Criminal Defense Attorney

Two More Defendants Plead Guilty in $200 Million Credit Card Fraud Conspiracy

September 16, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

In one of the biggest schemes ever encountered by the United States Government relating to credit card fraud, with definitive losses to financial institutions and independent businesses of more than $200 million in phony charges, two men have pleaded guilty before two separate U.S. Magistrate Judges within a period of six days

Statements made in court, and documents filed in this case establish that Shafique Ahmed, 52, of Floral Park, New York and Qaiser Khan, 49, of Valley Stream, New York were members of a group who put together more than 7,000 fabricated identities for the purpose of obtaining tens of thousands of credit cards. The two men were originally charged in a February roundup of eighteen individuals by special agents of the FBI’s Cyber Division. The original arrests were announced by U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the Department of Justice. At the time, hundreds of FBI agents along with U.S. Postal Inspection Service officers arrested the eighteen suspects in separate locations spanning across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The actual illegal operation is thought to expand through dozens of states as well as having International connections.

Mr. Ahmed pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor in Newark federal court on September 11, to an allegation which charged him with conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Less than a week later, Mr. Khan, one of his codefendants in the case, pleaded guilty to the same charge before a separate judge, U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo.

Previously, during a four-week period between July 24 and August 7, four others of the accused parties pleaded guilty to separate informations relating to the case. On July 24 Mohammad Khan, 49, of Staten Island pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States. On July 31 both Raghbir Singh, 57, of Hicksville, New York and Vernina Adams, 31, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and finally on August 7, Muhammad Shafiq, 39, of Bellrose, New York, pleaded guilty to the same charge. All pleas were heard by Judge Arleo.

The remaining perpetrators that have yet to stand before a judge who live in the Metropolitan area are: Vinod Dadlani, 49 from Lyndhurst, New Jersey, Ijaz Butt, 53 from Hicksville, New York, Habib Chaudhary, 45 and Shahid, 44 both from Valley Stream, New York, Muhammad Naveed, 35 from Flushing, New York, Khawaja Ikram, 40 from Staten Island, New York, Nasreen Akhtar, 37 from Jersey City, New Jersey, Azhar Ikram, 39 from Howard Beach, New York, in addition to Babar Quereshi, 59, Sat Verma, 60, Vijay Verma, 45, and Tarsem Lal, 74, all from Iselin, New Jersey.

The scam entailed a process of three steps. First the defendants created false identities by constructing documents of identification that were phony along with a fabricated credit profile provided to the major credit bureaus. Then, they would inflate the credit of the phony identities by giving those credit bureaus fictitious information creating the appearance of being credit worthy. Lastly, large loan amounts were amassed.

Once this was all set up the members of the scheme retained what are known as “drop addresses”. Across the country in excess of 1,800 of these entities were set up including actual apartments, single family homes, and post office boxes. The suspects then used these as mailing addresses for the persons who these false identities were set up for.

The defendants then fashioned bogus businesses that actually performed no services and obtained very little or no revenue at all. They then acquired credit card terminals for these enterprises. Once in place, they collectively started running up charges on the fraudulent cards. In order to accept payments in the usage of credit cards, businesses have to institute a merchant account with a body recognized as a merchant processor. The processor affords the companies with equipment for the processing of the cards, accepts the payments directly from the credit card companies on behalf of credit card transactions completed by the businesses. The funds are then deposited into the bank account of the individual companies, minus a pre-agreed upon fee. When the case arose where the processors closed some of the accounts operated by the collaborators for possible fraudulent activity, they would simply apply for new terminals and fashion new businesses, starting the entire process again.

The mock companies would also function as “furnishers,” who provided the credit bureaus with fabricated facts and figures regarding the credit history of the many bogus identities of the deceitful individuals who supposedly worked at the fake companies or claimed to be the owners.

