Transnational #OrganizedCrime Groups Target US-based Attorneys with Debt Collection Wire Fraud Scheme

Organized crime groups are using a sophisticated debt collection scheme to defraud attorneys in the United States, according to a recent FBI report.

The FBI has issued an advisory describing the scam and urging fraud victims to report crimes to a local FBI office or the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

The advisory says transnational organized crime (TOC) groups “hire unwitting attorneys to represent them for a fraudulent legal scenario, solicit them to deposit large counterfeit checks into their client trust accounts, and then persuade them to immediately wire the deposited amount to a foreign bank account controlled by members of the TOC group.”

According to the advisory, the FBI has received numerous complaints from victims nationwide. Members of the TOC group contacted the attorneys misrepresenting themselves as German of English companies in a loan dispute with a U.S. company. Initial contact is often made using email or social networking sites, such as LinkedIn.

“The perpetrator informs the victim that the foreign company is looking for a US-based attorney to help settle debt litigation with a US business,” the advisory states. “The reason for the alleged dispute may relate to defaulted loan repayment or an attempt to recoup losses for a purchase in which the item was never received.”

The perpetrator then informs the attorney that the U.S. business has contacted the foreign business and will immediately make a partial or full payment directly to the victim. The scammer then sends a fake cashier’s check to the lawyer.

The scammer directs the attorney to deposit the check into the lawyer’s trust account and take a retainer fee from the funds. If the attorney deposits the check, the bank may make funds available before the check fully clears.

The perpetrator will then send instructions to quickly wire the deposited money to a foreign bank account, such as accounts in Japan, hoping the transaction will take place before the check clears.

If the scam is successful, the bank will later notify the victimized attorney that the cashier’s check was counterfeit and the lawyer’s trust account suffers the loss.

Lawyers who encounter situations like this should verify a check’s authenticity from bank officials before depositing a check. Lawyers should also independently contact the U.S. business from which the perpetrator purports to be collecting money.

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Enforcers @Chicago_Police Football Team Kick Off Party at @115Bourbon

The Chicago Police Football Team the “Enforcers” are entering their ninth season. The Enforcers participate in the National Public Safety Football League, which is made up of nineteen teams from all over the country. Head coach Greg Zaragoza welcomes several new and exciting players to the team. The Enforcers are made up primarily of sworn members of the Chicago Police Department and also have players who are Cook County Sheriff Officers and other local agencies. The Enforcers play to raise money for various local charities.

The NPSFL plays full contact football following NCAA rules. The Chicago Police Enforcers are a recognized 501c3 organization.

The Enforcers start the season with their annual Kick-Off party Sunday March 2nd at 115 Bourbon St. 3359 W. 115th St from 3-8 pm. The Enforcers are coming off a 2-2 season in 2013. The Enforcers 5th annual "First Responders Memorial Game" is June 7th, at Brother Rice High School. The First Responders Memorial game is between the Enforcers and the Chicago Fire Department team the Blaze. The First Responders game is always exciting with the Enforcers triumphant in 2 of those games. The game will honor members of both departments who paid the ultimate sacrifice, and also this year the game will honor the 1st Responders from Washington Illinois. The Enforcers are looking forward to making a run at another National Championship. Media members welcome.

Season Schedule 

March 29th, 2014 at Columbus Marauders @ 1pm 
 Canal Winchester High School
Canal Winchester, Ohio

April 12th, 2014 Cleveland Warriors @ 3pm
 St. Rita High School
 7740 S. Western Ave. Chicago IL

May 3rd, 2014 NYDOC Boldest @ 5pm "Gold Star Game" 
 Lane Tech High School
 2501 W. Addison Ave. Chicago, IL

May 17th, 2014 at Philadelphia Blue Flame 
 Northeast High School
 Philadelphia PA.

June 7th, 2014 CFD Blaze @ 3pm "First Responders Game" 
 Brother Rice High School
 10001 S. Pulaski, Chicago, IL

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Hakim Lowery, Fugitive Member of Bloods Street Gang, Arrested

Aaron T. Ford, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Newark Field Office; William Fraher, the Acting Chief of Police of the Paterson Police Department; and Gary F. Giardina, the Chief of Police of the Clifton Police Department, announced the arrest of Hakim Lowery, 35, a fugitive and alleged ranking member of the Fruit Town Brims set of the Bloods street gang operating in Passaic County, principally in the town of Paterson, New Jersey.

Lowery is one of 28 members and associates of the Paterson Bloods named in a superseding indictment superseding indictment charges Lowery and others with distribution and possession with the intent to distribute heroin, “crack” cocaine, and powder cocaine. Three of the defendants were also charged with brandishing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking activity and with being felons unlawfully in possession of firearms.

A number of the defendants were arrested in a weekend sweep in Paterson. As of Monday, Lowery was the only defendant who remained at large. The FBI, Paterson Police Department, and Clifton Police Departments continued their investigation and were able to locate and arrest Lowery on Tuesday evening in Paterson, New Jersey.

