Texas Man Charged with Defrauding Cisco Systems, the Neat Company, iRobot Corporation, Amazon.com

Out of More Than $1.9 million in Merchandise

PHILADELPHIA PA (March 4, 2020)–– United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Reece A. Line, 23, of Pearland, Texas, was charged today by Information with 22 counts of mail fraud, eight counts of wire fraud, and three counts of tax evasion.

The Information alleges that the defendant perpetrated a scheme to defraud Cisco Systems Inc. (“Cisco”), the Neat Company (“Neat”), iRobot Corporation (“iRobot”), APC by Schneider Electric (“APC”), Amazon.com (“Amazon”), and other companies by engaging in a sophisticated warranty fraud scheme. The charges state that the defendant and his co-schemers obtained serial numbers to products sold or manufactured by Cisco, Neat, iRobot, and APC. They allegedly proceeded to register false domain names, obtain false email addresses, and submit false warranty claims, pretending to own products sold or manufactured by these companies that they claimed were not working. The Information alleges that the defendant provided customer service representatives with descriptions of the non-existent defects that he knew they could not solve by troubleshooting and would require replacement with new products. Cisco, Neat, iRobot, and APC then shipped the replacement products to the defendant and his co-schemers, which they promptly sold via eBay, on Amazon, or through computer resellers.

The Information further alleges that the defendant and his co-schemers defrauded Amazon by using false identities, domain names, email addresses, and mailing addresses to order products that they falsely claimed never arrived or arrived broken, thereby inducing Amazon to repeatedly send replacement products. The Information alleges that the defendant and his co-schemers then sold the products obtained in this manner via eBay.

All told, the defendant and his co-schemers successfully obtained at least $1,950,000 worth of products from the victim companies through their alleged fraud. The Information also alleges that the defendant evaded the payment of any income tax on the income he earned from his fraud for tax years 2014 through 2016 by, among other things, failing to file returns, storing his fraud proceeds in bank accounts and PayPal accounts in the names of co-schemers, storing cash at his residence, paying his personal living expenses with cash, and using false email addresses, false domain names, prepaid gift cards, and false identities to conceal his involvement in the fraud scheme.

“As alleged, the defendant engaged in a sophisticated fraud scheme that netted almost $2 million worth of products,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Retail fraud, whether in brick-and-mortar stores or online, is a serious crime that must be punished and deterred. I would like to thank both the FBI and the IRS for their dedication and partnership in this matter.”

“Taxpayers are required to cooperate with the tax system by filing honest and accurate returns and paying their fair share,” said Michael Montanez, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation. “The Special Agents of IRS-CI will continue to investigate and bring charges against those who intentionally violate our tax system.”

The defendant faces a maximum sentence of 825 years’ incarceration, a five-year period of supervised release, and a fine of $8,250,000.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Lowe.

An Indictment, Information, or Criminal Complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Morristown Investment Adviser Who Breached His Fiduciary Duty to Customers Fined

Summary Penalty & Revocation Order

NEWARK – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and the Division of Consumer Affairs announced today that the New Jersey Bureau of Securities revoked the registration of a Morristown investment adviser representative and assessed $750,000 in civil penalties for selling more than $12 million of unregistered securities in New Jersey, including investments tied to Ponzi schemes and other fraudulent investment scams.

Gary Scheer, managing member and sole investment adviser representative of Retirement Financial Advisors, LLC in Morristown, recommended and sold unregistered securities in seven different investments to at least 50 investors from 2010 through 2018. The sales generated more than $600,000 in commissions for Scheer.

Six of the seven investments Scheer recommended ultimately were determined by federal and/or state authorities to be fraudulent. As a result of Scheer’s conduct, investors were defrauded of their hard-earned savings.

In the Summary Penalty and Revocation Order (“the Order”) issued by the Bureau today, the Bureau Chief found that Scheer breached his fiduciary duty and violated the New Jersey Securities Law.

“Investment advisers are expected to serve the interests of their customers with undivided loyalty, and not exploit them for financial gain,” said Attorney General Grewal. “We will not allow unscrupulous professionals to undermine the integrity of New Jersey’s financial industry by enriching themselves at the financial expense of their customers.”

Scheer recommended and sold the unregistered securities while working as a representative for several investment advisers over an eight year period. The underlying investments in the unregistered securities included franchises, pension income streams, real estate development, and mortgages.

