Alan

The Federal Bureau of Investigation announces major worldwide disruption of malware in international cyber operation. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announces Operation Endgame, a multinational coordinated cyber operation by the United States, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, with assistance from Europol and Eurojust, to dismantle criminal infrastructure responsible for hundreds [...]

It begins when a real estate agent gets a solicitation from a fake property owner wanting to sell their vacant lot in a rural community. A for sale sign goes up on the land. The seller asks for an all-cash sale and a quick closing. Within weeks, the deal can be done. Meanwhile, the real [...]

MIAMI – On May 22, a Fort Lauderdale federal jury convicted Elaine Escoe, 39, of Delray Beach, Florida of wire fraud after submitting altered bank statements in an attempt to fraudulently obtain a line of credit for her business. Escoe submitted altered bank statements in support of an application for a business line of credit. [...]

Botnet Infected Over 19M IP Addresses to Enable Billions of Dollars in Pandemic and Unemployment Fraud, and Access to Child Exploitation Materials. A court-authorized international law enforcement operation led by the U.S. Justice Department disrupted a botnet used to commit cyber attacks, large-scale fraud, child exploitation, harassment, bomb threats, and export violations. As part of [...]

NORTH WEST - Ntelaleng Matlapeng (59), Director at the North West Health Department and Elliot Motene (49), former Director at the North West Health Department, appeared in the Mahikeng Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, 28 May 2024, facing charges of fraud. The pair was arrested on Tuesday morning, 28 May 2024, by members of the Hawks' [...]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to laundering more than $240,000 she unlawfully obtained from a New York business as part of an email compromise scheme. Brianna S. Graves, 30, waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian C. [...]

FREE STATE - A 35-year-old accountant and her 36-year-old husband will appear for bail application in the Kroonstad Magistrates' Court on Monday, 27 May 2024. Charges against the couple include fraud, contravention of the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011, and money laundering. They were arrested by Welkom Serious Commercial Crime Investigation detectives in Gqeberha [...]

PRETORIA - A 53-year-old, Charles Ugochukwu Onuaha appeared before the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday, 23 May 2024 following his arrest on Friday, 26 April 2024 in KwaZulu-Natal after the City of Tshwane task team conducted a search and seizure operation at the accused’s place of residence in Durban where electronic items were [...]

MPUMALANGA – Mary Joyce Mlangeni (67) and Ntombizodwa Siphesihle Thompson (34) appeared before the Nelspruit Magistrates Court on Thursday, 23 March 2024. Their appearance comes after they were arrested by the Hawks Nelspruit based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation for fraud and contravention of the Tax Administration Act. It is alleged that during March 2015, Mary [...]

MPUMALANGA – A total of five accused were found guilty and sentenced by the Middelburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday, 21 May 2024 for fraud and three (3) counts of Contravening Section 4, 5 and 6 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, Act 121 of 1998- money laundering. During March 2018, accused No. [...]

Convicted Ponzi schemer sentenced to over 14 years in prison for $11 million fraud and absconding before sentencing. Finally tracked down hiding behind a false wall in relative’s Florida home. Seattle – A federally convicted Ponzi schemer who fled before sentencing, will do 156 months in prison for his fraud convictions, with an additional 16 [...]

Defendant Admits Bilking Real Estate and Cryptocurrency Investors Out of Over $1.3 Million Using Business Named After Fictitious Seinfeld Company Yesterday, in federal court in Brooklyn, Thomas John Sfraga, also known as “T.J. Stone,” pleaded guilty to an information charging him with wire fraud.  The proceeding was held before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Lois [...]

LOS ANGELES – A former employee at a publicly traded Pasadena-based company was sentenced today to nine months in federal prison for buying more than 66,000 company shares based on non-public information that the company was about to be acquired at a higher per-share price, and then selling the shares after news of the acquisition [...]

CHICAGO — Six individuals conspired to stage armed robberies in Chicago and the suburbs so that the purported victims could apply for U.S. immigration visas reserved for certain crime victims, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Chicago. PARTH NAYI and KEWON YOUNG allegedly organized and participated in staged armed robberies at restaurants, [...]

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Detroit, Michigan, pleaded guilty in federal court on May 15, 2024, to a fraud conspiracy charge involving the largest known Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud in the Western District of Pennsylvania, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today. Matthew Lloyd Parker, 37, pleaded guilty before United States District [...]

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging five individuals with conspiracy, 4 counts of wire fraud, 15 counts of access device fraud, and 3 counts of aggravated identity theft. The following individuals have been charged in the indictment in connection with their participation in a multi-state [...]

FREE STATE - Members of the Hawks attached to Bethlehem Serious Commercial Crime Investigation have on Monday, 20 May 2024, served court summons on a 50-year-old Clocolan man. The suspect will make his first appearance in the Clocolan Magistrates' Court on 11 June 2024 facing charges of fraud and contravention of the National Credit Act [...]

WESTERN CAPE - Micheal Adriaan Janse Van Rensberg (45) has been re-arrested by the Hawks based in George on 20 May 2024 for fraud and money laundering. He was appearing in court in Secunda, Mpumalanga on an unrelated matter during his arrest. This stems from January 2021 when the accused allegedly defrauded complainants of an [...]

FREE STATE - Robin Teboho Moloi (52) and his company, RNT Management Services, were on 17 May 2024 sentenced by the Bloemfontein Regional Court after they were found guilty on six counts of fraud and Contravention of Section 235 (1)(a) of the Tax Administration Act of 28 of 2011. In 2020, the South African Revenue Service [...]