Friday, April 26, 2019

SENTENCES OF 16 YEARS, 17 YEARS IN PRISON FOR TWO MEN IN FATAL SHOOTING OF TEEN DURING ROBBERY IN HIS HOME


Defendants Pleaded Guilty to First-Degree Manslaughter; Had Gone To Victim’s Home To Steal Insurance Settlement

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that two men have been sentenced to prison—one for 16 years, the other for 17 years--for fatally shooting a teen in his Bronx home in 2016. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendants went to the 19-year-old victim’s home to commit a robbery and shot him during a struggle. The defendants’ actions ended the life of a young man over money that wasn’t even in the victim’s home.” 

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Andy Encarnacion, 24, of 596 Riverside Drive, Manhattan, was sentenced today to 17 years in prison and 5 years post-release supervision by Bronx Supreme Court Justice James McCarty. Matthew Wulah, 25, of 2632 Davidson Avenue, was sentenced to 16 years in prison and 5 years post-release supervision by Judge McCarty on April 11, 2019. Encarnacion and Wulah pleaded guilty to first-degree Manslaughter in March 2019 before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Barry E. Warhit. 

 According to the investigation, in the early morning on November 20, 2016, inside 1058 Southern Boulevard, the defendants, in concert with each other, shot Jose Hart, 19, causing his death. Prior to the shooting, the victim’s mother had recently won a $50,000 car insurance settlement, and Hart had told a woman he was dating, Kayla Moreno, about the money. After the victim shared a sexually explicit video of them, she allegedly planned the robbery with others. Moreno told Wulah and Encarnacion about the money and let the defendants into Hart’s apartment. While trying to find the money, the victim struggled with the defendants and he was shot in the chest.

 The defendants fled the scene and allegedly took with them a flat screen TV, the victim’s cell phone, PlayStation console, sneakers and his jacket. The victim’s body was found by his mother when she arrived home several hours after the shooting. 

 The cases against Moreno and other co-defendants are still pending. 

 District Attorney Clark thanked Beryl Wright, Clerical Associate in the Homicide Bureau. District Attorney Clark also thanked Detective Gregory Casvikes of the 41st Precinct Squad and Detective Robert Klein of the Bronx Homicide Task Force.

BRONX MAN SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON FOR WEAPON POSSESSION IN INCIDENT THAT LEFT 5-YEAR-OLD BOY SHOT IN HEAD ON A BRONX STREET


  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of weapon possession involving a shooting that left a 5-year-old boy critically wounded. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “Any defendant on parole, carrying a gun in broad daylight should receive the maximum sentence under the law, which is 15 years. The young victim miraculously survived a gunshot to the head but continues to struggle with the injuries. An innocent child’s life has been utterly changed.” 

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Michael Quiles, 29, of Washington Avenue, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison and 5 years post-release supervision by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Martin Marcus. A jury found the defendant guilty of second-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon on March 26, 2019. The defendant was acquitted of Attempted Murder and first-degree Assault.

 According to the investigation, on June 5, 2017, in the area of 167th Street and Washington Avenue, the defendant was in possession of a loaded firearm while arguing with two men with whom he was having a dispute. The men were armed with knives and approached the defendant. Quiles, who was on parole at the time, then fired multiple shots during the argument. One bullet struck Jaheem Hunter, who was to celebrate his fifth birthday that day. His father and sister rushed him to the hospital where he underwent multiple surgeries. He suffered severe brain damage and continues to live with the repercussions from the shooting.

