January 19, 2010

Dodge County Sheriffs Uncover Identity Theft Ring

Dodge County sheriff’s deputies broke an alleged identity theft ring that has been operating in four counties. The 37-year-old man arrested is accused of receiving stolen property by using a license plate to conceal or misrepresent a vehicle’s identity. He is being charged with 56 counts of identity theft and two counts of receiving stolen property. Another possible conspirator was also charged in the case.

During the bust, Dodge County deputies discovered that the accused had several stolen vehicles as well as access to the owner’s Social Security and account numbers and keys obtained through his job as an auto parts delivery driver. The theft came to light when a Georgia state trooper saw that the vehicle identification and tag numbers did not match the 2008 Ford F-150 the man charged was driving when he had gotten into an accident.

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October 15, 2009

$275,000 Stolen from NAACP: Ex-Employees Accused

A recent wsbtv.com news article reported that during an audit, it was discovered that $275,000 was stolen from the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Atlanta Branch. According to the article, the Atlanta NAACP Branch President stated that the organization’s former executive director and her assistant are suspected of stealing the money from the association over a period of six years. Apparently, they used the money for a wide range of personal benefits including paying for dental work and buying furniture.

Law enforcement also suspects that the duo applied for credit cards with American Express using the organization’s name and marked themselves as authorized uses. They are also suspected of receiving credit cards in their own names and using checks belonging to the NAACP to pay their own personal bills. The report confirmed that the two suspects are no longer employed by the association.

Theft-related offenses in Georgia are very serious matters due to the various strict penalties laid out by Federal and Georgia State law. The legal consequences of such crimes are even more severe when an employee is accused of stealing from the company or association that he or she works or worked for. These offenses are referred to as white-collar crimes, and, if convicted, a person may face lengthy prison time, steep fines, loss of employment, loss of future employment opportunities, and much more. With these repercussions in mind and your professional reputation on the line, if you’ve been accused of a white-collar crime, it may be in your best interest to seek legal representation from a skilled Atlanta white-collar crime defense attorney.

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May 21, 2009

Modern Crooks “Never Steal Anything Small”

The nydailynews.com website reported in an account on February 10th that today’s modern crooks are the leaders of our financial institutions who have sent the economy into a downward tailspin, thrashing the American way of life with their New York white collar crimes. These glutinous people include types such as incompetent CEO’s and malicious scammers.

Now these government bailed out business are upset that they can only pay their top executives $500,000. They claim that they will not be able to attract top talent. It may behoove them to retract this statement. After all, it took them just a matter of years to bring down corporations and lose many hundreds of billions of dollars, if not more.

According to reports, some of the money was used on executive jets, sumptuous bonuses, and fancy offices.

On a somewhat lesser scale, Edgar Veloz stole his friend’s identity and wrote himself $3,000 worth of checks. It would have taken him 1,000 years to bankrupt Citigroup at this rate. Compare that to leader of Citigroup, Charles Prince, who managed to bring down the company in less than a year while earning a salary in the millions.

A white collar crime is a term used a lot these days, you hear it in the news and media, yet few know what it really means. White collar crime in New York is an act of theft or other criminal conduct which violates a corporate or government officer's fiduciary duties. Thus, if a person is acting in a position of financial trust or management for a client, a business, or a government agency, and they do something illegal, stealing the company's funds, for example, then that person has committed a white collar crime. If you are being accused of a white collar crime, it is in your best interest to contact a skilled Georgia or New York white collar crime attorney. Please call Conaway & Strickler, PC at 1-800-536-1740 for a free consultation.

April 1, 2009

Bronx Forgery and Abandonment of Five Year Old

The nydailynews.com website reported in a story on March 13, 2009 that Paul Casson, 28, an EMT was arrested and charged with forging a nurse’s signature and abandoning a five year old at the hospital. A spokeswoman for the Department of Investigation said that Casson did not want to wait and fill out the necessary paperwork so he forged the necessary documentation required before he left the hospital. ETM’s are required to fill out Patient Care Reports and have them signed by a corresponding nurse.

Casson is accused of endangering the welfare of a child in New York when he left a five year old at Lincoln Hospital. Casson was called to a vehicle accident scene on Deceember 31, and was transporting the child who did not sustain life threatening injuries to the hospital.

