Articles Posted in Theft Crimes

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Police have arrested three men over their alleged involvement in a Massachusetts ATM theft scam. Ivaylo Hristov, Anton Venkov, and Vladislav Vladev are accused of being part of a fraud ring that allegedly has stolen, according to Quincy police, hundreds of thousands of dollars from numerous victims in the Greater Boston Area.

The three men allegedly engaged in “skimming,” which involves people using bank-card readers and tiny cameras to retrieve people’s bank and pin information. The data can then be downloaded onto a card that has a magnetic strip. The card can then work as an ATM card to the victim’s bank account.

Police arrested Hristov, 28, at Citizens Bank in Quincy where he allegedly stole $500 from someone’s ATM bank account. They say he had eight re-coded Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards with him. He also has been charged over his alleged involvement in an ATM theft that took place in Milton.

Venkov, 40, is charged with aiding and abetting the identity fraud scam and also of using counterfeit bank account access codes. Police says that when they arrested Venkov he had $99,100 in cash in his car. Vladev, 36, was detained at Logan International Airport as he was attempting to leave for Germany. He pleaded not guilty to identify fraud and larceny charges.

Police found gadgets and computer equipment in a Weymouth storage unit that they believe belong to Hristov and his alleged cohorts. Authorities say there are other skimming operations in Weymouth, Roslindale, Braintree, Dorchester, and Milton.

Do not give up hope if you have been arrested for allegedly committing a Massachusetts crime. You may have been wrongly charged. There may be evidence that can prove you are not guilty. There may be criminal charges filed against you that can be reduced or dropped. Police may have gone about obtaining the evidence they have in the wrong way and that evidence may now be inadmissible. Your civil rights may have been violated during your arrest or detention.

Police break ATM skimming ring in Greater Boston, Wicked Local, January 29, 2010
Two more arrested in ATM theft case, Boston.com, January 29, 2010

Related Web Resources:
ATM fraud, a.k.a. skimming, is on the rise, ConsumerReports, January 14, 2010
Identity theft, FTC Continue reading

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For those of you who still hold fast to the fantasy that law enforcement never lies, prepare for a shock. Of course, this case does not feature law enforcement lying to convict a defendant. Instead, it is a Massachusetts law enforcement official lying to federal law enforcement who needs a criminal defense attorney.

Arlindo R., a 37-year-old former Stoughton police detective, (hereinafter, the “Defendant), admitted in federal court yesterday that he lied to FBI agents during an ongoing investigation into corruption in the police department and had promised to help authorities in their probe.

The Defendant pleaded guilty in US District Court in Boston to one count of making false statements last July 13. Agents had asked whether he knew of Stoughton police officers receiving stolen gift cards and other items from an informant secretly cooperating with the FBI. According to the government, the Defendant had been among the recipients.
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…And once again we are reminded of this year’s movie The Watchmen, where the catchphrase was “Who watches the Watchmen?” The setting is Boston’s northern neighbor, Salem, Massachusetts. The person is Marie M., 38, a former accounting clerk of Lawrence’s Probation Department (hereinafter, the “Defendant”). That’s right, the same probation department entrusted to oversee criminal defendants as they try to follow advice and role models to work their way back onto the “straight and narrow”. The Defendant’s current position is beside her defense attorney, facing charges of embezzlement in the amount of more than two million dollars.

According to the Commonwealth, the Defendant had crafted an elaborate white collar scheme that managed to elude detection for nearly three years. During her 19 years with the department, she allegedly managed to employ a host of complex accounting maneuvers to pocket approximately $12,000 a week from 2006 through this summer, when she left work amid troubling questions posed by suspicious auditors.

Last Thursday, the Defendant was in court in Salem Superior Court, facing felony charges. During the hearing, prosecutors marveled what they called an intricate and sophisticated scheme. The Defendant was apparently the only person in the department authorized to change entries in the court’s accounting system and she is said to have used this position to manipulate records and bank deposits to cover her tracks. Further, prosecutors allege that auditors who uncovered the alleged fraud had only encountered one of the Defendant’s methods (known as a “negative, non-money error reversal”) once or twice over the past 20 years.
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Marie Morey, a Lawrence courthouse accounting clerk, has pled guilty to charges of larceny of property over $250 and filing/publishing a false written report. The 38-year-old woman is accused of developing and running an embezzlement scam that allowed her to steal over $2 million from the Lawrence probation department.

The accounting clerk, who has a GED and no formal accounting training, is accused of embezzling $2,037,725.21 in restitution and fees and of manipulating bank deposits and records. She allegedly stole $12,000 a month for about 3 years.

The prosecution also says she recently traveled to the Dominican Republic 30 times-although Morey’s criminal defense lawyer says his client only visited the Dominican Republic 10 times, which she did to see her mother.

Assistant District Attorney Michael Patten claims that the accounting clerk employed six operation methods so that no one would notice that she was stealing money. In the spring, Morey told auditors that she hadn’t reconciled payments on a monthly basis since November 2008. She was also allegedly unable to provide them with key documents.

State auditors have expressed concern about the court’s accounting practices since 2007. The Probation Office was singled out in a report that said there was “limited assurance” that the department’s records were accurate or that funds were properly protected.

