Working with his wife and co-conspirator Jeanette Norman, Masaschi operated through dozens of limited liability companies, including LL Realty Developers, LLC, to obtain fraudulent loans from financial institutions and commercial lenders. Between May 2016 and November 2018, they fraudulently obtained or sought to obtain approximately $60,123,000 in loans while causing documented losses of $18,203,030 to their lenders, including two community credit unions. Masaschi and Norman targeted properties located in Springfield, Massachusetts; East Longmeadow, Massachusetts; and Enfield, Connecticut.

The fraud scheme centered on false documentation. Masaschi and Norman submitted “materially false, fictitious and fraudulent financial information” including false rent rolls and forged lease agreements to secure the loans. After receiving funding, they defaulted on the loans and left the buildings vacant, maximizing losses to the lenders.

In April 2025, Masaschi pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. Norman pleaded guilty in September 2025 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. A federal grand jury indicted both in April 2023.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, announced the sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven H. Breslow and Caroline Merck of the Springfield Office prosecuted the case. Norman is scheduled to appear in court on August 11, 2026.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/longmeadow-man-sentenced-four-years-prison-massive-commercial-loan-fraud-conspiracy

According to charging documents, Aristhyl submitted falsified VA paperwork with his mortgage application claiming he had received a 100% disability rating and was receiving over $3,000 monthly in disability benefits. The documents also falsely stated he was exempt from paying a “funding fee” to the VA—a fee typically required of veterans and valued at over $10,000 in his case. Prosecutors allege both documents were fabricated and that Aristhyl had no disability rating and was not receiving any monthly disability benefits from the VA at the time of his application.

Relying on the misrepresentations, a private lender issued the $478,000 mortgage on October 25, 2024. The VA subsequently issued a loan guarantee backing a portion of the mortgage on January 21, 2025.

Aristhyl was released on conditions following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston on July 21, 2026. The wire fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. The false statement charge carries identical penalties.

The case was announced by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Algieri with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julissa Walsh of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/dhs-employee-charged-fraudulently-obtaining-478000-va-backed-mortgage

According to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Harrisburg, Slater filed at least 280 false tax returns for 35 businesses claiming Paid Sick and Family Leave Credits (SFLC) and Employee Retention Credits (ERC), credits Congress authorized to help businesses weather the COVID-19 pandemic. The Internal Revenue Service paid out over $32.2 million of the $52.7 million claimed before the scheme was detected.

Slater allegedly recruited business owners, used their information to file fraudulent returns, and laundered the proceeds through multiple channels. Keagel, who owned two defunct businesses, allegedly provided his companies’ information to one of Slater’s co-conspirators. “Slater’s associates filed false tax returns on behalf of Keagel’s businesses,” the indictment states. The IRS mailed approximately $3.6 million in fraudulent Treasury checks to Keagel, who then allegedly laundered the proceeds.

“This brazen fraud is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “The Fraud Division will continue to hold anyone accountable who steals from American taxpayers and abuses programs intended to provide relief during a national crisis.”

Slater faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each of seven mail fraud counts and up to 10 years for each money laundering count. Keagel faces up to 10 years for each count of theft of government property and money laundering. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Deputy Chief Ezra Spiro of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma. IRS Criminal Investigation is conducting the investigation.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/two-men-charged-52-million-covid-19-tax-credit-fraud-conspiracy

The VA Community Care program reported an improper payment estimate of $608 million for fiscal year 2025, representing 2.4 percent of the program’s total outlays. The CMS Medicare Advantage program reported a far larger improper payment estimate of $23.7 billion for the same period, or 6.1 percent of program spending. Both programs were designated as high-priority for improper payments by the Office of Management and Budget for fiscal year 2025, placing them among 30 government programs flagged for payment integrity concerns.

The GAO found significant gaps in how both agencies address fraud and improper payments. While the VA met key requirements by developing processes to identify root causes and implementing adequate corrective action plans, the agency has not conducted a comprehensive fraud risk assessment for Community Care. According to the report, “these efforts do not meet the key elements of a fraud risk assessment and have not resulted in a comprehensive fraud risk assessment for the program, leaving it vulnerable to fraud.”

CMS’s performance was worse. Although the agency developed a process to identify root causes of improper payments in Medicare Advantage, “its estimated improper payment rate has not decreased but remained steady.” The report found that “CMS’s corrective action plans are not sufficiently detailed and do not adequately monitor progress.”

A critical weakness identified by GAO involves Risk Adjustment Data Validation (RADV) audits, CMS’s primary tool for identifying and recovering improper payments in Medicare Advantage. The agency lacks “a detailed plan for expediting Risk Adjustment Data Validation (RADV) audits,” and a growing backlog of these audits has created “significant delays in its recovery efforts.”

Neither agency has conducted comprehensive fraud risk assessments. The GAO concluded that “CMS’s efforts to reduce improper payments and fraud in the Medicare Advantage program will be inadequate without comprehensive corrective action plans and fraud risk assessments.”