In a rush to make it to his New Year’s engagement, he lost all regards of professionalism and compassion. He now sits in jail awaiting trial. If convicted, Casson faces seven years in prison.

Forgery in New York is defined as "knowingly and with the intent to defraud, making, altering, or possessing any writing that purports to be made by another person, at another time, with different provisions, or by authority of one who did not give such authority and utters and delivers such writing".

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March 18, 2009

New York White Collar Crimes, Modern Crooks “Never Steal Anything Small”

The nydailynews.com website reported in an account on February 10th that today’s modern crooks are the leaders of our financial institutions who have sent the economy into a downward tailspin, thrashing the American way of life with their New York white collar crimes. These glutinous people include types such as incompetent CEO’s and malicious scammers.

Now these government bailed out business are upset that they can only pay their top executives $500,000. They claim that they will not be able to attract top talent. It may behoove them to retract this statement. After all, it took them just a matter of years to bring down corporations and lose many hundreds of billions of dollars, if not more.

According to reports, some of the money was used on executive jets, sumptuous bonuses, and fancy offices.

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February 25, 2009

Ponzi Scheme Con-Man May Be Freed On Bail

A report on the NY Daily News website dated January 29, 2009 stated that E. Thomas Boyle, Federal Judge, ruled that Ponzi scheme con-man Nicholas Cosmo, 37 can be freed on bail but will have to come up with more money first. Ordering Cosmo back to jail, Boyle stated that he did not believe that Cosmo, aka as “little Bernie Madoff,” was a flight risk.

Boyle said, "Bail must be substantial," and also suggested that Cosmo be placed under intense surveillance. Bail conditions for Cosmo in the $350 million fraud case will be set in a hearing set for next week.

Cosmo fidgeted uneasily in an orange jumpsuit throughout the hearing then sat motionless as the Judge denied his lawyer’s bail proposal.

According to the prosecution, Cosmo duped 1,500 investors out of millions with guarantees of 4% a month in returns on loans to companies in this NY white collar crime case.

Cosmo made bad commodity wagers and lost millions paying brokers $50 million more.

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February 4, 2009

Brooklyn Raids Find Fakes And Realistic Toy Guns

A report from the New York Daily News website on January 30, 2009 reported that Fu Xian Bao, 48 and Xiao Ping Luo, 41, both of Brooklyn, were arrested on charges of trademark counterfeiting, counterfeiting and other charges, and are facing up to 15 years in prison for their white collar crime.

Charles J. Hynes held a press conference at the warehouse of Ya Mei Trading and Wholesale, at 537 Johnson Avenue in Bushwick Brooklyn. He announced the results of a raid on a Brooklyn warehouse that produced an estimated $10 million worth of counterfeit goods, including worryingly realistic looking toy handguns, thus resulting in the need for a New York crime defense attorney.

Fake Chanel, Disney, and Yankee gear overflowed much of the two story warehouse. Without question, it was the toy guns and dangerous electrical items that troubled investigators the most. According to Hynes, a defective extension cord started to smoke when an official plugged it in.

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February 7, 2008

Businessman Sentenced To 10 Years For Bank Fraud, Must Pay $5.69 Million

In an example of the serious nature of Georgia White Collar Crime, a McDonough man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for bank fraud on Monday, February 11th, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution report. U.S. District Judge Timothy Baiten also ordered the businessman to pay $5.69 million in restitution.

Jason Slaughter, 43 was president of S&W International Foods, a Forest Park Company that sold meats and freshly baked biscuits. He was charged with 31 felony counts of fraud for his part in a scheme to defraud Branch Banking & Trust of approximately $6 million. By manipulating accounts receivable and inventories by more than 200 percent he was able to obtain a BB&T line of credit for his company.

To justify the scheme, S&W kept two sets of financial books – one they showed to BB&T auditors, one that reflected the true financial position of the company. The phony financial numbers enabled Slaughter to obtain a loan his company otherwise would not have qualified for. When the loan defaulted, the company assets that Mr. Slaughter pledged as collateral were found not to exist. An investigation by the FBI found that the bank lost more than $5.5 million as a result of Slaughter’s fraud.

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