Whatever scam fooled you into opening up your wallet, you're not alone: The Federal Trade Commission in 2021 received more than 5.7 million reports, including nearly 2.8 million reports of fraud and 1.4 reports of identity theft. Stacker looked at which states were impacted most by scams in 2021 and the amount of money reported as lost using data from the Federal…
Trump Organization lawyers rested their case Monday as a Manhattan judge chewed them out for throwingâ anything and everythingâ at a jury as they heard remaining evidence in the tax fraud case. Trump Corp. lawyer Susan Necheles sought to introduce 18 new exhibits as part of the defense theory that Bender knew how the Trump Organization compensated senior…
The vehiclesâ a 2023 BMW X7 and a 2023 GMC 2500 Denaliâ were purchased on the same day at separate Ocala dealerships, according to the couple's arrest reports. Ocala Police Department officials said the teacher, Amy Joy Patton, gave a certified check of $101,407.36 for the BMW on Nov. 14. Fraud: Texas women plead guilty in spear phishing scam that took more than $700 K…
Matthew T. Onofrio, 31, made his initial appearance a week ago in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis to face three charges of bank fraud. Magistrate Judge Tony Leung agreed to let Onofrio free on his own recognizance while the case is pending, on the conditions the Eau Claire resident surrender his passport and not travel outside of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The man also pleaded guilty to collecting over $350,000 from employees as income tax and Federal Insurance Contributions Act withholdings for tax years 2014 to 2019, which he failed to pay over to the IRS on the employeesâ behalf. Abramovs also failed to pay $475,000 in taxes owed to the IRS, relating to a different set of companies Abramovs controlled and…
Bryant's subordinates then funneled a total of $7.1 million in federal welfare funds to the two projects, plus another $1.1 million to Favre himself, within what officials have called the worst public fraud scheme in state history. In a new motion to dismiss civil charges against him, Favre argues the state welfare department, Mississippi Department of Human…
Shaan Ti Diyali, the man who was convicted of fraud by a federal jury, must also repay $53,390 to the U.S. Small Business Administration, according to a court document. Diyali applied in May 2020 for a low-interest loan through a program Congress had approved to help businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the court record. Diyali testified that…
Nov. 26â The city of Yakima has reached a $3 million settlement agreement with the family of a man injured in a 2015 collision at the intersection of North 34th Avenue and Fruitvale Boulevard. Mario Garcia of Yakima had stopped at a stop sign and was attempting to cross Fruitvale Boulevard toward River Road in a Volkswagen Cabriolet convertible Sept. 15, 2015,…
A federal bankruptcy judge wrote in a court order that prominent Albuquerque attorney Will Ferguson used shell companies to avoid paying state and federal taxes, including excise taxes on pricey cars for his personal collection. Judge David Thuma of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of New Mexico found that Ferguson improperly claimed sole ownership of…
An army of petty thieves, sophisticated fraudsters and international crime syndicates ripped off about $400 million of COVID-19 pandemic aid and unemployment benefits intended for New Yorkers, a USA TODAY Network investigation found. While authorities raced to track down and recoup the stolen tax dollars, the USA TODAY Network investigated the complex…
Criminal charges of grand theft have been brought against Greg Love, one of several Broadmoor Police Department chiefs and commanders that CalPERS said defrauded the pension system by collecting more than $2 million in excessive retirement payments. The pension plan said Parenti illegally received pension benefits of $1.8 million while with the 11-…
A federal jury found Brian Ahakuelo, 61, former elected business manager and financial secretary of the Inter national Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 1260, and his wife, Marilyn Ahakuelo, 59, guilty of one count of conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of five years, and 42 counts of wire fraud, which each carry a maximum sentence of 20…
Prosecutors in the New York tax fraud trial against the Trump Organization wrapped up their case on Monday, earlier than expected, after eight days that included testimony from two top executives. The prosecution rested its case early without calling one of their witnesses, allowing attorneys for former President Donald Trump's family business to begin…
North Texas Couple Charged With $684,000 Paycheck Protection Program Fraud. A North Texas couple has been charged with defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program out of more than $684,000, announed U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham. Muyej was also charged with eight counts of money laundering and one count of theft of government…
CHICAGOâ Each year, thousands fall victim to boiler-room schemes which use high-pressure sales techniques to convince unsuspecting victims to invest in fictitious investments that appear to be real, according to IRS Criminal Investigation. The organization said criminals hide behind fake investment firms and a network of shell companies to prey on…
Russell Laffitte began Monday morning on the witness stand under withering cross-examination by prosecutors in his federal bank fraud trial. The former small-town banker admitted to prosecutor Emily Limehouse that he approved a series of moves initiated by disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh to take money out of the accounts of Murdaughâ s clients to pay off…

Divided government unlikely to bring big changes to Washington
Geoff Manville, partner and government relations leader with Mercerâs law and policy group, said that with Senate control in Democratic hands while the House of Representatives moves to Republican control, âthe Democratsâ policy agenda â whatâs left of it â will be on ice for the next two years.â
CHARLOTTE, N.C. Federal authorities say a Charlotte man set up a Ponzi-style fraud scheme, and victims included family members and friends. On Friday, U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced an unsealed indictment against 52- year-old Wynn A.D. Charlebois of Charlotte. The Charlotte man's first court appearance was Friday morning after FBI agents picked him up.
A jury has found a Canton man not guilty in a federal criminal case involving an alleged $40 million financial fraud scheme, according to court documents. Prosecutors said that the notes were not backed by hard assets, and accused Torchia of pushing investments into Credit Nation, raising over $40 million, lying to investors, knowing the company did not have the…