NJ Con Artists Busted in “Black Money Scam;” Says Attorney General

A pair of alleged con artists have been arrested in connection with a so-called "Black Money Scam" in which they allegedly attempted to scam unsuspecting victims out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by falsely promising an amount of money several times the amount of money that the victims fronted to the defendants.  Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa announced the arrests today.

38-year-old Nyondah Blay of Trenton and 35-year-old Carl Jenkins of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania were arrested Friday and charged with second-degree conspiracy, second-degree theft by deception, third-degree forgery and third-degree possession of forgery devices.

"These defendants allegedly preyed upon unsuspecting victims, portraying themselves as refugees who, because of their circumstances, were prepared to offer a deal to good to pass up," said Chiesa.  "My office will continue to protect New Jersey residents from fraud by aggressively investigating and prosecuting con artists."

"I commend the excellent collaborative work of the Division of Criminal Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cherry Hill Police Department in this investigation," said Stephen Taylor, Division of Criminal Justice Director.  "It is through such partnerships that we are able to maximize our resources to prosecute such cases in New Jersey."

On Friday, February 1, the defendants allegedly told a victim that they had hundreds of thousands of dollars in U.S currency that was dyed black to avoid detection as the money was smuggled out of their war-torn country of Liberia.  The defendants allegedly asked the victim to supply several thousand dollars for the purchase of expensive chemicals needed to extract the dye from the bills.  It's alleged that the victims offered to pay the victims and amount of money several times what they fronted once the dye was extracted.  The pair was arrested in Cherry Hill when they allegedly took possession of several thousand dollars from the alleged victim.

Any member of  the public who wants to report financial fraud, corruption and other illegal activities can call a toll-free tip line at 1-866-TIPS-4CJ or log on to www.njdcj.org.