Van Cortlandt Park Alliance - Will you celebrate with us on Juneteenth?

 

Juneteenth has been celebrated every year since 1866, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, becoming a national holiday in 2021. As we all reflect on this important day, we hope you will join Van Cortlandt Park Alliance and Bronx Arts Ensemble at our Fifth Annual Juneteenth Celebration with an evening of performance and community on Thursday, June 19th at 6pm.

 

The program takes place in two parts. We will begin on the lawn of the Van Cortlandt House Museum with performances, including music and spoken word. Then join us for a procession with drums to the Enslaved African Burial Ground for a libation ceremony, honoring the memory of the enslaved people who lived, worked, and are buried on the land. 

 

Juneteenth celebrations have a long history of focusing on food! Come early to eat dinner before the show. 

From 5 pm, delicious food will be available for sale from Voila Afrique. (First come-first served.)

RSVP

Our Contact Information
Van Cortlandt Park Alliance
80 Van Cortlandt Park South, Ste. E1
Bronx, NY 10463
718-601-1460
http://vancortlandt.org

Statement from Governor Kathy Hochul

“In the weeks after the horrific October 7 Hamas attacks, I directed additional New York State Police resources towards the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. This Task Force plays a critical role in our efforts to keep New Yorkers safe.

“Today, it was announced that this Joint Terrorism Task Force conducted an investigation into a 20-year-old who attempted to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish religious center in Brooklyn. The suspect, who was living in Canada at the time he was planning the attack, has been charged and arrested by federal law enforcement. State Police assigned to the Task Force played a critical role in the investigation of the subject and his movement toward the U.S. from Canada. Through partnership with colleagues at the FBI, CBP and Canadian law enforcement, he was ultimately arrested by Canadian authorities before he could get into the United States.

“This incident is a chilling reminder of why it was necessary for my Administration to take significant steps to protect our northern border. That includes $13 million to enhance security efforts, including the purchase of additional tools to support investigations into transnational criminal organizations. It also includes increased staff and technological capacity for New York State Police, including assigning additional members to the Joint Terrorism Task Force Office in Plattsburgh.

“Over the past two years we have seen a horrific increase in antisemitism and hate-fueled violence and threats. My top priority as Governor has always been to ensure the safety and security of every New Yorker, and I will use every tool at my disposal to keep New Yorkers safe by continuing to crack down on violent criminals or hate filled individuals that want to cause harm to my constituents.”

 

Attorney General James Leads Bipartisan Coalition Urging Meta to Protect Users from Fraudulent Investment Ads

 

Scammers Using Fraudulent Facebook Ads Featuring Prominent Figures Are Tricking People into Investing in Pump-and-Dump Schemes

New York Attorney General Letitia James today led a bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general in calling on Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta) to protect people from fraudulent investment ads appearing on Facebook. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has found several Facebook ads impersonating prominent figures, such as Warren Buffett, claiming to offer high returns on investments. The fraudulent ads are luring vulnerable users into pump-and-dump schemes that have led to thousands of people losing hundreds of millions of dollars. The OAG received a report of an individual who engaged with a fraudulent Facebook ad, which claimed to be connected to a well-known investment management firm, and lost over $100,000. In their letter to Meta, Attorney General James and the coalition highlight the dangers of these ads and urge Meta to improve its process for reviewing ads before they appear on its platforms.

“Scammers are using Facebook ads to trick New Yorkers and others across the country into investing in fraudulent schemes,” said Attorney General James. “Thousands of Facebook users have lost hundreds of millions of dollars to these scams and Meta must do more to stop these fraudulent ads from running on its platforms. Today, I am leading a bipartisan coalition calling on Meta to step up its review of ads to stop these scams. I also urge all New Yorkers to be extra careful before putting their money in investments they see advertised on social media.”

