Fires, Explosions Spark Large Recall Of Wireless Power Banks
More than 33,000 wireless power banks are being recalled after the lithium-ion batteries caught fire and exploded, causing $20,000 in property damage.
The recall affects about 24,000 ESR HaloLock power banks sold in the US, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Thursday, Aug. 14. About 9,900 portable chargers were sold in Canada.
The lithium-ion battery in the recalled units can overheat and ignite, creating fire and burn hazards. Waymeet Limited, the Hong Kong-based distributor, has received nine reports of the batteries catching fire and exploding. N…
Father, Son Admit To Using Paulsboro Deli In $100M Stock Inflation Scheme: Feds
A quiet deli in Paulsboro became the unlikely focal point of a $100 million stock manipulation scheme led by a father and son, authorities said.
Peter Coker Sr., 82, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and his son, Peter Coker Jr., 56, pleaded guilty on Thursday, Dec. 19 to securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. Coker Jr. is a former resident of Hong Kong.
Prosecutors said the plan started around 2014 when two New Jersey residents opened Your Hometown Deli on Mantua Avenue. The pair soug…
George Iino, Fort Lee Baseball Coach, Dies At 55: 'Beacon Of Love'
George Iino, a Fort Lee resident who coached baseball in the community, died on Wednesday, March 27, according to a fundraiser set up to support his family.
A native of Illinois, Iino moved to New Jersey as a teenager, graduating from Mount Olive High School, his obituary reads. A graduate of Rutgers University, he had numerous passions including skiing, martial arts, DJing, tennis and was a competitive bodybuilder, according to his obituary.
Iino pursued a career in international business and trade, which saw him circle the globe, traveling to places like Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris,…
Foreign Nationals Convicted Of Multi-Million Dollar Phony iPhone Scheme In Maryland, DC: Feds
A pair of Chinese nationals living in Maryland have been convicted on federal charges for an elaborate scheme to defraud Apple out of millions of dollars worth of iPhones, authorities announced.
Haotian Sun, of Baltimore, and Pengfei Xuem, of Germantown, both 33, were found guilty this week for their roles in a sophisticated operation involving upwards of 5,000 devices.
According to prosecutors, between May 2017 and September 2019, Sun, Xue, and other conspirators defrauded Apple Inc. by submitting counterfeit phones to Apple for repair to get the company to exchange them with genuine …
Biz Owners Take Pleas After NJ Feds Seize Record $14M Worth Of Cisco Networking Knockoffs
Three North Jersey business owners admitted importing and selling cheap knockoffs of Cisco Systems networking equipment after federal agents seized an unprecedented $14 million worth of the devices from their warehouse in Passaic County.
Musa Karaman, 35, of North Arlington, was the last of the trio to take a deal from the government, pleading guilty to trafficking counterfeit goods in U.S. District Court in Newark on Thursday, Aug. 24.
Accomplices Sadri Ozturan, 37, of Hawthorne, and Israfil "David" Demir, 38, of Secaucus both pleaded guilty to the same charges on Aug. 8, U.S. Attorney for…
Mastermind Of Historic $175M Psychic Mail Scam Convicted, Feds Cite More Than 1M Victims
The mastermind of a mass-mailing scam that stole $175 million from more than a million victims, most of them elderly or ailing, was convicted by a federal jury in New York City.
Patrice Runner, a 57-year-old Canadian and French citizen, directed a ruthless psychic mail scheme for over two decades, beginning in 1994, the jurors found.
It was one of the largest -- if not the largest -- scam of its kind ever, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday, June 16, in announcing the verdict reached a day earlier on Long Island.
Runner sent mailings to millions of Americans that claimed t…
Jersey Shore Man Who Labeled Shipment Of Iguanas As Toys Sentenced To Home Confinement
UPDATE: A Jersey Shore man who falsely labeled a package containing 10 live iguanas bound for Hong Kong as “toys" was sentenced by a federal judge Tuesday to a plea-bargained six months of home confinement as part of three years probation.
Jason Ksepka, 44, of Farmingdale, also was prohibited from "harassing, harming, pursuing, hunting, shooting, wounding, trapping, capturing, or collecting wildlife or attempting to engage in such conduct," U.S Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi also barred him from the "the import, export, transport, s…
Feds: Chinese Citizen Who Financed $2.25M Exotic Turtle-Smuggling Operation Extradited To NJ
A Chinese citizen who bankrolled the smuggling of $2.25 million worth of rare, protected turtles out of the United States was extradited from Malaysia to face federal charges in New Jersey, authorities said.
Kang Juntao, 24, of Hangzhou City, China, financed a nationwide ring of criminals who smuggled at least 1,500 protected turtles out of the U.S., many of whom were bound with duct tape and stuffed into socks, Justice Department officials said Thursday.
“Wildlife trafficking is a serious crime that impacts imperiled species at home and abroad,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Aure…
Covid-19: New York 'On Pause' Extended, But Cuomo Sees Possible 'Flattening Of Curve'
New York will be "on pause" for several more weeks as the number of deaths due to novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has now been essentially flat for two days, indicating a possible "flattening of the curve."
During his daily COVID-19 news briefing on Monday, April 6, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced there have been 8,658 new confirmed cases of the virus, bringing the statewide total to 130,689, tops in the nation, and 4,758 deaths, also No. 1 in the United States.
Of the 130,689 positive cases, there are currently 16,837 people hospitalized for the virus, including 4,504 ICU patients. Since…
