People who lost money in an alleged tech support scam run out of Essex, Connecticut and Pennsylvania could be entitled for reimbursement after a federal court in Pennsylvania ordered that the operators’ assets be used to pay back consumers who lost money, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

In May, the FTC, Connecticut and Pennsylvania announced settlements with Bruce Bartolotta, of Deep River; Click4Support, LLC, which operated out of Essex; Spanning Source LLC; George Saab, of Massachusetts; Chetan Patel and Niraj Patel, both of Pennsylvania; as well as Innovazion Inc.; Innovazion Research Private Limited; Abhishek Gagneja; and Rishi Gagneja, banning the defendants from marketing technical support services, It also included an agreement to pay a total of more than $554,000 and to forfeit $1.3 million held by the receiver, according to the FTC.

The FTC alleges that the defendants used Internet ads and popups that claimed to be from major tech companies like Microsoft and Apple to trick consumers into calling the defendants and buying tech support services. 

If you think you were a victim, you can file a consumer complaint with the FTC by visiting www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or by calling (877) 382-4357.

The U.S. Coast Guard has been called in to help break up ice jams along the Connecticut River and they are out on the water this morning.

A large ice jam formed along the river in Haddam Sunday afternoon, with many others also are appearing in other areas of the river. The sheets of ice then stuck together, creating a flood risk.

The ice sheets are about 4 to 10 feet in diameter, and there are hundreds of them out on the water.

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The ice ruined docks and more than 26 pilings at Andrew’s Marina – damage that’ll cost more than $16,000 to repair.

The Coast Guard is using its ice cutter to break up the ice jam, so the water can continue flowing south without gushing all at once.

Coast Guard officials are working their way from New London County to Middletown.

There’s been flooding at Haddam Meadows State Park, a popular location for locals.

"We stopped up at Haddam Meadows to look and it's all flooded and you can't get down to the river everybody stopping to look at the ice and it's level with the ground at the park it's amazing,” said Middletown resident Julie Isidro.

A flood warning remains in effect for the Connecticut River in both Hartford and Middlesex counties. 

A Perris, California, couple kept their 13 children -- several of them adults -- in "conditions that were horrific," living in squalor, without enough to eat and even shackled to furniture to prevent them from leaving the residence, a Riverside County sheriff's official said Tuesday.

"Our deputies described a foul smell in the home. It was extremely dirty, and many of the children were malnourished," Capt. Greg Fellows said during a news briefing at the sheriff's Perris station. "If you can imagine a 17-year-old appearing to be 10 because of being malnourished, chained to a bed and with injuries associated with that -- I would call that torture."

Fellows was joined by Perris Mayor Michael Vargas, county Department of Public Social Services Director Susan Von Zabern and several medical professionals to provide additional information about the victims and the suspects, 56-year-old David Allen Turpin and his wife, 49-year-old Louise Ann Turpin.

The pair were arrested Sunday on suspicion of committing multiple acts of torture and child abuse. Each is being held in lieu of $9 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside. Fellows said detectives are preparing to submit their case to the District Attorney's Office seeking charges against the suspects. The couple are tentatively due in court Thursday.

"The mother was perplexed why were at the residence," Fellows recounted, describing what investigators encountered on entering the single-story home in the 100 block of Muir Woods Road. "We have had no prior contacts there regarding allegations of child abuse and neglect. We have no call history to that residence."

The Turpins' 17-year-old daughter escaped the home by jumping through a window shortly before 6 a.m. Sunday, carrying a deactivated mobile phone with which she was still able to dial 911, according to Fellows.

The girl told dispatchers that her 12 siblings were in need of help, and when deputies arrived, she presented them with photographs documenting conditions inside the residence, the captain said.

"The photos she provided turned out to be accurate," Fellows said. "They were in conditions that were horrific."

He alleged three children were found chained to objects inside the residence, evidently to immobilize them. Six of the victims are under 18, while the others are adults. Fellows was at a loss to explain why the older children had failed to report alleged abuse in the home earlier.

The victims' ages range from 2 to 29, and according to published reports, the juveniles were home-schooled. David Turpin is a former aerospace engineer, and his wife a homemaker.

Neighbors were surprised.

Kimberly Milligan says she was told the family had a dozen kids when she moved into the neighborhood 2½ years ago, but she never saw that many children.

Milligan says she didn't see friends or family coming to the home. She also never saw or heard children playing outside. But she didn't suspect anything like what authorities allege.

They have resided in Perris since 2014 and previously lived in Murrieta, as well as Texas.

Questions were raised regarding religious zealotry, or even cult-like behavior by the parents, but Fellows said the investigation was still in the early stages, and he had no information about the suspects' affiliations.

"There is no indication of mental illness affecting either parent," he said.

Von Zabern told reporters that DPSS is working to obtain court orders that will give Child Protective Services and Adult Protective Services custody of the children and conservatorship over the adults until they're capable of making their own decisions.

She and Fellows both praised the "bravery" of the girl who escaped the residence to seek help for her siblings. A spokeswoman for the Riverside University Health System said the children are stable and being restored to health gradually.

According to Corona Regional Medical Center CEO Mark Uffer, the adults are also receiving expert care.

