Pa. man pleads guilty to defrauding asylum seekers
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Philadelphia-area man accused of coaching asylum seekers on how to lie to immigration officials has pleaded guilty to asylum fraud, money laundering and other charges and agreed to forfeit $1.7 million acquired through the scam.
Federal prosecutors say 32-year-old David Lynn led a ring that prepared 380 fake asylum applications, charging $8,000 for individuals and $12,000 for couples. Most of the asylum seekers were from Russia, but prosecutors said some were from the Czech Republic, Solvakia, Poland and Ukraine. Most have had to leave the country.
Police say they found $562,000 in a safe under the floor of Lynn’s house, as well as cash in three safe deposit boxes and a Swiss bank account.
Lynn is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 13, facing more than seven years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.
Philly mayor plans game to start Scrabble month
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - To try to infect Philadelphia students with the Scrabble bug, the mayor and schools superintendent will sit down to show what they can do with a selection of seven letters.
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Jury to be picked in murder case of NY soldier
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) - The case of a New York Army National Guard soldier accused of killing his superiors in Iraq is moving into jury selection at a North Carolina court-martial.
Jury select
Floodwaters topple 170-year-old Pa. canal wall
DURHAM, Pa. (AP) - Floodwaters have toppled a 170-year-old stone wall on the Delaware Canal in suburban Philadelphia.
The 12-foot-high, four-foot-thick wall between the Delaware River and cana
2 boys killed in Pittsburgh fire; mother burned
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Two young brothers are dead after they were trapped in a bedroom during an overnight fire in Pittsburgh.
The boys’ mother was able to save a third child, but suffered burns o
Pa. man in court for having gun at Obama rally
INDUSTRY, Pa. (AP) - A western Pennsylvania man who says he wore a gun and carried a Bible outside a Barack Obama rally to prove a point in August will have his day in court.
Police have charg


