Attorney General’s Office Charges Four More Individuals With Filing False Applications for Superstorm Sandy Relief Funds
TRENTON – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today announced that the Attorney General’s Office and its state and federal partners have charged four new defendants with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy, bringing the total number of defendants charged by the office in these cases to 116 since March 2014.
“Any fraud against public assistance programs is deplorable, but these thefts were especially…
Press release
June 28, 2018
Attorney General’s Office Charges Five More Individuals with Filing False Applications for Superstorm Sandy Relief Funds
TRENTON – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today announced that the Attorney General’s Office and its state and federal partners have charged five new defendants with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy, bringing the total number of defendants charged by the office in these cases to 109 since March 2014.
“Any fraud against public assistance programs is deplorable, but these thefts were especially…
Press release
February 25, 2018
4 more charged with Sandy fraud
(Source: whyy.org) New Jersey authorities charged criminally this week four more people with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy, state law enforcement officials announced.
State authorities have charged 104 people for allegedly engaging in this type of fraud since March 2014.
“It’s despicable that over 100 people saw fit to resort to fraud in the face of a historic disaster, allegedly stealing…
Article
December 10, 2017
Owners of New Suffolk waterfront home charged with fraud in connection with Hurricane Sandy disaster relief benefits
(Source: southoldlocal.com) The owners of a waterfront home in New Suffolk have been arrested by federal authorities on charges of making false and fraudulent statements in applications for federal assistance following Hurricane Sandy.
William Grella and Gary Osborne, owners of the home at 1200 First Street in New Suffolk, falsely stated on applications for federal disaster relief assistance that the New Suffolk home was their primary residence…
Article
December 06, 2017
Reforming the Community Development Block Grant- Disaster Recovery Program
Testimony Before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
Hearing
October 31, 2017
Taunton Woman Sentenced for Social Security and Housing Assistance Fraud
BOSTON – A Taunton woman was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for concealing information and making false statements in order to receive Social Security disability benefits and Section 8 housing assistance to which she was not entitled.
Marisha Ebanks, 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to four months in prison, three years of supervised release, with the first three months to be…
Press release
October 19, 2017
Staten Island Couple Charged With Hurricane Sandy Relief Fraud
A criminal complaint was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Nagwa Elsilimy and Ahmed Arafa with fraud by making false statements to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in connection with their obtaining more than $750,000 in disaster relief from New York City’s Build It Back program (BIB) and FEMA in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The…
Press release
September 13, 2017
HUD Must get Better at Stopping Section 8 Fraud
(source: thetimesherald.com) If true, the allegations against Lorena Loren, the former director of the St. Clair Housing Commission, are disturbing on a number of levels. Federal investigators allege Loren embezzled more than $300,000 from the housing commission between 2008 and 2016, when she retired.
Most heartbreaking is that the money that Loren allegedly misdirected into her own pockets and those of some of her family members was meant to…
Article
August 14, 2017
Five More Individuals Charged With Filing False Applications for Superstorm Sandy Relief Funds
TRENTON –Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced that five additional individuals were charged criminally today with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy. Since March 2014, the Attorney General’s Office has filed criminal charges against 91 people for allegedly engaging in this type of fraud, including the five individuals charged today.
The Attorney General’s Office is continuing its…
Press release
May 29, 2017
Fire Union County Man Charged With Fraudulently Taking Superstorm Sandy Funds: AG
(Source: patch.com) ELIZABETH, NJ — A Union County man is among five more people to be charged criminally Thursday with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced.
James Fomuke, 58, of Elizabeth was among those arrested. He allegedly filed fraudulent applications following Superstorm Sandy for FEMA assistance and a state grant under the Homeowner…
Article
March 23, 2017
Five More Individuals Charged With Filing False Applications For Superstorm Sandy Relief Funds
TRENTON –Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced that five additional individuals have been charged criminally with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy. Since March 2014, the Attorney General’s Office has filed criminal charges against 81 people for allegedly engaging in this type of fraud, including the five individuals charged today.
