Passaic County Lawyer Charged with Fraud in Connection with COVID-19 Relief Funds (Press Release)
Summary
A press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, dated Thursday, February 9, 2023, announcing the arrest of Morton Chirnomas, 60, a Passaic County attorney from Clifton, New Jersey, charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud. According to the complaint, from May 2020 to September 2020 Chirnomas fraudulently obtained a $150,000 loan through the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans program and falsely obtained $200,000 in unemployment insurance benefits using the names of other people. The charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The release states that the charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Cite this document
“Passaic County Lawyer Charged with Fraud in Connection with COVID-19 Relief Funds (Press Release).”
Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2023-02-17-passaic-county-lawyer-charged-with-fraud-in-connection-with-883983b91a/
, SHA-256 dfac543b1478e2fb63e451f2f00eea929fa1b3dd0bd34cc360b405441db1965b.Full text
Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of New Jersey
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, February 9, 2023
Passaic County Lawyer Charged with Fraud in Connection
with COVID-19 Relief Funds
NEWARK, N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, attorney was arrested today for fraudulent acts he
committed in connection with COVID-19 relief funds, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Morton Chirnomas, 60, of Clifton, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud.
He is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court.
According to the complaint:
From May 2020 to September 2020 Chirnomas fraudulently obtained a $150,000 loan through the
COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans program. He also falsely obtained $200,000 in
unemployment insurance benefits using the names of other people.
The charge of wire fraud is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a
fine of $250,000, twice the gross profits, or twice the gross loss suffered by the victims of the offense,
whichever is greatest.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited postal inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark,
under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen, Philadelphia Division; special
agents of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, New York Region, under the
direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone; and special agents of the FBI, under the
direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to
today’s arrest.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s
Office Cybercrime Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is
considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Attachment(s): Component(s):
Download Chrinomas.Complaint.pdf USAO - New Jersey
Topic(s): Press Release Number:
Coronavirus 23-035
File and source
- File
- 2023-02-17-Passaic-County-Lawyer-Charged-with-Fraud-in-Connection-with-COVID-19-Relief-Funds-USAO-D-NJ-02-09-2.pdf
- Size
- 104,084 bytes
- SHA-256
- dfac543b1478e2fb63e451f2f00eea929fa1b3dd0bd34cc360b405441db1965b
- Original
- No public link identified.