Woodbridge man pleads guilty to COVID fraud scheme
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WTNH) — A Woodbridge man last week pleaded guilty to offenses connected to a scheme to defraud a COVID-19 pandemic relief program of more than $2.3 million, according to the office of Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut Marc Silverman.
Yasir Hamed, 60, waived his right to be indicted on May 9 in front of a judge in Bridgeport. He pleaded guilty to bank fraud and engaging in illegal monetary transactions.
Woodbridge Animal Control searching for information on abandoned dogs
He faces up to 30 years in prison for the first charge and 10 years for the second. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 8.
Information from court shows as an accountant, Hamed had an ownership interest or representative relationship with several New Haven-based businesses.
From June 2020 to September 2021, he's accused of submitting false PPP loan applications on behalf of the companies, overstating employee numbers and average monthly payroll, and making other fraudulent representations.
Throughout the scheme, Silverman's office says Hamed gained $2.3 million in PPP loans for his businesses and his clients. He used some of the funds for personal expenses, including education expenses for a family member and a down payment on a $880,000 house in Woodbridge he bought in 2020.
According to Silverman's office, Hamed agreed to pay $2,384,772 in restitution.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
After its data was wiped, KiranaPro's co-founder cannot rule out an external hack
Indian grocery delivery startup KiranaPro's recent data loss story has more holes than Swiss cheese, as the startup remains unclear whether the incident was an internal breach or an external hack. Last week, the Bengaluru-based startup discovered that it could not access its back-end servers and that all its data, including its app code, had been deleted from GitHub. The startup on Friday blamed a former employee for the breach. However, in an interview, KiranaPro co-founder and CEO Deepak Ravindran conceded that the company had not deactivated the employee's account after they departed the company and cannot rule out the possibility of subsequent malicious misuse of their account. "If we go deeper, we have to do a real forensic investigation. We are going to talk [about] this with our board, the investors, and we are going to get a formal opinion on that also with our legal advisers," Ravindran told TechCrunch. Earlier on Friday, Ravindran claimed in a post on X that the incident that affected its data was an internal breach. "After careful investigation, we conclude that this was not a hack. No external party penetrated our ordering or payment systems, exploited vulnerabilities, or bypassed security protocols," he wrote. The co-founder also explicitly shared a screenshot of a LinkedIn profile of one of KiranaPro's former employees on X on Thursday, alleging that they had deleted the startup's code. (TechCrunch is not sharing the post's link, as the startup has yet to offer concrete proof supporting its position.) "[T]his was an internal data breach. Specifically, it was the result of actions taken by a trusted internal employee who had legitimate access to our systems," the co-founder wrote in his post on Friday. "This individual intentionally deleted critical server logs while they were being tested and/or edited, an action that goes directly against our policies, our principles, and the trust we place in our team." When TechCrunch asked if KiranaPro could rule out whether any third party had maliciously gained access to the former employee's account, Ravindran could not. "We have to do a complete forensic check on the company. We have to do the entire IP scan. We have to look at where the tracks happened. We have to check the computers, MacBooks, and whatever is used. Everything has to be done. Then we have to spend money … so, that's why we decided not to," he told TechCrunch. Then what was the basis of Ravindran's allegation? It was a GitHub response, a copy of which he shared with TechCrunch. The response included a username, which Ravindran said was associated with the former employee. "All we have is the emails that we got from GitHub, stating that [the former employee's username] as an individual is the one who deleted the account. We haven't done the investigation further," Ravindran told TechCrunch. Launched in late 2024, KiranaPro operates as a buyer app on the Indian government's Open Network for Digital Commerce. The startup allows more than 55,000 customers in 50 cities to purchase groceries from their local shops and nearby supermarkets using its voice-based interface. The company also supports local language inputs, including English, Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil. Ravindran stated that they decided to call out the former employee based on the company's "belief system," as they claim the former employee deleted the data after their sudden termination. However, the startup said it is not aware if there were enough protections on the former employee's devices, such as multi-factor authentication, to restrict malicious third-party access, like malware. The company confirmed it did not remove the employee's access to its data and GitHub