The Attorney General’s Office is continuing its…
Press release
January 29, 2017
3 reasons why feds want $43M back from NJ
After superstorm Sandy ripped through New Jersey and destroyed tens of thousands of homes, the federal goverment sent $4.2 billion here for housing programs.
The state hired a Louisiana company to help set up and run three key housing programs, but it was fired after less than nine months on the job.
A federal government watchdog is now saying New Jersey should either prove the company it hired spent federal money appropriately or…
Article
October 04, 2016
Six Individuals Charged With Participating In Large-Scale Government Benefits Fraud
(USAO ,NY) Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Mark G. Peters, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), announced today the filing of criminal charges against six defendants for participating in long-running schemes to hide substantial assets and income obtained from significant business and real estate interests in order to attain government benefits designed for…
Press release
September 27, 2016
Brooklyn 'Millionares' Busted for Stealing $1.3 Mil in Benefits, Feds Say
(Source: dnainfo.com) WILLIAMSBURG — Three Brooklyn couples, including a landlord with properties all over the borough, were arrested Tuesday on charges of defrauding the government of $1.3 million worth of benefits.
Shlomo Kubitshuk, 38, and his wife Rachel, 39, Naftali, 40, and Hinda Englander, 41, and Leib, 39, and Devorah Teitelbaum, 36, were accused of lying about their income to the federal government as far back as 2001 in order to…
Article
September 27, 2016
Nine More Individuals Charged With Filing False Applications for Superstorm Sandy Relief Funds
(OAJ, NJ) TRENTON –Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced that nine additional individuals have been charged criminally with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy. Since March 2014, the Attorney General’s Office has filed criminal charges against 71 people for allegedly engaging in this type of fraud, including the nine individuals charged today.
The Attorney General’s Office is…
Press release
August 22, 2016
Five More Individuals Charged With Filing False Applications for Superstorm Sandy Relief Funds
(OAG, NJ) TRENTON – Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy announced that five additional individuals were charged criminally today with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy. Since March 2014, the Attorney General’s Office has filed criminal charges against 62 people for allegedly engaging in this type of fraud, including the five individuals charged today.
The Attorney General’s Office is…
Press release
June 15, 2016
Five More Individuals Charged With Filing False Applications for Superstorm Sandy Relief Funds
(Source: OAG, NJ) TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that five additional individuals were charged criminally today with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy. Since March 2014, the Attorney General’s Office has filed criminal charges against 50 people for allegedly engaging in this type of fraud, including the five individuals charged today.
The Attorney General’s Office is…
Article
February 29, 2016
Property Manager At Section 8 Apartment Complex Arrested For Embezzling Government Funds
(Source: USAO NY) Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Housing and Urban Development - Office of Inspector General (“HUD-OIG”), announced the unsealing of a Complaint against the property manager, CARL IMMICH, for engaging in fraudulent schemes to embezzle funds from Harriet Tubman Terrace Apartments (“Tubman Terrace”), a Section 8…
Press release
February 15, 2016
Eight More Individuals Charged With Filing False Applications For Superstorm Sandy Relief Funds
(Source: nj.gov) TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that eight additional individuals were charged criminally today with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy. Since March 2014, the Attorney General’s Office has filed criminal charges against 45 people for allegedly engaging in this type of fraud, including the eight individuals charged today.
The Attorney General’s Office…
Press release
December 07, 2015
N.J. man who got $218K in relief aid admits to Sandy fraud
(Source: nj.com) TRENTON — A Toms River man who received more than $218,000 in Hurricane Sandy relief aid has admitted to filing fraudulent applications for funding from government-run storm recovery programs, authorities said.
Gregory Wagner, 63, pleaded guilty in state Superior Court on Monday to third-degree theft by deception, according to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.
Wagner claimed a storm-damaged rental property he owned in…
Article
November 30, 2015