4 The Courier sun • JULY 28, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Firefighter and his wife used second home in Howard Beach to steal Sandy relief funds, DA says By Alec Posner [email protected]/@QNS A FDNY firefighter has been charged with grand larceny, and his wife additionally with forgery and other crimes, for filing claims to FEMA to collect Hurricane Sandy benefits. Christopher Poje, 43, and his wife Margaret, 39, allegedly collected more than $25,000 in benefits, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. According to the criminal complaint, Margaret Poje filed a claim for damages with FEMA on Nov. 11, 2012, in which she stated that her primary house residency was on 89th Street in Howard Beach. In reality, this is a secondary residence that she owns with her brother. She claimed a total of $19,556 in benefits for the property. This is illegal because you can only receive money for damage to a primary residence, not a secondary one. Apparently, while the lease submitted to FEMA seemed to contain the signature of a realtor who was Margaret Poje’s co-worker at a local real estate agency, the realtor stated that he didn’t sign it. Brown said that Christopher Poje sent in two months’ receipts for an apartment on East 37th Street in Brooklyn, which they apparently used as temporary housing after the superstorm. They received $6,526 in benefits to compensate them for the living arrangement. Christopher and Margaret Poje were charged in two separate complaints with third-degree grand larceny; Margaret faces additional charges of seconddegree forgery, second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and offering a false instrument for filing. Both defendants face up to seven years behind bars if convicted. Two big bank executives from Great Britain were arrested in Queens for illegal trading By Alec Posner [email protected]/@QNS A big bank executive was arrested on the JFK airport in Queens last week. The head of global foreign exchange (FX) cash trading at HSBC Mark Johnson, 50, who is a citizen of Great Britain, was arrested at JFK International Airport on Tuesday, July 19, for conspiring to defraud a client. Along with him, another Great Britain citizen, Stuart Scott, 43, HSBC’s former head of FX cash trading for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, was also arrested. The scheme, known as “front running,” began in November 2011. Johnson and Scott used information provided to them by a client about a foreign exchange transaction of about $3.5 billion to purchase Pound Sterling for HSBC’s “proprietary” accounts, which they held until the client’s planned transaction was executed. The complaint suggests that Johnson and Scott lied about the planned transactions in order to hide their selfish motives behind their actions. Through this scheme, the two men generated about $8 million in profit. “Our collective efforts help ensure public confidence in the financial markets. It is critically important to hold individuals accountable for their actions, particularly those who abuse their positions of public trust. We will continue to pursue justice for those involved as this case moves forward,” Acting Inspector General Gibson from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said. The investigation is being conducted by the FDIC’s Office of Inspector General and the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Since 2009, the justice department has filed more than 18,000 financial fraud causes. For more information on the task force, visit the website stopfraud.gov. Dozens of companies are coming to Rochdale Village for job fair By Charlie Perry [email protected]/@QNS An upcoming job fair will bring dozens of companies to Rochdale Village looking to recruit new employees. Senator James Sanders Jr. will host an informational job fair in the Grand Ballroom of the Rochdale Village Community Center located at 169-65 137th Ave. in Jamaica. The fair will take place on Aug. 3 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. “We have the best and brightest living in this district,” Senator Sanders said in an email to The Courier. “My office is just giving them the opportunity to utilize their skills. As long as we have good, hardworking people in this community who need employment, I will continue to host job fairs to connect them with prospective employers.” Companies in attendance include Pepsico, Frito Lay, FedEx, Walgreens, State Farm, People’s United Bank, Council for Airport Opportunity, NYC Human Resources Administration, United States Postal Service, Healthfirst, NYC Department for the Aging, Port Authority of NY & NJ, White Castle, FDNY, Queens Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Customs & Border Protection and World Financial Group. “This informational job fair will be different from previous job fairs in that it will provide a guide on how to start a career with big-name companies and walk them through the application process during breakout sessions where specific instructions will be provided by representatives from the companies themselves,” Senator Sanders said. New Yorkers are urged to come learn more about the hiring process, including peak season work availability, during breakout sessions at the event. For more information, contact the Rochdale Village Community Center at 718-276-5700 ext. 337 or Hayden Horsham at 718-523-3069 or by email at [email protected]. Photo via Flickr/user Matthew X. Kiernan The Rochdale Community Center will host an informational job fair on Aug. 3 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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