account following his departure. "Employee offboarding was not being handled properly because there was no full-time HR," KiranaPro's chief technology officer, Saurav Kumar, confirmed to TechCrunch. Alongside its code saved in GitHub, KiranaPro also lost access to its Amazon Web Services (AWS) account, which included its customer data and their transaction details. Ravindran told TechCrunch that the GitHub data was restored after getting its backup from one of their employees. The startup also regained access to its AWS account along with its customer data. Both the co-founder and CTO said the AWS account was protected by multi-factor authentication, but neither could say how the account was accessed, as nobody else had physical access to Ravindran's phone, which generates the multi-factor code. Nonetheless, Ravindran claimed that the customer data stored in the AWS cloud remained intact and was not accessed by any third parties, nor was it downloaded by the former employee in question. "Because if that is the case, I will get its notification on email or anything [sic]," he said. That said, Ravindran stated that the startup has enough evidence to file a formal complaint with the police, but said that its investigation is ongoing. The startup has also not fully paid its current employees, the company's co-founder confirmed, soon after the company raised a seed round of ₹100 million Indian rupees (about $1.2 million), which Ravindran said has yet to be fully wired. The startup counts Blume Ventures, Unpopular Ventures, and Turbostart among its institutional venture backers, as well as Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and Boston Consulting Group managing director Vikas Taneja among its angel investors. It has 15 employees located in Bengaluru and Kerala. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
NJ man beat, strangled pregnant wife in front of her daughter: court documents
NEW JERSEY (PIX11) — A man has been found guilty of strangling his pregnant wife in front of her daughter in Newark, N.J., the prosecutor's office of Essex County announced Friday. Milton Chogllo, a 31-year-old from Newark, was found guilty by a jury of second- and third-degree aggravated assault, according to court documents. More Local News According to an investigation on March 5, 2023, Chogllo strangled and beat his 32-year-old wife outside their home on Bergen Street. At the time of the assault, the victim was six months pregnant, authorities said. The woman's 14-year-old daughter witnessed the assault, police said. 'Justice for victims of domestic violence is not just about punishment — it's about protection, dignity, and the unwavering message that abuse will never be tolerated,' said Assistant Prosecutor Ventola. Chogllo is scheduled for sentencing on July 18, 2025. The victim's daughter provided crucial testimony during the trial against Chogllo, officials said. Domestic and family health violence are common problems estimated to affect 10 million people in the United States every year. Anyone looking for help can find resources here. Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Man charged with assault for allegedly attacking and strangling neighbor
Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. MURRAY, Utah () — A Murray man has been charged with assault after banging on his neighbor's door and allegedly physically attacking him when he came outside. Bryan M Barrios, 31, was charged with felony aggravated assault, misdemeanor assault, threat of violence, property damage, and public intoxication. On May 21, 2025, just before 9 p.m., a Murray City police officer was called to a disturbance near Regal Street in Murray. When the officer arrived, a group of people were standing outside and pointed out a man they said had attacked them. Two inmates charged for allegedly stabbing 'rival gang member' at Utah State Prison One person, the victim, was bleeding from several injuries and had a red mark and abrasion on his neck, according to the officer's arrest statement. The victim told the officer that his neighbor, Barrios, had begun banging on his door loudly, damaging the doorframe from the impact. When the victim opened the door to speak with him, documents say Barrios began yelling at him and physically attacked him. The victim recalled Barrios saying, 'I'm going to f– kill you!' and wrapping his arm around his neck to strangle him. According to documents, surveillance footage of the altercation showed Barrios attempting to strangle the victim, causing him to fall to the ground. Barrios then made a second attempt to strangle him, but the victim managed to pin Barrios' arms to his chest and stop the physical attack. The officer who apprehended Barrios reported that he smelled of alcohol and appeared to be intoxicated. Barrios was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail and was charged by the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office on June 6. Musk floats 'The American Party' after Trump tiff Myths VS Facts: What health officials want you to know about the MMR vaccine Good4Utah Road Tour: Willard Bay State Park Lori Vallow Daybell back in court, charged with conspiracy to murder ex nephew-in-law Man charged with assault for allegedly attacking and strangling neighbor Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
