BLOOMFIELD, N.J. — A Millstone Township man was convicted on Thursday in a federal racketeering case that tied gang violence in New York to crimes and financial activity in New Jersey, including a Bloomfield kidnapping and robbery and the purchase of a $1.2 million home using fraud proceeds, according to federal prosecutors.

Jerell Shaw, 34, was found guilty following an 11-week trial in federal court in Central Islip, New York. Prosecutors said Shaw, also known as “Rells” and “Rells Fargo,” was convicted alongside Akeem Chambers and Jonathan Vazquez on charges in a third superseding indictment that included racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, murder, attempted murder, assault, murder conspiracy, kidnapping, robbery, robbery conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, mortgage fraud conspiracy, and money laundering. The Justice Department said each defendant faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, Shaw was convicted for his role in the December 1, 2021 kidnapping and robbery of a woman in Bloomfield, New Jersey. Prosecutors said Shaw recruited fellow Rollin’ 60s member Malik Delima and two additional Crips members to kidnap the victim. Their aim was to gain access to her apartment and steal luxury items, including Birkin handbags, watches, and jewelry. The Justice Department identified the defendants as members of two Crips sets, one known as the Insane Crip Gang and based in Long Island, the other called the Rollin' 60s and based in Brooklyn.

Federal prosecutors said Shaw also enlisted Insane Crip Gang members to help resell the stolen goods. According to the conviction announcement, Shaw later failed to pay Delima and his associates their share of the proceeds, and an internal power struggle developed between Shaw and Delima. Prosecutors said that conflict led to Shaw and Chambers being convicted for Delima’s March 2022 killing in Brooklyn.

The case also included a pandemic-era fraud component. Prosecutors said Chambers, Vazquez, and Shaw were each convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for participating in schemes that used stolen identities to file fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in multiple states, including California and Arizona. The Justice Department said trial evidence showed that Shaw alone defrauded California’s Employment Development Department of more than $2 million from 2020 to 2021.

According to prosecutors, Shaw was also convicted of laundering proceeds from the fraud schemes by transferring thousands of dollars a day between bank accounts and wiring funds to his business account under the guise of legitimate transactions. Federal officials said Shaw used those proceeds to obtain a mortgage and purchase a $1.2 million home in New Jersey.

One Part of a Broader Federal Case

The federal case first surfaced publicly in April 2023, when prosecutors announced that a 59-count indictment had been unsealed against eight members and associates of the Insane Crip Gang, or ICG, from Hempstead, New York. That earlier announcement said the defendants were accused of committing more than a dozen shootings and three murders between 2016 and 2022, along with fraud schemes involving unemployment systems, PPP-related fraud, identity theft, and bank fraud. Shaw was not named in that April 2023 announcement.

By April 2026, prosecutors said the case had reached a jury on a third superseding indictment that included Shaw, Chambers, and Vazquez.

In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said the defendants and their co-conspirators used violence, terrorized neighborhoods, and enriched themselves through criminal proceeds. The case was announced jointly with the FBI, Nassau County Police Department, Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, and NYPD.

Sources

·     U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York, “Three Crips Members Convicted Of Racketeering, Murder, and Other Gang-Related Crimes” (April 9, 2026)

·     U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York, “Eight Crips Gang Members and Associates Indicted for Racketeering and Numerous Violent Crimes on Long Island” (April 13, 2023)