Board Of Education Financial Director Sentenced To Prison For Money Laundering Of $1.6 Million + – October 1, 2020
Lesley Wade was a long time employee of the Franklin County Board of Education (FCBOE), most recently serving as the FCBOE’s Financial Director. she admitted that, starting in February 2011 and continuing through about June 25, 2019, she wrote unauthorized checks of FCBOE money to herself, then falsified the necessary FCBOE records and invoices to cover up her crimes.
Wade also served as Treasurer of Leestown Gospel Church in Frankfort, where she essentially had plenary control over its financial management, with little oversight or internal controls. Wade also admitted to periodically using her control over the Church’s finances to launder money she had stolen from the FCBOE, using the Church’s account before writing checks to herself, attempting to avoid detection and making the checks appear legitimate.
Her theft of funds, which took place over a term of years, resulted in the FCBOE losing a total of $1,624,593. Further hiding her theft of funds,
11 Union Officials Charged With Racketeering, Fraud, And Bribery Offenses – October 1, 2020
Since in or around October 2018, the defendants agreed to accept dozens of bribes, totaling over $100,000, in exchange for which they used their authority to corruptly influence the construction industry at the expense of labor unions and their members.
Numerous Soldiers At Fort Bragg Charged In Marriage Fraud Scheme Involving Foreign Nationals – October 1, 2020
The indictment charges that Ebenezer Asane, a former soldier, operating from Fort Bragg and his home in Fayetteville, planned and organized the sham marriages of foreign nationals to U.S. Army soldiers based at Fort Bragg. The purpose of the conspiracy was for the foreign-born nationals to evade U.S. immigration laws and obtain lawful permanent residence status and for the soldiers to receive Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) to live off post, as opposed to the barracks.
The indictment further charges that various defendants conspired with Asane to recruit other soldiers into the fraudulent scheme, to orchestrate photographs to give the appearance the marriages were legitimate, and to submit false statements to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service in support of the sham marriages.
Former Employee Sentenced To Federal Prison For Stealing $973,000+ From Employer – September 30, 2020
A federal judge sentenced Rosalinda Fuentes to 45 months in federal prison for stealing more than $973,000 from her former employer.
On December 30, 2019, Fuentes pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. By pleading guilty, Fuentes admitted that while processing employee payroll for MUY! Companies, LLC from 2014 to 2019, she implemented a scheme to steal money from the company. Fuentes used names of current and former employees to generate fraudulent pay checks and direct those unauthorized funds to bank accounts which she controlled. Furthermore, once the money had been deposited, Fuentes voided the fraudulent transactions from company records in an effort to conceal her scheme.
Former Employee Sentenced To Prison For Embezzling $472,000+ – September 30, 2020
Kathryn Smith worked at a title insurance company. From December 2012 to May 2019, she embezzled $472,765.95 from the company. Smith stole the funds by using her access to the title insurer’s bank accounts to transfer funds into accounts for which she had control.
She also wrote checks to herself without authorization. In addition, Smith used funds from the title insurer to pay her personal credit card bills, insurance for her adult child, and other miscellaneous personal expenses.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/lake-mary-woman-sentenced-federal-prison-stealing-more-470000
Two Former Employees Sentenced To Prison For Theft Of Intellectual Property – September 29, 2020
Two former employees of NPIC, Jie Zhu and Pinghua Lei, pleaded guilty and were convicted for theft of trade secrets.
Zhu had worked at NPIC for over 10 years as the head of R&D department before he was recruited by Gambol Pet USA, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gambol Pet Group Co, Ltd, in late 2017 and a competitor of NPIC in pet treats production and sales.
Both Zhu and Lei, a R&D process engineer at NPIC for several years, illegally downloaded all the R&D and Process data from NPIC’s server without authorization prior to their departure from NPIC. The data downloaded by Zhu and Lei was subsequently transferred to numerous electronic storage devices, and to the computers used by Zhu and Lei to perform work for Gambol Pet USA, Inc.
Zhu and Lei both admitted to using NPIC’s R&D and Process data in the course of their work as the Chief Operating and Technology Officer (Zhu) and R&D Manager and Senior Scientist (Lei) at Gambol Pet USA, Inc.
Former Company Vice President / Chief Executive Officer Pleads Guilty Tor Stealing $800,000 In Company funds – September 29, 2020
Lynese Cargill was one of the two founders of Common Ground, and served as the firm’s Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Beginning in or about 2008 and continuing through in or about March 31, 2020, Cargill devised, and knowingly participated in a scheme to defraud and obtain money from Common Ground by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises in the total amount of $785,615.25.
Cargill issued 80 unauthorized bank checks to herself written on Common Ground’s bank account totaling $198,980.23. In order to conceal this aspect of her fraudulent scheme, Cargill made false and misleading entries in the internal financial and accounting records of Common Ground, purporting to make these unauthorized bank checks appear to be legitimate when, in fact, she knew they were not.
Cargill was issued both a Citibank MasterCard credit card and an American Express credit card by Common Ground to be used to pay for legitimate company expenses, such as necessary travel and other business expenses. Cargill used both of her company issued credit cards to make personal purchases, unrelated to the legitimate business and operations of Common Ground. Cargill’s unauthorized credit card charges were for such personal expenses as airfare, hotels, automobiles, clothing, cosmetics, medi-spas, restaurants and miscellaneous retail purchases. These company issued credit card purchases were done by Cargill without the knowledge and authority of Common Ground. During the period of her fraudulent scheme,
Cargill made approximately 2,841 unauthorized company issued MasterCard credit card purchases for personal use items and expenses, totaling approximately $351,748.42, and an additional approximately 1,166 unauthorized company issued American Express credit card purchases for personal use items and expenses, totaling approximately $190,200.66.