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Scott McLean and John A. Vassen Sentenced to Prison for Tax Sale Scheme in Exchange for Campaign Contributions to County Treasurer

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced that Scott McLean, 51, of Belleville, Illinois, and John A. Vassen, 56, of O’Fallon, Illinois, were sentenced in the United States District Court in East St. Louis, Illinois, for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Evidence presented at the sentencing hearing established that McLean and Vassen participated in a price fixing scheme orchestrated by former Madison County Treasurer Fred Bathon. Bathon structured the Madison County tax sale to permit the tax buyers to charge distressed homeowners inflated interest rates from 2005 to 2008 in exchange for campaign contributions.

“These tax buyers repeatedly gouged financially distressed homeowners with confiscatory interest rates enabled by a corrupt treasurer. This crime was a toxic combination of public corruption fueled by private greed. The people of Southern Illinois deserve better,” said United States Attorney Wigginton. U.S. Attorney Wigginton praised the work of the Metro East Public Corruption Task Force, including agents from the IRS and the FBI. “These dedicated men and women work long hours for little pay to keep the citizens of our district safe from those who seek only to enrich themselves at our expense.”

McLean was sentenced to 18 months in prison, to serve three years’ supervised release, pay a $25,000 fine, and a special assessment of $100. Vassen was sentenced to 24 months in prison, to serve three years’ supervised release, pay a $25,000 fine and a special assessment of $100. Both sentences were in excess of the recommendation from the United States Sentencing Guidelines. A third tax buyer, Barrett R. Rochman, 70, of Makonda, Illinois, also pled guilty to participating in noncompetitive tax sales on October 17, 2013. Rochman is scheduled to be sentenced on March 25, 2014.

The former treasurer of Madison County, Illinois, Fred Bathon pled guilty to antitrust charges on February 5, 2013. Bathon was sentenced on December 6, 2013, to 30 months in prison, two years’ supervised release, a fine of $20,000, and a special assessment of $100.

The charges allege that at Illinois tax lien auctions, investors bid to purchase tax lien certificates issued against delinquent tax payers. Investors are supposed to compete to purchase these tax liens by bidding on the interest rate the property owner will be required to pay prior to redeeming the tax lien attached to the owner’s property. The bid opens at no more than the statutory maximum of 18 percent and through a competitive bidding process can be driven as low as zero percent. The bidder offering the least penalty percentage rate, i.e., the bidder who is willing to allow the owner to redeem his property for the smallest penalty, is allowed to purchase the tax lien. As such, competitive bidding benefits financially distressed homeowners by reducing the amount of money that they have to pay to save their home from foreclosure; however, that same system reduces the profit made by tax buyers. Tax buyers prefer to receive high interest rates, which corresponds to higher profits.

For the tax sales conducted in 2005 to 2008, Fred Bathon structured the tax sales in a way that eliminated competitive bidding and allowed the tax buyers to engage in price fixing by only bidding the statutory maximum interest rate of 18 percent. The tax buyers who pled guilty today were charged with making campaign donations to Bathon in exchange for receiving property tax liens at non-competitive interest rates.

By 2007 and 2008, the bid rigging and price fixing was so pervasive that distressed homeowners were charged the statutory maximum interest rate on nearly every property tax lien sold. During the tax auction occurring November 14 to 15, 2007, 2,549 out of 2,574 property tax liens were awarded to bidders for the statutory maximum interest rate of 18 percent, which represented 99.03 percent of the property tax liens auctioned. During the tax auction occurring November 13 to 14, 2008, 2,290 out of 2,364 property tax liens were awarded to bidders for the statutory maximum interest rate of 18 percent, which represented 96.86 percent of the property tax liens auctioned.

The investigation was conducted through the Metro East Public Corruption Task Force by agents from the Internal Revenue Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Wigginton and Assistant United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft.

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Former Police Officer Convicted of Striking and Kneeing Handcuffed Arrestee in the Head and Body

A former Plymouth police sergeant was convicted of using excessive force on an arrestee and covering up his actions by falsifying police reports related to the incident.

After three hours of deliberation, a jury convicted Shawn Coughlin, 47, of deprivation of constitutional rights under color of law and falsifying a record to impede a federal investigation.

On November 19, 2011, at the Plymouth police station, Coughlin assaulted an arrestee who was in a holding cell and handcuffed behind his back. Coughlin struck the arrestee in the head and kneed him in the body, resulting in bodily injury. Evidence at trial also established that Coughlin falsified the official police incident reports regarding the incident.

“A critical component of effective law enforcement is trust,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. “Quality policing cannot exist if citizens can’t trust that the police who are sworn to protect them use excessive force and lie about their actions. It is very important to our entire system of justice that individuals who violate that trust are held accountable.”

“This investigation shows that the FBI, Plymouth Police, and the United States Attorney’s Office place a high priority on investigating civil rights violations including violations by those sworn to protect and serve. The FBI was proud to work with the Plymouth Police Department and the United States Attorney’s Office on this investigation to ensure that justice was served. Nothing justifies or excuses Mr. Couglin’s actions because it is never acceptable to break the law in order to enforce it,” said Vince Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 20, 2014. Coughlin faces up to 10 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on the civil rights conviction. Coughlin faces up to 20 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on the obstruction conviction.

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