Latest Fraud and false statements News
Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff dies in prison at 82
NEW YORK (AP) — Bernard Madoff, the infamous architect of an epic securities swindle that burned thousands of investors, outfoxed regulators and earned him a 150-year prison term, died behind bars early Wednesday. He was 82. Madoff's death at the Federal Medical Center...
American charged with COVID relief fraud arrested in Croatia
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatian police have arrested a Florida man wanted in the U.S. on fraud charges for allegedly receiving more than $7.2 million in coronavirus relief funds after concocting hundreds of nonexistent employees on loan applications. Croatian media...
"Sour Grapes" wine fraud con man deported to Indonesia
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A one-time California man who bilked wine collectors out of millions by selling cheaper booze he rebottled in his kitchen has been deported to his native Indonesia, U.S. immigration officials said Tuesday. Rudy Kurniawan, 44, was deported last week on...
Audit: Unemployment fraud likely higher than $647 million
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The amount of fraudulent payments of unemployment benefits distributed in Washington state during the height of the coronavirus pandemic was likely higher than the $647 million identified by the Washington state Employment Security Department, according to a new set of...
NY jail guard, a soldier, arrested in Texas in fraud case
NEW YORK (AP) — An Army National Guard soldier who works as a jail guard in New York City was arrested in Texas on charges that he lied about his military service to get extra government benefits, authorities announced Wednesday. Shawn Pierre Hobbs, 34, was arrested...
2 men charged with running practice without medical license
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Two men operating an Alabama business have been arrested and accused of practicing medicine without a license, officials said. William Timothy Rogers, 53, and Steven Douglas Elliott, 40, were arrested for the felony charge following a search...
California inmate pleads guilty to $100,000 COVID fund fraud
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California prison inmate pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to steal more than $100,000 in unemployment benefits designed to help those who lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic — one of numerous such thefts that authorities say have totaled more...
Milwaukee man pleads guilty to COVID-19 relief fraud
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Milwaukee man pleaded guilty Monday to obtaining more than $600,000 in fraudulent COVID-19 relief funds. According to court records, 42-year-old Stephen Smith acknowledged he submitted fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans...
Milwaukee man pleads guilty to illegally obtaining PPP loans
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Milwaukee man accused of illegally obtaining more than $600,000 in federal loans meant for COVID-19 relief pleaded guilty Monday in federal court. Stephen Smith, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July...
Fake immigration attorney gets more than 20 years in prison
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man was sentenced Monday to 20 years and 9 months in federal prison for pretending to be an attorney and filing hundreds of fake immigration applications. Elvis Harold Reyes, 56, was sentenced in Tampa federal court, according to court...