The GAO examined agency documentation, prior inspector general reports, and interviewed officials from both agencies and trade associations between November 2024 and June 2026 to assess efforts to identify and address improper payment and fraud risks.

Source: https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107946

Zhu owned Prime Life Adult Day Care LLC, which operated from approximately 2020 through 2025. According to court documents, Medicaid recipients were paid illegal cash kickbacks and bribes in exchange for enrolling at Prime Life. During that five-year period, the center fraudulently billed Medicaid approximately $3.2 million for social adult daycare services that recipients never received. Medicaid paid the full amount based on these false claims.

To conceal the scheme, Zhu used multiple business entities to launder fraud proceeds and generate cash used to pay kickbacks to Medicaid recipients. Some of this cash was recovered during a search of Prime Life.

“Eric Zhu exploited vulnerable Medicaid recipients by paying them illegal cash bribes to enroll in his adult day care program, then fraudulently billed Medicaid $3.2 million for services that were never actually provided,” said Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “This scheme stole millions from American taxpayers and undermined a program meant to help those in need.”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations New York, and the New York City Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Acting Assistant Chief Patrick J. Campbell and Trial Attorney Leonid Sandlar of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

The Justice Department’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, comprising nine strike forces across federal districts nationwide, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion since 2007.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/brooklyn-adult-daycare-owner-sentenced-57-months-medicaid-fraud-scheme

Featured image: U.S. Department of Justice (public domain)

Homeland Security Investigations, the DHS subagency that tracks international crimes including human trafficking, has begun requesting specific case details and seeking identifying information on payment platforms, messaging apps, and websites used by the scammers. The agency is looking for URLs, WhatsApp numbers, and Zelle payment app data that could trace back to perpetrators, according to sources knowledgeable about the inquiry.

Analysis of Federal Trade Commission data revealed that victims and advocates reported at least $94.4 million stolen over five years across more than 6,200 complaints. The scams range from fraudsters impersonating Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents threatening deportation to con artists exploiting international students’ visa status concerns.

DHS released a statement saying the agency was “declaring an all-out war” on the scammers. “Immigration scammers contribute to a lawless environment, undermining our immigration system and posing risks to national security and public safety,” the statement said.

The scams operate with a consistent pattern: fraudsters pose as immigration lawyers and advertise on Facebook and TikTok, then shift conversations to WhatsApp, offering to help people avoid in-person court hearings in exchange for large payments. Victims describe attending fake court hearings conducted via WhatsApp where imposters wearing phony government uniforms took their testimony.

In one documented case, a woman fearful of Trump’s immigration enforcement actions paid scammers she believed would help her maintain legal status. After the fraud, she missed a court date and was deported to Nicaragua.

The schemes often exploit a mistranslation of the word “notary,” which carries legal authority implications in Latin American countries—a tactic known as “notario fraud.” Spanish speakers are the primary targets, and scammers frequently impersonate legitimate advocacy groups like Catholic Charities USA to gain credibility.

South Florida immigration attorney Angel Leal has become a target of AI-generated impersonation, with hundreds of realistic deepfake videos created in his likeness advertising fraudulent immigration services on WhatsApp and Instagram. His office hired an anti-piracy agency to remove over 6,000 fake profiles.

Kevin Brennan, vice president for media relations at Catholic Charities USA, stated: “Directly reaching out to people via an ad or via WhatsApp and asking for money over Zelle, that is not something Catholic Charities agencies would ever do.”

Law enforcement and advocacy groups recommend that targets document all advertisements, text conversations, and payment information. DHS warns consumers to be wary of lawyers advertising directly on social media, operating on WhatsApp, and requesting payments via Zelle.

Source: https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-dhs-immigration-scams-fraud-homeland-security

More than 9,600 private schools exist today—a jump of at least 1,500 schools in five years —yet state regulators rarely scrutinize who runs them, what they teach, or how students perform.

Florida is not alone in overlooking problematic backgrounds. A woman fired from a Cincinnati charter school following felony charges related to misuse of public funds and banned from teaching or running schools in Ohio was able to start a private school in Florida and access public money without state interference.

In Arizona, state law explicitly prevents the Department of Education from overseeing private schools. In 2024, Arizona’s top education official publicly praised heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson—who served prison time for rape—for his involvement in launching a private school bearing his name, calling him “a champion of education.”

The explosive growth reflects a deliberate policy shift. About 30 states now offer some version of a taxpayer-funded voucher or education savings account program, with more than 1.5 million students participating, according to EdChoice, an advocacy group. That number is expected to rise further after President Donald Trump signed a federal tax-credit program into law, marking the first federal plan to fund K-12 private schools.