Cargill applied for and obtained 2 different $1,000,000 life insurance policies, but instead of naming Common Ground as the sole beneficiary, as required under the shareholder agreement, Cargill named her then husband, B.H., as the sole beneficiary on both policies. Cargill then made premium payments on both policies, totaling $5,244.00, with funds from Common Ground’s bank accounts.
Cargill also used Common Ground bank funds to pay for charges on three of her personal credit cards totaling approximately $38,516.94. None of these charges which were paid for with Common Ground funds were authorized by Common Ground, and they were not for the legitimate business or operations of Common Ground.
In order to conceal her fraudulent scheme, Cargill moved funds between Common Ground bank accounts to falsely inflate the balance of the firm’s operating account when she provided financial updates to the president and chief executive officer of the firm. In furtherance of her scheme, Cargill caused unauthorized wire transfers to be made from Common Ground’s bank account to make payments on her personal credit card charges.
Former Army Soldier Sentenced To Prison For Burglarizing Firearms Dealers – September 29, 2020
Rian Patterson, a former U.S. Army solider previously stationed at Fort Drum, New York, was sentenced today to serve 30 months in federal prison for the burglaries of two federally licensed firearms dealers in Northern New York.
Patterson admitted to stealing five (5) long guns during the burglary of a licensed federal firearms dealer in Gouverneur, New York, on September 14, 2019, and to the burglary of a second licensed federal firearms dealer in De Kalb Junction, New York, on September 29, 2019, during which five (5) handguns were stolen. All stolen firearms were recovered during the investigation of these crimes. Patterson also admitted to knowingly possessing stolen firearms taken during those burglaries in his barracks at Fort Drum, including one firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Former IRS Employee Sentenced For Stealing $5,200+ Of Tax Refunds – September 29, 2020
Tamara Miller was employed by the IRS as a data transcriber at the Kansas City Service Center. As part of her duties, Miller handled individual income tax returns received by mail at the Kansas City Service Center.
Miller selected tax returns on which the “Refund” section did not show a routing number or account number for a direct deposit to a financial institution (indicating the taxpayer elected to have the refund paid by a U.S. Treasury check). Miller used taxpayers’ means of identification, including names and Social Security numbers, shown on their tax returns to apply for accounts at online banks that issued prepaid debit cards. If Miller succeeded in opening an online account with a taxpayer’s means of identification, she entered the routing number and account number for the fraudulently created account in the “Refund” section of the taxpayer’s Form 1040. Miller had access to the fraudulently created account; the taxpayer did not know the account existed.
As an alternative means of fraudulently altering taxpayers’ returns, Miller entered the routing and account numbers for an existing online account to which she had access in the “Refund” section of the Forms 1040, thereby falsely representing that the taxpayer elected to have the refund amount deposited directly to that account.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmo/pr/former-irs-employee-sentenced-stealing-tax-refunds
Former Employee Sentenced For Embezzlement Of More Than $280,000 – September 28, 2020
Michael Panethiere pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. In his plea, he admitted he committed the crime while he was employed by Palmer Electric Company in Pleasant Valley, Mo. He used his position to generate and sign company checks that he made payable to himself. He transferred the money to his control using his account at Community America Credit Union in Olathe. The total loss was more than $280,700.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ks/pr/olathe-man-sentenced-embezzlement
Former Employee Pleads Guilty To Selling Stolen Night Vision Components For His Financial Gain Of $51,000 – September 23, 2020
Steven Rosine, a former employee at a production facility in Roanoke, Virginia that manufactures night vision devices used by the U.S. military, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke to stealing night vision devices and other component parts, and selling them over the internet.
According to court documents, from 1996 to 2019, Rosine was employed as a production engineer at Harris Corporation’s night vision manufacturing facility in Roanoke, Va. During his employment Rosine had access to night vision devices and various components used in device manufacturing.
Between approximately 2010 and 2014, Rosine stole approximately 66 pounds of a soft metal, indium, a crucial element used in the night vision manufacturing process. He sold the stolen indium on the Internet to a company in California for his own personal financial gain, yielding a profit of $51,622.
Beginning in 2012 and continuing through 2018, Rosine stole various image intensifier tubes, night vision systems, and component parts from Harris Corporation. Rosine listed these items for sale on an Internet website. Rosine maintained a dedicated PayPal account, into which he deposited more than $119,000 in proceeds from his illicit sale of night vision devices.
A majority of the night vision devices sold by Rosine are classified as third generation image intensifier tubes and were manufactured using classified production data.
New York City Police Officer Charged With Acting As An Illegal Agent Of The People’s Republic of China – September 21, 2020
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/new-york-city-police-department-officer-charged-acting-illegal-agent-people-s-republic
Former Accountant For TV Provider Embezzled $10 Million Over 14 Years – September 19, 2020
Pazit Vald, is a former employee for TV provider names YES. She was released from prison last year after serving two thirds of 7 year sentence. But investigators are still stumped as to where all the money went,
Vald, a former accountant for YES, was arrested in 2014 for the the huge theft, after writing hundreds of checks over a 14-year period to the account of a fictitious company allegedly providing services to YES, from which she would then withdraw the funds for her own purposes.
Friends said she would go an lavish shopping sprees, sometimes spending tens of thousands of a day, buying top fashion brands, flying first class to expensive excursions abroad and moving her family to a penthouse. Her friends believed the money was her husband’s. Her immediate family was reportedly unaware of her actions, though it is not clear where they believed the funds originated. Nobody suspected fraud.
Eventually internal reviews exposed that funds were missing, however, and the investigation quickly led to Vald. She was arrested and eventually sentenced to seven years behind bars, but police could not track down the vast majority of the funds: they were not in the accounts.