New York Paralegal Blog

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of DAVID MITCHELL, 42, for the rape of a 73-year-old woman in Central Park. The defendant is charged in New York State Supreme Court with Rape in the First Degree, Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, and Sexually Motivated Robbery in the Second Degree, among other charges. The same indictment also charges MITCHELL with Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree for attacks on two women on the Upper West Side on the same day, as well as with Menacing in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree for a separate incident in Central Park that occurred weeks earlier.[1]

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of JOHN IOANNOU, 57, an attorney,for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from his clients since at least 2007 and attempting to coerce others to drop complaints they had filed against him with the Departmental Disciplinary Committee of the Appellate Division, First Department (“DDC”). The defendant has been indicted in New York State Supreme Court on charges of Grand Larceny in the Second and Third Degrees, Forgery in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in Second Degree, Falsifying Business Records, and related charges.[1]

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of KHALID RAHMAN, 20, on charges of Murder in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, and Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree.[1] In the early morning hours of July 5, 2012, the defendant is charged with firing a shot that killed Matt Shaw, 21, a recent college graduate, near the AK Houses in East Harlem.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and Ronald J. Verrochio, the Inspector-in-Charge of the New York Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging SCOTT SANDERS, an owner of fleets of commercial vehicles, with participating in a nine-year automobile insurance fraud scheme to obtain substantially lower premiums for commercial vehicles he owned and controlled.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced the indictment of STEPHEN JACKSON, 54, an attorney licensed in New York, for stealing approximately $110,000 from three clients’ settlement funds. JACKSON is accused of taking much of the money as cash through hundreds of ATM withdrawals, and using other stolen funds to pay former clients whose settlements he had previously taken. JACKSON is also charged with stealing more than $150,000 from Capital One Bank in a fraudulent check scheme, and with lying and falsifying evidence in proceedings before the committee that investigates complaints of attorney misconduct. The indictment charges JACKSON with Grand Larceny, Perjury, Forgery, Identity Theft, and other related charges.[1]

DENVER — Four individuals were indicted recently for computer crime, filing false tax returns and trademark counterfeiting for selling counterfeit cycling jerseys and bicycle components on the Internet, announced Monday by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers. Counterfeit items seized from the main target's apartment have an estimated industry manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) value of $285,306.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of ABACUS FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK (“ABACUS” or the “Bank”) and eleven of its former employees in a false document mortgage fraud scheme resulting in the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of fraudulent loans to the Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as “Fannie Mae.” The District Attorney also announced that an additional eight former employees have already waived indictment and admitted their guilt in connection with this conspiracy.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of PHILIP LEOPOLD, 76, for stealing more than $1.6 million from an 85-year old woman by withdrawing money from her bank and trust accounts without her authorization. LEOPOLD is charged with Grand Larceny in the First Degree, Forgery in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, Attempted Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, and Attempted Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree.

DETROIT — Twelve individuals were charged in an indictment for their role in a significant drug distribution operation that allegedly trafficked in excess of 30 kilograms of heroin, 12 kilograms of cocaine, 1,000 pounds of marijuana and laundered in excess of $21 million. The joint investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment and arraignment of TYSHAWN BROCKINGTON, 21, and ROBERT CARTAGENA, 20, on charges of Murder in the Second Degree, Burglary in the First Degree, and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree. BROCKINGTON and CARTAGENA are charged with the shooting death of Tayshana Murphy, 18, a Harlem teen and athlete. A third defendant, TERIQUE COLLINS, 24, is charged with providing the gun to the other defendants.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of JASON ITZLER, 44, for promoting prostitution and selling illegal drugs through an escort agency he operated called “Rockstar Models & Partygirls.” ITZLER is charged with Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, Promoting Prostitution in the Third Degree, and Money Laundering in the Third and Fourth Degrees.[1]

WASHINGTON – U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employee Jack Chris Jackson, 45, was indicted today on charges of sexual abuse of an inmate and false statements, the Justice Department announced.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of ANDREW ALBERT, 49, for defrauding at least three investors of approximately $590,000 in a luxury shopping website called ON1AVE.com that he was purporting to launch. The defendant was indicted on charges of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, and Criminal Tax Fraud in the Third Degree.1

McALLEN, TX—A total of 20 South Texas residents indicted for their roles in a scheme to defraud the American Family Life Assurance Company (Aflac) of millions of dollars by filing thousands of false injury claims under Aflac’s accident-only insurance plan have been convicted this week, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today.

