Former Dougherty County School System teacher Brian Brannen has been sentenced to 78 months in prison for possession of child pornography and will be required to register as a sex offender.

The case came about after a woman reported to law enforcement in April 2014 that she saw child pornography on Brannen’s desktop computer.

http://liarcatchers.com/pedophile_tracking.html

“Child pornography offenses are always disturbing because the child victims are robbed of their innocence and dignity at a tender age,” United States Attorney Michael Moore said. “This case is made even worse because Mr. Brannen maintained this material where it was seen by a young woman staying in his home and because he abused the privilege of being allowed to be out on bond awaiting trial. His inability to conform his conduct to what our society rightfully expects certainly warrants the sentence imposed.”

A man suspected of stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death and then stuffing her corpse into the trunk of her car in Queens was apprehended in Virginia on Friday, officials said.

Luis Zambrano, 30, was grabbed in Daleville, VA., after police tracked his friend’s cellphone to the Old Dominion state about 2 p.m. He is expected to be brought back to the city to face murder charges, officials said.

http://liarcatchers.com/wrongful_death.html

Zambrano is accused of stabbing Angie Escobar, 28, to death in early September. He then put Escobar’s body in the trunk of the woman’s Nissan, which was found in Whitestone on Sept. 11, cops said.

An NYPD tow truck equipped with a license plate reader found the Nissan, which had been listed on a missing-person report for Escobar filed several days earlier.

Her body was in a state of decomposition when it was discovered.

Quandra Woods has been missing from her Steelton home since 5 p.m. Friday.

Woods is 20-years-old but is not currently on her medications and has mental disabilities. She may be disoriented and act younger than she is when in contact with others due to this.

Police say she is biracial, 5’4” and about 110 pounds.

http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html

She was last seen wearing grey spandex workout pants, a grey sweatshirt with Aeropostale in pink written across it, red Converse, a pearl bracelet and earrings and carrying a small glittery backpack.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Steelton Police at 717-939-9841 or Harrisburg Police at 717-255-3131.

A Brockton man has been indicted on larceny, unemployment fraud, and workers’ compensation fraud charges in connection with an alleged scheme in which he fraudulently collected more than $60,000 in benefits, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.

Henry Thomas, age 51, of Brockton, was indicted today by a Suffolk Grand Jury on charges of Larceny Over $250 (1 count), Unemployment Fraud (86 counts) and Workers’ Compensation Fraud (1 count). He will be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court on Oct. 7.

“The unlawful collection of unemployment and workers’ compensation benefits puts a strain on the system and takes funds away from those in need,” AG Healey said. “We will continue to prosecute these crimes to hold accountable those who defraud the system, to deter others who would seek to commit this kind of fraud, and to return these funds back to the Commonwealth.”

http://liarcatchers.com/fraud_investigation.html

The Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts (IFB) referred this case to the Attorney General’s Office after an investigation into allegations that this individual was committing benefits fraud.

“The IFB vigorously pursues fraud investigations of this type because fraudulent workers’ compensation claims unnecessarily drive up costs for businesses, which ultimately get passed onto consumers,” said Daniel Johnston, Executive Director of the Insurance Fraud Bureau.

Authorities allege that between April 2010 and December 2011, Thomas collected unemployment benefits while simultaneously collecting workers’ compensation benefits.

Under Massachusetts law, workers’ compensation benefits cannot be paid for any week during which an employee has received unemployment benefits. Likewise, the law also disqualifies unemployment benefit claimants from receiving unemployment while receiving workers’ compensation for total disability.

The investigation revealed that in January 2010, Thomas suffered an on-the-job injury working as a truck driver and subsequently applied for and was awarded total disability workers’ compensation benefits.

Thomas then allegedly applied for unemployment benefits from the Division of Unemployment Assistance (“DUA”) in April 2010 and fraudulently collected more than $26,000 unemployment benefits while continuing to collect workers’ compensation benefits.

Authorities allege that Thomas collected more than $34,000 in temporary total disability workers’ compensation benefits during the same time period without disclosing that he was receiving unemployment benefits at the same time.

AG Healey’s Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Division works to protect consumers and the integrity of the insurance system by investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against all types of insurers, including the Commonwealth’s unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation systems.

These charges are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Assistant Attorney General Kristy Lavigne of AG Healey’s Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Division is prosecuting this case with the assistance of Senior Investigator Philip Mantyla of the Attorney General’s Office, the Insurance Fraud Bureau, and Chase Filosa from the Division of Unemployment Assistance (DUA).