News From Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman

  

Ensuring Equal Rights For All Citizens

Attorney General Schneiderman and Governor Cuomo led a coalition of ten states and the District of Columbia in filing of an amicus brief challenging North Carolina’s discriminatory anti-transgender law. The so-called “bathroom bill” limits the ability of cities and localities to protect the rights of transgender and non-gender-conforming people. The coalition, along with two other states, filed a second court brief opposing Texas’s failure to allow transgender students to use the facilities of their choosing.

Allowing Consumers To Dispute Damage Fees When They Use Zipcars

The Attorney General reached a settlement with Zipcar for charging New Yorkers rental vehicle damage fees without giving consumers the opportunity to dispute them. Zipcar routinely charged consumers these fees before notifying them of suspected damage. Zipcar is a car-sharing service that allows members to rent vehicles on an hourly or daily basis at a variety of locations for a monthly membership fee. The company has agreed to refund damage charges assessed against consumers who contested their responsibility for the vehicle damage and comply with New York law regarding vehicle damage charges. 

Protecting Vulnerable Citizens From Unscrupulous Landlords

The owners of the Esplanade Senior Residences in White Plains will pay $528,000 to 139 elderly residents after forcing them to vacate their apartments. The Attorney General charged the owners for continuing to rent apartments to senior citizens without informing them of their plan to vacate and renovate the building. 

Have a question, comment, or complaint? Click here. You can also learn more about the various initiatives of the Attorney General's office by visiting our website at ag.ny.gov. You can also call our General Hotline: 800-771-7755. 

Former Head Of Foundation Sentenced To 20 Months In Prison For Bribing Then-Ambassador And President Of United Nations General Assembly

    Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that SHIWEI YAN, a/k/a “Sheri Yan,” the co-founder and former chief executive officer of the Global Sustainability Foundation, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court today to 20 months in prison for paying more than $800,000 in bribes to John W. Ashe (“Ashe”), the late former Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda (“Antigua”) to the United Nations (“UN”) and 68th President of the UN General Assembly.  Yan pled guilty in January 2016, and was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick.

U.S. Attorney Bharara stated: “As she admitted in court at her guilty plea, Shiwei Yan bribed the President of the UN General Assembly with hundreds of thousands of dollars to further private business interests.  For her role in corrupting the United Nations, Yan will serve time in a federal prison.”

According to the Complaint, Superseding Information, information presented in connection with sentencing, and other publicly available materials:

Starting in approximately April 2012, YAN, along with co-defendant Heidi Hong Piao, a/k/a “Heidi Park” (“Piao”), agreed to and did arrange for more than $800,000 in bribe payments to Ashe in exchange for official actions by Ashe and one or more other Antiguan officials to benefit several Chinese businessmen.  Piao also pled guilty for her participation in the scheme, but has not yet been sentenced.

The initial bribe payment arranged by YAN and Piao was a $300,000 payment on behalf of a Chinese media executive referred to as “CC-1” in the Complaint.  In exchange for this payment, Ashe agreed to “start the conversations” with Antiguan officials, including the then-Prime Minister, concerning CC-1’s interests.  With YAN’s knowledge, Ashe shared a portion of the bribe payment with one or more Antiguan officials.  YAN also requested and received an official appointment from Ashe as an adviser.

In August 2013, YAN and Piao began paying Ashe approximately $20,000 per month, purportedly for his forthcoming service as the “Honorary Chairman” of a non-governmental organization, the Global Sustainable Development Foundation, later known as the Global Sustainability Foundation (“GSF”).  GSF was founded by YAN and Piao and purported to promote the UN’s sustainable development goals.  YAN sent these monthly payments from a Chinese company she operated to personal accounts of Ashe.

In September 2013, Ashe formally began his one-year term as President of the UN General Assembly.  YAN and Piao thereafter arranged for another Chinese businessman, referred to as “CC-2” in the Complaint, to send Ashe $100,000.  Approximately one month after this payment, YAN arranged for Piao to travel with Ashe and CC-2 to meet with Antiguan officials about a business deal for a Chinese security company (the “Chinese Security Company”) affiliated with CC-2.  After YAN sent Ashe another $100,000, the government of Antigua signed a “memorandum of understanding” with the Chinese Security Company. 

YAN and Piao also arranged for ASHE to be paid $200,000 in exchange for attending a private conference in China in Ashe’s official capacity, hosted by a Chinese real estate developer identified as “CC-3” in the Complaint. 

During the scheme, YAN and Piao also arranged for Ashe to receive tens of thousands of dollars in custom suits and clothes.