WASHINGTON—Emerson Winfield Begolly, 22, of New Bethlehem, Pa., was indicted by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., today for allegedly soliciting Islamic extremists to engage in acts of terrorism within the United States and posting bomb-making instruction materials online.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of JUDY DEL GALDO, 66, and her son JOSEPH DEL GALDO, 46, for stealing more than $16 million from the textile business where JUDY DEL GALDO had worked for more than two decades. The mother-son duo are accused of laundering the stolen money through a shell company, and then spending much of it on luxury items. They are also charged with diverting millions to JOSEPH DEL GALDO’S failing, now-defunct ambulance company. The pair was indicted on charges including Grand Larceny in the First Degree, Money Laundering in the First Degree, Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, and Forgery in the Second Degree. “The defendants presented themselves as successful, high-rolling entrepreneurs, but the appearance of wealth and success was just a charade, forged on the backs of the owners and employees of the textile business that they are charged with victimizing,” said District Attorney Vance. According to documents fi...

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. today announced the indictment of SHARANDA HOUSER, 35, on charges of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree. The defendant is charged with embezzling more than $400,000 from her employer, Roadrunner Records, a record label located in Manhattan, over a period of six years. According to today’s indictment and documents filed in court, HOUSER was employed as the payroll manager for Roadrunner Records, a record label that is home to a number of popular heavy metal and rock recording artists, including Megadeth, Korn, Slipknot, Rob Zombie, Nickelback, Lenny Kravitz, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the Steve Miller Band. Between May 2004 and August 2010, the defendant made numerous false entries for expense reimbursements into the company’s payroll system. She falsely input that the expenses were reimbursements for company executives, but manipulated the system so that the money was wired directly into he...

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of LERIO GUERRERO, 32, for the rape and burglary of a 28-year old woman as she entered her apartment building in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1998. GUERRERO was not apprehended after the assault, but DNA from the attack was recovered and entered into a DNA database maintained by the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). The DNA profile was indicted in April 2005 as a “John Doe.” GUERRERO is charged with Rape in the First Degree, Sodomy in the First Degree, Burglary in the First Degree, Robbery in the First Degree, and Attempt to Commit the Crime of Robbery in the First Degree. “For 13 years, the victim waited for justice,” District Attorney Vance said. “Thanks to DNA technology, we were able to file an indictment in this case before the statute of limitations expired, despite not having a suspect in custody. When we consider what a powerful tool DNA evidence is for solving crime, ...

WASHINGTON—A federal grand jury today returned a six-count indictment against former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate John Edwards for allegedly participating in a scheme to violate federal campaign finance laws, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney George E.B. Holding for the Eastern District of North Carolina. The indictment, returned in the Middle District of North Carolina, charges Johnny Reid Edwards, 58, of Chapel Hill, N.C., with one count of conspiracy to violate the federal campaign finance laws and to make false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC); four counts of accepting and receiving illegal campaign contributions from two donors in 2007 and 2008; and one count of concealing those illegal donations from the FEC. Edwards is scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court in Winston-Salem, N.C., at 2:30 p.m. EDT before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick Auld. “Toda...

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of SURESH HEMRAJANI, 57, for perpetrating a $700,000 Medicaid fraud out of his Washington Heights office. HEMRAJANI, a specialist in internal medicine, prescribed Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) medications to his patients, though they did not have the virus, and arranged for these patients to bill the cost of the medications to Medicaid. The defendant has been charged with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, Health Care Fraud in the Fifth Degree, and eleven counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree. “By taking advantage of a program intended to assist New Yorkers who cannot afford to pay for medical care, the defendant victimized not only the neediest members of our community but also all New York taxpayers,” said District Attorney Vance. “I want to thank the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General and the New York City Human Resource...