2025.1.21 Chocolay Township police ask public for help identifying suspect
CHOCOLAY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WBUP/WJMN) — The Chocolay Township Police Department (CTPD) is seeking help identifying a suspect for suspected theft.
CTPD posted on its public Facebook page about a female suspect who had allegedly been seen stealing items from someone else’s porch.
Anyone with information may contact the department at (906) 249-4040 or police@chocolay.gov. Do not send important information via Facebook message.
Angie Denise Stoker, 57, was arrested on January 19, 2025, following a traffic stop on FM 269 near IH-30 in Hopkins County. Deputies discovered two bags of methamphetamine weighing 9 grams and a glass pipe in her possession.
A 3-year-old child was also in the vehicle during the incident. While the child Stoker’s, authorities ensured the child was safely turned over to her mother at the scene.
Stoker now faces charges for possession of a controlled substance and child endangerment. This case highlights Hopkins County’s commitment to fighting drug crimes and protecting vulnerable individuals.
Sulphur Springs Police Department has arrested Ngan T. Do, 40, for shoplifting at the Walmart on S. Broadway St.
🛒 According to reports, Do was caught on surveillance intentionally skip scanning at the self-checkout. The total value of the stolen items was $117.23. After being read her Miranda Rights, Do admitted to the theft and was taken into custody by Sulphur Springs Officers.
📍 She is charged with theft of property between $100 and $750 and is now in custody at the Hopkins County Jail.
2025.1.20 Three females arrested for theft of almost $2,000 in make-up products from Antioch store
All had previous arrest records
By Antioch Police Department
We’re back again with another cautionary tale! On Wednesday night, Jan. 15, 2025, this trio of sneaky swindlers entered the Sephora store in the Slatten Ranch shopping center with nefarious intentions.
With empty purses this gaggle of grifters began filling their bags with almost $2,000 in make-up products and left without paying. Luckily for us the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department was flying their helicopter over our city and watched the suspects enter other stores.
They were unaware that no amount of concealer would save them from the consequences. All three were quickly located and arrested. One of the sticky finger bandits was found hiding under a table in the Champs store like a game of hide and seek.
One had warrants for theft, one was on probation for theft and the other had multiple theft arrests. They were all booked for multiple felony theft charges. As is customary, their car went to car jail too.
2025.1.18 Police investigating car burglaries in North Jackson
JACKSON, Miss. – The Jackson Police Department is investigating a series of car burglaries in North Jackson on Wednesday.
On January 15, JPD Precinct 4 officers responded to River Road and Foxboro Drive about several auto burglaries.
The victims of the burglaries, homeowners in the area, told officers that their vehicles had been ransacked and items had been taken.
The vehicles that were broken into were a GMC Yukon, Nissan Altima, Chevrolet Malibu, Honda CRV, GMC Sierra, and Chevrolet Equinox.
The victims were able to view their surveillance camera video.
A video showed five men wearing book bags, dark clothing with hoodies and their faces covered, walking with what appeared to be assault rifles in hand.
The suspects were going from residence to residence, pulling on vehicle doors.
The suspects had left the scene when officers arrived.
JPD recovered the video, but no arrests have been made at this time.
This is an ongoing investigation. If anyone has any additional information relating to this case, please call Crime Stoppers at (601)355-TIPS (8477) or contact the Jackson Police Department at 601-960-1234.
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A 40-year-old Indian-origin man has been arrested in the United States for allegedly kidnapping and viciously beating a man suspected of shoplifting from his convenience store in Kentucky.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville business owner is facing several charges after allegedly kidnapping and beating a shoplifter who stole vape pens from his convenience store in the Algonquin neighborhood.
Kaushalkumar Patel, 40, was in court Jan. 17 after his arrest a day earlier in connection with the alleged incident on Oct. 6, 2024, at the E-Z Super Food Mart at 1100 Algonquin Parkway. The victim was allegedly spotted taking “a box of vapes” out of the store without paying for it.
