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Monday, April 8, 2013

Prison Term Set in Online Fraud Scheme That Used Alpharetta Warehouse

Robert A. Hill, now of Swainsboro, ran an eBay store out of Roswell to sell more than $9 million in stolen goods across state lines.

A Georgia man was sentenced to serve more than seven years in federal prison for selling more than $9 million in stolen property from his eBay store that he operated out of Roswell for 10 years. Robert A. Hill, 51, shipped the goods across state lines to his customers from a warehouse in Alpharetta. Hill had an eBay store called atlantis_discount_ warehouse_llc, where he sold the merchandise online to buyers from across the United States, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. To get merchandise, he worked with a group of identity thieves who used fraudulent credit cards opened in the names of numerous identity theft victims to buy expensive items, such as iPads, iPods, iPhones, computers, Wii game systems, cameras…

Monday, February 4, 2013

Alpharetta, Johns Creek Men Sentenced in Bank Fraud

An Atlanta man obtained account information and impersonated account holders, passing information along for other defendants to use to take money out of bank accounts.

Five defendants – including one from Alpharetta and another from Johns Creek – were sentenced today and last Thursday for using fake driver’s licenses to withdraw almost $1.5 million from victims’ bank accounts.  The defendants were convicted of conspiracy, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft after pleading guilty. Court documents and U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates revealed that from February 2010 through August 2011, Gafar O. Kosoko Balogun ran an identity theft scheme in Atlanta that targeted various banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, SunTrust, and BB&T.  He obtained individuals' financial account information, credit reports, business information and tax identification numbers. Balogun would then call the bank and …

Friday, September 7, 2012

Billboard Lawsuit Lost by Fulton Affects Milton

The result of a lawsuit that's older than the city of Milton by billboard companies against Fulton County affects the city also.

  A nine-year lawsuit over billboards has caught Milton in its legal wrangling and now City Council is working with its City Attorney to figure out how to meet the terms of a court order. Fulton County lost another round in court in a lawsuit brought after the county denied permits for 32 billboards next to busy thoroughfares. At the time Milton wasn't even a notion – it became a city in 2006. But now it has its own sign ordinance and the billboard companies want signs in the young city also. Milton City Attorney Ken Jarrard doesn't normally explain why the City Council was going into executive session, but he took the opportunity at the Sept. 6 meeting. Jarrad explained that the judge struck down the Fulton County ordinance. The county …

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No Name

7:27 pm on Friday, September 7, 2012

They look trashy and low class. I'll make it a point not to patronize any business that advertises on them.   more ›

Friday, January 27, 2012

Federal Judge Rules Against Islamic Center in Alpharetta Zoning Case

The city did not prevent the Islamic Center of North Fulton from pursuing its religious beliefs, U.S. District Judge Forrester ruled this week.

UPDATED 12:05 P.M.: The Islamic Center of North Fulton failed to convince a federal judge that Alpharetta prevented it from pursuing its religious beliefs or dissuading members from practicing their faith. U.S. Senior District Judge J. Owen Forrester rejected the church's argument, "finding that the burdens placed upon its religious exercise did not rise to the level of severity contemplated by Supreme Court." Alpharetta City Attorney Sam Thomas expects the judge's decision to be appealed. Andrea Cantrell Jones, an attorney for the Islamic Center, said they are disappointed with the outcome. She said her law firm, Dillard & Galloway LLC, is exploring options for their client, and hope to meet with them by the beginning of next week. "I …

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Alpharetta Man Convicted of Accounting Fraud at Beazer Homes

A federal grand jury in Charlotte convicted Michael T. Rand on seven fraud charges, destroying 10,000 emails and obstruction of justice.

Michael T. Rand, 48, of Alpharetta, and former chief accounting officer for Beazer Homes USA, has been convicted by a federal jury of seven crimes relating to a seven-year accounting fraud conspiracy at Beazer, as well as document destruction and obstruction of justice. According to a news release from U.S. Attorney David A. Brown of the Western District of north Carolina, the charges arise from an investigation involving Beazer and its employees that began in March 2007. In July 2009, Beazer was charged with, among other things, participation in the conspiracy and securities fraud with Rand. Beazer accepted responsibility for those charges and, in a deferred prosecution agreement, agreed to pay restitution of $50 million. Rand was …

Monday, October 24, 2011

Alpharetta Man Given 9 Months in Federal Prison on Obstruction Charge

The mortgage brokerage owner pleaded guilty in July to conspiring to obstruct a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him.

A 46-year-old Alpharetta man was sentenced today, Oct. 24, to nine months in federal prison on charges he conspired to obstruct justice in a sexual harassment lawsuit. James Pefanis, 46, of Alpharetta, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story on charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice relating to false evidence and testimony presented to a federal court in a sexual harassment lawsuit. The prison term will be followed by three years of supervised release. Pefanis pleaded guilty to the charge on July 30.  According to U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, the charges and other information presented in court:  Pefanis was the owner and CEO of “AME Financial Corp.,” a mortgage brokerage firm in Alpharetta. In October 2007, an …

Monday, October 17, 2011

Alpharetta Residents Sentenced for Selling Special Work Visas

Dixit made $1 million in scheme, U.S. Attorney's office says.

Two Alpharetta residents were sentenced in federal court today, Oct. 17, for their roles in a conspiracy to harbor aliens in violation of the law. Parmesh Dixit, 41, and Punyapriya Patel, 37, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Julie Carnes. Dixit is an immigration attorney who made more than $1 million by submitting fraudulent applications for a specialized visa program for executives of foreign companies, said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. "Our immigration pathways are not for sale, and now Dixit is going to prison,” Yates said. These defendants falsified labor certification applications to illegally obtain visas for foreign nationals for considerable personal financial gain," said said Richard Walker, Special Agent in Charge for…

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Johns Creek Man Pleads Guilty to Child Porn Involving Neighbors

Defendant admits superimposing faces of neighborhood children on pornographic images.

A 53-year-old Johns Creek man pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday, Oct. 6, to 21 counts of possessing child pornography Dirk LaPaglia admitted that he manufactured hundreds of sexually explicit images of nearly two dozen minor children by superimposing photos of their faces onto pornographic images. The case began when Johns Creek authorities investigated a series of stalking incidents in which neighborhood residents, including at least one minor, were sent anonymous packages containing lingerie and letters describing sexual encounters involving various adult and child members of the neighborhood, according to U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. On April 13, LaPaglia was interviewed by local authorities and, after initially denying…

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Canadian Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison in Child Sex Case

Alpharetta officer posed as 11-year-old child and mother to catch suspect, who has five girls of his own.

An Ontario, Canada man was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison on Monday, Aug. 1 for traveling to Atlanta to have sex with an 11-year-old girl, attempting to entice a child to engage in sexual activity, and possession of child pornography. United States District Court Judge James L. Graham, visiting from the Southern District of Ohio, sentenced Brian Schumaker, 54, of Mississagua, Ontario, Canada, according to Patrick Crosby, public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney's Office of Northern Georgia. The case was investigated by agents with the FBI and the Alpharetta police department as part of Project Safe Childhood, according to Crosby's news release. U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “This is a particularly disturbing case of…

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