Fraud

Los Angeles (CA) – As we come out of the pandemic, scams and identity theft continue to be rampant, and consumers need to be on their toes and know how to protect their personal information. If you have received an email –like the one below– offering you $37,000 in financial hardship, unfortunately, it is a scam. I, myself, just received one...

On a day like today, Investor News would like to raise awareness of romance fraudsters. According to the FBI, romance scams occur when a criminal adopts a fake online identity to gain a victim's affection and trust. The scammer then uses the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and/or steal from the victim. The criminals who carry out...

LOS ANGELES – A Ventura County man who schemed with an Orange County man to illegally acquire disaster relief funds was sentenced today to 51 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining more than $1 million in loans intended to help businesses weather the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic fallout. Manuel Asadurian, 66, of Simi Valley, was sentenced by United States District...

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) announced today the disbursement of over $115 million to 38,889 victims in connection with fraud schemes processed by MoneyGram International Inc. (MoneyGram). The victims, many of whom are elderly, will recover the full amount of their losses. “This distribution of $115.8 million to nearly 40,000 victims – each of whom is being fully compensated...

Los Angeles (CA) – Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced today that a 56-year-old woman has been charged with scamming more than a dozen immigrants by pretending to be a consultant -- and at times -- an attorney. “We have seen time and time again predatory practices against the most vulnerable victims,” District Attorney Gascón said. “This person...

By Don Thompson The Pill Club, an online women’s pharmacy, has reached an $18.3 million settlement with California authorities over claims it defrauded the state’s Medicaid program by prescribing birth control pills without adequate consultation and shipping tens of thousands of female condoms to customers who didn’t want them. Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the agreement Tuesday, a day after a...

A Puerto Rico man was scheduled to make his initial appearance this week at the federal courthouse in Manhattan to face commodities fraud, commodities market manipulation, and wire fraud charges in connection with the manipulation of the Mango Markets decentralized cryptocurrency exchange. According to court documents, Avraham Eisenberg, 27, engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain approximately $110 million worth...

MIAMI — Daniela Rendon, 31, of Miami made her appearance in federal magistrate court today and was charged with fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief loans and grants under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Relief Program. According to the indictment, Rendon submitted fraudulent applications seeking COVID-19 relief funds from the Small Business Administration and PPP. She is...

A federal grand jury in Las Vegas returned an indictment yesterday charging three individuals with operating a mail fraud scheme that defrauded thousands of U.S. victims, many of whom were elderly and vulnerable. According to court documents, Kimberly Stamps, 46, of Gilbert, Arizona; John Kyle Muller, 56, of Boulder, Colorado; and Barbara Trickle, 78, of Las Vegas, conspired to operate...

Maryland Felon Sentenced to 18 Months in Federal Prison for Fraudulently Obtaining More Than $419,000 in COVID-19 CARES Act Loans While on Probation for a Previous Federal Conviction The Defendant Made False Statements on the Applications to Obtain the Loans, Then Misappropriated Some of the Funds to Pay Her Personal Expenses, including a Car, a Boat, a Vacation, and Tickets...