In imposing sentence, Judge Broderick said, “To those bent on perverting decision-making” through bribery, “this simply will not be tolerated…there are consequences to these actions.”

YAN, 60, a naturalized United States citizen who resided principally in China prior to her arrest, was charged in October 2015 along with Piao, Francis Lorenzo (then-Deputy Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the UN), Ashe, Ng Lap Seng, and Jeff C. Yin.  Piao and Lorenzo subsequently pled guilty to bribery, money laundering, and other charges.  Charges against Ng Lap Seng and Jeff C. Yin, who are scheduled to proceed to trial on January 23, 2017, remain pending, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.[1]

In addition to her prison term, YAN was sentenced to two years of supervised release, was fined $12,500, and was ordered to forfeit $300,000.

A.G. Schneiderman Announces Indictment Of Alleged Ringleaders Of Check Fraud Scheme

  Kevin Lee And Daniel Green Allegedly Cashed Over $100,000 In Fraudulent Checks As Part Of A Scheme To Defraud Account Holders And Local Credit Unions

Defendants Face A Maximum Of 10 To 20 Years In State Prison If Convicted

   Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the arraignment today of Kevin Lee (aka Kev Escobar) and Daniel Green (aka Lance Gambino) on a 19-count indictment charging them with issuing over $100,000 in fraudulent checks written in the name of a fictitious business as part of a scheme to defraud vulnerable account holders and small financial institutions.  Lee and Green are accused of convincing vulnerable individuals, many of whom were contacted over Facebook and other social media outlets, to deposit forged checks into their personal checking accounts. Lee and Green then allegedly drained the accounts of the available balances before the checks were returned and the financial institutions discovered them to be worthless.  The defendants are charged in Onondaga County Supreme Court with Grand Larceny, Forgery, and Identity Theft, among other charges. The defendants face a maximum of 10 to 20 years in state prison.

“These defendants allegedly attempted to line their own pockets by preying on vulnerable New Yorkers who were looking for an extra financial boost,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “My office has zero tolerance for those who commit identity theft and seek to exploit local financial institutions that ordinary consumers rely on for stability.”

State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II said,  “These suspects are accused of using a devious scheme to victimize vulnerable people for their own gain. I commend the Attorney General and our Special Investigations Unit in Syracuse for their work on this case. It’s because of our strong partnership that we were able to bring charges and seek to hold these two suspects accountable for their alleged crimes.”

According to statements made by prosecutors in court today, Lee created phony bank accounts in the name of Jones Maintenance, a fictitious business in which Lee claimed to have an interest.  Thereafter, Lee and Green, relying heavily on Facebook and other social media outlets, allegedly targeted numerous financially vulnerable individuals—college students, young single parents, and other indigent, disadvantaged, and unwary young adults—to whom they issued forged checks in the name of that company. In exchange for depositing these forged checks in their accounts, the account owners were promised a portion of the check as a fee. After the checks were deposited and the funds cleared and became available, the defendants allegedly withdrew the money for their own personal use. In some instances, the defendants are accused of assuming the identities of the account holders, accessing their accounts, and withdrawing funds through ATM transactions using personal information the account holders had been required to provide for asserted security purposes.  As a result, the targeted financial institutions targeted were forced to devote resources to compensate account holders for the phony checks and fraudulently withdrawn funds.

Also according to prosecutors, between December of 2015 to May of 2016 alone, Lee and Green issued over $100,000 in fraudulent checks pursuant to this alleged scheme, primarily targeting small, local or regional credit unions and banks.

The Attorney General’s indictment charges Kevin Lee  with three counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a class D felony), three counts of Attempted Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a class E felony), one count of Grand Larceny in the Fourth degree (a class E felony), six counts of Forgery or Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree (class D felonies), one count of Identity Theft in the First Degree (a class D felony), one count of Identity Theft in the Second Degree (a class E felony), one count of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree (a class E felony), and one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree (a class E felony). Daniel Green is charged with two counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, one count of Attempted Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, two counts of Forgery in the Second Degree and one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree.

Lee, 26, of Clay, and Green, 20, of Syracuse, were arraigned today in Onondaga County Court before the Honorable Judge Aloi; Lee is currently being held without bail, and Green is currently being held on $150,000 bond over $75,000 cash bail.

The charges against the defendants are allegations and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

The Office of the Attorney General is continuing to investigate the alleged operation of this check cashing ring in other counties across the state, including Westchester, Rensselaer, Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga, Oneida, Broome, and Oswego counties.

