Individuals and businesses fall victim to various types of fraud daily, leading to hundreds of billions in losses each year. Check out the Department of Justice and the FBI websites to stay current on crimes occurring around the world, and find out how to avoid becoming a victim yourself.
Read on to learn about recent 2018 crime investigations and fraud cases posted by the FBI and the United States Department of Justice involving national and international fraud.
Financial Fraud
Read Article: Stamford Woman Pleads Guilty to Fraud Offense Stemming from Embezzlement Scheme
Connecticut—John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Candace Rispoli, 31, of Stamford, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to one count of wire fraud stemming from an embezzlement scheme.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from approximately January 2012 until June 2016, Rispoli was employed by Lodestone Management Consultants, later known as Infosys Consulting (the “Company”). Beginning in approximately 2013, Rispoli worked for the Company from her former home in East Haven, which she shared with her then-boyfriend, Michael Miano. In her capacity as a Company employee, Rispoli had an American Express credit card to use to pay for travel, entertainment and other business expenses incurred by the Company’s employees and potential employees. Read More
Financial Fraud
Read Article: Canadian Accountant Pleads Guilty to Stealing Nearly $600,000 from Massachusetts Company
Boston—A Canadian national who worked as an accountant for a Massachusetts company pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to stealing nearly $600,000 from her employer.
Thanh Tam Tao Huynh, a/k/a Tiffany Huynh, 30, most recently of Quincy, Mass., pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to steal nearly $600,000 from her employer. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Oct. 4, 2018.
Huynh was employed as the accountant/bookkeeper by the company from approximately March 2016 through December 2017. Huynh used her position and access to the company’s bank accounts to wire about $425,000 from a company account at the Royal Bank of Canada to accounts in the United States that Huynh and her associates controlled. She also used a company credit card to make unauthorized purchases for herself and her friends. To conceal her actions, Huynh provided her employer with false balance information for the Canadian account and withheld the personal charge information from the credit card statements she submitted for review. In total, Huynh defrauded her employer of approximately $588,278. Read More
Cyber Crime, Business Email Fraud Scheme
Read Article: Eight Arrested in Africa-Based Cybercrime and Business Email Compromise Conspiracy
International – In accordance with the Justice Department’s recent efforts to disrupt business email compromise (BEC) schemes that are designed to intercept and hijack wire transfers from businesses and individuals, including many senior citizens, the Department announced Operation Keyboard Warrior, an effort coordinated by United States and international law enforcement to disrupt online frauds perpetrated from Africa. Eight individuals have been arrested for their roles in a widespread, Africa-based cyber conspiracy that allegedly defrauded U.S. companies and citizens of approximately $15 million since at least 2012.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant of the Western District of Tennessee and Executive Assistant Director David T. Resch of the FBI, made the announcement. Read More
Mail and Wire Fraud, Advance Fee Scheme
Read Article: Fraudster Pleads Guilty to Scamming Elderly Victims of more than $396,000 through Advance Fee Scheme
Greenbelt, Maryland – Onijah Crighton, age 23, of Chillum, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in connection with a scheme to defraud more than 100 elderly victims through an advance fee scheme, specifically, by falsely representing that the victims had won a lottery or sweepstakes and demanding taxes or other fees before the victims could receive the prize.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division, Matthew J. DeSarno; and Postal Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Washington Division. Read More
Wire Fraud, Identity Theft Scheme
Read Article: Former ICE Chief Counsel Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft Scheme
National—Former Chief Counsel Raphael A. Sanchez of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Office of Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) was sentenced to 48 months in prison for a wire fraud and aggravated identity theft scheme involving the identities of numerous aliens, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and ICE Principal Legal Advisor Tracy Short.
Sanchez, 44, of Seattle, Washington, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Robert S. Lasnik of the Western District of Washington ordered Sanchez to pay $190,345.63 in restitution. Read More
Financial Fraud
Read Article: Former Office Manager Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison for Embezzling More Than $1.5 Million from Employer
Washington—The former office manager of a trade association management company was sentenced to 51 months in prison on a federal charge of wire fraud for embezzling more than $1.5 million from the firm, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
Leunea D. Myers, 39, of Clinton, Md., pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was sentenced by the Honorable Christopher R. Cooper. Following her prison term, she will be placed on three years of supervised release. She also must pay $1,550,075 in restitution to her former employer and two of its clients, and the Court issued a forfeiture money judgment in the same amount. Read More
Business Email Fraud Scheme
Los Angeles, California— The owner of a North Hollywood business pleaded guilty to two felony counts related to a complex fraud scheme involving more than $500,000 in victim losses. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Horwitz immediately sentenced Jhonna Gutierrez Fueconcillo (dob 4/21/77) in case BA468299 to 7 years in state prison.
Fueconcillo pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and one count of money laundering, while also admitting to a special allegation that the losses in the case exceeded $500,000. As part of the plea, she was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $552,939, and she was also ordered to pay the California Franchise Tax Board $77,716 for taxes owed. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Warren Kato of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Community Cyber Investigation Response Team. Read More
Securities Fraud, Mail Fraud
Read Article: Federal Grand Jury Indicts Dallas Man For Securities Fraud
Dallas, Texas—An indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Dallas charges Patrick O. Howard, 36, of Dallas, Texas, with offenses related to his role in a scheme to defraud investors and to obtain money by materially false and fraudulent pretenses, announced Erin Nealy Cox, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. Specifically, Howard is charged with five counts of securities fraud and nine counts of mail fraud.
The indictment alleges that from January 2015 through April 2017, Howard owned Howard Capital and OE Capital located in Dallas, Texas, and exercised authority over the companies and Funds.
Howard represented himself to be a Registered Investment Advisor and offered and sold membership units to investors for $50,000 apiece. Investors were told the Funds would invest proceeds from unit sales into third-party companies and that the Funds stood to profit when the companies paid revenue interests. Read More
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If you suspect fraudulent activity in business or personal matters, call the experts at Veriti Consulting at (877) 520-1280 to speak with a professional. With our national presence, we can provide fraud investigation services for U.S. businesses of all sizes and types.
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