NY: 3 charged with stealing almost 92Gs in child-support payments

3 charged with stealing almost 92Gs in child-support payments
Borough resident, former Islander are accused in theft of 155 city
checks
Friday, June 23, 2006
By HEIDI J. SHRAGER

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/i...120.xml&coll=1

A former Staten Islander and two alleged accomplices have been arrested
for stealing 155 child-support payment checks worth $91,999 from the
city Office of Child-Support Enforcement.

Carlos Marks, 35, was arrested early this month for masterminding the
scheme. Now a resident of Springfield, Mass., Marks was working in an
HRA mailroom in Manhattan, where he stole the checks, intended for
custodial parents, and deposited them into his Citibank account,
according to the city Department of Investigation.

He enlisted two accomplices, Island resident Melissa Castillo, 24, and
Jamal Williams, 35, who told investigators he was homeless. Marks paid
them to open their own Citibank accounts and deposit some of the stolen
checks.

"Stealing child-support money is a despicable abuse of the city's
program to help children and families obtain financial support from
absent parents," said DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn.

From July 2004 to November 2005, 26 checks worth $27,831 went into
Marks' account; 47 checks totaling $40,730 went into Castillo's
account, and 82 checks totaling $23,438 were deposited into Williams'
account, the DOI said.

Marks -- who earned $21,795 working for the Office of Child-Support
Enforcement, part of the Human Resources Administration -- was arrested
earlier this month. He was charged with grand larceny and 25 counts of
forgery.

Ms. Castillo, a part-time clerk at Long Island College Hospital in
Brooklyn, was arrested Wednesday and charged with grand larceny and 46
counts of forgery. Williams was arrested earlier this year and charged
with identity theft, grand larceny and scheme to defraud.

Each faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. While Marks and
Ms. Castillo will be prosecuted in Manhattan, Williams' case will be
handled by the Queens district attorney.

The investigation began in March 2005, when Citibank's fraud department
alerted HRA, which in turn notified DOI, that Marks had deposited a
large number of city child-support checks for which he was not the
payee.

Heidi J. Shrager covers City Hall for the Advance. She may be reached
at .

Eh. They'll probably just make the NCPs cough up the money all over
again. No biggie.

- Ron ^*^


wrote:

3 charged with stealing almost 92Gs in child-support payments
Borough resident, former Islander are accused in theft of 155 city
checks
Friday, June 23, 2006
By HEIDI J. SHRAGER

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/i...120.xml&coll=1

A former Staten Islander and two alleged accomplices have been arrested
for stealing 155 child-support payment checks worth $91,999 from the
city Office of Child-Support Enforcement.

Carlos Marks, 35, was arrested early this month for masterminding the
scheme. Now a resident of Springfield, Mass., Marks was working in an
HRA mailroom in Manhattan, where he stole the checks, intended for
custodial parents, and deposited them into his Citibank account,
according to the city Department of Investigation.

He enlisted two accomplices, Island resident Melissa Castillo, 24, and
Jamal Williams, 35, who told investigators he was homeless. Marks paid
them to open their own Citibank accounts and deposit some of the stolen
checks.

"Stealing child-support money is a despicable abuse of the city's
program to help children and families obtain financial support from
absent parents," said DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn.

From July 2004 to November 2005, 26 checks worth $27,831 went into
Marks' account; 47 checks totaling $40,730 went into Castillo's
account, and 82 checks totaling $23,438 were deposited into Williams'
account, the DOI said.

Marks -- who earned $21,795 working for the Office of Child-Support
Enforcement, part of the Human Resources Administration -- was arrested
earlier this month. He was charged with grand larceny and 25 counts of
forgery.

Ms. Castillo, a part-time clerk at Long Island College Hospital in
Brooklyn, was arrested Wednesday and charged with grand larceny and 46
counts of forgery. Williams was arrested earlier this year and charged
with identity theft, grand larceny and scheme to defraud.

Each faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. While Marks and
Ms. Castillo will be prosecuted in Manhattan, Williams' case will be
handled by the Queens district attorney.

The investigation began in March 2005, when Citibank's fraud department
alerted HRA, which in turn notified DOI, that Marks had deposited a
large number of city child-support checks for which he was not the
payee.

Heidi J. Shrager covers City Hall for the Advance. She may be reached
at .

Terri wrote:

On Fri, 23 Jun 2006 11:40:35 -0400, Werebat
wrote:


Eh. They'll probably just make the NCPs cough up the money all over
again. No biggie.

- Ron ^*^


You got that right.

The State, of course, gets to keep the money they confiscated from the
would-be thieves... You know, as a "finder's fee" and all that...

It's all for the children, you know. Something like that.

- Ron ^*^


wrote:


3 charged with stealing almost 92Gs in child-support payments
Borough resident, former Islander are accused in theft of 155 city
checks
Friday, June 23, 2006
By HEIDI J. SHRAGER

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/i...120.xml&coll=1

A former Staten Islander and two alleged accomplices have been arrested
for stealing 155 child-support payment checks worth $91,999 from the
city Office of Child-Support Enforcement.

Carlos Marks, 35, was arrested early this month for masterminding the
scheme. Now a resident of Springfield, Mass., Marks was working in an
HRA mailroom in Manhattan, where he stole the checks, intended for
custodial parents, and deposited them into his Citibank account,
according to the city Department of Investigation.

He enlisted two accomplices, Island resident Melissa Castillo, 24, and
Jamal Williams, 35, who told investigators he was homeless. Marks paid
them to open their own Citibank accounts and deposit some of the stolen
checks.

"Stealing child-support money is a despicable abuse of the city's
program to help children and families obtain financial support from
absent parents," said DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn.

From July 2004 to November 2005, 26 checks worth $27,831 went into
Marks' account; 47 checks totaling $40,730 went into Castillo's
account, and 82 checks totaling $23,438 were deposited into Williams'
account, the DOI said.

Marks -- who earned $21,795 working for the Office of Child-Support
Enforcement, part of the Human Resources Administration -- was arrested
earlier this month. He was charged with grand larceny and 25 counts of
forgery.

Ms. Castillo, a part-time clerk at Long Island College Hospital in
Brooklyn, was arrested Wednesday and charged with grand larceny and 46
counts of forgery. Williams was arrested earlier this year and charged
with identity theft, grand larceny and scheme to defraud.

Each faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. While Marks and
Ms. Castillo will be prosecuted in Manhattan, Williams' case will be
handled by the Queens district attorney.

The investigation began in March 2005, when Citibank's fraud department
alerted HRA, which in turn notified DOI, that Marks had deposited a
large number of city child-support checks for which he was not the
payee.

Heidi J. Shrager covers City Hall for the Advance. She may be reached
at .

"Werebat" wrote in message
news:75Wmg.114910$Ce1.41461@dukeread01...


Terri wrote:

On Fri, 23 Jun 2006 11:40:35 -0400, Werebat
wrote:


Eh. They'll probably just make the NCPs cough up the money all over
again. No biggie.

- Ron ^*^


You got that right.

The State, of course, gets to keep the money they confiscated from the
would-be thieves... You know, as a "finder's fee" and all that...

It's all for the children, you know. Something like that.

I heard several times from the CS Accounting Unit when complaining about
them not retrieving CS after a downward adjustment left me with a credit
balance, "Once the money goes into the home there is nothing we can do about
it."

We're about to find out if the state really can do something about excess
payments going into the home when the money is state money and not NCP
money.