To date, all but one of the unregistered securities have been identified as investment frauds. For example, Scheer steered his customers into the unregistered “Woodbridge Securities,” which is alleged to be a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme that defrauded 8,400 real estate investors nationwide, and the unregistered “Northridge Securities,” an alleged fraudulent “fix-and-flip” real estate investment whose principal and entities were recently charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as running a $47 million Ponzi scheme.

According to the Order, Scheer violated the law by, among other things:

selling unregistered securities;

acting as an unregistered agent in the sale of those securities;

omitting or making material misrepresentations of the risks associated with the investments;

breaching his fiduciary duty by failing to conduct adequate due diligence before making the investment recommendations; and

breaching his fiduciary duty by failing to disclose significant conflicts of interest that were created by virtue of the undisclosed commissions being paid to him.

Scheer continued to advise customers to purchase unregistered securities even after he became aware that prior unregistered securities he recommended had come under regulatory scrutiny due to the issuers’ failures to register their securities and their fraudulent conduct, according to the Bureau’s findings.

“Scheer’s conduct represents an egregious breach of the fiduciary duty he owed to his customers,” said Paul R. Rodríguez, Acting Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “His actions resulted in serious financial consequences for investors, who are now left with the devastating impact of trying to recover their investments.”

Investor restitution efforts are underway by many of the federal and/or state authorities that brought the underlying enforcement actions against the issuers of the fraudulent securities Scheer sold.

“Investors must be able to trust that the investments they are sold are legitimate. Their investment professionals have a duty to conduct reasonable due diligence before making a recommendation,” said Christopher W. Gerold, Chief of the Bureau of Securities. “The Bureau of Securities will continue to aggressively enforce New Jersey’s Securities Laws against investment professionals that fail to fulfill their duties to their customer by selling unregistered and/or fraudulent securities.”

The Bureau’s investigation was handled by Deputy Bureau Chief Amy Kopleton, and Investigator Delfin Rodriguez.

Assistant Attorney General Brian F. McDonough, Deputy Attorney General and Section Chief Victoria Manning, and Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Dolinsky of the Securities Fraud Prosecution Section in the Division of Law represented the Bureau in this matter.

The Bureau is charged with protecting investors from investment fraud and regulating the securities industry in New Jersey. It is critical that investors \”Check Before You Invest.\” Investors can obtain information, including the registration status and disciplinary history, of any financial professional doing business to or from New Jersey, by contracting the Bureau toll-free within New Jersey at 1-866-I-INVEST (1-866-446-8378) or from outside New Jersey at 973-504-3600, or by visiting the Bureau\’s

website

. Investors can also contact the Bureau for assistance or to raise issues or complaints about New Jersey-based financial professionals or investments.

This wearable device camouflages its wearer no matter the weather

The wearable thermal camouflage device is embedded in an armband and blends with the ambient temperature.

« This wearable device camouflages its wearer no matter the weather

Newswise — Researchers at the University of California San Diego developed a wearable technology that can hide its wearer from heat-detecting sensors such as night vision goggles, even when the ambient temperature changes–a feat that current state of the art technology cannot match. The technology can adapt to temperature changes in just a few minutes, while keeping the wearer comfortable.

The device, which is at the proof-of-concept stage, has a surface that quickly cools down or heats up to match ambient temperatures, camouflaging the wearer’s body heat. The surface can go from 10 to 38 degrees Celsius (50 to 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit) in less than a minute. Meanwhile, the inside remains at the same temperature as human skin, making it comfortable for the wearer. The wireless device can be embedded into fabric, such as an armband. A more advanced version could be worn as a jacket.

To build the device, the team turned to a phase-changing material that’s similar to wax but with more complex properties. The melting point of the material is 30 degrees Celsius (roughly 86 degrees F), the same temperature as the surface temperature of human skin. If the temperature on the outside of the device is higher than that, the material will melt and stabilize, insulating the wearer; if colder, it will slowly solidify, still acting as an insulating layer.

The team, led by UC San Diego mechanical and aerospace engineering professor Renkun Chen, detailed their work in a recent issue of the journal

Advanced Functional Materials

At the technology’s core are materials that can create heating or cooling effects when the ambient temperature changes, and flexible electronics that can be embedded into clothing. The outside layer of the device is driven by a technology that Chen and colleagues detailed in a paper in

Science Advances

in May 2019. It is made of thermoelectric alloys—materials that use electricity to create a temperature difference—sandwiched between stretchy elastomer sheets. It is powered by a battery and controlled by a wireless circuit board. The device physically cools or heats to a temperature that the wearer chooses.