The man then ran away on foot, with Patel and several others giving chase in a van. When they caught up to him, police said Patel jumped out of the van and “pepper sprayed the victim in the face.”
The victim then reportedly crawled into a yard in the 800 block of Winkler Avenue where “he was stomped in the back by one of the co-defendants.”
Police said Patel “pulled up the victim’s shorts and sprayed victim’s anus with pepper spray” before pulling him into the van. The victim was then taken to a garage not far from the E-Z Mart, where they continued to assault him, hitting him with closed fists and kicking and stomping on him before striking him with a piece of wood.
Court records say the victim was then put back into the van and driven to the 1500 block of Lee Street, where he was dropped off. The victim called his mother to pick him up. Court documents indicate he suffered contusions and bruising to his body, and needed stitches in his right shin.
Patel is charged with complicity to kidnapping, assault and wanton endangerment. A not guilty plea was entered during his Jan. 17 arraignment. The judge set his bond at $75,000 cash. He’s due back in court on Jan. 24.
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2025.1.15 The three – Naxin Wu, 26; Mengying Jiang, 34; and Mingdong Chen, 28 – used stolen gift cards to buy expensive electronics they stockpiled in a New Hampshire warehouse and shipped to China and Hong Kong, according to court documents
Ring of Chinese scammers used stolen $100M to smuggle iPhones to Asia
A trio of Chinese nationals in New Hampshire pleaded guilty to using stolen gift cards to buy Apple products to ship to East Asia. The cell is one of many expected to be operating in the U.S.
A trio of Chinese national con artists pleaded guilty to running an elaborate conspiracy that involved scamming money from elderly and lonely Americans to buy Apple products to sell in East Asia, Department of Justice officials announced.
The three – Naxin Wu, 26; Mengying Jiang, 34; and Mingdong Chen, 28 – used stolen gift cards to buy expensive electronics they stockpiled in a New Hampshire warehouse and shipped to China and Hong Kong, according to court documents. They also returned counterfeit Apple products for gift cards to buy more electronics, the guilty plea says.
Wu, Jiang and Chen ran the scheme throughout 2023, court documents say. Law enforcement officials say their cell is one of many operating around the country. The groups tend to work from states such as New Hampshire that have no sales tax, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The trio plead guilty in the Granite State to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the New Hampshire U.S. Attorney’s Office. Sentencing is scheduled for April.
Scams like the one the three Chinese nationals admitted to operating show how the hundreds of millions con artists bilk from Americans wind up getting used in other crime schemes.
Others have used the counterfeits from East Asia to take advantage of Apple by sending in counterfeit phones that couldn’t be repaired in order to induce the company to replace the counterfeits with genuine iPhones,
Apple isn’t the only one plagued by fraudsters. The National Retail Foundation said in a study “return fraud” cost companies $101 billion in 2023. For every $100 in returned products, retailers lose on average $13.70 from fraud, the foundation said in December.
Jiang’s attorney Olivier D. Sakellarios offered a vigorous apology for his client when reached on the phone by USA TODAY.
“This scam comes from way higher than my client,” he said. “My client isn’t getting rich off of any of this but nonetheless he realized he was doing something wrong and wanted to take accountability for it.”
Attorneys for the other two defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. Attorney’s for the District of New Hampshire received a request for comment but did not answer.
Romance fraud, stolen money auctions and counterfeit phones
The New Hampshire cell that Wu, Jiang and Chen belonged to is one of just several such groups running similar scams around the country, according to the Justice Department. Officials say other unknown people belonged to the New Hampshire cell.
Cells fund organized crime operations in China, using stolen gift cards they buy at auctions, court documents say. The gift cards come from other scams, including romance fraud, where someone sends money to a person believed to be a romantic partner but is actually a con artist. The auctions happen daily on WeChat, a Chinese social media and mobile payments app.
Wu, Jiang and Chen’s operation was uncovered in an investigation into $100 million stolen through romance fraud, elder fraud and cyber intrusions into U.S. companies, court filings say.
