Richmond man convicted of 'brazen' $34-million fraud

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:46:18 GMT

Richmond man convicted of 'brazen' $34-million fraud SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The CEO of a residential reentry home for parolees and mentally ill people was convicted by a jury on 44 counts of fraud and conspiracy.Attila Colar was convicted of crimes including bank fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, false statements to a bank, making a false tax return, obstruction, and witness tampering. The 51-yera-old Richmond man went by many alternative names, including Dahood Sariff Bey, Sharieff Dahood Bey, Saharieff Pasha, and Georgi Petrakov.The guilty verdicts followed a three-week federal jury trial that showed evidence of a $34 million fraud.Colar is the former Chief Executive Officer of All Hands on Deck in Richmond, a residential reentry home for probationers, parolees, homeless persons, and persons with mild mental illness.  In finding him guilty of the sundry crimes, the jury concluded Colar carried out multiple schemes to defraud, including defrauding organizations that placed residents at his company’s transitional housing ...

Connor McDavid wins Lindsay Award and is expected to add third NHL MVP

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:46:18 GMT

Connor McDavid wins Lindsay Award and is expected to add third NHL MVP NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Connor McDavid won the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHL’s most outstanding player as voted by his peers on Monday night, a clear-cut choice after the highest-scoring season by a player in more than a quarter-century.Hart won the Lindsay Award for the fourth time. He was also expected to win the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP later in the league’s annual award ceremony.The Edmonton Oilers’ captain led the league with 64 goals, 89 assists and 153 points. That’s the most points since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96.McDavid previously won the Hart in 2017 and 2021 and the Lindsay in 2017, 2018 and 2021. Universally recognized as the best hockey player in the world, McDavid is still searching for his first Stanley Cup title after losing in the second round of the playoffs to eventual champion Vegas.Seattle’s Matty Beniers won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. Beniers led all rookies with 57 points and was tied for the lead among them in goals with 24, helpin...

Tigers starter Matthew Boyd departs with apparent injury after 15 pitches in Texas

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:46:18 GMT

Tigers starter Matthew Boyd departs with apparent injury after 15 pitches in Texas ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Matthew Boyd departed with an apparent injury after throwing only 15 pitches against the Texas Rangers on Monday night. There was no immediate word on what the injury was, but Boyd left the mound with a trainer after several minutes consulting with him before manager A.J. Hinch took the ball away from the left-hander. Marcus Semien hit a leadoff homer for the Rangers before Boyd struck out Corey Seager and Josh Jung. Boyd then had a 2-0 count on Adolis Garcia. He got checked on after throwing a pitch over the head of catcher Jake Rogers. Will Vest replaced Boyd and struck out Garcia on three pitches to end the first inning. Detroit currently has nine pitchers on the injured list. ___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Club Q shooting survivors, victim's families react to shooter's sentence

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:46:18 GMT

Club Q shooting survivors, victim's families react to shooter's sentence COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KDVR) -- Anderson Aldrich pleaded guilty to killing five people and attempting to kill 46 others in a Colorado Springs LGBTQ club in November and victims are relieved it's all over. Aldrich pled no contest to hate crime charges but is being investigated for federal​ hate crimes. Aldrich was sentenced to five life sentences without the possibility of parole and an additional 2,208 years for the attempted murders.Aldrich will never leave prison and that’s a comforting fact to those survivors, but they’re also left with those lasting impacts of that night. Many of them packed the courtroom Monday morning to hear Aldrich enter a plea of guilty and give impact statements. Judge sentences Club Q shooter with 5 life terms Jeff Aston, father of Daniel Aston, one of the five killed, was among those who spoke afterward about how he felt inside the courtroom. “I just felt hollow, its not enough closure, not even close,” Aston said.Ashtin Gamblin, a survivor, said sh...

Cleaning company sued for $1M after janitor’s major mistake at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:46:18 GMT

Cleaning company sued for $1M after janitor’s major mistake at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York TROY, N.Y. (WSVN)- A cleaning company is being sued after a janitor was accused of making a major mistake at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Back in 2020, the worker tried to stop a beeping sound coming from a freezer, so he flipped a switch in the breaker box and accidentally unplugged it.What he likely didn’t know was that inside there were 25 years of cell cultures, samples and other potentially groundbreaking research which were all destroyed.The total loss estimated by the school is $1 Million dollars.