Current state of the art heat camouflage technology consists of a surface coating that changes how much heat clothing emits at the surface. The coating absorbs the heat from the wearer’s body and reflects only enough energy to match the ambient temperature. However, the coating only works at a predetermined temperature. If the ambient temperature rises or falls, it no longer works.

The researchers’ biggest challenge now is to scale up the technology. Their goal is to create a jacket with the technology built-in, but under current conditions, the garment would weigh 2 kilograms (about 4.5 lbs.), be about 5 millimeters thick and only function for one hour. The team will be looking to find lighter, thinner materials so the garment could weigh two or three times less.

The work was supported by the Advanced Research Project Agency and by a UC San Diego start up grant. It work was performed in part at the San Diego Nanotechnology Infrastructure (SDNI) at UC San Diego, a member of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure, which is supported by the National Science Foundation.

An Adaptive and Wearable Thermal Camouflage Device

Sahngki Hong and Renkun Chen, University of California San Diego

Sunmi Shin National University of Singapore

West Virginia Couple’s Violent Robbery Spree Thwarted by FBI, Local Partners

Robbers Who Targeted Elderly Sentenced

In 2018, a 74-year-old Tennessee woman was attacked in her home by a pair of robbers who ransacked her house and stole her sense of safety.

Days later, a 72-year-old Tennessee man with dementia was attacked outside his home by the same assailants. They forced him inside and threw him down a stairwell after robbing him of a few possessions. Among the items stolen was a bomber jacket from the man’s service in Vietnam. It was an irreplaceable keepsake that investigators never found.

In all, Joshua Small and his girlfriend, Joni Johnson, robbed—and in some cases violently assaulted—seven senior citizens in West Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee during a short period in the summer of 2018. In several cases, they subdued their victims by punching or hitting them and then tying them up while they ransacked their homes. The robbers held some of their victims at gunpoint or threatened them with guns.

The incidents shook the small, quiet towns where they took place.

“One victim’s son told us, ‘This is a small town. Everyone here knows me or my dad,’” said Special Agent Wesley Leatham, who investigated this case out of the FBI’s Knoxville Field Office along with FBI Task Force Officer Mark Webber of the Knox County Sheriff’s Department. “It really caused a lot of worry and concern in these communities.”

A break in the case came when a tipster saw a couple driving a rental car that matched the description of the robbers’ car and told local police. Pawn shop employees also confirmed that Small had been seen pawning stolen jewelry and other items.

Investigators found overwhelming evidence against the couple once they were identified, including incriminating evidence on their cell phones. Several victims also identified Johnson and Small based on photos.

The couple lived in West Virginia, and they used Small’s employer, a family paving business, to find some of their elderly victims. In other cases, investigators aren’t certain how the robbers targeted their victims, but they were all in their 70s, 80s, or 90s.

“Everyone really wanted to see justice for these victims, especially given their ages and the level of violence they suffered.”

Wesley Leatham, special agent, FBI Knoxville

With multiple sheriffs’ offices involved, the FBI played a key coordinating role. The Bureau also brought resources to the case, including the ability to press federal charges.

“We had great local partners in this case,” Leatham said. “Everybody came together with outstanding coordination. Everyone really wanted to see justice for these victims, especially given their ages and the level of violence they suffered.”

In July 2019, the couple was convicted of kidnapping charges. In January, Small was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, and Johnson was sentenced to 25 years.

Investigators hope the outcome brought some closure to the victims and communities that were traumatized. One victim died before the trial and some others were unable to travel to it, but their relatives gave powerful impact statements.

“We’ve heard from the victims’ families since then that this has destroyed their sense of safety. They’re constantly checking the door to make sure it’s locked. Visitors have to call before they come over,” Leatham said. “It’s really had a lasting effect on a lot of people.”

Resources

Joshua Small and Joni Amber Johnson Sentenced for Kidnapping Elderly Victims

Camden County Employee Charged with Theft

Camden, N.J. – A Camden County employee has been charged with stealing more than $114,000 that was intended for regattas and rowing competitions at Cooper River Park, according to Acting Camden

County Prosecutor Jill S. Mayer.

James Stack, 44, of Collingswood, has been charged with Theft by Failure to Make Required Disposition of Property Received and Official Misconduct.

