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'Black Money Scam' leads to indictments

A Trenton man and a Philadelphia man were indicted Tuesday in an alleged attempt to steal more than $75,000 in a "Black Money Scam."

A Trenton man and a Philadelphia man were indicted Tuesday in an alleged attempt to steal more than $75,000 in a "Black Money Scam."

Nyondah L. Blay, also known as John Blay, 38, of Trenton, and Carl Jenkins, 36, of Philadelphia, were charged with conspiracy and attempted theft by deception, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000.

Blay and Jenkins were arrested Feb. 1 in Cherry Hill following a sting operation, said Jeffrey S. Chiesa, the state attorney general, in a news release. The pair are accused of telling a target that they possessed hundreds of thousands of dollars in currency that had been dyed black in order to go undetected as they smuggled it out of Liberia.

According to the indictment, the target, an undercover operative cooperating with law enforcement, was told that "tens of thousands of dollars" were needed to buy "expensive chemicals" that would extract the dye from the bills and make them usable. The target was told he would make back his money several times over. The victim turned over the money as part of the sting and Blay and Jenkins were immediately arrested.

- Jonathan Lai