Former S&P Analyst Convicted In Insider Trading Schemes


  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that SEBASTIAN PINTO-THOMAZ, a former credit ratings analyst at Standard & Poor’s, was convicted today of participating in two schemes to trade on material, nonpublic information in advance of the Sherwin-Williams Company’s acquisition of the Valspar Corporation, following a seven-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said:  “Sebastian Pinto-Thomaz stole confidential information from his employer and passed it to two men he had known for years – and he did it for his own personal benefit.  While the defendant attempted to blame his mother for this conduct at trial, as a unanimous jury found, it was Pinto-Thomaz who committed insider trading.”
According to the evidence presented during the trial and statements made in related court filings and proceedings:
Rating Evaluation Services and the Insider
When a company announces an acquisition, the acquiring company often seeks the opinion of a credit rating agency regarding the potential impact that the acquisition could have on the acquiring company’s creditworthiness.  Therefore, companies often contact rating agencies before an acquisition is publicly announced.  All the major rating agencies offer a service – sometimes known as a Rating Evaluation Service (“RES”) – that provides the company with a rating committee decision with respect to a proposed acquisition.
In March 2016, Standard and Poor’s (“S&P”), a credit rating agency in New York, New York, assigned SEBASTIAN PINTO-THOMAZ, a credit ratings analyst, to work on a RES for the Sherwin-Williams Company (“Sherwin-Williams”) in advance of its contemplated but unannounced acquisition of the Valspar Corporation (“Valspar”).  In connection with this assignment, PINTO-THOMAZ received material, nonpublic information (the “Inside Information”) about Sherwin-Williams’s planned acquisition of Valspar prior to the public announcement of the acquisition.  S&P’s written policies prohibited the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, which included the Inside Information.  During his tenure at S&P, PINTO-THOMAZ reviewed and certified his duties of loyalty and confidentiality to S&P and its clients.
The Insider Trading Scheme
In March 2016, PINTO-THOMAZ misappropriated the Inside Information about Sherwin-Williams’s acquisition of Valspar and passed it to Jeremy Millul, his friend, and Abell Oujaddou, his hairdresser, so that they could use it to make profitable trades in Valspar stock and options.  On March 21, 2016, the first trading day after the public announcement of the acquisition, the price of Valspar stock increased approximately 23 percent over the prior day’s close.
Millul is a Manhattan jeweler who had a close personal friendship with PINTO-THOMAZ.  After receiving a tip about the impending Valspar deal from PINTO-THOMAZ, Millul opened a brokerage account on March 13, 2016, and shortly thereafter purchased 480 shares of Valspar common stock.  On March 18, 2016, the last trading day before the acquisition was publicly announced, Millul also purchased 75 out-of-the-money Valspar call options.  After the acquisition was publicly announced, Millul sold his Valspar stock and options for approximately $106,806 in profits.
Oujaddou is a Manhattan hairstylist and salon owner who has known PINTO-THOMAZ for years, and who is close friends with PINTO-THOMAZ’s mother.  During a haircut on March 8, 2016, or March 9, 2016, PINTO-THOMAZ provided Oujaddou with the Inside Information about the impending Valspar deal in exchange for a portion of his trading profits.  Then, from March 10, 2016, through March 18, 2016, Oujaddou, who had never previously purchased Valspar or Sherwin-Williams securities, used the Inside Information he had received from PINTO-THOMAZ to purchase 8,630 shares of Valspar stock.  After the acquisition was publicly announced, Oujaddou sold his Valspar shares for approximately $192,080 in profits.  Following his successful trading, Oujaddou met PINTO-THOMAZ in the paint aisle of a hardware store and paid him a kickback.
Later, in June 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) sent S&P a list of individuals and entities that had traded in Valspar in advance of the public announcement of the acquisition (the “List”).  S&P forwarded the List to its employees who had worked on the Sherwin-Williams RES, including PINTO-THOMAZ, asking the employees to respond by stating whether they had a past or present relationship with any individual or entity on the List. Although both Oujaddou and Millul were on the List, PINTO-THOMAZ denied having a relationship with anyone on the List.
SEBASTIAN PINTO-THOMAZ, 32, of New York, New York, was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud.  The conspiracy counts each carry a maximum prison term of five years; the securities fraud counts each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years.  The securities fraud charges also carry a maximum fine of $5 million, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.  The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the Court.
PINTO-THOMAZ is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Rakoff on July 29, 2019, at 4:00 p.m.
Abell Oujaddou and Jeremy Millul each previously pled guilty and await sentencing before Judge Rakoff.
Mr. Berman praised the work of the FBI, and thanked the SEC for its assistance.

