Contractor 'Thief With No Conscience' Skips Out On Sentencing After $84K Con Job In Guilderland Contractor 'Thief With No Conscience' Skips Out On Sentencing After $84K Con Job In Guilderland
Contractor 'Thief With No Conscience' Skips Out On Sentencing After $84K Con Job In Guilderland A man who confessed to posing as a contractor in order to con a Capital Region homeowner out of over $80,000 failed to show up for his sentencing. Chad Nichols, 47, was sentenced to between four and 14 years in prison despite not showing up to Albany County Court on Thursday, Feb. 13, according to the DA’s office. Judge Thomas Marcelle issued a bench warrant for his arrest. It came after Nichols pleaded guilty to grand larceny and criminal impersonation for defrauding a Guilderland homeowner, wiping out her life savings. Nichols was hired by the victim in the spring of 2023 to complete sev…
$316K Fentanyl-For-Food Stamps Scheme At Schenectady Deli Lands Employee Behind Bars $316K Fentanyl-For-Food Stamps Scheme At Schenectady Deli Lands Employee Behind Bars
$316K Fentanyl-For-Food Stamps Scheme At Schenectady Deli Lands Employee Behind Bars A Schenectady deli worker who turned his family business into a hub of illegal exchanges will spend the next year behind bars. Omar Alaidrus, 24, was sentenced to 12 months in prison on Wednesday, Feb. 12, after pleading guilty to distributing fentanyl and committing food stamp fraud totaling $316,975, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York. Alaidrus operated the scheme out of his family’s Schenectady deli, where he exchanged controlled substances—including fentanyl—for food stamps, prosecutors said.  He also gave out cash and other prohibited item…
$11.2M Loan Fraud Scheme: Nurse Practitioner From Elmsford Stole Doctors' Identities $11.2M Loan Fraud Scheme: Nurse Practitioner From Elmsford Stole Doctors' Identities
$11.2M Loan Fraud Scheme: Nurse Practitioner From Elmsford Stole Doctors' Identities A nurse practitioner from Westchester County who stole the identities of over a dozen doctors and orchestrated a multi-million dollar disability loan fraud scheme will spend years in prison, federal prosecutors announced. Catherine Seemer, age 44, of Elmsford, was sentenced to five years in prison on Wednesday, Feb. 5, after pleading guilty to defrauding federal disability loan programs of more than $11.2 million, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. From June 2017 through March 2022, Seemer ran a scheme that falsely claimed student loan borrowers wer…
California Woman Admits To $800,000 Fraud: Morris County Prosecutor California Woman Admits To $800,000 Fraud: Morris County Prosecutor
California Woman Admits To $800,000 Fraud: Morris County Prosecutor A 63-year-old California woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Jan. 21 to defrauding a Hanover Township resident out of more than $800,000, authorities said. In 2023, Anna Marie Bustamante posed as an authorized vendor when the victim sent her $806,727.92, via a bank account that was made to resemble the bank account of the authorized vendor, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said. As part of her plea agreement with prosecutors, Bustamante is expected to be sentenced to 364 days in the Morris County Correctional Center as a condition of probation, authorities said.  The victi…
Newark Man Avoids Prison After $10K Atlantic City Casino Robbery: Prosecutor Newark Man Avoids Prison After $10K Atlantic City Casino Robbery: Prosecutor
Newark Man Avoids Prison After $10K Atlantic City Casino Robbery: Prosecutor A 51-year-old Newark man was spared prison and accepted into recovery court over the objections of prosecutors after being convicted of robbing a victim of their casino winnings in Atlantic City in 2023, authorities said. On Friday, Mach 3, 2023, the victim won $20,000 playing poker and was befriended by Robert Reed, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said. The next morning, Reed told the victim he missed his bus and asked for a ride, authorities said. While walking to the victim's car in the parking garage, Reed struck the victim over the head with a glass bottle and took $10,000 in c…
Ex-VP Who Stole $1.4M From Farmington Insurance Firm Sentenced to Prison: Feds Ex-VP Who Stole $1.4M From Farmington Insurance Firm Sentenced to Prison: Feds
Ex-VP Who Stole $1.4M From Farmington Insurance Firm Sentenced to Prison: Feds A Pennsylvania man who exploited his role at a Connecticut insurance company to steal more than $1.4 million is heading to federal prison, authorities said.  James Keating, 52, of Paoli, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 20 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release, for defrauding Allied World Insurance Company out of more than a million dollars. U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden also ordered him to pay back over $1.2 million in restitution. Prosecutors said Keating used his position as a surety bond claims handler at Allied World, which operates out of Farmingt…
