A week after a court sentenced the former owner of Peanut Corporation of America to 28 years behind bars for knowingly distributing salmonella-tainted food products tied to nine deaths and potentially thousands of illnesses, two more PCA staffers have received federal prison sentences for their part in the conspiracy to defraud and sicken consumers. [More]
crime news
Cable Company Cutting Off Service To Entire Condo Complex Over Crime Concerns
By 9.22.15
Following the armed robbery of a repair tech, a cable and Internet provider has decided to stop serving an entire Orlando condo complex, potentially leaving residents without any affordable way to get online. [More]
Justice Dept. Considering Criminal Charges Against Volkswagen
By 9.21.15
Many people who heard about last week’s recall of 500,000 Volkswagen diesel vehicles because the carmaker installed software that tricked emissions tests have asked, “Isn’t this a crime?” That’s a good question, and one the Dept. of Justice is reportedly looking into. [More]
Former Peanut Co. Exec Gets 28 Year Prison Sentence For Salmonella Outbreak Tied To 9 Deaths
By 9.21.15
A year after being found guilty of knowingly shipping contaminated foods that sickened thousands and is tied to the deaths of at least nine people, Stewart Parnell, the former owner of Peanut Corporation of America, has been sentenced to 28 years behind bars, while two of his colleagues received lighter — but still substantial — sentences. [More]
When Attempting To Shoplift From Walmart, Be Careful To Not Stab Yourself
By 9.16.15
As always, we do not in any way condone shoplifting. Not just because it drives up retail prices for the rest of us, or causes stores to resort to overzealous security measures, or because it wastes the time and resources of police who probably have more important crimes to investigate. It can also land you in the hospital with a self-inflicted shoplifting-related wound. [More]
Fake Comcast Employee Sought In Sexual Assault
By 9.10.15
Even if you don’t have a service call scheduled, you might be inclined to answer the door when someone in a cable company uniform comes knocking. But police in California are on the lookout for a man who allegedly posed as a Comcast employee to enter a woman’s house and sexually assault her. [More]
Priest Sentenced To 6 Months In Prison For Groping Woman On US Airways Flight
By 8.25.15
Almost exactly a year after he was caught groping a female passenger on a US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, a Catholic priest has been sentenced to six months behind bars in a federal prison, followed by six months of house arrest. [More]
Jared Guilty Plea Could Burst Subway’s Growth Bubble
By 8.19.15
There are two pieces of Subway-related news going around this week. You’ve likely heard the first — that Subway has ended its relationship with longtime spokesman Jared Fogle as he prepared to enter a guilty plea on child pornography-related charges. The second is that the latest stats for the nation’s largest fast food chains has been released, highlighting the perilous position in which Subway finds itself, with so many stores making not that much money. [More]
Company Loses $197K In Cyberheist, Has To Bribe Chinese Police With Cigarettes & Cash To Get Some Of It Back
By 8.14.15
If someone steals nearly $200,000 from your business and you were able to track down the location of the thief, you’d hope the local police would be willing to arrest that criminal and help you get your stolen money back. But for one American business owner whose money had been illegally siphoned off by a Chinese company, it took payments of cigarettes and cash for the authorities to care. [More]
Charleston Uber Driver Accused Of Kidnapping, Rape
By 8.12.15
A Charleston, S.C. Uber driver has been charged with kidnapping and forcible rape, after a female passenger accused him of demanding sexual favors as payment for her trip. She told police he then sexually assaulted her and kicked her out of the vehicle. [More]
Uber Admits It Failed To Follow Procedure In Hire Of Driver Accused Of Rape
By 8.10.15
Last week, it came out that an Uber driver in Dallas had used a bogus, expired city permit when he applied for a job with the ridesharing service. Now, Uber is finally explaining how it failed to catch this red flag during the vetting process. [More]
Don’t Fall For The Mail-Order Puppy Scam
By 8.7.15
Getting a dog from a breeder can run you thousands of dollars, so it might be tempting when someone offers to sell you a baby puppy for a fraction of that. But if that seller is just some random person who demands that you wire them a cash payment, you’re probably getting rooked. [More]
Uber Driver Accused Of Rape Used Phony Permit To Drive
By 8.4.15
Uber is once again under fire for its system of vetting drivers after the city of Dallas claims that an Uber driver accused of raping a passenger was operating on a bogus permit and should never have made it through the company’s screening process. [More]
Judge Backtracks On Walmart Shoplifter’s Lifetime Ban From All U.S. Stores
By 7.29.15
Earlier this week a Walmart shoplifter said she likely wouldn’t follow a court order barring her from stepping inside any of the retailer’s thousands of locations. Turns out, that might not have been such a brazen statement after all, as the judge who handed down the lifetime ban clarified that he didn’t really mean to prevent the woman from entering all stores. [More]
Stupid Scammers Sell Play-Doh “iPhones,” Get Caught When Victim Asks To Buy More
By 7.28.15
Dear dumb criminals: If you’re lucky enough to trick someone into buying an iPhone box full of Play-Doh, consider your crappy, evil job done and move on to the next victim. Because if that buyer calls you back asking to purchase more “iPhones,” they’re either less-intelligent than you, or you’re about to be arrested. [More]
Shoplifter Says Lifetime Ban From Walmart Won’t Stop Her From Shopping There
By 7.27.15
Much like there are people driving with suspended or revoked licenses, not everyone banned from life from entering a Walmart abides by that order. But most of these folks don’t go around brazenly telling reporters that they intend to violate a court order. [More]
Prosecutors Recommend Life Sentence For Peanut Co. Exec Involved In Salmonella Outbreak
By 7.24.15
Stewart Parnell is the former owner of Peanut Corporation of America, the company behind a salmonella outbreak that sickened hundreds and killed nine people in 2008 and 2009. Last year, a federal jury convicted him of knowingly shipping tainted peanut butter, and this week prosecutors in the case recommended he receive a life sentence for his crimes. [More]
New York Sues Leukemia “Charity” For Allegedly Raising $10 Million Through Deception
By 7.21.15
Most of us understand that not every dollar given to a charity is going directly to the people or causes that the charitable organization supports, but when the charity tells lies about how your money will be spent and instead wastes nearly every penny on enriching a handful of employees, a line is crossed. [More]