The crime of credit card fraud is frequently correlated as a supplement to identity theft. According to the United States Federal Trade Commission, although identity theft had been holding steady prior to 2008, reports display a massive percentage increase in the crime over the past 5 years. Yet, in comparison, credit card fraud by itself has decreased as a percentage of all identity theft complaints. This latest investigation just may move the falling percentages a bit closer.

Three Sentenced in 2011 New Year’s Eve Hate Crime under the Shepard Act

August 15, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

The Matthew Shepard Act, in full named the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is an action of Congress that was passed in Oct. 2009 by a bipartisan Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama. The law boosts the 1969 federal hate-crime law concerning bias-motivated crimes, or race hate that includes but is not limited to include crimes motivated by a victim’s gender identity, actual or perceived gender, disability, or sexual orientation.

Three men from two separately known alleged “hate” groups were sentenced for their roles in a 2011 New Year’s Eve attack in accordance with this law.

On August 7, Michal Gunar, 29, of East Windsor, New Jersey, was sentenced to 33 months in prison. His codefendant, Kyle Powell, 24, of West Collingswood, New Jersey, was sentenced to 15 months behind bars.

Both men were known members of the Aryan Terror Brigade (ATB) and were arrested in December 2012 along with Christopher Ising, 31, of Waretown, who was a disciple of another New Jersey-based white supremacist organization known as the Atlantic City “Skinheads”. Gunar and Powell were both sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Joel A. Pisano on August 7 and Ising learned his fate two days later in federal Court in Trenton.

Gunar and Ising had previously pleaded guilty to an indictment charging them with conspiracy to commit a hate crime assault, as well as the actual commission of a hate crime assault. Powell only pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of conspiracy to commit a hate crime assault which resulted in his slighter sentence and the shortened period of incarceration.

Based on the original allegations, the three men along with other like-minded individuals were reveling together at what has been labeled a “meet and greet” occasion for white supremacists that was being held in East Brunswick, NJ at Mr. Ising’s home.

Court reports demonstrated that at the conclusion of the event, the three men and other party goers, propelled by alcohol and white supremacist music drove to a nearby apartment complex located in the neighboring town of Sayreville. They were psyched up and it appeared that their principal objective was to assault random non-Caucasian individuals.

Ising, who had brass knuckles in his possession, and Gunar, flaunting a large knife, hauled one of their victims out of a parked car that was located in the apartment complex’s parking lot, according to the indictment. At that time, a friend of the victim ran to his aid. He too was then attacked.

The first of their targets was beaten in the head and repeatedly punched in the face as Gunar allegedly hollered, “show me your faces you Arab sand niggers,” Ising attacked the second man punching him in the head, using the brass knuckles he brought along specifically for the occasion. Powell was not involved in the actual assault but purportedly stood in close proximity observing; as the assault was carried out. Both victims were of Egyptian descent. Their names have been withheld and have only been referred to as M.H. and R.M.

Following the attack the two thugs returned to Ising’s house where Gunar bragged about the attack on his Facebook page and posted a pair of bloodied pants. Later that week he posted the racial slur, previously mentioned above and wrote “it was me and my other bro on like 6 or eight and we whooped them”

According to Wikipedia a “hate group is an organized group or movement that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or other designated sector of society.”

The FBI labels hate groups whose “primary purpose is to promote animosity, hostility, and malice against persons belonging to a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin which differs from that of the members of the organization.”

Both the Aryan Terror Brigade and Atlantic City Skinheads are acknowledged as being part of the neo-Nazi Blood and Honor Network, which currently has been making a concerted effort to reconstruct the associates amid street hate groups, using white power concerts, events and rallies as their means.

To view the FBI’s latest press release, regarding the statistics associated with hate crimes click here. The most recent press release concerning this article can be found here.

Nyack Man charged with vehicular manslaughter in Hudson River Boating Accident

August 7, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

The nuptials were set for this coming Saturday in Pearl River in the same Church where their wedding service was to be held. But instead of exchanging vows, Brian Bond observed as Lindsey Stewart’s dark colored casket was taken off the altar and placed into a waiting hearse after the ceremony at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church just a few weeks before the two were to be wed.

