Mafia Hoax: Fake Kidnapping Photos By Lancaster Man Prompts Friends To Call London Police, FBI
A Lancaster County man faked his own Mafia abduction—complete with staged beatings, a gun to his head, and ransom demands—scamming victims out of more than $126,000 before law enforcement unraveled his elaborate scheme, authorities said.
Joshua B. Fernando, 27, of Salisbury Township, was sentenced to six to 23 months in prison followed by two years of probation after pleading guilty to felony theft by deception, the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday, Feb. 27.
Fernando convinced his victims that he had traveled to Europe on business in May 2024 but soon call…
Predator Who Stalked, Kidnapped Victims In Alexandria Gets 20 Years: Feds
A violent predator who orchestrated two terrifying kidnappings in Virginia and Maryland—one of which ended in gunfire—will spend nearly 20 years behind bars, federal authorities announced.
District resident Tyree Eugene McCombs, 29, was sentenced to 228 months in federal prison this week, for his role in the September 2022 abduction and armed robbery of a couple in Alexandria, and the November 2022 kidnapping, robbery, and shooting of a 25-year-old woman in Maryland and DC.
McCombs, who was already on supervised release for a previous violent crime at the time of the attacks, pleaded guilty…
Blandon Man Attempts To Kidnap Girl In Reading Alleyway: Report
A Berks County man attempted to kidnap a girl from an alleyway in Reading on Friday, Oct. 11, authorities said.
Liam Wilkinson, 24, of Blandon, had posed as a teen boy on social media to lure the girl into an alley in the 600 block of Ritter Street, WFMZ 69 News reported on Wednesday, Oct. 23. Once she was in the alley, Wilkinson attempted to get her to climb into his vehicle.
When she refused and tried to leave, Wilkinson chased her down and held a knife to her throat, WFMZ said. She managed to free herself and get away, and Wilkinson took her phone, which she dropped as she struggled…
Man Admits Kidnapping Paterson Business Owner, Driving Across State Lines In U-Haul Truck
A 38-year-old New York man has admitted to his role in the kidnapping of a Paterson business owner in October 2020 in which he drove him across state lines in a U-Haul truck and called his family for ransom money, federal officials said.
Reginald Law, 38, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with kidnapping and Hobbs Act robbery, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said this week.
On Oct. 8, 2020, Law and his conspirator, Maurice Cottman, went into a Paterson business where they accosted the victim, who was work…
Kidnappers Who Demanded $680,000 Ransom For Fort Lee Man Get Up To 18 Years Without Release
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Four men who kidnapped a Fort Lee man from his home and held him for a $680,000 ransom must serve from 12 to 18 years in federal prison before they'll be eligible for release.
The harshest plea-bargained sentence went to Albert Ferrelli, 52, of Queens, who must serve nearly 18 years of a 250-month prison sentence before he'll be eligible for release, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Next was fellow Queens resident Chiahao Lee, 32, who must serve nearly 13 years of a 180-month stretch, the U.S. attorney said.
They're followed by Gabriel Anthony, also of Queens, Sellinger…
Gotcha! Here's How FBI Says It Nabbed Paterson Kidnappers
A Paterson resident who'd just been kidnapped was being shown a photo array of suspects when he suddenly pointed at one of the pictures.
The man in the photo, Joel Ramon Garcia, 33, of Paterson, and an accomplice had held him at gunpoint last month during a six-hour car ride to Massachusetts, while demanding a ransom from his father, before releasing the victim two days later, the FBI said.
Federal agents quickly captured both Garcia and Julio Cesar Paniagua, 27, at the same time.
Credit the victim's assistance and some sound detective work.
It began on Nov. 15, when the victim's father c…
Four Convicted Of Abducting Maryland Man, Soliciting Ransom Payment, Dumping Dead Body In DC
Four men from the region have been found complicit in abducting a Maryland man who was held for ransom and later found dead in Southeast Washington, DC, federal officials announced.
A federal jury announced on Tuesday, Nov. 1 that four men from the DMV area were convicted of murder and other charges in the kidnapping of a man whose body was found in the summer of 2018.
Those charged:
Darin Moore, Jr., 29, of Bowie, Maryland;
Gabrial Brown, 33, of Washington, DC;
John Sweeney, 29, of Washington DC.
Each was found guilty at trial of:
Conspiracy to commit kidnapping;
Kidnapping resulting…
Kidnapping: Abducted Fort Lee Man Rescued By Nypd, Feds Seize Trio In $680,000 Ransom Demand
Federal authorities have charged three New York City men with kidnapping a Fort Lee resident and holding him for ransom.
A judge ordered Albert Ferrelli, 50, and Chiahao Lee, 30, both of Queens, and Fa Deng, 42, of Staten Island detained following a brief hearing in U.S. District Court in Newark on Thursday, April 7.
The kidnapper sent the victim’s wife a photograph showing the victim with his hands bound and his eyes and mouth duct-taped while demanding $680,000 following the Tuesday night abduction, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
New York City police officers resc…
