Another one playing on the fear of recent world events is the bomb threat scam. On October 12, 2018, Tom Brennan, age 70, James Brennan, age 40, and Mike Potter, age 41, all from Overton, Nebraska, were each convicted of one count of wire fraud. As alleged in today’s indictment, Minang conspired with others to open numerous bank accounts in Massachusetts in the name of sham companies, as part of an apparent BEC scheme, which is a sophisticated scam often targeting businesses involved in wire transfer payments. Through the use of fraudulent invoices and spoofed email accounts, Minang allegedly conspired to trick the victims of the scheme into wiring hundreds of thousands of dollars to bank accounts under his control. With stolen credentials in hand, they can drain bank accounts, steal personal information, or just sell those credentials wholesale to other malefactors. The United States also will seek forfeiture of $1,367,625, the approximate amount of proceeds obtained as a result of the wire fraud offenses, as well as funds seized from two bank accounts utilized during the scheme, with balances totaling $230,764. The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of the greater of either $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the amount involved in the transaction, whichever is greater. Counts 1 and 2: Up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million. The charging documents allege that, during the 2010 to 2017 period, each of the three farmers received more than $2.5 million for grain fraudulently marketed as organic.
In related matters, three farmers from Nebraska previously pled guilty to fraud involving sales of grain they grew that was fraudulently marketed as organic. Each further admitted that they knew the grain was being marketed and sold as organic, even though it was not in fact organically grown. At their respective plea hearings, each man admitted to growing grain between 2010 and 2017 that was not organic. TEXARKANA, Texas – A Liberty County, Texas, man and woman have been charged with filing hundreds of fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications with the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. The fraud is carried out by compromising and/or “spoofing” legitimate business email accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques to cause employees of the victim company (or other individuals involved in legitimate business transactions) to transfer funds to accounts controlled by the scammers. Minang and his co-conspirators then transferred funds from the accounts to others located overseas. We’ve all seen them, read about them, or been spoofed by them: spoofed accounts. Fuentes-Zelaya and Barahona sent the contractors a certificate as “proof” that the work crews had workers’ compensation insurance, as required by Florida law. The scheme also facilitated the avoidance of the higher cost of obtaining adequate workers’ compensation insurance for the hundreds of workers on the work crews to whom Fuentes-Zelaya and Barahona “rented” the workers’ compensation insurance.
According to court documents, Fuentes-Zelaya and Barahona established shell companies that purported to be involved in the construction industry. The contractors issued payroll checks for the workers’ wages to the shell companies and the conspirators cashed these checks, then distributed the cash to the work crews after deducting their fee, which was typically about 6% of the payroll. Had workers’ compensation insurance policies been purchased for a payroll totaling $22,793,748, the policy premiums would have totaled about $3,600,000. They then “rented” the workers’ compensation insurance to work crews who had obtained subcontracts with construction contractors on projects in various Florida counties. The indictment alleges that from May 11, 2016, to May 5, 2019, Parcells obtained fees from at least 375 clients for a total amount of more than $1.1 million, but failed to provide a completed report in the majority of cases. In addition to criminal penalties, the indictment seeks to recover more than $1 million in fees paid by the defendant’s clients. During the period of the scheme, the conspirators cashed payroll checks totaling approximately $22,793,748, with their fees totaling approximately $1,367,625. Neither the shell companies nor the contractors reported to government authorities the wages that were paid to the workers, nor did they pay either the employees’ or the employers’ portion of payroll taxes – including Social Security, Medicare, and Federal Income tax. According to the IRS, the estimated amount of payroll taxes due on wages totaling $22,793,748 is $5,766,286. The policies that Fuentes-Zelaya and Barahona purchased, and then “rented” out, were for estimated payrolls of $80,800 to $100,800. This post has been g enerated by G SA Conte nt Gener ator DEMO.
Fuentes-Zelaya and Barahona also owe a total of approximately $5,766,286 in restitution for the tax fraud offenses. Over the course of the scheme, the Fuentes-Zelaya and Barahona “rented” the certificates to hundreds of work crews. By sending the certificate, the defendants falsely represented that the work crews worked for their companies. But predictive analytics can bypass many existing laws (which mainly deal with specific types of data like your financial, medical or educational records) by letting companies conclude things about you indirectly, and likely without your knowledge, using disparate pieces of information gathered from digital sources. A number of laws and constitutional amendments protect people’s privacy in many countries throughout the world. However, the link leads to a phishing site where the victim is asked to provide personal information such as their social security number and banking details, which can be used in identity theft. You will be informed that the offer is restricted and meant for limited, advantaged number of people only. Check out their Maintenance Matters section for suggestions on projects that will keep your home safe and prevent headaches in the future. While we use 4G and 5G data on our smartphones as we’re driving or walking, WiFi still dominates in the home.