Skip to main content

Manhattan U.S. Attorney and FBI Assistant Director in Charge Announce Four Arrests in 2008 Staged Robbery

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; and Janice Fedarcyk, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced today that Janell Nelson, formerly a Dunbar Armored car courier, and three others were charged in connection with staging a September 2008 robbery of Nelson as she was preparing to deliver money to an M&T Bank branch in New York, New York. Nelson’s three co-defendants, Kyonta Bailey, Wadner Philippe, and Pearl McDougald, were taken into custody today and presented in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry B. Pitman this afternoon. Nelson was arrested today in Richmond, Virginia, and will be presented there in federal court tomorrow.

According to the allegations in the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court:

At the time of the robbery, Nelson worked as an armored car courier for Dunbar Armored. In the summer of 2008, Nelson, Bailey, Philippe, and McDougald, along with Nicole Jennings and another individual, both of whom previously pled guilty for their roles in the scheme, planned and practiced executing a robbery during which one of the defendants would rob Nelson as she delivered money from Dunbar Armored to M&T Bank on September 30, 2008. On the morning of the robbery, Bailey, Philippe, McDougald, Jennings, and the other defendant drove to the vicinity of the M&T Bank branch located at 397 First Avenue in Manhattan. The other defendant entered the vestibule of the bank to prepare to rob Nelson while Bailey served as a lookout several blocks away on Nelson’s route, alerting him when Nelson’s car passed by. When Nelson arrived and prepared to enter the bank with a bag containing $330,000 in cash, the defendant in the vestibule approached her from behind, grabbed the bag containing the money and the gun she carried as part of her job, and pushed her to the side. The defendant then left the bank and met McDougald nearby, handing her the bag containing the money. Wadner drove the getaway car and ultimately picked up all of the participants in the robbery, except Nelson, and drove them to a motel in New Jersey, where they divided the proceeds. Nelson was then interviewed by authorities as a purported victim of the robbery.

* * *

Nelson, 26; Bailey, 27; Philippe, 29; and McDougald, 30, all New Jersey residents, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank larceny, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison; and one count of bank larceny while putting in jeopardy the life of a person by the use of a dangerous weapon, which carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. Bailey, Philippe, and McDougald are also charged with one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Nicole Jennings, 26, of Newark, New Jersey, pled guilty to interstate transportation of stolen goods in June 2011 and was sentenced in October 2011 to two years in prison.

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney

Russell Capone is in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

15 Gang Members Convicted on Conspiracy, Weapons Possession, Firearms Trafficking Charges Case Follows Recent Convictions of 137th Street Crew and East Harlem Narcotics Trafficking Organization

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced the results of the investigation and prosecution of one of Central Harlem’s most destructive criminal street gangs, referred to as “ONE TWENTY-NINE” or “GOODFELLAS/THE NEW DONS,” which terrorized the neighborhood surrounding West 129th Street between Lenox and Fifth Avenues. Thirteen members of the gang have previously pleaded guilty to importing, possessing, and using firearms over the course of the conspiracy.

Mortgage Fraud

Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced today the indictment of 13 individuals and a mortgage origination company for perpetrating over $100 million in mortgage fraud over a four-year period in the New York City metropolitan area. In addition, 12 individuals have already waived indictment and pleaded guilty to felonies relating to their participation in the mortgage fraud scheme. The indictment charges 13 individuals and the mortgage company, AFG FINANCIAL GROUP, INC., with enterprise corruption, grand larceny, scheme to defraud and conspiracy involving 19 fraudulent mortgage transactions. The defendants include the principals and a number of employees of the mortgage company, as well as bank employees, appraisers, and three attorneys. Two other attorneys are among the defendants who already pleaded guilty. The crimes charged in the indictment occurred between June 2004 and April 2009 with the bulk of the fraudulent closings occurring from mid-2005 through the end of...

DISTRICT ATTORNEY VANCE ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF SIX SUBCONTRACTING COMPANIES AND THEIR OWNERS IN MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR FRAUD

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictments of six subcontracting companies and their owners for colluding with LEHR CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION (LEHR) in a multimillion dollar scheme that defrauded numerous construction clients over the past decade. See, related story. The announcement comes one day after DA Vance announced LEHR and four executives were indicted on crimes including Enterprise Corruption, the New York State Racketeering law. GODSELL CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION and its owner ARTHUR GODSELL are charged with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree. JT ROSELLE LIGHTING, INC. and its owner JAMES ROSELLE, LIBERTY CONTRACTING CORPORATION and its owners GEORGE FOTIADIS and KEVIN FOTIADIS, PJ MECHANICAL and its owner JAMES PAPPAS, SUPERIOR ACOUSTICS, INC. and its owner KENNETH MCGUIGAN, and SWEENEY & HARKIN CARPENTRY and its owner MICHAEL HAYES are charged with Grand Larceny in the Third Degree.[1] "The defendants in this case cheated clie...