The Office of the Attorney General thanks the New York State Police Special Investigations Unit – Syracuse and the Financial Crimes Unit for their invaluable assistance on this case.

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

Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj - 6th Annual Summer Streets 2016

The Bainbridge Avenue 204th Street Merchants Association with NYS Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj and NYC Councilman Andrew Cohen present the 6th Annual Summer Streets Festival! Date: July 31st and August 7th Time: 12pm-6pm Location: East 204th Street  between Bainbridge & Decatur Avenue Come join us at this spectacular event!

Bronx Tourism Council - BRONX SALSAFEST

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

presents

at Orchard Beach

Every Saturday beginning at 1pm

AUG 7

Tipica 73

AUG 14

Mambo Legends

AUG 21

Nelson Gonzalez Band

AUG 28

Los Hermanos Moreno

Bronx Chamber of Commerce invites you to join us at our SummerFest Membership Recognition Mixer

Pokémon NO! Disturbing investigation finds pokémon popping up at high-level sex offenders’ residences across the city

  Senators Klein & Savino call for new legislation to protect children from threats new augmented reality games pose

State Senators Jeff Klein and Diane Savino on Friday released an alarming investigative report, “Protecting Our Children: How Pokémon GO and Augmented Reality Games Expose Children to Sex Offenders.”

The wildly popular game, downloaded over 30 million times within the first two weeks of its release, takes players on a hunt for pokémon using real-life maps and locations. Gamers must pause at Pokéstops, located throughout the city,  to collect items necessary to play the game and at Gyms where they meet up with other players in real-life to battle their collection of creatures.

The investigation found:

• Pokémon materialized in front of Level 2 or 3 sex offenders’ homes 57% of the time.

• Pokéstops or Gyms were located within a half-block of convicted pedophiles’ residences 59% of the time.

• A Pokémon-related item appeared near a high-level sex offenders’ residences 73% of the time.

“While children believe they are out to catch a pokémon, what might really be lurking could be a predator instead of a Pikachu. We want our children to have safe fun, but it makes no sense at all to give dangerous sexual predators a virtual road map to where our children congregate. We must update our law that already prohibits high level predators from using social media and we must make sure that gamers scrub these addresses from this game and future ones,” said Senator Klein.

“It’s dangerous to let our children linger in front of a sex offender’s home to play a game, and it’s absurd that a high-level predator should be allowed to have this map at his or her fingertips in the first place. We devised simple solutions in light of this alarming investigation to keep our laws up-to-date as technology advances,” said Senator Savino.

In light of the alarming findings, Senator Klein will introduce legislation to prohibit certain Level 2 and 3 sex offenders from playing augmented reality games. Many high-level sex offenders are already prohibited from using social media.

In another piece of legislation, Senator Klein will require game developers to regularly scour the Department of Criminal Justice website to obtain sex offender addresses and remove all in-game objectives within 100-feet of their residencies.

The investigation focused on 100 Level 2 and 3 sex offenders who committed crimes against children or who were convicted of possessing child pornography. All of the individuals are still on parole or probation and are prohibited from living within 1,000 feet of a school.

In each borough, a total of 57 pokemon were caught directly in front of these high-level pedophiles’ homes.

   

    

Worse, Pokéstops and Gyms populated surrounding areas a majority of the time.

Pokéstops are essential to playing, since players pick up items needed for the game. They are stationed at historical sites, businesses or on local artworks. “Lures” can be placed on them to attract pokémon, opening up another avenue of danger for children. A sexual predator can easily earn a lure module by playing the game or can purchase them with real world money.

Gyms prompt real world encounters. They are places where players must physically congregate to battle their pokémon, again leaving children vulnerable to predators who have access to a map of these sites, many of whom live very closeby.

Of 100 high-level sex offenders examined in this investigation, 59% of the time the predator lived within a half-block of a Pokéstop and/or Gym.

KEY: Pokéball = Pokéstop/Gym,  Blue marker = Sex offender.

8/10/16- NCB's Annual Back to School Healthfest!

Join us on Wednesday August 10^th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Kossuth Avenue (between 208^th & 210^th streets) to celebrate our Annual “Back to School” Healthfest.

·         Free Health Screenings

·         Health Education Booths

·         Medication Counseling

·         Health Insurance Eligibility Screening

·         Children’s ID Fingerprinting & Immunization                 Card Review

·         Games

·         Free Giveaways

·         Raffle Prizes and More!

Sponsored by the Friends of NCB Auxiliary and MetroPlus