The ESL Free Press

Don't Fall for Holiday Fraud

The FBI has these tips for people buying gifts online this year:

• Real delivery companies (like DHL and UPS) will not email you unless you have an account. If you get an email telling you to pick up a package, it is probably phishing (trying to get your personal information).
• Buy gift cards from the companies. Gift cards sold at auction sites or through ads may be fake.
• Don't give your financial information directly to sellers. Use a service like PayPal.

source

printable:Download Don't Fall for Holiday Fraud.pdf (18.4K)

Chinatown Extortioner Sentenced to Prison

Michael Tsan of San Francisco, USA, must go to prison for 52 months. He pleaded guilty to extortion -- using threats to get money.

Tsan did this to a woman who ran a Mah-Jongg parlor in Chinatown (a Chinese neighborhood in the city). For several months, he had made her pay for "protection". On March 19, he demanded money again. But this time, the woman wouldn't pay.

Instead, she tried to call 911. Tsan admits he grabbed her phone, hit her, and threatened to kill her.

Tsan was arrested a few days later. From jail, he called a man he knew and asked him to lie to officials. For example, he wanted the man to say he was Tsan's employer. Tsan thought this would help him get out of jail until his trial.

FBI Agent Stephanie Douglas says extortion is rarely reported. She asks people to help the FBI find those guilty of it.

source

printable:Download Chinatown Extortioner Sentenced to Prison.pdf (20.7K)

 

Woman Claimed to Make $50,000 a Month

A woman is charged with lying on loan applications -- saying she and her husband were earning almost $50,000 a month.

The charge says Monica Frommer applied for the loans, saying she needed them for a new house. She really used the money to pay for building projects, houses she had already bought, and vacations. The charge also says she gave one lender fake bank records to make it look as if she had more property.

Ms. Frommer surrendered last Tuesday. She goes to trial early next year.

source

printable:Download Woman Claimed to Make $50,000 a Month.pdf (19.4K)

Official Goes to Prison for Taking Bribe

A former assemblyman (State lawmaker) from New Jersey, USA, has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for accepting a bribe (payment to do something wrong).

Daniel M. Van Pelt was tried and found guilty. The jury learned that Van Pelt met with another man at a diner. The man said he needed permits from the State for his building projects. (These included a permit saying the buildings would not harm the environment.) He offered to give Van Pelt $10,000 to make sure he got them.

Later, the two met at another restaurant. Van Pelt was given an envelope with $10,000 cash by the other man. The man repeated that he wanted help with the permits. Van Pelt said, "Well you call me anytime."

The second man was really working with investigators.

Van Pelt used much of the money to buy stocks online.

source

printable:Download Official Goes to Prison for Taking Bribe.pdf (21.0K)

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Students Charged with Hacking University Computers

Police who searched a university dorm room say they found all computers gone. There was just one monitor left, with a note showing a smiley face and the words "Too late!"

This was part of an investigation of two students at the University of Central Missouri. They are charged with hacking into UCM computers.

The charge says the two, Daniel Fowler and Joseph Camp:

• hacked University databases
• transferred money into their student accounts
• tried to change grades
• tried to sell information about teachers and students
• turned on a webcam so they could watch a teacher in his office
• made a virus and put it on University computers
• used Facebook to threaten people who might be witnesses against them.

source

printable:Download Students Charged with Hacking University Computers.pdf (20.1K)

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"I Was Robbed!"

A Maryland man has been sentenced to three years in prison for robbing an armored car. He had help -- from the driver.

Anthony Holman was a friend of the armored car driver. The two planned the robbery together. Holman got onto the armored car with a pellet gun and a Taser. His friend gave him $210,000 from the car. Two others drove Holman away. All four split the money.

Holman pleaded guilty. As well as going to prison, he must pay back the $210,000.

source

printable:Download _I Was Robbed!_.pdf (17.7K)

Colombian Sent to U.S. on Drug Charges

A commander of a terrorist group in Colombia has been extradited (sent for trial) to the U.S.

Eder Pedraza-Pena is charged with planning to smuggle cocaine into the U.S. to make money for his group, BACRIMS (Bandas Criminales Emergentes). Its goal is to defeat FARC, another terrorist group.

Pedraza-Pena is accused of arranging a shipment of 2000 kilos of cocaine to the U.S. It was seized by the U.S. Coast Guard near Jamaica.

He went to court in New York  on Friday.

source

printable:Download Colombian Sent to U.S. on Drug Charges.pdf (19.7K)

Woman Charged with Taking Money Meant for Dead Father

Venus Hammack, of Virginia, USA, is charged with theft of public funds. She is accused of having her father's pension sent to her after he died.

The charge says: Ms. Hammack's father was a retired government worker. He died in August 1999. She didn't tell the government. When she needed her father's signature on a form, she signed it herself.

The government kept sending the money. This went on for 10 years. The charge says Ms. Hammack had it sent to an account she controlled, and got over $300,000 this way.

source

printable:Download Woman Charged with Taking Money Meant for Dead Father.pdf (20.0K)

 

Man Living on Army Base Arrested for Armed Robberies

A 20-year-old man has been arrested at his home at Fort Carson, Colorado. He is not a soldier, but lives on the base.

Joshua Bodean Smith is accused of shooting workers and stealing money from businesses in Fort Carson and Colorado Springs. The robberies happened in August and October of this year.

A servicemember has also been arrested. The charges against this person are related to Smith's.

source

printable:Download Man Living on Army Base Arrested for Armed Robberies.pdf (19.4K)

Arms Dealing Suspect Taken to U.S. for Terrorism Charges

Viktor Bout, a Russian, has been extradited (sent for trial) from Thailand to the U.S. He is charged with planning to sell weapons to terrorists.

The charges say Bout was an international arms dealer. He had a fleet of planes and sold weapons all over the world. They included missile systems and aircraft.

In March 2008, the charges say, Bout met with two people who asked him to sell weapons to the Colombian terrorist group FARC. The two were actually working with the U.S. government's Drug Enforcement Administration. (The DEA was involved because FARC is also the world's largest supplier of cocaine.)

The meeting was secretly recorded. The charges say Bout :

• offered to sell weapons and aircraft to FARC
• offered to send trainers to teach members to use the weapons
• said he supported FARC in its fight against the U.S.

He was arrested by Thai police after the meeting.

Since he is accused of plotting to harm Americans, there are charges against him in the U.S.

source

printable:Download Arms Dealing Suspect Taken to U.S. for Terrorism Charges.pdf (21.6K)