The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has announced charges against a Northampton County man accused of swindling over 50 victims out of more than a $1 million by selling them worthless stocks.
Robert McCabe, 76, of Bangor, PA, was charged with multiple counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud. Attorney information was not available.
A drug task force in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is missing roughly $150,000 from a civil asset forfeiture fund in what “appears to be an internal theft,” District Attorney Heather Adams told the press Monday.
Adams announced June 1 that an internal audit of the Lancaster County Drug Task Force revealed that someone has stolen up to $150,000 from the task force’s asset forfeiture fund. She didn’t name any potential suspects, but she did indicate that it was likely someone with access to and knowledge of the drug task force.
It was May 2015, and still early in the morning in rural Berks County, Pennsylvania. Dana Smith, age 48, looked outside and was surprised to see a line of police cars waiting outside. “It was like a line of state troopers’ car and sheriffs’ cars,” she said. “They said they have a warrant, and I said, ‘A warrant for what?” and they said, ‘To search the house.’”
It turns out that Smith’s boyfriend, Edward Chesney, was under suspicion of trafficking drugs. Law enforcement believed he had based his operation in Smith’s own home, and now they were looking for evidence.
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In 2016, Ambioris Cruz was in a Nissan Murano SUV together with Jose Veloz in Reading, Pennsylvania. With them in the car were $5,000 in cash and several bags of drugs. They were waiting for one of their associates to show. They were waiting to make a drug deal.
What Cruz and Veloz didn’t know was that the police had turned their associate against them. Law enforcement officers were observing from a distance. When the time was right, the police rushed in. They arrested the pair and seized the SUV, cash, and drugs.
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On March 23, 2016, police arrested Christopher “Bmore” Hawkins, age 46, of Spring Garden Township, Pennsylvania on drug charges. Hawkins was caught attempting to sell heroin to two informants. As part of his plea bargain, Hawkins pleaded guilty to several charges, including “possession with intent to deliver heroin” in order to receive a prison sentence between four and eight years.
During a search of his house, law enforcement officials seized several items. These included televisions, a 1996 Dodge Neon, and a 2004 Mercedes-Benz CLK. Police were able to take possession of Hawkins’ property using a procedure known as civil asset forfeiture, which gives police the power to seize a person’s property or assets if said property and assets are suspected of being involved in a crime.
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Criminal Defense and Civil Forfeiture Blog