Equifax To Pay $725K Over Inaccurate Credit Scores That Raised Costs For NY Consumers Equifax To Pay $725K Over Inaccurate Credit Scores That Raised Costs For NY Consumers
Equifax To Pay $725K Over Inaccurate Credit Scores That Raised Costs For NY Consumers Bad math at Equifax led to bad rates for New Yorkers – now it’s paying up. The credit reporting agency agreed to a $725,000 settlement reached with the Empire State Tuesday, Jan. 15, after a coding error wrongly lowered credit scores for over 77,000 New Yorkers. An investigation found that the three-week error in March 2022 caused inaccurate credit scores to be reported to lenders and insurers. The flub resulted in higher rates on loans, insurance policies, and other financial products for many consumers, James’ office said. Equifax, one of the nation’s largest credit reporting agencies, c…
Maryland Man Who Withheld Drugs From 'Dopesick' Women Forced Into Prostitution Gets Prison Time Maryland Man Who Withheld Drugs From 'Dopesick' Women Forced Into Prostitution Gets Prison Time
Maryland Man Who Withheld Drugs From 'Dopesick' Women Forced Into Prostitution Gets Prison Time A 36-year-old Maryland man who used women's' drug dependency to compel them to participate in commercial sex work for him up and down the East Coast will spend nearly two decades in prison, federal authorities announced. William O’Neil Murray III pleaded guilty in August 2024 to sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion over the course of several months in several states. On Monday, Jan. 13, Murray was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison and also ordered to pay his victims nearly $95,000 in restitution. “This sentencing is a powerful reminder that the FBI Richmond team will tir…
George Santos Fights Sentencing Delay Over Fraud, DOJ Pushes Back In Central Islip Court George Santos Fights Sentencing Delay Over Fraud, DOJ Pushes Back In Central Islip Court
George Santos Fights Sentencing Delay Over Fraud, DOJ Pushes Back In Central Islip Court Former Congressman George Santos has asked a federal judge to delay his sentencing for wire fraud and identity theft by six months, citing financial difficulties in fulfilling restitution and forfeiture payments, according to court documents filed Tuesday, Jan. 7, in Central Islip, New York. The U.S. Department of Justice opposed the request, calling it "unreasonable" and suggesting Santos’s claims are speculative. Santos, 36, pled guilty in August 2024 to fraud charges stemming from schemes that bilked donors and constituents of hundreds of thousands of dollars, prosecutors said. His sente…
Knife Attack Captured On Camera Leads To Conviction: Lancaster DA Knife Attack Captured On Camera Leads To Conviction: Lancaster DA
Knife Attack Captured On Camera Leads To Conviction: Lancaster DA A Salisbury Township man has been sentenced to up to 10 years in state prison for a knife attack in Lancaster captured by Safety Coalition cameras, prosecutors announced on Tuesday, Dec. 31. Robert Burke, 37, of the 5300 block of Mine Road, was sentenced by Judge Dennis Reinaker on Dec. 26 to two to 10 years after pleading guilty to felony aggravated assault, the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office said. Burke was also ordered to pay over $2,400 in restitution for the Feb. 2 attack, during which he slashed the victim with a knife or boxcutter outside a restaurant on the first block …
Palmyra Son On Drugs Sentenced For Killing Mom In Lancaster County Crash Palmyra Son On Drugs Sentenced For Killing Mom In Lancaster County Crash
Palmyra Son On Drugs Sentenced For Killing Mom In Lancaster County Crash A Palmyra man who killed his mother in a head-on crash while under the influence of multiple drugs has been sentenced to state prison, the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office announced on Monday, Dec. 30. Gavin Meical Kline, 21, admitted to using medical marijuana and antidepressants before crashing on Route 322 in Penn Township on Aug. 22, 2023, killing his 41-year-old mother, Bethany Welch, and seriously injuring another driver. Investigators said Kline attempted to pass a tractor-trailer in a no-passing zone when he crossed into oncoming traffic, colliding head-on with a cargo va…
Virginia Nurse Admits To Distributing Videos Showing Rape, Sexual Abuse Of Minors: Feds Virginia Nurse Admits To Distributing Videos Showing Rape, Sexual Abuse Of Minors: Feds
Virginia Nurse Admits To Distributing Videos Showing Rape, Sexual Abuse Of Minors: Feds A Virginia nurse practitioner admitted to distributing child pornography, including videos depicting the rape and abuse of young boys, federal officials announced on Thursday. Lucas Allen Fussell, 42, of Onley, entered his plea this, Dec. 18, in US District Court in DC, according to US Attorney Matthew Graves, pleading guilty to two counts of distributing child pornography. Authorities said that between December 2023 and February 2024, Fussell used an encrypted messaging app to exchange explicit material with another person whose devices were later seized and searched by the FBI. During th…