Operator Of Online Retailer Sentenced In Manhattan Federal Court For Running Fraudulent Eyewear Business


  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that VITALY BORKER was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to two years in prison for one count of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with his operation of the eyewear retail and repair website Opticsfast.com. 

BORKER pled guilty on March 20, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe, who imposed today’s sentence.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman stated:  “Vitaly Borker twice perpetrated criminal schemes involving the online sale and repair of eyewear, and today he was rightfully sentenced to prison for a second time.  Perhaps his second stint in federal prison will impress upon this shady businessman that seeking to make money by fraud and intimidation is a path to prison and not success.”
According to allegations made in the Complaint and Indictment to which BORKER pled guilty, as well as statements made in court proceedings:
BORKER founded Opticsfast.com in 2011 as an e-commerce eyeglass retail and repair business.  From at least 2011 through 2017, the defendant conducted a scheme to defraud individuals by inducing them to send their glasses to Opticsfast.com for repairs, then demanded exorbitant fees for repairs or return shipping, intimidated and harassed customers who requested refunds by subjecting them to a campaign of abusive emails and text messages, and threatened to discard glasses when customers disputed the fees.  In furtherance of the scheme, the defendant posted material false statements on Opticsfast.com’s website, falsely claiming the company used in-house laboratories staffed by trained technicians to perform repair work.  BORKER launched and operated Opticsfast.com after he was charged in a federal criminal case for his fraudulent operation of another eyewear retail and repair website, Decormyeyes.com, for which he was ultimately convicted and sentenced in a separate case.  BORKER continued his involvement in Opticsfast.com from prison even after he was incarcerated, and following his release from prison.
BORKER, 42, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, a $50,000 fine, and a $300 special assessment.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Attorney General James Announces Investigation Into Facebook


Company Harvested 1.5 Million Users’ Contact Databases Without Authorization 

  Attorney General Letitia James today announced an investigation into Facebook’s unauthorized collection of 1.5 million Facebook users’ email contact databases. While Facebook claims that 1.5 million contact databases were directly harvested by its email password verification process for new users, the total number of people whose information was improperly obtained may be hundreds of millions.  

“It is time Facebook is held accountable for how it handles consumers' personal information,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “Facebook has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of respect for consumers’ information while at the same time profiting from mining that data. Facebook’s announcement that it harvested 1.5 million users’ email address books, potentially gaining access to contact information for hundreds of millions of individual consumers without their knowledge, is the latest demonstration that Facebook does not take seriously its role in protecting our personal information.”  
Email verification is a standard practice for online services such as Facebook. Typically, when a consumer signs up to a new service, they are asked to provide an email address, where they then receive an email with a link to verify that the email account belongs to them. Facebook's procedure requested certain users to hand over their password to their personal email account. Additionally, reports indicate that Facebook proceeded to access those user’s contacts and upload all of those contacts to Facebook to be used for targeted advertising. While Facebook has admitted that 1.5 million people's contact books were directly harvested, the total number of people whose contact information was improperly obtained by Facebook may be hundreds of millions, as people can have hundreds of contacts stored on their contact databases.  
The office has previously enforced New York’s consumer protection laws against social networking websites that misappropriated user’s contact lists. In January 2019, Attorney General James announced an investigation into Apple over their failure to warn consumers about the FaceTime bug that jeopardized the privacy of consumers in New York by allowing users to receive audio and video from the device of the person they are calling even before the person has accepted or rejected the call. In March 2018, the Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation into Facebook over the reported misuse of user data with Cambridge Analytica.    

Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. Prepares to Fight Proposed City Adult Men's Shelter


  Located in a former garage at 2008 Westchester Avenue City Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. held a pre demonstration that brought out over 100 people to protest a proposed adult men's shelter. Samaritan Village will be in charge of the 165 bed adult men's shelter which Councilman Diaz Sr. says does not belong within walking distance of two schools and across the street from a public library. Councilman Diaz Sr. says that he would rather see a family shelter for the community rather than an adult men's shelter. A full community protest where it is expected that over 500 people will show up is scheduled for Monday April 29th at 6 PM.