During the service, the Rev. John Havrilla urged the attendees to pray for the families of “two beautiful young people whose lives were filled with hope and dreams, and that has been snuffed away.”

The Rockland County Sheriff’s Department is still investigating the accident where a 21-foot Stingray speedboat, out for a night of fun, collided with a construction barge that was secured on the Hudson River carrying construction materials for the $3.9 billion project to build a new Tappan Zee Bridge. Bond and Stewart were thrown upon impact and their bodies were found on separate days during the search for the two missing passengers. The barge was one of many that were moored for the project. In addition to carrying his 30-yearl old wife-to-be, the boat was also packed with most of their wedding party.

Stewart’s mother, Carol Stewart Kosik, told a crowd of nearly 200 people that “Next Saturday I was supposed to be sitting there and Lindsey was supposed to be up here,” as she mourned the death of her daughter after the ceremony. The July 26 late-night collision also was responsible for the death of Mark Lennon, who was to be the best man.

One of the friends, 35-year-old Jojo John of Nyack was driving the boat when the collision transpired. Sheriff’s Department Chief William Barbera said that John, of Nyack was charged with vehicular manslaughter and three counts of vehicular assault. The Chief suggested that there was probable cause to believe the driver may have been operating the vessel while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs and may face further charges. John was also injured and hospitalized along with the three remaining occupants of the boat. He was arraigned in his Nyack Hospital bed.

All of the victims’ families were quick to submit to investigators that the passengers on the boat “had consumed very little alcohol and considered themselves sober.” Stewart’s and Lennon’s families also said in the statement, “Compounding our agony is the rush, by some, to cast blame on or even malign the victims.”

All of the occupants of the boat have stated to police that there were no lights displayed on the barge and no one saw it before the boat crashed into it. The families of the victims publicly requested that any Hudson River boaters who may have been in the area to submit to authorities any information they may have in regard to the barges in that area, describing if they were properly lit. John’s attorney said he was also conducting an independent investigation and asked boaters and witnesses to contact him at tzbarge@gmail.com, a mailbox that was set up for research regarding this case.

The NY State Thruway Authority and the Coast Guard, has maintained that the barge was properly lit. However, additional lighting was added after the crash.

Unfortunately, Mr. John’s previous record may weigh against him.

According to the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department Mr. John has a history of drug arrests and was previously sentenced to community service and probation. He was charged with drug possession in 2009 and drug-related conspiracy in 2010.

But Sheryl Palacio, 35, of Valley Cottage, N.Y., a friend of both John and Brian Bond defended him saying he “would never, ever want to put his friends in danger.” Ms. Palacio assisted in the search effort. She went on to describe John as a “jovial, loving person.”

Yonkers, NY Gang Leader Found Guilty of Murder

July 2, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

The leader of the notorious Yonkers Elm Street Wolves street gang was found guilty yesterday in White Plains Federal Court of the murder of a rival gang member as well as numerous federal crimes specifically racketeering, firearms offenses, and drug charges. The gang operated in the Nodine Hill section of Yonkers.

In 2011, Steven Knowles was arrested on a 21 count indictment along with 47 other Elm Street Wolves gang members on charges dealing with firearms offenses as well as the distribution of large amounts of crack cocaine. At the time, he and fellow gang members Michael Andrews and Dexter Granger were also charged with the murder of Christopher Cokley, a member of a rival gang.

Since their arrests, many of the 47 gang members have accepted plea bargains or have been found guilty of similar charges.

In early 2011, Davon Young, aka “Burners”; Thomas Chambliss, aka “TC”; and Gregory Fuller, aka “Murder”, all members of the gang were found guilty of narcotics conspiracy, robbery, robbery conspiracy, firearms possession witness tampering offenses, and murder. They all suffered stiff sentences. Chambliss was sentenced to 45 years, Young to 65 years and Fuller to 100 years in prison.