Investigators say Stack, who previously served as the Director of Rowing at the Camden County Boathouse, accepted money from various rowing organizations and deposited the checks into two bank accounts he managed under Cooper Training Center, LLC, a company Stack owns. Detectives said evidence showed Stack would then deposit a lesser amount into accounts managed by the county.

The discrepancy was caught during a county audit and reported. Investigators found evidence dating back to January 2018 through December of 2019 and said the investigation is ongoing.

Stack was cited and released pending a Central Judicial Processing hearing March 10.

All persons charged with crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

PA Legislators Concerned With $100M Redesign of State College System

By Christen Smith |

The Center Square

Gloucestercitynews.net files

Pennsylvania lawmakers questioned a proposed $100 million redesign of its higher education system this week after years of declining enrollment left many of its 14 universities in the red.

Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) Chancellor Dan Greenstein said the “radical” plan – which includes a $20 million boost annually in state funding over the next five years – would allow the organization to share services, demolish underutilized buildings and encourage staff retirements that altogether could save between $80 million and $120 million through 2025.

“The universities have created five-year plans which demonstrate how they will balance the budgets from which these numbers are derived,” he told the Senate Appropriations Committee during PASSHE’s budget hearing this week. “And they will be held accountable for this. … This can has been kicked down the road, and the road has ended.”

Gov. Tom Wolf’s $36.1 billion state budget proposal allocates $490 million to PASSHE and $12.9 million in support of the system’s redesign effort. Greenstein said the agency needs a 2 percent increase over last year’s funding, plus the $20 million appropriation, to target its joint goals of keeping tuition affordable and the five-year redesign plan.

Greenstein said PASSHE also renegotiated labor union contracts and created an extended sick leave payout program the agency hopes will encourage 200 staff and faculty to retire annually. In October, all universities implemented “sustainability policies” that establish balanced budgets and new procedures meant to effectively manage personnel – from curtailing the use of temporary faculty to consolidating existing roles at all levels to eliminating or combining duplicative programs with low enrollment.

“It’s going to require an unprecedented level of collaboration with our unions and close collaboration with our universities,” Greenstein said. “This will stretch us, but I am confident we are ready, and as the numbers portray, it is time.”

Enrollment across PASSHE’s 14 universities declined 20 percent over the past decade, Greenstein said, while state funding levels for the system rank 47th nationwide. Pennsylvania’s student debt is also the second highest in the nation, Greenstein added, despite the agency’s priority of keeping tuition affordable.

“You and all the students have the absolute right to be enraged and livid by the lack of leadership from this General Assembly,” said Sen. Steve Santarsiero, D-Bucks. “The fact is that we are not investing where we should be investing. We are not giving you the resources you need.

“The cost that our students are asked to bear, as you just said, has a direct relationship with the funding we give to our state system” he added. “It’s inexcusable that Pennsylvania ranks 47th in the country.”

Other senators pressed Greenstein on whether the redesign plan should consider closing universities with lower attendance rates – an idea the chancellor said disenfranchises the rural communities many of them serve.

“I don’t think the numbers support your theory because the rural institutions are the ones that had the greatest reduction in numbers,” said Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Lycoming. \”I know how important Mansfield University is to the town of Mansfield, … but somewhere along the line, we really have to take a look at would we be better off closing them and folding the funding into the institutions that are really thriving.”

Sen. Scott Martin, R-Lancaster, told Greenstein the “backwards” prioritization of struggling universities concerns him and undermines the few schools that remain successful.

“My big worry, from many different perspectives, is the fact that we are missing out on opportunities with the institutions that are growing, that are doing their best to keep their head above water and that they cannot do these things because they’re not getting the resources,” he said. “The resources are being funneled through back channels to create opportunities that every single student in the commonwealth is not being given, in terms of scholarships, and that’s just fundamentally not fair.”

Martin’s comments reference Wolf’s $204 million proposed Nellie Bly Tuition Program, which would target financial assistance to full-time PASSHE students. Under program rules, students must agree to stay in Pennsylvania for as many years as they received the benefit.

Senate Education Committee Minority Chairman Andy Dinniman, D-Chester, criticized the scholarship program proposal during Thursday’s hearing, insisting that raiding the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development Trust Fund would only result in court challenges the state is certain to lose.

