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…

LOS ANGELES – A federal jury in Los Angeles convicted a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer for abusing a program that provided discounted homes to law enforcement officers and misleading an investigator during a background investigation for security clearance. Kanit Kunnaragthai, 49, of Palmdale, was found guilty Thursday afternoon following a three-day trial in United States District Court. The jury found Kunnaragthai guilty of…

United States Attorney John H. Durham and Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen today announced that COMMUNITY RENEWAL TEAM and its president, LENA RODRIGUEZ, have entered into a civil settlement agreement with the United States and the State of Connecticut and have paid $362,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the federal and state False Claims Acts. Community Renewal Team (“CRT”) is a Hartford-based community action agency that…

(Source:News 12 New Jersey) TRENTON, N.J. -  Three more New Jersey residents have been charged with filing fraudulent applications for Superstorm Sandy relief. The new cases were announced Friday by the state Attorney General's Office. Officials say that Fair Lawn resident Diane DiCosmo falsely claimed a home in Lavallette as a primary residence. She fraudulently collected $177,000, according to the attorney general. Matawan couple Barry…

NEWARK, N.J. – The former executive director of a Newark-based childcare and community program and a partner in a political fundraising and consulting company was sentenced today to 38 months in prison for wire fraud and tax evasion, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Kiburi D. Tucker, 43, of Newark, previously pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud and…

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…

(Source: courant.com) The former executive director of the Enfield Community Development Corporation, a former quasi-public organization that controlled funding for economic development projects, has been charged with stealing $95,000 in public money from the corporation. Darrin LaMore, 47, was released on $25,000 bail Friday after his appearance before a U.S. magistrate judge in New Haven. The charge carries a maximum prison term of 10…

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Patricia M. Ferrick, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Enfield Police Chief Carl Sferrazza today announced that DARRIN LAMORE, 47, of Enfield, has been charged by a federal criminal complaint with stealing government funds from the Enfield Community Development Corporation. On February 16, 2018, LAMORE appeared…

NEWARK, N.J. – The former executive director of a Newark-based childcare and community program and a partner in a political fundraising and consulting company today admitted committing wire fraud and tax evasion, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced. Kiburi D. Tucker, 42, of Newark, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud and…

LITTLE ROCK—Patrick C. Harris, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Tracey D. Montaño, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation Division, and Phyllis G. Robinson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)—Office of Inspector General, announced today that Chief United States District Judge Brian S. Miller sentenced Rhonda Williams, 50, and…

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 96 people for allegedly engaging in this type of fraud, including the five individuals just charged. The Attorney General’s Office is continuing its…

TRENTON, N.J. – A former salesman at Bayway Lumber, a Linden, New Jersey, company that sold commercial and industrial products to numerous public and private entities, today admitted his role in a scheme to defraud customers and lying to a federal grand jury, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced. Adam Martignetti, 43, of South River, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal…

NEWARK, N.J. – A former high-ranking employee of the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corp. (NWCDC) was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for accepting $956,948 in kickback payments for his and the former executive director’s assistance in awarding work to contractors, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced. Donald Bernard Sr., 69, of West Orange, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District…

The United States has intervened in a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles and the CRA/LA (formerly the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles) alleging that they falsely certified compliance with federal accessibility laws in connection with claims submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for housing grants, the Department of Justice announced today. The accessibility laws allegedly violated…

(Source: sandiegouniontribune.com) Mental Health Systems, the San Diego charity that last year was the subject of allegations of misconduct and lavish spending on luxury hotels and limousines, failed to properly account for more than $140,000 in federal housing funds, a new audit states. “MHS did not allocate its payroll costs to Continuum of Care and Supportive Housing Program grants in accordance with program requirements,” U.S. Housing and…

NEWARK, N.J. – A former salesman at Bayway Lumber, a Linden, New Jersey company that sold commercial and industrial products to numerous public and private entities, was charged today with defrauding Bayway Lumber customers and knowingly making false statements before a federal grand jury, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced. Adam Martignetti, 43, of South River, New Jersey, is charged by indictment with one count of…

(Source: nj.com) A former accountant for the City of Bayonne was sentenced to 21 months in prison today for accepting bribes in return for funneling hundreds of thousands in federal grant money to a local contractor. Anselmo "Rocky" Crisonino, 56, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $439,000 in restitution, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman announced. Crisonino's sentencing comes three years after he appeared in…

TRENTON, N.J. – A Hudson County, New Jersey, man, who served as the senior accountant of the City of Bayonne Department of Community Development (CBDCD) was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for accepting $65,000 in bribe payments in exchange for his assistance in awarding projects funded by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grants, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Anselmo Crisonino, 56, of Bayonne, previously…

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…

ORANGE -- FBI agents raided Orange City Hall on Wednesday morning and the building was shut down as the investigation into alleged fraud and money laundering continues to unfold. A sign on the front door said the building would be closed temporarily "due to unforeseen circumstances." A federal agent was guarding the doorway and would not let reporters enter the building. "This morning, a search warrant executed by the FBI in the City of Orange…