After that conviction a statement was released by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, detailed as follows: “Today justice has been served. These defendants will serve substantial prison sentences as a result of their participation in a brutal murder and other serious crimes. These sentences send a clear message that drug dealing and gang violence will not be tolerated in Yonkers or in any other community this office serves.”

Yesterday’s conviction now holds Knowles accountable not only for Cokley’s murder but also for nearly a decade of dealing drugs in the community and the commission of unimaginable acts of violence in the Nodine Hill area.

Based on the evidence disclosed at the trial:

For more than a decade, from 2000 until his arrest, Knowles was a member of a street gang that was known as the Elm Street Wolves. As time passed, he became the leader of said criminal racketeering enterprise. During the time of his authority, he conspired to kill Christopher Cokley, a member of a rival gang that went by the name Strip Boyz. The murder was carried out on July 4, 2009. Previously, in October, 2007, he shared a role in the attempted murder of another member of the Strip Boyz; Tremaine Garrison, also known as “Triggermain”. Additionally, Mr. Knowles was a lead player in the more than decade-long conspiracy to distribute large amounts of crack cocaine on an ongoing basis in the Nodine Hill area of Southwest Yonkers, New York; specifically within the circumference of thoroughfares between Elm and Oak Streets. Other evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Knowles and his cohorts were in possession of a substantial arsenal of weapons such as hand guns, which they flaunted, and discharged in association with their racketeering and drug trafficking enterprise.

The jury’s decision was that Knowles was guilty of murder in aid of racketeering, racketeering, conspiracy to murder in aid of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute or possess with intent to distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine as well as discharging firearms in continuance of a drug trafficking crime or a crime of violence.

He was found not guilty on one of the counts of attempted murder and one of the counts of possession. He was also acquitted on one count of conspiracy to commit murder, and one of the counts of carrying a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

In his latest statement United States Attorney Preet Bharara commented “This conviction is a continuation of the long-standing commitment by federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities to rid Yonkers and other communities in the Southern District of New York of violent drug gangs. Law enforcement has pledged itself to this cause for several years now and has not stood down.”

Knowles sentencing will be held before U.S. District Judge Kenneth M Karas on May 29 of next year. He will face a compulsory sentence of life in prison.

Bronx Detective Arrested on Computer Hacking Charges

June 12, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

“Jealousy is a strange transformer of characters.” – Arthur Conan Doyle
Prosecutors didn’t suggest a motive for a New York City Detective being charged with Cyber-crimes but Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and various other police sources said that it was done in order for him to grasp who was communicating with his ex-girlfriend. “I know that the allegations have to do with the fact that he went to a company to be able to hack into information that may have been related to a relationship he had with a young woman and I believe the mother of his child,” said Kelly.

Edwin Vargas, 42, a Detective from the Bronx and 20-year veteran of the New York City Police Department was arrested late last month for allegedly hacking into some of his colleague’s email accounts.

According to NBC New York, Vargas believed that his ex-girlfriend, also a police officer was having a relationship with a workmate and hacked into other officer’s email accounts to see if there was any incriminating information for his concerns therein. He is also accused of performing at least two illegal searches in the FBI’s database; the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), without consent.

By way of tapping into the NCIC database he apparently gained further information dealing with two police officers whose email addresses he had previously obtained through the results of the email hacking.

According to the complaint, it is charged that he paid an independent unspecified email hacking service based in Los Angeles, CA in excess of $4000 in exchange for passwords to his fellow officers email boxes. Another allegation charges that he scrutinized another cop’s cell phone records so he could see who that officer was receiving text message from.

An investigation of the “hacking” service showed that some NYPD employees’ email boxes had been compromised and it was that evidence that led back to Vargas. The Internal Affairs Division (IAD) first began questioning him in early April about cyber-stalking his ex-girlfriend. The investigation became a joint effort between the IAD and the FBI due to the assertions of the federal agency’s database being hacked.

