fraud

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Love Seekers Lost $143M to Scammers in 2018: FTC

That's more than any other type of consumer fraud found by the agency last year

(Newser) - If you wanted the Federal Trade Commission's take on Valentine's Day, here it is: Beware of getting scammed seeking love online. The warning comes via the agency's latest revelation, which cites more than 21,000 reports of people getting swindled by internet "paramours" in 2018, NPR...

'Squeaky-Clean' Guy Accused in $750K Super Bowl Scam

Ketan Shah seems like an unlikely perpetrator

(Newser) - A Georgia man has apparently swindled his family, friends, and personal connections—and even his own mother—out of more than $750,000 in a Super Bowl ticket scam, Deadspin reports. Seems Ketan Shah, a prominent Gwinnett County businessman and father of two, sold premium tickets to nearly a dozen...

Woman Tries to Collect Lottery Winnings, Gets Arrested

Police say she used a stolen credit card to buy the ticket

(Newser) - A Canadian woman thought she'd won the lottery—and technically, she had—until police discovered the winning ticket was purchased with a stolen credit card. The unidentified 33-year-old woman was arrested in St. John's, Newfoundland, as she tried to cash in the ticket at an Atlantic Lottery office,...

US Hits Huawei, CFO With Criminal Charges

How this affects the US-China trade war will remain to be seen

(Newser) - The US Department of Justice unsealed a 13-count indictment against Chinese tech giant Huawei on Monday, including against two of its affiliates and its chief financial officer, the AP and Fox News report. The felony charges, which came in the form of two separate indictments—one a 10-count grand jury...

She Conned Dozens Out of Savings, All to Fund a Lavish Lifestyle
As She Lived
Lavish Life, Dozens
Lost Life Savings
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Jan 26, 2019 6:30 AM CST

As She Lived Lavish Life, Dozens Lost Life Savings

Keisha Williams was sentenced Friday

(Newser) - For four years, Keisha Williams convinced more than 50 people to hand over their savings to invest in Austrian healthcare software she said she had purchased, but still needed to pay taxes and fees on in order to get it out of "escrow." Authorities say she promised would-be...

She'd Helped This Teen Before. This Time, the Cops Came

School superintendent charged with fraud after using health insurance to help sick student

(Newser) - An Indiana school superintendent who says she was worried about a sick student was hit with fraud charges after cops say she used her insurance to get medical treatment and meds for him. Per KTXL , court records say 48-year-old Casey Smitherman picked up the 15-year-old, who had a sore throat,...

Couple Allegedly Stole $5M to Prep for 'Fall of US Government'

Florida pair face up to 30 years in prison if convicted

(Newser) - A Florida couple is accused of stealing $5 million allegedly used to prepare "for the fall of the US government." An arrest warrant states Gretchen Camp of Jacksonville admitted to stealing from Swisher International, where she worked as a tax manager, partly because her unemployed husband "wanted...

Alleged Fraudster Made a Really Poor Font Choice

Fonts released in 2017 used in documents with older dates

(Newser) - If Cambria and Calibri sound to you like a crime-fighting duo, you're not entirely off. Actually Microsoft fonts, they're responsible for exposing an alleged fraud scheme in Canada, where Gerald McGoey's company, Look Communications, went bankrupt at the end of 2017. Ordered to repay $5.6 million...

Were We Fooled by the 'Oldest Person Ever'?

Researchers claim Yvonne Calment assumed her mother's identity

(Newser) - You likely know Jeanne Calment as the world's oldest recorded person. It's a title widely used since Calment's 1997 death in France, coming 122 years and 164 days after her purported birth in 1875. It's also a fraud, according to mathematician Nicolai Zak and gerontologist Valeri...

As a Fire Raged, She Allegedly Saw Opportunity

Cops say Ashley Bemis fraudulently collected fire relief donations

(Newser) - As a wildfire tore through some 23,000 acres in Southern California over the summer, Ashley Bemis was soliciting donations of money and other items via social media to benefit the firefighters battling the blaze. She even posted photos of her firefighter husband, Shane Goodman, on social media, saying that...