The fraudulent Facebook ads use images of well-known individuals, such as Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, and Andrew Sorkin, who are not affiliated with the groups who run the ads, to draw users into the investment scheme. The ads often boast about stocks with incredibly high returns for investors and some even offer free “consultations” or investment advice. When users click on the ads, they are prompted to join a WhatsApp group, where they are targeted in a pump-and-dump scheme. An OAG investigator joined the fake investment tip WhatsApp group, and later received a phone call from one of the scammers who used artificial intelligence to speak English. The caller was not a native English speaker and appeared to use artificial intelligence to change her voice to sound like she had a British accent. Despite the British accent, the caller said she was based in Arkansas. When asked to identify the capital of Arkansas, she was unable to do so.

Examples of Fraudulent Investment Ad on Facebook

In these pump-and-dump schemes, the scammers provide a series of recommendations to buy certain stocks. The prices of these stocks are then rapidly pumped up when they are purchased by the users. The fraudsters then profit from the price inflation by quickly selling, or “dumping” the securities at a high price, which in turn causes the prices to plummet. The new owner of the stocks typically loses a substantial part of their money when the security’s price falls. Pump-and-dump schemes are illegal and constitute securities fraud.

Despite Meta’s use of automated systems and occasional human review to remove fraudulent ads, fraudsters have consistently evaded these systems by frequently changing their ads. Months after submitting scam reports to Meta, OAG continued to receive scam ads.

Attorney General James and the bipartisan coalition are calling on Meta to thoroughly review its advertising review practices to protect consumers from being wrongly shown these scam advertisements. The coalition letter urges Meta to implement more robust preventative measures, such as enhanced advertiser diligence and meaningful human review of investment-related advertisements before they run. If Meta cannot effectively curb these harmful scams, the attorneys general urge Meta to cease running investment advertisements altogether.               

Joining Attorney General James in issuing today's letter are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Virgin Islands, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia.

Pickleball Company Owner Waives Discharge of Over $47M in Unsecured Debt After USTP Investigation

 

A pickleball entrepreneur who was forced into bankruptcy by investors he lured with promises of generous returns recently agreed to waive his bankruptcy discharge after an investigation by the Justice Department’s U.S. Trustee Program (USTP), preventing the discharge of more than $47 million in unsecured debt.

On May 14, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana approved a voluntary waiver of discharge by debtor Rodney Grubbs, owner of All About Pickleball LLC, an apparel and equipment company that did business as Pickleball Rocks. As a result, Grubbs remains personally liable for his debts, and creditors are free to pursue payment from him after the case is closed.

Grubbs solicited investments from pickleball players and fans from across the United States, usually in the form of promissory notes with purportedly guaranteed interest rates of 10 percent or higher. In December 2023, several unpaid investors filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against Grubbs under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. Grubbs opposed the petition, but after a hearing in which he testified to using new investors’ funds to pay back previous investors, the bankruptcy court granted the involuntary petition and ordered the case to proceed. Grubbs eventually disclosed nearly $1.6 million in assets and more than $47 million in liabilities, the vast majority of them unsecured debts owed to hundreds of individuals.

As part of its extensive investigation, the USTP’s Indianapolis office obtained Grubbs’ personal and business financial records and examined him under oath. Ultimately, Grubbs — who also faced allegations from multiple creditors consistent with a Ponzi scheme — elected to waive his bankruptcy discharge.

“The USTP is committed to addressing fraudulent and abusive conduct that threatens the integrity of the bankruptcy system,” said U.S. Trustee Nancy J. Gargula for Region 10, which includes the Southern District of Indiana. “Our commitment to protecting consumers and those who fall victim to various schemes that come to light in bankruptcy is unwavering.”

The USTP’s mission is to promote the integrity and efficiency of the bankruptcy system for the benefit of all stakeholders — debtors, creditors and the public. The USTP consists of 21 regions with 89 field offices nationwide and an Executive Office in Washington, D.C. Learn more about the USTP at www.justice.gov/ust.