Tag: financial crimes
Haverhill Crypto Hustle: $625K Gone
⏱ 2 min read Luciano Schipelliti, 28, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, allegedly ran a two-year con that left investors nearly $625,000 in the hole. The feds say Schipelliti launched a pair of cryptocurrency investment funds – Superstars Fund in late 2018 and TTM Fund in February 2021 – then promptly lost their money on bad bets.…
SBA Scam Lands Cali Man 5.5 Years
⏱ 2 min read Frank Hamilton, 55, of Simi Valley, California, is trading sunshine for a federal cell after a Philadelphia judge hit him with 66 months in prison yesterday. Hamilton masterminded a scheme to fleece banks and the Small Business Administration out of millions, filing bogus loan applications before the pandemic even started and…
Fake Robbery, Real Jail Time
⏱ 2 min read Nicole Hilstolsky, 48, of Swoyersville, Pennsylvania is trading her freedom for eight months in a federal lockup after a pathetic attempt to cover up a $16,247 theft from the WOD Federal Credit Union. Back on October 15, 2018, Hilstolsky didn’t get robbed – she did the robbing, then dialed 911 with…
Paint & Fleece: Medicare Hit for $200K
⏱ 2 min read Irina Segal, owner of Segal Arts in Bucks County, PA, is paying up $200,000 to resolve allegations of a cold-hearted Medicare scam. Prosecutors say Segal billed the program for individual occupational therapy sessions, but was actually running group art classes at assisted living facilities across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The scheme…
Edison Execs Faked $10M Order: Plea Deals
⏱ 2 min read The hustle for pandemic profits turned criminal. Christopher Ferguson, former CEO of Edison Nation, and Brian McFadden, a consultant for the firm, both pleaded guilty in federal court today to cooking the books. They confessed to faking $10 million in purchase orders after a massive deal for hand sanitizer went belly-up,…
Paint & Sip Scam: Medicare Bilked
⏱ 2 min read Irina Segal, the owner of Bucks County’s Segal Arts, LLC, is paying a hefty price for allegedly turning senior care into a cash grab. Federal investigators say Segal defrauded Medicare out of $200,000 by billing the program for one-on-one occupational therapy sessions that never happened. Instead, vulnerable seniors in Pennsylvania and…
SoCal Grifter Gets 5.5 Years in SBA Scam
⏱ 2 min read Frank Hamilton, 55, of Simi Valley, California, is trading sunshine for a federal cell after getting 66 months in prison yesterday. Judge Wendy Beetlestone, in Philadelphia, sentenced Hamilton for running a scheme that milked the Small Business Administration for over $6 million. He wasn’t looking to save businesses, just cash them…
Arts & Crafts Fraud: Medicare Hit for $200K
⏱ 2 min read Irina Segal, the owner of Bucks County’s Segal Arts, LLC, just cut a check for $200,000 to settle a federal fraud case, admitting she ripped off Medicare by billing for occupational therapy that patients never received. Segal allegedly swapped legitimate, individualized care for group arts and crafts sessions at facilities in…
PA Firm Bilks Medicare Out of $200K
PHILADELPHIA – Bucks County’s Segal Arts, LLC, and owner Irina Segal avoided criminal charges, but will repay $200,000 to Medicare after a federal investigation revealed a scheme to inflate bills. The company allegedly billed the program for one-on-one occupational therapy that never happened, instead offering group art sessions at nursing homes in Pennsylvania and New…
KY Woman Gets 44 Months in COVID Loan Scam
⏱ 2 min read London, KY – Nicole Pennington, 50, is trading her freedom for 44 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to fleecing the government out of over a million bucks in COVID-19 relief money. Judge Claria Horn Boom dropped the sentence Tuesday, finding Pennington guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy to launder…
