Former Long Branch special officer accused of loan sharking Brazilian Americans
Cunha #Cunha
FREEHOLD – A former special law enforcement officer in Long Branch has been arrested and charged with loan sharking, accused of giving out usurious loans targeting members of the local Brazilian American community, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Friday.
Bruno Lopes-Ferreira, 30, is charged with second-degree criminal usury, second-degree engaging in the business of criminal usury, and third-degree possession of usurious loan records, according to Santiago.
An investigation led by Long Branch Police Department Detective Daniel Cunha revealed that Lopes-Ferreira’s criminal activities began while he was still employed as a special law enforcement officer — “a classification of police officers in the state who are not fully sworn, but work on a provisional basis, handling matters such as traffic direction and crowd control,” Santiago said.
Specifically, the investigation found that Lopes-Ferreira operated an illegal money loaning operation, with victims saying that they took out loans from him and were charged interest rates typically of 10% monthly, or 120% annually.
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Santiago said this exceeds the 30% maximum annual rate allowable under state law. Lopes-Ferreira also held the victims’ jewelry, passports and Motor Vehicle Commission documents as collateral, which he would refuse to return until the principal and interest on the loans were paid in full.
Lopes-Ferreira was served the charges against him via summons earlier this week, pending a first appearance tentatively scheduled to take place on Dec. 19 in state Superior Court in Monmouth County, Santiago said.
The prosecutor is urging anyone with information about Lopes-Ferreira’s activities to contact Detective Cunha at 732-222-1000.
Jenna Calderón covers breaking news and cold cases in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Before coming to the Press, she covered The Queen City for Cincinnati Magazine in Ohio. Contact her at 330-590-3903; jcalderon@gannettnj.com
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Long Branch special cop was loan shark to Brazilian Americans: Police