Tag: December 2016
Vincent P. Falci, Ponzi Scheme, NJ 2024
Vincent P. Falci, 57, of Middletown, New Jersey, is facing federal charges for allegedly running a $5.3 million Ponzi scheme that preyed on investors’ trust for years. The investment manager used funds from one account to cover losses in another while siphoning off more than half a million dollars for himself and his family, prosecutors…
Mohammad Shafiq, Food Stamp Program Conspiracy, MD 2016
Baltimore, Maryland — Two convenience store operators copped to a years-long scheme to rip off the federal food stamp program, siphoning more than $7.2 million in benefits meant for the hungry. Mohammad Shafiq, 50, of Gwynn Oak, and Muhammad Sarmad, 40, of Nottingham, each pleaded guilty on December 15, 2016, to conspiracy to commit food…
Anthony Lazzarino, Health Care Fraud, California 2024
Sacramento, Calif. — A 66-year-old former VA podiatry chief and a 58-year-old shoe company CEO are staring down federal prison time after an 11-count indictment unmasked a nearly seven-year health care fraud scheme that ripped off the Veterans Health Administration. Anthony Lazzarino, ex-Chief of Podiatry at the VA’s Northern California Health Care System, and Peter…
Jonathan Bufford, Methamphetamine Trafficking, TN 2016
A 43-year-old Somerville man is headed to federal prison for over 12 years after being convicted of funneling large quantities of methamphetamine through rural West Tennessee. Jonathan Bufford was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison on Thursday, December 15, 2016, following a years-long investigation into his role in a regional drug trafficking ring. According…
Irving Feldman, Food Stamp Benefit Fraud, NY 2024
A Pittsford man has admitted to running a multi-year, million-dollar food stamp fraud operation out of a Rochester fish market. Irving Feldman, 61, of Pittsford, NY, pleaded guilty to food stamp fraud before Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr., capping a scheme that siphoned over $1.4 million in taxpayer-funded benefits meant for the…
Winifredo Gonzales, Cocaine and Crack Cocaine Distribution, NY 2024
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Winifredo Gonzales, a/k/a Fred, has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for his role in a drug conspiracy that involved the distribution of cocaine and crack cocaine. The 44-year-old Brooklyn native was also ordered to forfeit three firearms, over 100 rounds of ammunition, and $78,603 in U.S. currency. Gonzales was convicted…
Charles J. Dushek, Securities Fraud Scheme, IL 2024
Charles J. Dushek, 72, of Warrenville, Illinois, has been hit with a 10-count federal indictment accusing him of one of the most brazen securities fraud schemes in recent Chicago history. The self-styled financial guru allegedly ran a rigged trading operation out of his Lisle-based firm, Capital Management Associates Inc., where he funneled millions in profits…
David Jesus Pagan, Cocaine Possession Conspiracy, NY 2024
David Jesus Pagan, 40, of Dunkirk, NY, stood before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford and admitted his role in a brutal, years-long cocaine conspiracy that turned parts of Chautauqua County into a narcotic warzone. Pagan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and being a…
Nicholas Graham, Tonawanda Bank Robbery, NY 2016
Armed with fake guns and nerves of steel, Nicholas Graham, 45, of Buffalo, NY, drove two masked accomplices to an Evans Bank in Tonawanda and helped pull off a cold-blooded robbery on January 8, 2016. Graham admitted in federal court that he served as lookout and getaway driver during the heist, a role that now…
David Fleet, Mail Fraud, NY 2024
David Fleet, 52, of Corning, NY, is facing consequences for a calculated fraud scheme that spanned years and left investors in the dark. The former owner and CEO of Cornerstone Homes was sentenced to three years probation and 100 hours of community service after being convicted of mail fraud in federal court. U.S. District Judge…