Victims of the fraud included an elderly Spokane, Washington, resident who was tricked into buying $4,000 worth of the gift cards. Another lived in Alabama. The cards were stolen and auctioned off throughout October and December of 2023.
The trio in New Hampshire held the electronics they bought at a warehouse in Salem, according to the guilty plea agreement. Law enforcement found $8 million worth of Apple products, many gift cards and $10,000 in cash in searching the warehouse, court documents say. An additional $20,000 worth of electronics was found in a car belonging to one of the three, according to the guilty plea.
Investigators also found 2,000 counterfeit Apple products at the warehouse, court documents say. Scammers have counterfeit products imported from China and return them to stores for additional gift cards, the guilty plea says.
The New Hampshire used crypto currency to buy the gift cards and sell the Apple products they stockpiled, court documents say.
‘This scam comes from way higher than my client’
Jiang’s attorney Sakellarios acknowledged his client was a small part in a much larger fraud scheme.
“Whoever is in charge of running these scams is exploiting poor and uneducated people,” said Sakellarios, referring to Jiang and others taken in overseas criminal gangs running operations.
Cells operating similar schemes in the U.S. have purchased some 50,000 Apple products worth a total of $45 million, according to the guilty plea agreement. The products are then predominantly shipped to China, Russia and Vietnam. The cells tend to operate in states with no income tax.
2025.1.14 Chinese Nationals Plead Guilty in Fraudulent Gift Card Conspiracy Involving the Purchase and Export of Apple Products to China. Naxin Wu, 26, Mengying Jiang, 34, and Mingdong Chen, 28, pleaded guilty in federal court in Concord to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud.
Press Release
Chinese Nationals Plead Guilty in Fraudulent Gift Card Conspiracy Involving the Purchase and Export of Apple Products to China
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Hampshire
CONCORD – Three Chinese nationals pleaded guilty for their roles in a large-scale fraud conspiracy based in China, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Naxin Wu, 26, Mengying Jiang, 34, and Mingdong Chen, 28, pleaded guilty in federal court in Concord to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud. Judge Landya B. McCafferty scheduled Wu’s sentencing for April 8, 2025 and Jiang’s sentencing for April 22, 2025. Judge Joseph N. Laplante scheduled Chen’s sentencing for April 11, 2025.
According to the charging documents, organized criminal elements in China acquire gift cards through multiple fraudulent means. For example, gift cards are obtained by hacking U.S. companies, and targeting U.S. citizens through romance and elder fraud schemes. The criminal elements then send the gift card data to multiple cells of Chinese nationals operating in the United States through a Chinese-based messaging platform.
Once U.S.-based cells receive the gift card data, they then spend the gift cards to purchase high-value electronics, principally Apple products. After purchasing the Apple products, cell members consolidate the electronics in warehouses for shipment to China, Hong Kong, or countries in Southeast Asia. The cells primarily operate in states with no sales tax, such as New Hampshire, to maximize their profits.
Wu, Jiang, and Chen are members of one cell in New Hampshire. Wu and Jiang purchased fraudulent gift cards at a discount from their face value. They then either personally used the cards or disseminated them to others, including Chen, to use. Wu was responsible for $1.4 million, Jiang for $3 million, and Chen for $400,000 of fraudulent gift cards.
The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Concord Police Department led the investigation. The Merrimack County Attorney’s Office has provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen is prosecuting the case.
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Three people from China pleaded guilty in federal court in Concord to charges linked to an international scam involving gift cards.
Prosecutors said Naxin Wu, Mengying Jiang and Mingdong Chen used fraudulent gift cards to buy Apple products and resell them to customers in China.
News 9 Investigates previously reported that many of those items were stored in a Salem warehouse.
Prosecutors said Wu was responsible for $1.4 million, Jiang for $3 million and Chen for $400,000 in fraudulent gift cards.
They face up to 20 years in prison when sentenced in April.
