TRENTON, New Jersey, Jan. 29 -- The Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Rachael A. Honig, issued the following news release on Jan. 28, 2021: Three New Jersey residents were arrested today for allegedly participating in a long-running scheme to defraud the New Jersey Traumatic Brain Injury Fund (TBI Fund), a publicly funded health care benefit program, of more than $4.5 million, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced. Harry Pizutelli, 62, of Edison, New Jersey, and C.  more

CAMDEN, New Jersey, Jan. 29 -- The Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Rachael A. Honig, issued the following news release on Jan. 28, 2021: The former mayor of Atlantic City was sentenced today to 30 days in prison and 11 months of home confinement for defrauding contributors to a youth basketball team out of more than $86,000, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig announced. Frank Gilliam, 49, of Atlantic City, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging h  more

NEWARK, New Jersey, Jan. 29 -- The Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Rachael A. Honig, issued the following news release on Jan. 27, 2021: The former chief financial officer (CFO) of a Sussex County retail construction company was indicted today on five additional tax charges stemming from his failure to collect, account for, and pay over hundreds of thousands in federal payroll taxes, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced. Jonathan Baker, 39, of Green Township, Ne  more

NEWARK, New Jersey, Jan. 29 -- The Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Rachael A. Honig, issued the following news release on Jan. 28, 2021: The former president of a New Jersey local union and administrator of two union affiliated benefit funds made her initial appearance today on charges that she embezzled from the union and two union-affiliated employee benefit funds, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced. Dorothy McBride, 74, of Montville, New Jersey, was charged  more

CAMDEN, New Jersey, Jan. 29 -- The Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Rachael A. Honig, issued the following news release on Jan. 28, 2021: A California man who had fled to Mexico has been arrested for his role in a conspiracy to steal credit and debit cards from customers at approximately 80 Michaels' Stores in 19 states and to then use that information to make fraudulent withdrawals from the bank accounts of those customers, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced to  more

NEWARK, New Jersey, Jan. 27 -- The Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Rachael A. Honig, issued the following news release on Jan. 26: A New York Life insurance broker today admitted his role in a scheme to fraudulently use his association with the company to solicit investor money, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced. Ivan Ramos, 39, of Hillside, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Court Judge Claire C. Cecchi to an information charg  more

NEWARK, New Jersey, Jan. 29 -- The Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Rachael A. Honig, issued the following news release on Jan. 27, 2021: A United Kingdom national is charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit bribery for his role in a scheme involving the award of millions of dollars of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) reconstruction contracts in Iraq, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced today. The indictment unsealed today charges Shwan Al-Mulla, 60,  more

NEWARK, New Jersey, Jan. 29 -- The Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Rachael A. Honig, issued the following news release on Jan. 27, 2021: A Burlington County, New Jersey, doctor was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for his role in a telemedicine scheme to prescribe expensive compounded medications to patients who did not need them, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced. Bernard Ogon, 48, of Burlington Township, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.  more

WEST TRENTON, New Jersey, Jan. 29 -- The Delaware River Basin Commission issued the following news release: The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC)'s Advisory Committee on Climate Change (ACCC) is hosting a forum on Climate Change and the Delaware River Basin on March 2, 2021. The one-day forum will occur on the second day of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary's (PDE) biennial Science and Environmental Summit, which takes place online from March 1 to 3, 2021. NASA scientist Benjamin H  more

NEWARK, New Jersey, Jan. 26 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended the public comment period to February 19, 2021 on its proposed cleanup plan for the Riverside Industrial Park Superfund site on the bank of the Passaic River in Newark. The proposed plan includes a combination of technologies and methods to address the cleanup of contaminated soil, soil gas (gas trapped in the soil), groundwater, sewer  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the following news release: FEMA has obligated nearly $1 billion to costs related to the COVID-19 vaccine mission and continues to work with states throughout the nation in funding costs related to the COVID-19 vaccine mission. The award provides over $988 million in federal funding to Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, West Virgini  more

NEW YORK, Jan. 27 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the following news release: The Federal Emergency Management Agency has obligated $216 million to New Jersey for costs related to the COVID-19 vaccine mission. The award provides $216,000,000 in federal funding to the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) to reimburse costs associated with emergency protective measures taken by the state to store, handle, transport, distribute and administer vac  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following litigation release (No. 21-civ-01180; D.N.J., filed January 26, 2021): The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday charged New Jersey insurance agent Ivan Ramos with fraud in connection with two securities offerings that raised over $1 million from his insurance clients and other investors. According to the SEC's complaint, from approximately August 2017 to July 2020, Ramos, an insurance agent at a large, w  more

NEWARK, New Jersey, Jan. 27 -- The Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Rachael A. Honig, issued the following news release on Jan. 26: Ten Jersey City men have been charged for their roles in a pharmacy burglary conspiracy that victimized at least 40 pharmacies in northern New Jersey in a three-month span, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced today. Mohummad Simmons, 25, a/k/a "Mo Waps;" Tamir Brown, 27, a/k/a "Stragg;" Rico Phang, 19, a/k/a "Little Mil;" Deon Davi  more

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, New Jersey, Jan. 28 -- The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, an organization within the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, issued the following news release: Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst (LKE) recognized Bill Leach, technical director of NAWCAD LKE's Mission Operations and Integration Department, for his dedication to the development of future naval aviation leaders during a Jan. 26 virtual ceremony. Leach received the s  more