Criminals targeting the elderly are increasingly located outside the United States.

A Canadian couple is arrested for allegedly bilking victims across the U.S. by selling bogus credit card protection plans over the phone.

A Maryland financial planning/estate lawyer pleads guilty to defrauding his own clients.
 
A California man is convicted of stealing nearly $5 million from residents of a retirement home through an investment scheme. ]]> http://www.mkresearchers.com/senior-citizen-fraud/feed 1 http://www.mkresearchers.com/darke-county-man-sentenced-to-eight-months-imprisonment-for-failure-to-register-as-sex-offender http://www.mkresearchers.com/darke-county-man-sentenced-to-eight-months-imprisonment-for-failure-to-register-as-sex-offender#comments Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:19:15 +0000 Mike http://www.mkresearchers.com/?p=127 United States Attorney Gregory G. Lockhart
Southern District of Ohio

DAYTON, OHIO— Zachary Lee Alder, age 21, of Bradford was sentenced to eight months imprisonment for failing to register pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

Gregory G. Lockhart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and James M. Wahlrab, United States Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the sentence delivered Monday by United States District Judge Thomas M. Rose.

According to the statement of facts filed with Alder’s plea agreement, Alder was convicted of Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor in Darke County, Ohio in January, 2007, requiring him to register as a sexual offender. Alder informed the Randolph County, Indiana Sheriff’s Office of his intentions to reside at a particular address in Indiana in February, 2007. Law enforcement officials checked for verification of the Indiana residence in June, 2007 and learned that Alder had moved to another residence in Ohio. At no time did Alder inform the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office of his recent moves within the State of Indiana or of his move to the State of Ohio. At no time did Alder register as a sex offender in Ohio.

Alder was arrested following his January, 2008 indictment and has been in custody since his arrest. Alder will serve a term of 15 years on supervised release at the conclusion of his prison sentence.

“Failure to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is a serious criminal offense,” Lockhart said. “Law enforcement agencies across the country will continue to coordinate their efforts to seek out and punish all who fail to register as sex offenders wherever they may reside.”

Lockhart commended the U.S. Marshals deputies who conducted the investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Clemmens, who prosecuted the case.

DAYTON, Ohio – Agencies participating in the Dayton Mortgage Fraud Task Force today began arresting six current or former Dayton-area residents accused of operating an extensive mortgage fraud scheme affecting 210 residential properties, including 205 in Montgomery County, along with 63 investors, and leading to foreclosure of more than 90 percent of the properties.  A federal grand jury indicted the six defendants yesterday.

Gregory G. Lockhart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent-in-Charge, FBI; Jose Gonzalez, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation; and other members of the Dayton Mortgage Fraud Task Force announced the indictment today after agents and officers began arresting the defendants.

The indictment charges Julian M. Hickman, 30, of East Cleveland, Ohio, and formerly of Centerville, Ohio; Kamal J. Gregory, 34, of Centerville; Jessica A. Zbacnik, 41, of Monroe, Ohio; Robert Mitchell, 42, of Vandalia, Ohio; Edward Mcgee, 74, of Dayton, Ohio; and Kenneth O. Mcgee, 49, of Dayton.

The indictment alleges that the six operated a scheme in which they actively recruited unsuspecting individuals to buy residential properties, the majority of which were low income, dilapidated and otherwise depressed residential properties, at prices artificially inflated above legitimate fair-market values.  The alleged scheme involved financing the purchases with $15 million in mortgage loans obtained through fraud committed against 33 lending institutions.  The indictment also alleges that the defendants paid “kickbacks” to the buyers they recruited, promised to pay for all repair costs to the properties and promised to make the mortgage payments until they located suitable renters. The indictment further alleges that the defendants kept $7 million from the loans for their personal benefit.

In addition, the indictment shows that these six defendants operated and controlled various real estate, mortgage and title insurance-related businesses and corporations throughout the Greater Dayton area including Commercial Property Advisor Group (CPAG), Diamond Vision Capital Group, First Union Appraisals, Gem City Professional Services (GCPS), Option One Appraisals, JMH Real Estate, River City Appraisers, Alliance Mortgage, Gregory Investments Inc., KG Enterprises, Mad River Properties, Premier Mortgage Funding of Ohio, Star Point Mortgage, Ohio Financial Group, Mortgages Unlimited, Allied Mortgage, E & A Investments and KM Investments.

“These charges grew from other successful investigations conducted by the Dayton Mortgage Fraud Task Force,” said U.S. Attorney Lockhart. “The Task Force will continue to unravel the web of deceit that strangles the neighborhoods where mortgage fraud occurs.”

 The 13-count indictment charges all six defendants with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.  The indictment also contains six counts of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud involving a financial institution and one count of money laundering conspiracy.  Each count carries a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison.  The indictment also charges Hickman with three counts of willful failure to file an income tax return, each punishable by up to one year in prison.  The indictment includes forfeiture allegations that would require the defendants to forfeit their interests in any property traceable to the fraud.

Agencies participating in the Greater Dayton Mortgage Fraud Task Force, in addition to the FBI and IRS, include the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Financial Institutions, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General, and the Perry Township Police Department.

An indictment is merely an accusation.  All defendants should be presumed innocent until and unless the government proves their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

“I have a few 5yo [year old] Taras that you do not have,” read another

1. Los Angeles: Boeing Engineer Charged in Chinese Espionage Case

Dongfan “Greg” Chung, an engineer in Boeing’s defense and space unit since 1973, was arrested on charges of stealing Boeing trade secrets for the People’s Republic of China. Full Story

“West Virginia University has comprehensive, integrative research and education programs in biometrics and is known worldwide for its identification technology research,” said Thomas E. Bush, III, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division. “The University is uniquely positioned to serve as the liaison to the academic research community for the FBI’s Biometric Center of Excellence.”

Coniglio, 65, of Paramus, a plumber by trade, allegedly set up the consulting arrangement with Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) to purportedly perform “hospital relations,” an area in which he had no prior experience. In fact, according to the Indictment, the arrangement was a way for him to receive $5,000 monthly from the hospital in exchange for his official support for funding requests for so-called “Christmas Tree” budget items from the state Legislature and funding from other state agencies.

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The FBI is assisting local authorities with the investigation into the tragic shootings at Northern Illinois University on Thursday.

Here is what we have learned working with our partners: At approximately 3:04 p.m. on Thursday, Steven Phillip Kazmierczak entered the rear door of a lecture auditorium in Kohl Hall on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. A class of approximately 150 students was in progress when the subject began firing into the crowded auditorium. The subject then returned to the stage in the auditorium and shot himself fatally. The subject was a graduate student in sociology at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois. No motive for the shootings has been established.