New York

Sir Walter Scott once said, “Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive.” (How right he was.) Jane B. Smith, 65, of Hudson, N.Y., can attest to that after pleading guilty to attempted wire fraud and making false statements...

Ibrahim Aksakal, 49, also known as “Dennis,” pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud and wire fraud in connection with a “birth tourism” scheme in Suffolk County, N.Y. The scheme enabled pregnant Turkish women to enter the United States using tourist and...

An ophthalmologist from Rye, N.Y., has pleaded guilty to perpetrating a seven-year healthcare fraud scheme. Ameet Goyal admitted to falsely billing for millions of dollars in procedures he did not perform and to fraudulently obtaining two Government-guaranteed loans intended to help small businesses during...

It would be an understatement to say that it has been very tough on individuals who have lost their jobs due to the Coronavirus pandemic. But it is particularly egregious when unscrupulous individuals take advantage of the situation and rob others of unemployment benefits...

The coronavirus pandemic has simultaneously brought out the worst and the best in humanity. While some have rallied together to support their communities, fraudsters have sought to exploit programs meant to aid those struggling financially. One of these fraudsters, Jean R. Lavanture, 48, of Saugerties,...

The American justice system does not discriminate based on age. If you commit fraud, they'll prosecute you whether you’re straight out of high school or going through a midlife crisis. The latter may be the case for Jennifer Caloia, age 57, who was sentenced...

Everyone makes mistakes, even the government. Due to a one-digit error by the Social Security Administration (SSA), Frederick L. Guth, Jr., 66, of Brewerton, N.Y., collected more than $33,000 of someone else’s benefits. Guth filed for Social Security in 2016, and the SSA processed his...

Adam Arena of Buffalo, N.Y., and Amanda Gloria of Altus, Okla., both 44, were arrested for fraudulently obtaining and laundering COVID-19 relief Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds. Arena and Gloria allegedly conspired together to fraudulently obtain and misuse almost $1 million in PPP loans. Court documents...

Defrauding a lifeline program like Medicaid or Medicare is immoral. Doing so while dispensing controlled substances that carry high risk of addiction and the potential to be lethal is beyond evil. (But oh, so alluring to fraudsters, because the repeat business is so lucrative.) The...

George William Doumar’s Oregon mailbox business came in handy, once he decided to fraudulently cash in on his aunt’s Social Security benefits. In the late 1980s, he changed his aunt’s address from New York to Klamath Falls, with her benefit checks coming to his...