Month: November 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden County, New Jersey, resident was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in fraudulently obtaining Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) benefits, fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits, and illegally possessing a firearm, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Stephen Bennett, 46, of Berlin, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Williams to an information charging him with one count of bank fraud conspiracy, one count of wire fraud, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Judge Williams imposed the sentence on Nov. 21, 2022, in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In 2020, Bennett conspired with Rhonda Thomas, 38, of Sicklerville, New Jersey, to submit one PPP application and one EIDL application for a company controlled by Bennett. The applications stated that the company had 16 employees, gross revenues of $1.73 million, and an average monthly payroll of $144,000, when in fact the company had no employees, revenue, or payroll. Bennett and Thomas also submitted forged tax forms and altered bank statements as part of the PPP loan application.  Based on the misrepresentations, the loans were approved in the amount of $510,000. Bennett paid kickbacks of over $150,000 to Thomas and used the rest of the fraudulently obtained PPP and EIDL loan proceeds to pay for personal expenses.

Also in 2020, Bennett defrauded the Pennsylvania Department of Labor by submitting 74 unemployment insurance claims under a temporary federal unemployment insurance program that provided benefits for individuals who were not eligible for other types of unemployment, such those who were self-employed, independent contractors or gig economy workers. Bennett collected personal identification information (PII), including names, residential addresses, and Social Security numbers, of other individuals and used the PII to submit fraudulent applications for unemployment benefits, resulting in the payment of $425,339 in benefits to Bennett.

In May 2021, law enforcement officials executing a search warrant at Bennett’s home found a .9 millimeter semiautomatic pistol with no serial number (commonly referred to as a “ghost gun”) and a magazine loaded with 16 rounds of ammunition. Bennett is a previously convicted felon.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Williams sentenced Bennett to five years of supervised release, fined him $15,000, and ordered him to pay restitution of $942,141.

Thomas pleaded pleaded guilty before Judge Williams on June 28, 2022, to an information charging her with one count of bank fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 16, 2022.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Patricia Tarasca, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Regional Office, special agents of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, New York Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Sharon MacDermott; special agents of the FBI’s South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire in Philadelphia, special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, New York Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel A. Friedman and Jason M. Richardson, Attorney in Charge of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the State of Wisconsin, today announced a civil enforcement action against 16 defendants for allegedly using deceptive sales practices nationally to sell timeshare “exit services” to senior citizens.

The defendants include five individuals – Christopher Carroll, George Reed, LouAnn Reed, Scott Jackson and Eduardo Balderas –  and 11 related companies and trusts they run and operate – Consumer Law Protection LLC, Consumer Rights Council, Premier Reservations Group LLC, Resort Transfer Group LLC, Square One Development Group Inc., Square One Group LLC, Timeshare Help Source LLC, Farmington Allegiance LLC, Mainline Partners LLC, the Jake and Avery Irrevocable Trust dated Sept. 11, 2019, and the Maggie and Lucy Irrevocable Trust dated Sept. 11, 2019. 

According to a complaint filed in the Eastern District of Missouri, the defendants promised to assist consumers in exiting their timeshare contracts in exchange for large fees, but usually failed to deliver on their promises. The complaint alleges that the defendants, at high-pressure sales presentations at hotels and restaurants in multiple states, convinced consumers to sign up for timeshare exit services by falsely claiming that consumers could not exit timeshare contracts on their own, that the defendants were affiliated with legitimate companies, and that the consumers’ heirs would be stuck with large fees unless they signed defendants’ contracts. The complaint further alleges that the defendants failed to notify consumers of their rights under federal and state law to cancel their contracts with defendants within three business days. According to the complaint, the defendants deceived consumers – who were mostly seniors – into paying more than $90 million to the defendant companies for services that were not delivered. The complaint states that, through these actions, the defendants violated the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair and deceptive conduct, the FTC’s rule concerning cooling-off period for sales made at home or other locations, which requires disclosures about the right to cancel purchases, and certain Wisconsin state laws concerning fraudulent misrepresentations and direct marketing.

The complaint seeks monetary relief, civil penalties and injunctive relief to stop defendants from continuing to make deceptive claims in connection with the sale of timeshare exit services. The defendants’ timeshare exit services are also the subject of lawsuits filed by the Alaska and Missouri Attorneys General in June 2022.

This matter is being handled by Trial Attorneys Ellen Bowden McIntyre and Amy Kaplan and Assistant Director Lisa K. Hsiao of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Samantha Denny and William Hodor of the FTC. Lewis W. Beilin represents the State of Wisconsin.

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Information about the Department of Justice’s Elder Fraud Initiative is available at www.justice.gov/elderjustice. For more information about the FTC, visit its website at https://www.FTC.gov.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

AKRON – A Cleveland man was sentenced on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, to seven years and one day in prison by U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi after he pleaded guilty to assaulting a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier and crashing the carrier’s vehicle.

“This defendant used a deadly weapon to commit a violent crime against a mail carrier simply trying to do their job,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler.  “Violent actions like this will not be tolerated in our communities, and we will continue to seek severe penalties for similar behavior.” 

“The safety and well-being of Postal Service employees has always been a top priority for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service,” said Postal Inspector In Charge Lesley Allison.  “Today’s sentencing is a perfect example of the steadfast commitment to keeping the heroes who serve our communities safe while performing their duties.”

According to court documents, on June 21, 2021, Quentell Allen, 27, approached a USPS employee, who was delivering mail on an official route, brandished a pistol at the carrier’s head and demanded that the carrier exit the vehicle.  Allen then physically removed the carrier from the vehicle, entered the driver’s seat and purposefully drove it into another vehicle.

Allen pleaded guilty to one count of forcibly assaulting an officer/employee of the United States and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence in July 2022.

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly L. Galvin and  Margaret A. Kane.