Latest news with #Pyrtle
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Boston woman sentenced for identity theft in drug trafficking scheme
A 38-year-old Boston woman will serve two years of probation and pay $2,000 after pleading guilty to using another person's identity to rent apartments that were used for drug trafficking. Ashley Roostaie pleaded guilty in February to one count of access device fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft after being charged in 2023 alongside a co-conspirator. Roostaie and Terrence Pyrtle used another person's Social Security number and other personal information to apply for and lease two apartments, one in Braintree and another in Somerville, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Using the names 'Lola' and 'dropdeadlola,' Roostaie and Pyrtle created an email account and a counterfeit driver's license with the victim's personal identifying information but a different person's photo and took out a debit card in the person's name. They sent this driver's license to the apartment complexes and used the debit card to make payments for the two apartments. Using the stolen identity information for the apartment leases and utility and insurance contracts, Roostaie and Pyrtle were able to hide their connection to the apartments, officials said. Pyrtle then used the apartments for the distribution of cocaine, fentanyl, fentanyl analogue and methamphetamine. Roostaie will serve two years of probation and pay a $1,000 fine and $1,000 in restitution. Pyrtle was charged alongside Roostaie in 2023 and pleaded guilty to the same charges and aggravated identity theft, drug conspiracy and multiple counts of drug distribution in April 2025. He has not yet been sentenced. Seby Zavala leads WooSox past Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with go-ahead home run Red Sox reactions: More extra-inning misery as losing streak reaches five Former Mass. sheriff's office official arrested, charged with extorting employees Patriots defensive coordinator still absent due to 'health scare' Young Patriots receiver reacts to trade rumors Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NC House committee advances 'Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act'
House Bill 38 would prohibit card networks like Visa or Mastercard from using a specific firearms code for recording transactions or from maintaining any sort of firearms registry. (Photo: Aristide Economopoulos/for NJ Monitor Rep. Reece Pyrtle (R-Rockingham) told colleagues Tuesday that his efforts to pass the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act stems from a merchant category code that was created in 2022 for gun and ammunition sellers. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) approved the code as a way to identify suspicious and potentially illegal weapons purchases. At the time, groups like Everytown for Gun Safety praised the specific merchant category code ('MCC') noting that it could provide necessary data for banks and law enforcement to identify transactions that may be related to mass shootings or other gun-related crimes. Rep. Pyrtle told members of the House Commerce committee that this code, which would appear when a firearms purchase is made by credit card, creates a burden on lawful gun owners. 'The surveillance causes a significant and chilling effect on individuals in North Carolina wishing to exercise in their federal and state constitutional rights to keep and bear arms,' Pyrtle explained. House Bill 38 would prohibit payment card networks like Visa or Mastercard from using a firearms code for recording transactions or from maintaining any sort of firearms registry. 'This is really a piece of legislation that I think is protecting individuals from industries outside this country and the individuals from private sector from collecting data,' said Pyrtle. Pyrtle's bill would also grant North Carolina's Attorney General the power to investigate any alleged violation by the credit card networks and assess civil penalties. Rep. Bryan Cohn (D-Granville) questioned whether the legislation might have an unintended consequence of making it more difficult to investigate gun-related crimes. 'There's a federal law that prohibits a firearms list of ownership. You're not supposed to do that,' said Pyrtle, a retired police chief. 'And as an investigator, I can always go to the federal firearms licensed dealer and request a search as part of my investigation.' Three states – California, Colorado, and New York – were the first to pass legislation that would require the unique category code for gun and ammunition sales. Sixteen states have passed legislation that bans the use of the merchant category code for gun store purchases. Pushback from gun rights groups has largely prompted the larger credit card companies to pause their use of the specific code. House Bill 38 advanced on a voice vote Tuesday and now moves to the House Judiciary I Committee.