\”I wish it was as simple as we’ve said,\” he said. \”If you try to take the money out … and to play this game of letting students think they will get these scholarships and they will not, because it will go to court.\”

published by Gloucestercitynews.net with permission of

The Center Square

Brandon Perez & David Sult Sentenced for Setting Homeless Man on Fire

MAYS LANDING – Two men were sentenced on Feb. 28, 2020 before Judge Waldman to New Jersey state prison after pleading guilty in November to aggravated assault for setting a man on fire in March, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner announced.

Brandon Perez, (right) 23, of Hammonton and David Sult, (left) 24, of Mays Landing, were both sentenced to 5 years in New Jersey State Prison subject to the No Early Release Act.

In November both men pleaded guilty to second degree aggravated assault in exchange for five years New Jersey State Prison subject to the No Early Release Act (85% period of parole ineligibility and three years parole supervision upon release).

On the evening of March 15, 2019, Brandon Perez and David Sult were at Sult’s residence in Mays Landing hanging out with a group of other men. Raymond Mullen was asleep on a couch when Perez and Sult decided to play a “prank” on him. Perez sprayed lighter fluid on the back of Raymond’s clothing. Perez ignited it. Raymond suffered severe burns to his back. The men claimed Raymond had been burned accidentally by an electronic smoking device but the investigation revealed the fire had been set intentionally.

Township of Hamilton Police Det. Lawrence Fernan investigated the incident and ACPO Det. Danielle Kratky assisted with the prosecution. Assistant Prosecutor Chris D’Esposito represents the state in the matter.

***************************

Anyone with information involving serious crimes is asked to call the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office at

609-909-7800

or go to the Prosecutor’s Office Web site at

http://www.acpo.org/tips.html

and provide information by filling out the form anonymously on the Submit a Tip page. People can also call Crime Stoppers at

609-652-1234

1-800-658-8477

(TIPS) or visit the Crime Stoppers Website at

http://www.crimestoppersatlantic.com/

. Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment of those who commit crimes in Atlantic County.

Camden Family Drug Ring of 14 Arrested

TRENTON – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today announced that 12 individuals were indicted on charges including first-degree racketeering as alleged members of a family-

run drug network that distributed large quantities of heroin and fentanyl in a violence-torn area of North Camden. Two additional defendants face weapons charges, bringing the total number of defendants indicted to 14.

Six guns were seized in the investigation, including an illegal, untraceable “ghost gun” and plans and materials to make ghost guns. The ring stamped wax folds of heroin with the brand name “Bad Boys,” which has been linked to three overdoses, including two fatal overdoses.

The defendants were indicted yesterday by a state grand jury in “Operation Strikeout,” a collaborative investigation led by the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau in cooperation with the Camden County Metro Police Department, Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Camden County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Police, Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Philadelphia, and Philadelphia Police Department. Most of the defendants were arrested in October 2019, when arrest and search warrants were executed.

The following two alleged “owners and operators” of the drug network are charged with first-degree promoting organized street crime:

Wilbert Segarra, 40, of Camden

, the alleged primary ringleader, also faces a charge of first-degree leader of a narcotics trafficking network, which carries a sentence of life in prison, including 25 years without parole. In addition, Segarra and co-defendant Joseph Cooper Jr. are charged with attempted murder in the non-fatal shooting of a man at 27th and Howell Streets on May 24, 2019. The shooting allegedly stemmed from violence between the drug network and a rival drug set. Segarra fled and was arrested on July 23, 2019 in Virginia, but he allegedly continued to run the drug network with Luis Rosado while on the run and in jail. The attempted murder case was initially investigated and charged by the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.

Luis I. Rosado, 28, of Camden

, allegedly took Segarra’s place as operator of the drug network after the shooting in May 2019, receiving direction from Segarra through phone calls and mail.

Meligza Cruz, 32, of Camden

, Rosado’s girlfriend, allegedly managed day-to-day operations for the drug network. She is also charged with first-degree promoting organized street crime. Segarra, Rosado, and Cruz are all allegedly members of the G-Shine set of the Bloods street gang.

“Through this operation, we dismantled a major drug ring that allegedly was dealing large quantities of heroin and fentanyl in a violence-torn neighborhood in North Camden,” said Attorney General Grewal. “By targeting the entire alleged hierarchy of this network with first-degree charges – including a leader charge for the top ringleader and racketeering charges for 12 defendants – we are sending a strong message that we will prosecute drug traffickers to the full extent of the law. We will continue to collaborate with our partners in Camden and throughout New Jersey to arrest the drug dealers who are driving gun violence in our cities and fueling the opioid epidemic that is destroying so many lives.”

