Serial Armed Robbery Suspect Targeted Massage Parlors and Spas - Shore News Network

[Breaking Local News Report]

BOSTON, MA – Li Wen Tang, a 33-year-old man from Malden, Massachusetts, has been sentenced to 78 months in prison for his role in a series of violent armed robberies targeting spas. Tang, who was convicted in April 2024, was sentenced on Tuesday by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton. In addition to his prison term, Tang will serve three years of supervised release.

Tang’s sentencing comes after he pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery affecting commerce. Along with his co-defendants, Alfeu Barbosa and Jonas Nunez, Tang orchestrated the violent robberies in June 2022, during which the victims were brutally assaulted, bound with duct tape, and robbed at gunpoint.

On the evening of June 12, 2022, Tang entered the Balance Reflexology Spa in Brookline, posing as a customer. After claiming he felt unwell and asking for a refund, he unlocked the spa’s front door, allowing Barbosa and Nunez, both masked and armed, to enter. The victim, the only employee in the spa that night, was hit in the face, dragged into a hallway, and duct-taped by the assailants while they demanded money. The robbers stole $500 and the victim’s cell phone before fleeing.

Later that night, the group carried out a similar attack at May’s Spa Massage in Stoneham. They duct-taped multiple victims and stole $600 in cash, cell phones, and personal belongings, including a victim’s license and credit cards, before leaving in the same vehicle used in the Brookline robbery.

Co-defendant Nunez was sentenced in April 2024 to 23 months in prison. Barbosa, convicted by a jury in March 2024, received a sentence of 121 months in July. All three men were indicted by a federal grand jury after their arrests in 2022.

The case highlights the violent tactics used by the defendants and the coordinated efforts of law enforcement to bring them to justice.

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  Serial Armed Robbery Suspect Targeted Massage Parlors and Spas
  
  BOSTON, MA – Li Wen Tang, a 33-year-old man from Malden, Massachusetts, has been sentenced to 78 months in prison for his role in a series of violent armed robberies targeting spas. Tang, who was convicted in April 2024, was sentenced on Tuesday by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton. In addition to his prison term, Tang will serve three years of supervised release.
  
  Tang's sentencing comes after he pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery affecting commerce. Along with his co-defendants, Alfeu Barbosa and Jonas Nunez, Tang orchestrated the violent robberies in June 2022, during which the victims were brutally assaulted, bound with duct tape, and robbed at gunpoint.
  
  On the evening of June 12, 2022, Tang entered the Balance Reflexology Spa in Brookline, posing as a customer. After claiming he felt unwell and asking for a refund, he unlocked the spa's front door, allowing Barbosa and Nunez, both masked and armed, to enter. The victim, the only employee in the spa that night, was hit in the face, dragged into a hallway, and duct-taped by the assailants while they demanded money. The robbers stole $500 and the victim's cell phone before fleeing.
  
  Later that night, the group carried out a similar attack at May's Spa Massage in Stoneham. They duct-taped multiple victims and stole $600 in cash, cell phones, and personal belongings, including a victim’s license and credit cards, before leaving in the same vehicle used in the Brookline robbery.
  
  Co-defendant Nunez was sentenced in April 2024 to 23 months in prison. Barbosa, convicted by a jury in March 2024, received a sentence of 121 months in July. All three men were indicted by a federal grand jury after their arrests in 2022.
  
  The case highlights the violent tactics used by the defendants and the coordinated efforts of law enforcement to bring them to justice.
  
  
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  Buffalo Convict Escaped from Halfway House, Charged
  
  BUFFALO, NY – Walter Stewart, a 33-year-old Buffalo resident, has been charged with escape from custody after leaving a halfway house in June 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York announced on Wednesday. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
  
  Stewart had been serving a 58-month prison sentence following his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. In May 2024, he was transferred from the Ray Brook Federal Correctional Institution to CRJ Lighthouse Residential Reentry Center in Buffalo, where he was scheduled to serve the remainder of his sentence with a projected release date of August 10, 2024. However, on June 26, 2024, Stewart left the center without authorization, prompting the U.S. Marshals Service to initiate a search.
  
  Stewart was apprehended on August 30, 2024. The investigation, led by the U.S. Marshals Service under the direction of Marshal Charles Salina, resulted in his arrest and the criminal complaint. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey E. Intravatola is prosecuting the case.
  
  If convicted, Stewart faces up to five years in prison for the escape charge, in addition to his original
  
  
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  New Yorker Wanted for Hacking U.S. Computers Arrested After Flight From Ukraine
  
  BOSTON, MA – Vitalii Antonenko, a 32-year-old New York City resident, pleaded guilty on Thursday to multiple conspiracies involving computer hacking, trafficking stolen credit card information, and laundering the illicit proceeds. Antonenko entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge William G. Young, admitting to charges of unauthorized access to computer networks and laundering the money earned through these criminal activities.
  
  Antonenko was arrested in March 2019 at John F. Kennedy International Airport after arriving from Ukraine. He was found in possession of digital media containing hundreds of thousands of stolen payment card numbers. Following an indictment by a federal grand jury in May 2020, his sentencing is scheduled for December 10, 2024.
  
  Antonenko and his co-conspirators targeted vulnerable computer networks, using a technique called SQL injection to infiltrate systems storing payment card data and personally identifiable information (PII). Once extracted, the stolen data was sold on criminal marketplaces. To conceal the proceeds, Antonenko and his associates laundered the funds through Bitcoin transactions, traditional bank transfers, and cash, making it difficult to trace the illicit activity. Among the victims of the conspiracy were a hospitality business and a scientific research institution located in eastern Massachusetts.
  
  The charge of conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to computer networks carries a potential sentence of up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. The money laundering conspiracy charge carries a more severe penalty, with up to 20 years in prison, a $500,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
  
  Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy, alongside Andrew Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Boston Field Office, announced the guilty plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto is prosecuting the case.
  
  Antonenko’s conviction underscores the growing threat of cybercrime and the commitment of law enforcement to prosecute individuals involved in hacking and financial fraud.