Newark, NJ - A New Jersey-based securities trader was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for orchestrating a massive, long-running market manipulation scheme and tax fraud that netted more than $17 million in illegal profits between 2014 and 2016.
Joseph Taub, of Clifton, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez in Newark federal court to counts four and five of a superseding indictment charging him with securities fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Judge Vazquez imposed the sentence by videoconference today.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2014 to 2016, Taub and others conspired to manipulate the securities prices of numerous public companies by coordinating trading in dozens of brokerage accounts he secretly controlled. Taub used straw accounts that were held in the names of others to conduct much of his trading. Taub funded many of these straw accounts and used the st
December 19, 2020 at 12:03 AM
NEWTON, NJ- A Newton man was picked up on fraud charges before he could carry out his planned escape to Pakistan. According to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito, 30-year-old Azhar Sarwar Rana, faced Judge James B. Clark III on Wednesday, charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of money laundering.
Rana was arrested on December 12 after booking a same day flight out of the country Carpenito said. Court documents and statements made in court show Rana submitted a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program or PPP loan application that got him more than $5 million.
The loan application had false payroll and tax information including not having paid wages in 2019 and the minimal wages he paid in 2020 were to people whose names did not match the social security numbers they submitted.
Camden, NJ A Cumberland County, New Jersey, man admitted today conspiring to illegally distribute over 1 million prescription pills and launder drug trafficking proceeds through the use of fictitious shell companies.
Alton Chatmon, of Bridgeton, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including Tramadol, a synthetic opioid, and butabital; and one count of conspiring to commit money laundering.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Chatmon is a former licensed pharmacist who operated two pharmacies in southern New Jersey until 2015. In 2015, after a DEA inspection of his pharmacies showed violations of regulations for the handling of controlled substances, Chatmon voluntarily surrendered his DEA registration, which had allowed him to process and fill prescriptions for controlled substances. In 201
Newark, NJ A Sussex County, New Jersey, man will make his initial court appearance today on charges of fraudulently obtaining a federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan of over $5 million, U.S.
Azhar Sarwar Rana of Newton, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of bank fraud and one count of money laundering. Rana was arrested Dec. 12, 2020, after he booked a same-day flight to Pakistan; he made his initial appearance by videoconference today before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III and was detained without bail.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Camden, NJ - A Burlington County resident and a former Camden County resident are among three men charged with conspiring to defraud at least 43 victims out of more than $3 million through the sale of phony business opportunities.
David Weinstein, formerly of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and now of Dallas, Texas; Vijay Vanam Reddy, of Milan, Michigan, and Kevin Brown, of Burlington, New Jersey, are each charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Reddy was arrested today and is scheduled to appear in Detroit, Michigan, federal court this afternoon. Brown and Weinstein were arrested on Dec. 8, 2020. Brown appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ann Marie Donio in Camden federal court via videoconference on Dec. 8, 2020, and was released on $50,000 bond. Weinstein appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford in Dallas federal court on Dec. 9, 2020 and was released.