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Facebook / Orange County Sheriff’s Office
2025.1.16 83-year-old woman’s lottery winnings stolen by man who attacked her in store parking lot
Another man is seen trying to intervene between the victim and the suspect.
Police are hunting for a suspect who was allegedly caught on camera violently robbing an 83-year-old woman of her lottery winnings shortly after claiming them from a convenience store, police said.
The incident occurred on Wednesday morning shortly after 8 a.m. outside a store on Curry Ford Road, near the intersection of S. Goldenrod Road in Orlando, Florida, according to a statement from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities posted surveillance footage of the violent robbery on social media where the unnamed 83-year-old woman is seen walking out of the store to her car with what looks to be the lottery winnings she had just collected.
It was then that the suspect, who authorities named as Diego Stalin Tavarez Fleury, can be seen walking directly toward the woman and attempting to forcibly take the winnings from her hand as she tried to defend herself.
Another man who was in the convenience store is then seen coming outside and appears to intervene between the victim and the suspect, causing Fleury to further attack the woman in an attempt to steal the money while the good Samaritan tried to pull him off of the victim.
Fleury, however, can be seen dragging the woman from her car further into the parking lot before ultimately stealing her winnings and running off.
The suspect is currently at large and wanted for robbery, sudden snatching and battery on a person 65 or older, authorities said, and anyone with information on Fleury’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
2025.1.16 Florida woman robbed of $200 in lotto winnings in Orange County; suspect arrested, officials say
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – An 83-year-old woman was dragged out of her vehicle and seemingly wrestled to the ground minutes after collecting her lottery winnings from a convenience store, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
On Thursday, officials announced they had arrested the suspect thanks to help from the community.
What we know:
Orange County deputies said the attack happened shortly after 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at Buddy’s Food and Lotto, off Curry Ford Road. A woman had collected some $200 in apparent lottery winnings, officials said.
Surveillance video near the entrance of the convenience store shows the woman walking out of the store and toward her vehicle. Not far away is a man, the alleged suspect, in what appears to be an orange jacket walking towards the entrance.
As the woman begins to open her door, the man in the orange jacket approaches her and appears to try and grab something from her, according to the video.
Seconds later, another person walked out of the convenience store, potentially an employee, holding some sort of item. The two appear to talk briefly, when the man in the orange jacket aggressively grabs the woman from behind, as the other person attempts to intervene.
Over the next 15–20 seconds, the older woman is pulled from her vehicle and falls to the ground. The suspect tussles with the other man before breaking free and runs away and out of frame.
Who is Diego Stalin Tavarez Fleury?
What we know:
OCSO identified the suspect as Diego Stalin Tavarez Fleury. He is known to frequent the area, officials said. An arrest warrant was issued for him on charges of robbery, sudden snatching, and battery on a person 65 or older.
What we don’t know:
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office announced on X that Tavarez Fleury was arrested and booked into the county jail, with the sheriff’s office crediting the community’s help in making the arrest. FOX 35 News is working to confirm his location at the time of the arrest.
Dig deeper:
According to online court records, someone with the same name has previous convictions for grand theft, drug charges, and theft of a moped.
What they’re saying:
An employee at the convenience store, Aesun Lee, says they’ve had problems with Fleury in the past.
“He hangs in front every day,” said Lee. “Every single day he hangs around.”
Lee described the victim as a regular customer.
“She’s a very nice old lady,” said Lee. “She comes in almost every day.”
In the surveillance video you also see a man in a gray shirt trying to help defend the 83-year-old woman during the attack. Lee tells FOX 35 the man is a manager at Buddy’s Food and Lotto.
“He’s a very, very, nice guy,” said Lee. “Whatever he can do, he tries to help everybody. Something like this especially.”
Another frequent customer, Debbie Davis, saw the video surveillance video and says she’s not surprised an employee jumped in to help.
“If they see something going on, anyone of them in there will come out and jump in. I’ve seen it before,” said Davis. “This is the most confrontation I’ve ever witnessed.”
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