87th Male District Leader John Perez who was once homeless after serving his country in the Army agreed that the site is better suited as a family shelter than an adult male shelter. He said that while he was homeless that he went to Samaritan Village for help, but since Mr. Perez was not a drug addict or had a criminal record Samaritan Village would not help him.

 It seems that while construction is under way to convert the once garage into an adult men's shelter run by Samaritan Village, there has been no public meeting as required New York state law. Normally this meeting is with the local community board, but there seems to have been a private meeting on March 15th between Samaritan Village and the District Manager of Community Board 9.

Upon checking with Community Board 9, The minutes of the April 2nd Social Services Committee shows in the DM Report there will be notes from the 2008 Westchester Avenue shelter meeting that happened on March 15th.

Other items include a Town Hall meeting on April 12th at St. Helena's Church, with DHS in attendance. Samaritan Village will do a presentation at the May 7th Social Services Committee meeting. DHS will be coming to the April General Board meeting, and that CB 9 will have nime shelters when 2008 Westchester Avenue opened.


Above - City Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr, reads from a Department of Homeless paper with facts of the number of homeless people in the Bronx.
Below - 87th Assembly District Leader John Perez says that Samaritan Village (who will run the proposed adult men's shelter) that while he was homeless he went to Samaritan Village for help. He was told that he had to be either a drug addict or have a criminal background in order for Samaritan Village to be able to help him. Mr. Perez had neither.



Miracle City Center Presents its Plans to CB 10




Tuesday's Community Board 10 Health Committee brought out a crowd for the presentation by Miracle Mile City Center at 2800 Bruckner Boulevard. The Health and Human Services Committee is chaired by Ms. Nancy Rosario. 

 Chief Compliance Officer Andrea L. Carson gave a vague presentation of what Miracle City was currently doing in the CB 10 community. She said that it is a home based at the moment, but that an 822 application has been submitted to the state to be able to give counseling to people on site at 2800 Bruckner Boulevard. Sessions could be thirty, forty-five, or sixty minutes long depending on the subject and severity of problem. She added that the counseling could be on alcoholism, drug problems, gambling, smoking, opioid, or other addictions. She stressed that there would be no drugs stored on site. 

  Board members first asked questions which were answered that the program is needed in the community and the Bronx. A security guard would be on site, and that Miracle City would only occupy half of the second floor having no more than eighty people including staff in the building. The hours would be 9 AM to 6 or 7 PM, six days a week. The official start date was not known yet as the application still has to be submitted to the state. 

Questions from the public included the need for a facility like this in Throggs Neck, if the facility would dispense any drugs, security to the nearby schools and homes, how are the owners of the building involved. 

Miracle City CCP Corson replied by saying the facility is needed in the community board 10 area of Throggs Neck, Coop-City, as well as the entire Bronx. She repeated that no drugs would be given out. That there would be no security problems with their security on site. Mark Bassori and James Pecletta two of the owners of 2800 Bruckner Boulevard were in attendance and said yes they were involved in Miracle City.

John Collazzi representing Assemblyman Michael Benedetto was very concerned about the TOTS school for special needs children that has an open school yard one block away from 2800 Bruckner Boulevard. He said that Assemblyman Benedetto has three concerns that need to be satisfied.
1 - That Community Board 10 is satisfied with the program.
2 - That the Community Advisory Board is satisfied with the program.
3 - That the Community is satisfied with the program.
From the impression of the public hearing at least the firs two of the three items have been met. It will have to be seen if item three will be met.


It was a long evening for Andrea Corson, but Miracle City by meeting with Community Board 10 during a public hearing of the Health and Human Services Committee has met its requirement to meet with the community.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. - OFFICIAL BRONX 2020 CENSUS KICK-OFF