“These arrests are a testament not only to the outstanding work of our attorneys and detectives, but also to the strong working relationships that we have forged with our law enforcement partners in Camden and across the region,” said Director Veronica Allende of the Division of Criminal Justice. “I thank all of the agencies that assisted us in Operation Strikeout. This operation is a great example of intelligence sharing and proactive police work to target a criminal network that had been identified by the Camden County Police Department as a major threat to safety and quality of life.”

“Eliminating this violent drug network that was pedaling poison on the streets of our city will overwhelmingly improve the quality of life for residents and make the North and East Camden neighborhoods a safer place for residents,” said Camden Police Chief Joseph Wysocki. “Ultimately, we know more than 80 percent of fatal overdoses in the city are related to fentanyl adulterated narcotics killing scores of people. This staggering statistic alone underscores the critical work of Operation Strikeout. Furthermore, I want to thank the men and women of the other agencies who brought this case together and got these individuals off our streets.”

“These arrests highlight our continued efforts in Camden to get deadly drugs off the street and stop the violence that all too often goes hand-in hand with drug distribution,” said Acting Camden County Prosecutor Jill Mayer. “Two people died as a result of deadly doses of heroin mixed with fentanyl that were stamped with a brand name linked to these defendants, and another was shot as a result of the rivalry between drug sets. If not stopped, the number of deaths could have grown. We will continue to work collaboratively with all of the agencies who took part in this investigation to disrupt and eliminate these violent racketeering enterprises.”

“I want to thank the Attorney General for focusing resources and the tools that were needed to dismantle this network of individuals who were terrorizing the city,” said Camden County Sheriff Gilbert “Whip” Wilson. “Our agency was proud to work alongside our law enforcement partners to get these violent criminals off of our streets. Moving forward we will continue to assist our front line partners in eliminating violent crime and opioid distribution, not only making the city safer but improving public safety throughout the county.”

The investigation involved controlled purchases of hundreds of single-dose wax folds of heroin and fentanyl from the drug network beginning in January 2019. The network was based in the 400 block of Grant Street and operated in and around a section of North Camden extending from Grant Street to Elm Street between Coopers Poynt School and Northgate II Park. Most defendants face charges of third-degree distribution of heroin within 1,000 feet of a school.

Eight of the defendants, including Rosado and Cruz, were arrested on Oct. 4, 2019, when the partnering agencies executed arrest and search warrants in Camden and Philadelphia. Segarra was already in jail on the attempted murder charge at the time. Most of the other defendants were arrested later.

Two semi-automatic handguns (one with a defaced serial number), $2,960 in cash, and approximately 285 wax folds of heroin and fentanyl, many bearing the stamp “SpongeBob,” were seized during a search of the residence where Rosado and Cruz live in the 400 block of 40th Street in Camden.

Investigators seized approximately 70 grams of pure fentanyl when they executed a search warrant at a residence on Whitaker Avenue in Philadelphia that Rosado called “the Office,” where he and others allegedly packaged heroin and fentanyl. The residence was an operational narcotics mill equipped with sifters, scales, various cutting agents, wax folds, and five rubber ink stamps used to stamp the following brand names on wax folds: “Bad Boys,” “SpongeBob,” “Glizzy Gang,” “NS,” and “Two Guns.” Heroin stamped with the brand “Bad Boys” has been linked to three overdoses, including two fatal overdoses.

Three semi-automatic pistols – including one illegal “ghost gun” assembled from parts bearing no serial number – were seized at the Philadelphia heroin mill, along with several large-capacity magazines, including a 50-round drum-type magazine. In addition, law enforcement seized polymer and schematic plans to manufacture ghost-gun assault rifles and semi-automatic pistols.

The investigation revealed that the enterprise had a structured hierarchy with defined roles, including “owners and operators,” “case workers,” “set managers,” and “trappers.” Segarra and Rosado allegedly were the co-owners and operators, and Meligza Cruz was the primary case worker. She allegedly managed the enterprise’s day-to-day drug distribution activities, assigning shifts and workers for the day, and having responsibility for the transfer of drugs and proceeds to and from Rosado and the set managers. The set managers directed the trappers, who were the street-level dealers who conducted hand-to-hand exchanges of drugs and money with buyers. Some ring members served in multiple roles.