US Woman Could Get Life for Jamaica Lottery Scam

'Her hands were all over the conspiracy'

(Newser) - A federal judge in North Dakota on Monday ordered a Rhode Island woman convicted of funneling lottery scam money between the US and Jamaica to remain jailed pending a February sentencing hearing where she could face a stiffer sentence than the alleged mastermind, the AP reports. "Her hands were...

Woman's Sentence for Fudging School Record: 'Inhumane'

Now Greece and the world are paying attention

(Newser) - A woman in Greece has roused her nation—and now the world—after getting a 10-year sentence for altering her elementary-school record, the New York Times reports. "This decision is not simply inhumane," says the Hellenic League for Human Rights. "It is another very indicative sign of...

They Thought They Were Adopting. Then, 'the Rug Was Pulled'

Fla. woman accused of promising her unborn child to 2 different couples, defrauding them of $19K

(Newser) - A couple thought they'd be adopting in the fall the baby Christina Bay was carrying, and they signed a contract in the spring and handed over nearly $15,000 to pay for the Florida woman's living arrangements in Daytona Beach during her pregnancy. The problem was, police say,...

Dad's Alleged Role in Kids' Deaths 'Shocks the Conscience'

Ali Elmezayen faces fraud charges given insufficient evidence of murder

(Newser) - What at first appeared to be a tragic accident is now labeled a "coldhearted scheme." Two children, ages 8 and 13, died on April 9, 2015, when the car their father was driving sped off a Los Angeles wharf and sank. Ali Elmezayen, whose window was open, quickly...

Lawsuit: Trump Family Scammed Vulnerable Investors

They're accused of peddling dodgy investment schemes

(Newser) - President Trump, his three eldest children, and the Trump Organization defrauded thousands of consumers by persuading them to invest in phony get-rich-quick schemes, according to a new lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed in federal court Monday, accuses Trump and children Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka of failing to disclose that they...

Young Mayor's Alleged Dark Past Is Haunting Him

But Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia denies all charges

(Newser) - Elected at age 23, arrested three years later: That's the latest on Jasiel Correia, the youngest-ever mayor of Fall River, Mass., and alleged defrauder of investors in a tech startup, the Boston Globe reports. Before turning mayor in 2015, Correia allegedly spent $231,000 in investors' money on everything...

'This Smells Like a Crime': NYT Probes How Trump Got Rich

Investigation finds alleged tax avoidance and fraud

(Newser) - President Trump, a self-made man? Not according to a New York Times report that he received at least $413 million in today's dollars from father Fred Trump's business empire, often by dodging taxes in the 1990s—and sometimes by committing flat-out fraud. Trump says his dad only lent...

How'd Deported Nazi Guard Get in US? With Help

Fellow SS member vouched for him on false visa application: historian

(Newser) - Now that former Nazi prison guard Jakiw Palij is out of the US , the New York Times explores how he got in, and it wasn't through his efforts alone. As Nazi records of his SS membership weren't uncovered until the 1990s, Palij successfully applied for a visa under...

Report: Michael Cohen May Be Charged With Major Fraud

Charges could be filed within days, sources say

(Newser) - President Trump's former right-hand man may soon be charged with fraud involving well over $20 million in loans, sources tell the New York Times . The insiders, including a banker who reviewed the transactions, say federal investigators are looking into whether Michael Cohen and taxi businesses owned by his family...

Rachel Dolezal Makes Short Trip to Jail

She's booked on welfare fraud charges in Washington

(Newser) - The former NAACP branch president best known as Rachel Dolezal was booked Monday into a jail in Washington state, where she faces welfare fraud charges . Dolezal, who was born white but identifies as "transracial," was photographed and fingerprinted at Spokane County Jail around 3:30pm, then released on...

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