The results of the investigation demonstrated that he snooped on more than 40 mailboxes, 21 of them maintained by those with NYPD affiliations. The activity took place over more than a 2-year period between 2010 and 2012.

Detective Vargas is now charged with one count of conspiracy to commit computer hacking and one count of computer hacking to be tried in federal court. Each of the charges carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos was quoted as remarking.” Of all places, the police department is not a workplace where one should have to be concerned about an unscrupulous fellow employee.”

To read related federal cases concerning these types of allegations demonstrating the penalties for these charges, click here (FBI Press Release, March 06, 2012)

NYC Woman Pleads Guilty to Fraudulent Newtown Bloodbath Fundraising Scheme

June 6, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

A New York City woman pleaded guilty last week to fraud in a fundraising scheme, claiming to be the aunt of one of the children killed in the Newtown, Conn. Massacre last December. At the time of her arrest she was also charged with lying to FBI agents and potentially faces federal charges that include interstate transportation of stolen property, access device fraud and wire fraud.

Nouel Alba, 37, of the Bronx was arrested by FBI agents after she tried to solicit people into making donations by writing in a Facebook post that she was the aunt of Noah Pozner, one of the Newtown students that were killed in the now well-publicized attack. She used Facebook as her means to beseech anyone to donate money only a few hours after the horrific incident occurred. She reportedly was asking for donations to assist in paying for the child’s funeral. Twenty young children and six adults were gunned down on Dec. 14 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

According to U.S. Attorney Jonathan Francis’s office Alba instructed unaware victims to send money to a Pay Pal account that she controlled. The messages were posted under the screen name of Victorian Glam Fairys, a Facebook page that has since been taken down by the Social Media Network.

The day after the shootings, she began imploring for donations. She posted that these donations were “to be used for my brother and other families.”

Another post stated “Reality set in when they asked for photos and if our loved ones had any marks on their body. A part of me regrets having to be the one to identify my nephew’s body; I couldn’t help but to hold my nephew in my arms and then give my brother and sister-in-law the bad news.”

She went as far as emailing the Sandy Hook PTA on Dec. 16, and received replies from two of the officers from that organization which she deceptively used to falsify a link to the school with potential contributors.

Alba also used text messaging to communicate with other prospective donors. She said that President Obama “hugged us and even cried with us.” in one of them. In yet another, she typed: “I’m a mess. Not looking forward to seeking that casket; 11 gun shot in his little body; I can’t bare the pain, the fear he went through. We always promised to protect him and the one time we needed to be there we weren’t there to protect him.”

She was interviewed by CNN after the charges were filed and claimed that she was set up. After the televised interview when she was contacted by FBI Special Agents Jillian Guerrera and Milan Kosanovic she maintained that she never made any posts whatsoever on the Facebook page and had no idea that any funds were being transferred into her Pay Pal account.
According to Court records, all the donations which totaled in excess of $5000.00 have been returned.

Last Thursday she admitted in federal court that she was indeed guilty of the charges brought against her. She pleaded guilty to wire fraud as well as making false statements to FBI agents. A conviction of wire fraud can carry a maximum sentence of twenty years while the false statement sentence could yield a term of up to five years. Nonetheless, an initial calculation of her suggested sentencing guidelines asks for her to obtain a term of incarceration not to exceed six months, according to A.U.S.A. Jonathan Francis.

U.S. Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel asked her in federal court: “Is it true that in December 2012 you used Facebook, email and other kinds of electronic communication to falsely claim to be related to a victim; and you elicited donations from people?”

“Yeah,” she replied with apparent indifference.

She’ll be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael Shea on August 29 in Hartford Conn.

To read the latest official FBI press release dealing with this case, click here.
You can also read a previous article from my Florida blog posted last December by clicking here.