Two Men Admit Roles in Armed Robbery of New Jersey Target Store on Black Friday 2012

TRENTON, NJ—Two New Jersey men admitted this week to participating in an armed robbery of a Target Store in Union, New Jersey, on Black Friday in November 2012, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced today.

Maryland Liggins, III, 29, of Newark, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with conspiracy to commit a Hobbs Act robbery. On May 20, 2014, Darrell A. Carter, 24, of Irvington, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before Judge Thompson to an information charging him with one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Carter, Liggins and two other men—Lavell Jones, 28, of East Orange, New Jersey, and DaQuaan Vaughn, 36, of Newark—were arrested on June 19, 2013, and charged by complaint in connection with the Target robbery. On April 29, 2013, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Jones and Vaughn charging both men with one count of Hobbs Act robbery and charging Vaughn with one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On November 23, 2012, Carter and Liggins allegedly participated in an armed robbery of the Target store on Springfield Avenue in Union on Black Friday—the day after Thanksgiving—which is considered to be one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Carter and Vaughn allegedly entered the store and robbed the store’s employees at gunpoint and Liggins served as the getaway driver. Jones allegedly posed as a shopper and served as a lookout inside the store.

While in the store, Carter and Vaughn restrained Target employees with zip ties and robbed them at gunpoint, stealing more than $50,000 from a cash cart and safe located in the cash room. The two men then fled the store and ran out to a vehicle driven by Liggins that was parked on the shoulder of nearby Route 78.

The charge of Hobbs Act robbery is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The charge of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years, which must run consecutively to any other prison term. Each of these counts also carries a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing for Liggins is scheduled for September 25, 2014; sentencing for Carter is scheduled for September 24, 2014.

U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas. He also thanked the Union Police Department for its role in the investigation and Target corporate security for its cooperation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas P. Grippo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Romankow, acting deputy chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit.

Hudson County Trio Indicted for Robberies of Sovereign Bank in Secaucus and TD Bank in Fairview

NEWARK, NJ—Two men and a woman from Hudson County, New Jersey were indicted today in connection with their roles in two bank robberies that took place last summer, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Gary Bohanan, 44; Angel Feliu, 20; and Josephine Chenet, 45, all of North Bergen, New Jersey, are each charged by indictment with two counts of bank robbery. The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury sitting in Newark.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Bohanan, Feliu, and Chenet allegedly robbed the Sovereign Bank (now Santander Bank), in Secaucus, New Jersey, on July 22, 2013. Bohanan and Feliu entered the bank at 10:11 a.m. Both wore latex gloves on their hands and masks over their faces. Once inside, Bohanan brandished a black handgun, jumped over the counter, and proceeded to empty two drawers of money into a black bag, while pointing the handgun at bank tellers. As Bohanan emptied the drawers, Feliu stood guard. Bohanan and Feliu then fled the bank into a car driven by Chenet.
Bohanan, Feliu, and Chenet also allegedly robbed the TD Bank in Fairview, New Jersey, on July 26, 2013. Bohanan and Feliu, both wearing latex gloves and masks, entered the bank at 9:48 a.m. Feliu was recorded by the bank’s video surveillance system before he pulled the mask over his face. Once inside the TD Bank, Feliu brandished a knife at employees and customers. Bohanan brandished what appeared to be a black handgun but was later identified as an air pistol. Bohanan jumped over the counter and proceeded to empty two drawers of money into a black bag, while pointing the air pistol at bank tellers. As Bohanan emptied the drawers, Feliu stood guard and held bystanders back by brandishing the knife.
Bohanan and Feliu fled on foot and were followed by concerned citizens and victims of the bank robbery. Bohanan encountered a white GMC Savana van, pointed the air pistol at the driver, and ordered the driver out of the van. Bohanan then took control of the van and attempted to flee the area by driving away in the van, drove a short distance, and crashed. He exited the van and attempted to flee on foot. Law enforcement and concerned citizens located Bohanan hiding under a truck, which was parked a short distance away. Bohanan was found with a black bag containing, among other things, a black air pistol and money covered with red dye.
Feliu separated from Bohanan after the bank robbery and was seen getting into the passenger’s seat of a waiting vehicle that was driven by Chenet. Citizens followed the vehicle as it drove away at a high rate of speed and observed Feliu exit the vehicle and run into a cemetery in North Bergen, where he was located by law enforcement.
The counts of bank robbery with which Bohanan, Feliu, and Chenet are each charged each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Bohanan and Feliu have been detained pending trial.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, with the investigation. He also thanked the Fairview, North Bergen, and Secaucus Police Departments for their contributions to the case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco J. Navarro of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Serial Bank Robber Hits for the Seventh Time

NEWARK—The FBI’s Newark Division is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying and locating the individual believed to be responsible for robbing seven banks since August of 2013. In all of the robberies, the individual approached the teller, presented a demand note, and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash. He wore a red baseball cap in four of the robberies, a camouflage baseball cap in two robberies, and a two-tone cap on the last robbery. In all bank robberies, the subject is described as follows:

• Race: White
• Gender: Male
• Height: 5’5”-5’7” tall (approximately)
• Hair: Auburn/red or brown
• Facial Hair: Mustache/beard
• Age: Late 20s, early 30s
• Build: Medium

The following is a chronological listing of the robberies with related photos:
Friday, August 30, 2013 - At approximately 11:06 a.m., the Investors Bank located at 51 South Broad Street, Elizabeth, New Jersey, was robbed. The subject wore a red hat, grey shirt, tan shorts, and black sunglasses. He was also carrying a black book bag.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013 – At approximately 4:00 p.m., the Investors Bank located at 51 South Broad Street, Elizabeth, New Jersey, was robbed. The subject wore a red baseball cap, a red t-shirt, black pants, and carried a black backpack.