The following defendants were charged with first-degree racketeering in “Operation Strikeout” along with Segarra, Rosado, and Meligza Cruz:

Maria Morales, 29, of Camden

Ramon Saldana, 22, of Camden

Rafael Velazquez, 27, of Camden

Migdoel Morales-Cruz, 33, of Camden

Michael Canales, 23, of Camden

Angel Martinez, 34, of Camden

Daniel Sanjurjo, Jr., 21, of Camden

Emanuel Morales, 25, of Camden

Joseph Cooper Jr., 24, of Philadelphia

In addition to the first-degree racketeering charge, all 12 racketeering defendants listed above face a charge of second-degree conspiracy to distribute narcotics, and, with the exception of Segarra, are variously charged with additional second- and third-degree drug offenses.

The ring included multiple members of an extended family, several of whom live in the neighborhood where the drug network operated. Meligza Cruz, Maria Morales, Emanuel Morales, and Migdoel Morales-Cruz are all related as either siblings or cousins. Other ring members may also be related.

The following two people, who also are family members, were indicted on weapons charges:

Jose Morales, 49, of Camden

Jesus Morales Cruz, 34, of Philadelphia

Jose Morales, and Jesus Morales Cruz are charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and fourth-degree possession of a defaced firearm in connection with a handgun with a defaced serial number that was seized from a car following a traffic stop on May 8, 2019, as a result of the investigation. Jose Morales also faces a charge of second-degree possession of a weapon as a convicted felon in connection with that gun. Jose Morales was driving the car at the time, but Jesus Morales Cruz is the registered owner of the car.

Meligza Cruz is charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly conducting drug transactions using vehicles while she had her and Rosado’s child, age 1 at the time, in the vehicles.

The following defendants were ordered detained following detention hearings: Wilbert Segarra, Luis Rosado, Ramon Saldana, Michael Canales, Angel Martinez, Emanuel Morales, and Jose Morales.

Deputy Attorney General Mohammad A. Mahmood presented the case to the state grand jury and former Deputy Attorney General Jamey Collidge was assigned to the investigation for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau, under the supervision of Deputy Bureau Chief Erik Daab and Bureau Chief Lauren Scarpa Yfantis. Detectives David Swanson and Jon Norcia are the lead detectives for the DCJ Gangs & Organized Crime South Unit, under the supervision of Sgt. Peppi Pichette, Deputy Chief of Detectives Christopher Donohue, and Chief of Detectives Weldon Powell.

Attorney General Grewal commended the attorneys and detectives of the Division of Criminal Justice and all of the investigators who participated in “Operation Strikeout” for the Camden County Metro Police Department, Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Camden County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Police, Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, DEA in Philadelphia, and Philadelphia Police.

The charge of first-degree leader of a narcotics trafficking network carries a sentence of life in state prison, including 25 years without parole, and a fine of up to $750,000. The charge of promoting organized street crime carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison, consecutive to the sentence for any underlying crime, and a fine of up to $200,000. The first-degree racketeering and first-degree attempted murder charges carry a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison, including a period of parole ineligibility equal to 85 percent of the sentence imposed, and a fine of up to $200,000.

Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. Second-degree possession of a weapon by a convicted felon carries a mandatory five-year period of parole ineligibility, and second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon carries a mandatory period of parole ineligibility equal to one-third to one-half of the sentence imposed or three years, whichever is greater. Third-degree crimes carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000, while fourth-degree crimes carry a sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The indictment was handed up to Superior Court Judge Timothy P. Lydon in Mercer County, who assigned the case to Camden County, where the defendants will be ordered to appear in court at a later date for arraignment.

County Prosecutor’s office and Cape May County Sheriff engage in joint operations to curtail drug epidemic

Cape May Court House, New Jersey – Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland and Sheriff Robert Nolan announce the seizure of Methamphetamine and the arrest of Andrew Wells, a 43-year-old resident of the Villas section of Lower Township.

Gloucestercitynews.net graphic files

On January 31, 2020, the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, Gangs Guns and Narcotics Task Force (GGNTF) along with the Cape May County Sheriff’s Office were in the Rio Grande area of Middle Township regarding to an ongoing narcotics investigation into the distribution of Methamphetamine by Andrew Wells. Members of the GGNTF were able to locate Andrew Wells and observed him entering into a vehicle and departing the area. With the assistance of a Cape May County Sheriff’s Office, marked patrol / K9 unit, a motor vehicle stop was performed of the vehicle in which Andrew Wells occupied. Pursuant to further investigation, over one ounce of crystal Methamphetamine was seized from the vehicle.