Acrobat coach charged for child molestation, academy owner speaks out

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:46:18 GMT

Acrobat coach charged for child molestation, academy owner speaks out A coach was arrested after being accused of inappropriately touching his underage acrobat students. Now the owner of the academy is speaking out. Gustavo Adolfo Gil-Reyes, 38, was arrested on several serious and disturbing charges of molestation of a child between the ages of 12 and 16 years old and battery. “As soon we got the allegations of inappropriate touching, we obviously took the initiative and let him go,” said Veronica Tirado, co-founder of Acro Gravity Academy in North Miami. She said Gil-Reyes worked here, teaching trampoline and tumbling, up until those allegations surfaced.“It’s a bit frustrating to not see it coming,” said Tirado. “But we did do everything that was in our hands as soon as we got the allegation.”The co-founder said she immediately contacted the police about the accusations against Gil-Reyes, who worked at the facility for about 8 months.“His classes were growing. We took videos of him shaking hands with ...

Unlocking Ukraine’s economic potential

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:46:18 GMT

Unlocking Ukraine’s economic potential Dag Detter is the principal of Detter & Co, an advisor to governments, investors and IFIs such as the IMF, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. He led the restructuring of the Swedish portfolio of state-owned assets and is the author of “The Public Wealth of Nations.”The reconstruction of Ukraine demands a comprehensive utilization of all potential funding sources and methods to improve the private investment climate in the country. And central to this endeavor is effectively managing Ukraine’s vast state-owned sector, which houses valuable public assets that can serve as a significant funding source.Before the war, public assets constituted the largest segment of wealth in Ukraine and were seen as plagued by inefficiency, corruption and fraud. And today, the state-owned sector is still a cornerstone of the country’s economic system, as well as its war effort.However, only proper management of these assets can generate sustained annual revenue streams, fosterin...

Canadian wildfire smoke reaches Europe as Canada reports its worst fire season on record

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:46:18 GMT

Canadian wildfire smoke reaches Europe as Canada reports its worst fire season on record (CNN) — Canada has officially marked its worst wildfire season on record, with smoke from the blazes crossing the Atlantic Ocean and reaching western Europe on Monday.Canada has had a dramatic start to wildfire season, with at least 18,688,691 acres already charred across the country. Wildfire activity in Canada typically peaks from June to August, leaving more than half of the peak season still to come.As a result of the unprecedented start to the wildfire season, this year has become the worst fire season on record, surpassing the previous benchmark set in 1995 for the total area burned. In 1995, at least 17,559,303 acres were burned in the country, according to fire statistics from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.And the smoke from the wildfires, which wrapped New York City in a cloud of smog earlier this month, has now reached as far as the United Kingdom, according to the UK Met Office.The smoke that has made its way into Europe ha...

Attleboro police seek help IDing person accused of stealing sneakers from teen

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:46:18 GMT

Attleboro police seek help IDing person accused of stealing sneakers from teen Attleboro police asked for the public’s help Monday in efforts to identify a person who police said allegedly accosted, assaulted and stole a pair of Air Force One sneakers from a 14-year-old girl late last week. Police said the incident happened near Cuddy Court on Friday around 6:30 p.m. Police shared photos of the man believed to be behind this incident and asked anyone with information on the incident to contact them at 508-222-1212.

Mets lose to Brewers after Drew Smith blows lead in first game back from sticky stuff suspension

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:46:18 GMT

Mets lose to Brewers after Drew Smith blows lead in first game back from sticky stuff suspension Asking the Mets bullpen to protect a one-run lead for four innings is a tall ask these days. It proved to be Mount Everest levels of steep Monday night at Citi Field in a 2-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.The Mets might have returned home after a 2-4 road trip through Houston and Philadelphia, but the same problems continue to plague them.Justin Verlander threw five scoreless, but inefficient innings and exited the game with the Mets up 1-0. Brewers right-hander Colin Rea was masterful, no-hitting the Mets (35-43) through four innings. But thanks to the speedy Starling Marte and his base-running abilities, the Mets were able to score in the fourth inning.But Drew Smith, in his first game back after serving a 10-game suspension for sticky stuff, couldn’t hold the lead. He gave up a two-run homer to rookie Joey Weimer in the sixth to hand the Brewers (41-37) the lead.So it goes for the Mets, who haven’t been able to figure out their pitching issues all season, but the bull...