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  • Gloucester County Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud Scheme and Theft of Elderly Victim’s Bank Account Funds

    Gloucester County Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud Scheme and Theft of Elderly Victim’s Bank Account Funds

    Gloucester County Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud Scheme and Theft of Elderly Victim’s Bank Account Funds

    NEWARK N.J. – A New Jersey man pleaded guilty to fraudulently seeking more than $1.4 million from the IRS by filing false tax returns claiming COVID-19-related employment tax credits, for laundering the proceeds from that scheme, and for stealing more than $180,000 from an elderly customer at the car dealership where he worked, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

    James J. Mastrogiovanni, 44, of Washington Township, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of mail fraud, one count of money laundering, and one count of access device fraud.  Sentencing is scheduled for November 6, 2025.

    During the pandemic, Mastrogiovanni engaged in a scheme with Leon Haynes, a tax preparer, to exploit COVID-19 relief programs to line his own pockets.  From in or around March 2021 through in or around December 2022, Mastrogiovanni and Haynes prepared and filed with the IRS false and fraudulent Forms 941 on behalf of Mastrogiovanni, his family members, and others, claiming tax refunds intended to help struggling small businesses by reducing employment taxes owed.  All of the Forms 941 prepared in furtherance of the scheme were false and fraudulent because they listed employees and wages that, in fact, did not actually exist. Neither Mastrogiovanni nor any of his family members owned or operated a business, let alone had paid employees.  Mastrogiovanni claimed at least $1,443,409 in tax credits, and as a result of the scheme, the U.S. Treasury disbursed at least $545,692 to Mastrogiovanni and his family members.

    Haynes has been charged separately in a 63-count indictment for allegedly preparing and submitting more than 1,600 false employment tax returns on behalf of himself and clients totaling more than $150 million. He also allegedly defrauded some of his own clients by using their identities to submit these applications without their permission or knowledge.  Trial is scheduled to begin on September 25, 2025 in that matter.  The charges and allegations against Haynes are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    From on or about June 19, 2023 through on or about December 7, 2023, Mastrogiovanni engaged in a separate scheme to steal more than $180,000 from an 85-year old victim. The victim presented a check to Mastrogiovanni to purchase a vehicle at the car dealership where Mastrogiovanni worked.  Mastrogiovanni later used the routing and checking account numbers on the check to make unauthorized personal transactions from the account until the account was empty.

    The count of conspiracy to defraud the United States carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine; the mail fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; and the money laundering and access device fraud counts each carry a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

    U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of the IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan; special agents of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction Acting Special Agent in Charge Corwin Rattler; postal inspectors from the U.S. Postal Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher Nielsen, Philadelphia Division; and officers of the Mahwah Police Department, under the direction of Chief Timothy O’Hara, with the investigation.

    The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Stark and Fatime Meka Cano of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

    The District of New Jersey COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.

    Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

    Banner Image: Tax fraud characters. Image Credit – Alexas_Fotos

  • Long-Time Fugitive Extradited to the United States to Face Charges for Orchestrating Mail Fraud Scheme Defrauding Elderly and Vulnerable Victims of Over $10 Million

    Long-Time Fugitive Extradited to the United States to Face Charges for Orchestrating Mail Fraud Scheme Defrauding Elderly and Vulnerable Victims of Over $10 Million

    NEWARK, N.J. – A German man was extradited from Italy and arrested for orchestrating a massive mail fraud scheme targeting elderly and otherwise vulnerable victims with false and fraudulent psychic solicitations, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

    Georg Ingenbleek, 58, a citizen of Germany, was indicted in 2020 and has been a fugitive. He was apprehended in Bolzano, Italy in 2024 and returned yesterday via Newark International Airport to face an indictment charging him with two counts of mail fraud. Ingenbleek made his initial appearance and arraignment on May 9, 2025, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded without bail.

    According to the Indictment and statements made in court:

    From at least 2011 through 2016, Ingenbleek created numerous direct mail solicitations supposedly from world-renowned psychics, falsely and fraudulently claiming that the recipients were being contacted because they had been the subject of specific visions by the psychics, including visions that the recipients were going to receive large sums of money and good fortune. Many of the letters falsely promised that the psychic services being offered were free of charge. In fact, the letters were mass-produced using software and information provided by Ingenbleek to a direct mail marketing services company, Company-1, located in Piscataway, New Jersey, which Ingenbleek retained to print and mail the solicitations.

    Ingenbleek directed a second company, Company-2, to send fraudulent billing notices to the same victims that stated that the victims owed money for psychic services, which in many cases had been offered free of charge. The fraudulent billing notices were labeled “collection notices” and “invoices,” falsely representing that the victims owed late payment fees, and falsely stating that a psychic or astrology organization would refer the victim to a “collection agency” and take legal action if the victim did not send a check, usually for $20 to $50. Through his fraudulent psychic mailing campaign, Ingenbleek obtained more than $10 million dollars from victims.

    In September 2016, Ingenbleek directed representatives of Company-1 and Company-2 to destroy all materials related to his fraudulent psychic mailings in response to federal criminal investigations into his conduct and the conduct of other participants in the scheme. In one email, dated September 23, 2016, Ingenbleek told a representative of Company-2, “You cannot wait! I advise you urgently to get rid of the material! Use your own car, rent a truck, start today, work all weekend.”

    The mail fraud charges each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

    U.S. Attorney Habba credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen; special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer Piovesan; and special agents of HSI New York, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonzo, with the investigation leading to the charges, and HSI Rome and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs for providing significant assistance in securing the defendant’s extradition from Italy.

    The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan Fayer and Olta Bejleri of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

    The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    Banner Image: Police. Image Credit – Markus Spiske

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