Andrew Wells was charged with Possession of CDS (methamphetamine), 3rd Degree and Possession with the Intent to Distribute CDS (methamphetamine), 2nd degree. * Andrew Wells was lodged at the Cape May County Correctional Center pursuant to bail reform.

Prosecutor Sutherland recognized the special role of the Sheriff’s Office with their marked vehicle K-9 unit to help apprehend Mr. Wells. Prosecutor Sutherland stated; “Having Sheriff Nolan provide two Sheriff Deputy’s with their unique background of having a direct connection with the county jail, court system and executing warrants, in addition to providing the K-9 unit is a force multiplier for our Task Force that contributes to making our community safer.”

Sheriff Nolan was glad to contribute to the Task Force and stated; “We are proud to provide our Deputies and K-9 Unit to play an affirmative role in investigating and apprehending criminals, in additional to our custodial role with the county jail, in making Cape May County safer.”

Prosecutor Sutherland continues to urge the citizens of Cape May County to report any information regarding illegal drug activity and or any criminal activity within community and that this information can be reported anonymously through the Cape May County Sheriffs Tip Line at cmcsheriff.net and click on anonymous tip, or through the Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 609-465-2800, or the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135.

* Any charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless they are proven guilty.

Federal Court Orders Deposition of Hillary Clinton on Emails and Benghazi

Court: ‘It is Time to Hear Directly from Secretary Clinton’

(Washington, DC) March 2, 2020–

Judicial Watch today announced that U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth

granted

Judicial Watch’s request to depose former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about her emails and Benghazi attack documents. The court

also ordered the deposition of Clinton’s former Chief of Staff, Cheryl Mills and two other State Department officials.

Additionally, the court granted Judicial Watch’s request to subpoena Google for relevant documents and records associated with Clinton’s emails during her tenure at the State Department.

The ruling comes in Judicial Watch’s

lawsuit

that seeks records concerning “talking points or updates on the Benghazi attack” (

Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State

(No. 1:14-cv-01242)). Judicial Watch famously uncovered in 2014 that the “talking points” that provided the basis for Susan Rice’s false statements were

created by

the Obama White House. This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit

led directly

to the disclosure of the Clinton email system in 2015.

In December 2018, Judge Lamberth first

ordered discovery

into whether Secretary Clinton’s use of a private email server was intended to stymie FOIA; whether the State Department’s intent to settle this case in late 2014 and early 2015 amounted to bad faith; and whether the State Department has adequately searched for records responsive to Judicial Watch’s request. The court also authorized discovery into whether the Benghazi controversy motivated the cover-up of Clinton’s email. The court

ruled

that the Clinton email system was “one of the gravest modern offenses to government transparency.” The State and Justice Departments continued to defend Clinton’s and the agency’s email conduct.

Judge Lamberth today overruled Clinton’s and the State and Justice Department’s objections to limited additional discovery by first noting:

Discovery up until this point has brought to light a noteworthy amount of relevant information, but Judicial Watch requests an additional round of discovery, and understandably so. With each passing round of discovery, the Court is left with more questions than answers.

Additionally, Judge Lamberth said that he is troubled by the fact that both the State Department and Department of Justice want to close discovery in this case:

[T]here is still more to learn. Even though many important questions remain unanswered, the Justice Department inexplicably still takes the position that the court should close discovery and rule on dispositive motions. The Court is especially troubled by this. To argue that the Court now has enough information to determine whether State conducted an adequate search is preposterous, especially when considering State’s deficient representations regarding the existence of additional Clinton emails. Instead, the Court will authorize a new round of discovery …

With respect to Clinton, the court found that her prior testimony, mostly through written sworn answers, was not sufficient:

The Court has considered the numerous times in which Secretary Clinton said she could not recall or remember certain details in her prior interrogatory answers. In a deposition, it is more likely that plaintiff’s counsel could use documents and other testimony to attempt to refresh her recollection. And so, to avoid the unsatisfying and inefficient outcome of multiple rounds of fruitless interrogatories and move this almost six-year-old case closer to its conclusion, Judicial Watch will be permitted to clarify and further explore Secretary Clinton\’s answers in person and immediately after she gives them. The Court agrees with Judicial Watch – it is time to hear directly from Secretary Clinton.

“Judicial Watch uncovered the Clinton email scandal and we’re pleased that the court authorized us to depose Mrs. Clinton directly on her email conduct and how it impacted the people’s ‘right to know’ under FOIA,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.