Morey, who is the mother of two minors, worked as the court accounting clerk for 19 years. If convicted, she could serve a maximum five-year jail sentence.

Larceny
In Massachusetts, it is illegal to steal someone else’s property and depriving the victim of its use or ownership. Larceny of property valued at over $250 is considered grand larceny, which is a felony crime. The punishment if a defendant is convicted is harsh.

Clerk held in sophisticated $2m theft, Boston.com, December 4, 2009
Being held accountable: Prosecutor says paper trail led to courthouse clerk accused of stealing $2M, EagleTribune, December 4, 2009
Related Web Resource:
Larceny-Theft, Justia
The Massachusetts Court System
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Recovery from a long weekend, such as the Thanksgiving weekend we have just enjoyed, can mean different things to different people. For me, for example, it meant waking up yesterday not being able to get online and so not posting my blog (sorry about that, by the way). For Sonny T., 21, of Wareham (hereinafter referred to as the “Defendant”), it meant being in contact with his new criminal defense attorney and dealing with fallout from some alleged indiscretions over the holiday.

These indiscretions include criminal charges such as counterfeiting, armed robbery and assault.

According to the Commonwealth, the Defendant was not in the most thankful of moods last Thursday night when he met up with two people he knew at an oil change business.

Violently unthankful.
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Joseph L., 43, of Derry, New Hampshire, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was once a happy and successful man. A father of five, he built himself up from obscurity in Brockton to the purchasing director for North Andover, Massachusetts. Now, divorced and placed on leave, he is in need of a criminal defense attorney. A court-appointed defense attorney, in fact.

The week began with his turning himself in to North Andover police upon learning that there were warrants out for his arrest.

According to the Commonwealth, the Defendant is guilty of embezzlement. Specifically, the prosecution says that, during his two years as the town’s purchasing agent, he only performed one half of his job correctly. They say he sold surplus town vehicles and snow plows on eBay (the half he was supposed to do) but that he pocketed the money himself (the half he was not supposed to do).

One must wonder how much such augmentation to his salary helped given that the court determined that he qualified for a court appointed attorney, meaning that he was without the funds to afford his own.
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The Cambridge Police Department is on the hunt for a gentleman who may end up actually being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office in Federal District Court. This time, it is a white collar crime, as well as a crime of violence, and it reads like the backdrop to the 2002 movie “Catch Me If You Can”

The investigation is not a new one. In fact, the Cambridge Police issued an arrest warrant for 45-year old John B. (hereinafter, the “Suspect”) back on April 9th. While the authorities believe the Suspect is still in the area, he has yet to be caught. In the meantime, he keeps changing his identity. His primary two aliases are a gun toting federal agent and, the other, a well-dressed restaurant owner.

While the chase is on, he has been able to cheat his unsuspecting victims out of thousands of dollars.

Police say the Suspect’s method of operation is to meet his victims at their homes under the pretense of selling them a dark blue Chrysler 300. He then robs them or simply drives them somewhere, takes their money and then drives off.
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As winter weather, and Christmas movies, re-enter our lives this year, we are revisited today by a ghost of winters’ past. Yesterday, a “Not Guilty” plea was entered in court on behalf of Gerald H., 47, of Roslindale (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) as his attorney stood beside him. The Defendant was recently paroled from a 18-20 years in involuntary Commonwealth housing. Now, he stands accused of, among other things, armed robbery.

The Defendant was convicted of two homicides during the Blizzard of ’78. The weapons of choice then was apparently both knives and guns. He was convicted of manslaughter for one such stabbing occurring in 1977. The other homicide conviction was for second –degree murder. The crime involved the shooting of a man during an attempted robbery by three youths, one of which being the Defendant. He had been out on bail from the stabbing at the time.

On September 3rd, the Defendant was released from the Boston Pre-Release Center in Roslindale. As of yesterday, his is being held on one million dollars bail and a parole detainer. He is charged with the robbery of more than $21,000 from and the pistol-whipping of a city cab dispatcher.

Law enforcement claims that an officer on a paid detail saw the Defendant hailing another cab, caught up with the cab and arrested the Defendant at gunpoint. Recovered were two shopping bags full of money, a .38 caliber firearm.
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On Monday night, a Boston Police Officer, along with his sidekick, a valet, grabbed an alleged knife-wielding carjacker who had robbed a woman of her pocketbook. The chosen victim was a 61-year old female. Now, the suspect needs a good lawyer if he has any hopes of seeing the light of day anytime soon.

It began at approximately 7:31 pm for the officer. He was approached by a parking valet who reported that a woman was just robbed of her purse and the suspect was running down the street. The officer was then supplied with a description of the suspect and directed to the area where he was last seen.

The officer and parking valet then ran down Congress Street towards Quaker Lane where an individual was observed and identified by the parking valet as the perpetrator. As the officer approached Richard M., 48, of Boston (hereinafter, the “Defendant”). The Defendant was apparently seen to be concealing what appeared to be a purse under his shirt. The officer also observed him to have a large knife in his right hand. The officer ordered the suspect to drop the knife to which he complied. At this time, the suspect was given the Commonwealth Bracelets of Shame while the officer further investigated the matter.
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