The consequences are visible across states. Florida has opened an average of 100 new private schools each of the last five school years. Arkansas, which began allowing students to access roughly $7,000 annually toward tuition three years ago, saw about 120 new private schools open. In one Arkansas school detailed in previous ProPublica reporting, students faced menial labor and violence; the owner was convicted of felony child abuse but the school remained eligible for state funding after a temporary suspension.

Some states cannot account for the schools they are funding. Arizona has no comprehensive count of how many private schools operate within its borders despite spending hundreds of millions in voucher dollars.

Source: https://www.propublica.org/article/private-schools-vouchers-growth-florida-arizona-west-virginia

Broadwater spent 16 years in state prison and lived as a registered sex offender for nearly 23 more after his 1981 conviction for raping author Alice Sebold. In 2024, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick stood in court and excoriated the original prosecution, supporting Broadwater’s exoneration. The conviction was thrown out. Despite this, Syracuse and Onondaga County continue to defend against Broadwater’s civil lawsuit seeking financial damages.

In his earlier comments to the reporter, Gershman called the prosecution’s conduct “‘Misconduct’ is kind of glib in this case. … It’s so much worse than plain misconduct. This is tyranny.” When interviewed for this article about his reversal, Gershman said he changed his mind after deeper analysis. “The facts,” he stated, “are more ‘complex’ and ‘nuanced’ than how he initially understood them.”

Ethics experts expressed concern about the shift. Stephen Gillers, emeritus professor and ethics expert at New York University School of Law, said while “it’s not unethical to change your mind,” Gershman’s reversal is “an embarrassment and it’s going to undermine his credibility going forward.” Rebecca Roiphe, a professor at New York Law School specializing in criminal law and ethics, called the situation “odd” and said it “raises concerns.” She distinguished between acting as a neutral commentator for news coverage and serving as a partisan expert witness, saying the roles should not be confused.

The original May 8, 1981 assault occurred in a park near Syracuse University, where Sebold was a freshman. Police initially disbelieved her despite medical examination and physical evidence supporting her account. After Sebold later spotted Broadwater on a street and reported him, he was arrested. At a crucial lineup, Sebold identified a different man as her rapist—a misidentification that Fitzpatrick said should have ended the prosecution immediately. “She didn’t pick out the wrong guy,” Fitzpatrick said. “She picked out the guy that she thought had raped her. And it wasn’t Anthony. Case is over. Stop.” The prosecution proceeded anyway, and Sebold identified Broadwater at trial.

Lawyers for both sides declined to comment for this article.

Source: https://www.propublica.org/article/alice-sebold-anthony-broadwater-rape-case-prosecutorial-misconduct-bennett-gershman

Luneke, who served as Chief Financial Officer at Bank of the Valley, attempted to defraud Stearns Bank in Minnesota by submitting fraudulent and inflated contractor invoices to artificially inflate the valuation of a Legacy Express Wash car wash property in Columbus in pursuit of a $3.5 million refinancing loan. Prosecutors established that Luneke failed to disclose significant personal debts owed to family members on the Stearns Bank loan application.

The scheme escalated when Luneke defrauded Bank of the Valley by submitting the same fraudulent and inflated invoices from contractors as justification for additional construction loan proceeds. Bank of the Valley ultimately issued two loans to Luneke totaling approximately $4.3 million.

Federal Judge Brian C. Buescher determined at sentencing that Luneke’s position as CFO at Bank of the Valley “significantly facilitated the commission and concealment of the fraud against the victim bank.” The judge found that Luneke “employed sophisticated means to carry out the scheme; served an aggravating role by organizing, leading, managing, or supervising others in executing aspects of the fraud; obstructed justice by providing false testimony during trial; and caused a victim to suffer substantial financial hardship.”

In addition to his prison sentence, Luneke was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and will serve five years of supervised release after his release from prison. The federal system has no parole.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Office of Inspector General.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ne/pr/former-bank-cfo-sentenced-36-months-imprisonment-bank-fraud-scheme-involving-car-wash

An FBI investigation revealed that between 2018 and December 2022, Ricceri-Wolf exploited her access to the company’s financial information and bank accounts. Beginning in 2019 and continuing through 2022, she opened American Express credit cards in both the company’s name and the owner’s name without authorization or knowledge. Using her position as Financial Manager, Ricceri-Wolf made personal purchases on the unauthorized cards and then concealed the fraud by using company bank accounts to pay the American Express balances.

In approximately three years, Ricceri-Wolf made roughly 106 unauthorized payments to American Express totaling at least $538,428.26. The full restitution amount of $635,935.05 exceeds the charged fraud amount, accounting for additional losses from the scheme.

The case demonstrates how employee access to financial systems and account information can be weaponized to defraud an employer. Ricceri-Wolf’s dual advantage—both opening cards in unauthorized names and having the ability to make payments from company accounts—allowed the fraud to persist for years before detection.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. U.S. Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced the sentencing on July 17, 2026.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ne/pr/omaha-woman-sentenced-18-months-wire-fraud