Category: Fraud

Florida Man Gets 7 Years for $2.6 Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud

FORT MYERS, Fla.—A Florida man has been sentenced to seven years and three months in federal prison for stealing more than $2.6 million in COVID-19 relief funds. Daniel Joseph Tisone, 35, of Naples, was sentenced Tuesday in Fort Myers federal court, court documents show. He pleaded guilty last August to wire fraud, bank fraud, illegal…


CRA Questions Validity of Radio Caller Claiming to Be Employee Who Defrauded System for CERB

After conducting an investigation, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) said it is not convinced of the “validity” of a radio show caller who claimed to be an agency employee that fraudulently received COVID benefits. On Feb. 9, the Alex Pierson Show was contacted live on the air by a male caller claiming to be a…


Total Fraud in Federal Government? For First Time, an Agency Tries to Solve

A government agency wants to find out just how much taxpayer money is lost to fraud at the federal level. The U.S. Government Accountability Office is attempting, for the first time, to estimate the total amount of fraud in the entire federal government. Comptroller General of the United States Gene Dodaro said his agency could…


Man Who Stole Dead Father’s Social Security Payments Faces 285 Years in Prison

A Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania, man who posed as his dead father pleaded guilty Tuesday to wire fraud and Social Security fraud for hiding his father’s death to steal his retirement benefits. Timothy Gritman, 55, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia for stealing more than $200,000 in Social Security benefits and $117,000 in New York…


My Big Coin Cryptocurrency Firm Founder Gets 8 Years in Prison for Fraud

BOSTON—The founder of a defunct cryptocurrency business was sentenced on Tuesday to more than eight years in prison for defrauding investors and customers out of millions of dollars by marketing a virtual currency called My Big Coin with lies and half-truths. Federal prosecutors had urged U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston to impose a…


People Who Posted Sam Bankman-Fried’s Bail Should Be Named, US Judge Rules

NEW YORK—A U.S. judge on Monday said the names of two people who helped guarantee bail for indicted FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried should be made public, but put his ruling on hold pending an expected appeal. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan ruled in favor of several media outlets including Reuters that…


Watchdog Identifies $5 Billion in Potential COVID-19 Relief Fraud

A federal watchdog on Monday issued an alert for $5.4 billion in relief that may have been fraudulently claimed through the U.S. government’s small business COVID-19 support program. Data scientists from the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) flagged over 69,300 “questionable” social security numbers (SSNs) for “potential fraud and identity theft” linked to the programs….


Canadians Victimized for More Than $530 Million in Fraud Schemes Last Year

In 2022, 90,137 incidents of fraud were reported, with 56,352 Canadian victims and a total loss of $530 million, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC). Each year, CAFC documents new frauds, trying to stay ahead of scammers who keep coming up with more innovative ways to victimize Canadians for their money. This month, for…


25 People Charged in Fake Nursing Diploma Operation After Multi-State Law Enforcement Action

Around 25 people have been charged for their roles in a huge coordinated scheme to sell false and fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts to aspiring nurses, the Department of Health and Human Services’s Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) announced on Jan. 25. HHS-OIG and its law enforcement partners conducted a “multi-state coordinated law enforcement action”…


Sen. Moran Says His Campaign Was Scammed Out of $690,000

Sen. Jerry Moran’s (R-Kan.) reelection campaign was a victim of deceit by a cybercriminal for the amount of $690,000, his office announced on Monday. The Kansas Senator’s campaign treasurer, Timothy Gottschalk, notified the Federal Election Commission (FEC) of “fraudulent activity by a third-party cybercriminal” with a letter on Dec. 8, 2022. The letter says that…