Saturday, December 7, 2013 – At approximately 11:18 a.m., the PNC Bank located at 45 South Martine Avenue in Fanwood, New Jersey, was robbed. The subject wore blue jeans, a red baseball cap, a black jacket, and a blue scarf.

Saturday, January 25, 2014 – At approximately 12:40 p.m., the Capital One Bank located at 815 Route 22, North Plainfield, New Jersey, was robbed. The subject wore a camouflage colored cap, tan jacket, black gloves, and a black scarf.

Saturday, March 1, 2014 – At approximately 11:30 a.m., the PNC Bank located at 1730 Oak Tree Road, Edison, New Jersey, was robbed. The subject wore a camouflage colored cap, dark jacket, and black gloves.

Saturday, March 8, 2014 – At approximately 11:57 a.m., the Capital One Bank located at Route 1 South, Woodbridge, New Jersey, was robbed. The subject wore a red baseball cap, black winter jacket, and dark pants.

Saturday, March 22, 2014 – At approximately 9:47 a.m., the Rahway Savings Institute located at 426 Lake Avenue, Colonia, New Jersey, was robbed. The subject wore a two-tone baseball cap with blue or green and white with “A” emblem, and a black jacket.

A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual responsible for these bank robberies.
Anyone with information about these or any other bank robberies should contact the FBI at (973) 792-3000. Additional information and photographs of these bank robberies can be found on Bandittrackernortheast.com.
Citizens are reminded they should never attempt to apprehend a fugitive on their own, and should dial 911 in an emergency.

3 injured, 3 arrested in brawl outside Prudential Center in Newark

EDISON - Three people are injured and three are under arrest after a brawl outside the Prudential Center in Newark.
The incident happened just before 2 a.m. Saturday morning, when police say they received reports of gunfire in the area.
Police arrived at the scene to find a man and woman shot, and another man with an injury to his leg.
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Police say the man with the leg injury and two others are facing weapons charges.

KIYC: Tenants say they are being evicted by deceased property manager

NEWARK - Some tenants at a Newark apartment complex say they are being wrongfully evicted, and a Kane In Your Corner investigation finds they could have a case. The investigation finds Pavilion Apartments and its management company, Kettler Properties, sent out legal notices supposedly signed and dated by a former manager who had been dead for months.
Kyle Screen, the tenants association president at the Pavilion Apartments, says he has been arguing with property managers over the new lease agreement, which asks residents to take on new expenses, including buying their own $100,000 liability insurance policies and paying extermination costs if their apartments are treated for bed bugs. Since the apartments are rent controlled, Screen argues that it amounts to an illegal rent increase, but he says managers have refused to discuss the issue. Instead, Screen was hit with an eviction notice, citing his refusal to sign the new lease along with other alleged lease violations, which Screen denies. “I believe management is targeting me because I have been a very vocal voice for the residents,” he says.
But Kane In Your Corner found a much bigger issue with the eviction notices sent to Screen and hundreds of other tenants. The “landlord verification forms” are supposedly signed and dated by a former manager who died months before. Brian Freeman, a Jersey City attorney who specializes in housing law, says this is such a serious legal problem that any eviction bearing that signature “would have to be dismissed on its face immediately.”
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The attorney for Kettler Management, Jenel Marraccini, says property managers sign hundreds of blank forms in advance so the law firm can fill in the information as needed. She admits the firm was still using old forms signed by the now-deceased manager, but argues that the mistake is unimportant because “someone at the management company reviews these notices.”
But Brian Freeman, a housing attorney from Jersey City and past president of the New Jersey Bar Association, calls that argument “totally false.” That’s because the verification forms state that the person signing them has personally read the information and vouches that it is accurate, under penalty of law. “To have someone who is deceased do it, quite frankly, is outrageous,” Freeman says.

Treasurer of Charitable Organization Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Sheikh Javed Rehmat, a pharmacist in Little Neck, New York, pleaded guilty today to one count of making false statements relating to a government investigation into violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and a conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John P. Carlin, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Field Office in Washington, D.C., made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge Liam O’Grady.
Rehmat faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when he is sentenced on July 18, 2014.
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Rehmat, a treasurer and member of the Board of Directors of the Society for International Help (SIH), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity based in New York, admitted to making false statements surrounding financial transactions concerning SIH, as well as another charity—the Kashmiri American Council (KAC). Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, the director of the KAC, was sentenced to serve two years in prison on March 30, 2012, for his role in a conspiracy to conceal that the KAC was funded between 1990 and 2011 with at least $3,500,000 from the government of Pakistan, including the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (Pakistan’s military intelligence service).
Rehmat also admitted to making false statements surrounding the purchase of over $8,000,000 of shares of stock from Yasin Kadi and/or Muwaffaq Limited—over $3,330,000 of which had been purchased with money that Rehmat had wired from SIH’s accounts to those of another charitable organization in Pakistan. Yasin Kadi has been designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, since 2001. Yasin Kadi held these shares through Muwaffaq Limited, which was registered in the Isle of Man.
This investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Washington Field Office.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Kromberg, Trial Attorney John Gibbs of the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Ickovic from the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.