Suspected Fake Gold Bar Fraudsters Arrested in Hungary After Victimizing Investors in New Jersey
The FBI Newark and the Drug Enforcement Administration worked in partnership with the Hungarian National Bureau of Investigation (HNBI) to identify and alert victims here in New Jersey of a fake gold bar investment scheme and assisted in arresting three subjects who are citizens of Hungary. The investigation targeted a sophisticated organized crime group based in Hungary and Dubai selling fake gold bars to investors. The Newark FBI Joint Organized Crime Task Force has identified 400 victims, who lost more than $1.5 million in the scheme.
"The relationships we have built with our overseas partners in Hungary and the work we do every day with our partners at DEA, are vital to protecting the communities we serve in New Jersey," said Newark FBI Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy. "Criminals can victimize people across international borders and even oceans—but they cannot escape the global reach of the FBI, DEA, and our international partners. This case is an incredible example of why these partnerships are so important."
"Every day the men and women of DEA work with our partners to keep our communities safe. Participating on the Homeland Security Task Force is a force multiplier to allow us to accomplish this goal," said DEA New Jersey Field Division Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James. "Criminal organizations are always seeking ways to take advantage of the public, and DEA will continue to work with our partners to thwart their efforts."
"After recently commemorating 25 years of the first international task force, once again the FBI and the Hungarian National Police show that international partnerships thwart crime and stand for victims both in the United States and abroad. We could not be prouder to work day in and day out with our Hungarian law enforcement partners in this endeavor," said Elizabeth F. Rosato, Legal Attache FBI Budapest.
FBI Newark Joint Organized Crime Task Force is made up of agents and detectives from DEA, IRS, Customs and Border Protection, ICE-HSI, ICE-ERO, Warren Township Police Department, Port Authority of New York/New Jersey, Department of Labor-OIG, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and New Jersey State Police. FBI Newark would also like to thank LEGAT Budapest, LEGAT Abu Dhabi, the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey, and the HNBI.
This enforcement action is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.
FBI Newark
Public Affairs Specialist Amy Thoreson
nkmedia@fbi.gov
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
