Nyondah Blay, 38, of Trenton and Carl Jenkins, 36, of Philadelphia tried to convince a victim that they had hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars that were dyed black in an effort to smuggle them out of Liberia without detection, the office said.
Nyondah L. Blay of Trenton, left, and Carl Jenkins of Philadelphia By Brendan McGrath
Staff Writer
A Trenton resident and an alleged accomplice were indicted yesterday for attempting to steal more than $75,000 in a “black money” scam, the state Attorney General’s Office said.
Nyondah Blay, 38, of Trenton and Carl Jenkins, 36, of Philadelphia tried to convince a victim that they had hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars that were dyed black in an effort to smuggle them out of Liberia without detection, the office said.
Blay and Jenkins asked the victim for tens of thousands of dollars that they said they would use to purchase costly chemicals to clean the dyed money, the Attorney General’s Office said. They allegedly promised to reimburse the victim, once they removed the dye from their smuggled money, for several times the amount fronted after the operation was completed.
“This indictment should serve as a reminder — if a quick money-making scheme appears too good to be true, it probably is,” Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said in a news release. “And to con artists who seek to take advantage of New Jersey citizens, the sting operation in this case shows that you never know who is on the other end of the transaction.”
The two men allegedly attempted to execute their scheme in Cherry Hill and Atlantic City on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, and were arrested on Feb. 1 in Cherry Hill following a sting operation by state investigators and the FBI, the Attorney General’s Office said.
“The Division of Criminal Justice will continue to partner with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as local police departments, to catch scam artists like these defendants,” division director Elie Honig said in the release.
Blay and Jenkins were charged with second-degree conspiracy and second-degree attempted theft by deception.
They were released from Camden County Jail after posting 10 percent of $100,000 bail each.
Contact Brendan McGrath at bmcgrath@njtimes.com.
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