"They're comfortable and in a very secure environment," Uffer said. "They've been through a very traumatic ordeal, but they're very friendly, very cooperative and hopeful life will get better for them after this event."

Speaking for the community, Vargas extended "thoughts and prayers" to the 13 brothers and sisters.

"We're devastated by this act of cruelty," the mayor said. "Our hearts go out to the victims."

David Turpin's father says he was surprised by news of his son's arrest.

The older Turpin said he heard about the arrests Monday but declined further comment.

James Turpin confirmed that his son is an engineer and grew up in West Virginia.

It wasn't immediately known if they had attorneys.

Anyone with information on the case was asked to call the sheriff's Perris station at (951) 210-1000.

A report released Tuesday by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security found that the majority of convictions for international terrorism brought by U.S. courts since 2001 have been against people born outside of the U.S., bolstering the Trump administration's argument for tougher immigration standards, NBC News reported.

The report found that out of 549 convictions for international terrorism-related charges since Sept. 11, 2001, 254 were not U.S. citizens, 148 received U.S. citizenship through naturalization and 147 were U.S. citizens by birth.

But testimony from DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen paints a more nuanced picture, as do several national security analysts.

Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, Nielsen said the report included people arrested overseas and brought to the U.S. to face trial. A U.S. official estimated the number of those arrests at close to 90, further skewing the numbers towards foreign-born defendants.

U.S. Marshals have raised the reward for anyone with information leading to the arrest of a prisoner who escaped from the Carl Robinson Correctional Institution in Enfield earlier this month.

The U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force cash reward has been increased from $1,500 to $2,500 on Tuesday.

Police said 25-year-old Jerry Mercado might have gotten away by stowing away under a vehicle on Jan. 7 and the search for him continues. He was last seen that morning at 10:20. 

During a news conference on Jan. 8, state Department of Correction (DOC) Commissioner Scott Semple said investigators believe a vehicle was involved in the escape because there were no breaches to the facility's outer fence.

Semple said there were two vehicles on the property that day - a state police van and a garbage truck - and investigators are looking into whether Mercado stowed away under one of the vehicles to escape.

Authorities are reviewing security protocols at Carl Robinson and at all 15 DOC facilities across the state, Semple said.

Mercado, who is from Hartford, was serving a three-year sentence for third-degree burglary charges at the time of the escape. Officials from the DOC said he is classified as a "low risk" offender, but police are asking people to be on alert.

"Mercado may have fled the state of Connecticut and may be hiding out in neighboring states, including the New York City metro area where a tip was generated from," the U.S. Marshals wrote in a press release on Tuesday.

He is 5 feet 4 inches and weighs 137 pounds and might be wearing a combination of a tan jumpsuit, white T-shirt and gray sweatshirt. He has two visible tattoos: One on his neck reads "time waits for no one" and he has another on his left temple.

Anyone who thinks they’ve seen Mercado should call 911 immediately, call the U.S. Marshals at (800) 336-0202 or email them here. Police stress that he should not be approached. 

Carl Robinson is primarily a dormitory-style facility that houses around 1,500 inmates on Shaker Road in Enfield.

A former CIA officer who was charged Tuesday with unlawful possession of secrets is suspected of a much worse crime: betraying U.S. informants in China, sources familiar with the case told NBC News.

The former officer, Jerry Chun Shing Lee, 53, was arrested Monday after flying into New York from his home in Hong King, federal authorities announced.

Lee, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, was charged with a single count of unlawfully possessing national defense information, based on a 2012 search that found him to be in possession of two notebooks containing the true names of CIA assets and covert facilities, which are some of the agency's most closely guarded secrets.

But sources familiar with the case say he is suspected of funneling information to China that caused the deaths or imprisonment of approximately 20 American agents, in one of the worst intelligence breaches in decades.

North Haven police are reminding parents of the danger involved in the popular online "Tide Pod Challenge."

"The Tide Pod Challenge is becoming a popular, but dangerous game for kids. Please talk to your children about how hazardous this could be for them. They do look delicious, but the outcome is not as cool as posting a video online," the department tweeted on Tuesday.

Over the last few months, a trend is popping up online of videos showing young people putting laundry detergent pods in their mouths, Today reports. 

The videos posted on Instagram, Facebook and other social media sites purportedly show teenagers or even younger children "prepping" the detergent pod by shaking, stirring or cooking the packets, Today wrote. 

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), 10 people have actually died from eating them.

"Please don't eat laundry pods. They're poisonous," CPSC wrote on Facebook.

The picture posted by the CPSC reads, "A meme should not become a family tragedy. Don't eat poison."

Last year, poison control centers received reports of more than 10,500 calls of children 5 years old or younger who were inappropriately exposed to the laundry pods, Today reported.

Proctor and Gamble, the company that owns Tide, launched an online video campaign with New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski to warn teenagers specifically about the danger.

The abrupt closing of Sam’s Clubs in Manchester and Orange is causing concern for some customers trying to return items.

Justin David, of South Windsor, said he was turned away at the door when he showed up to the Manchester location on Sunday. He said he wanted to return a rubber boot mat tray that he purchased before Christmas for $12.98.

Since the store is still open for business, David expected to get a full refund for the item over the weekend. The company said it will close 63 locations across the country by Jan. 26.

Instead, David said he was not allowed to enter and said employees told him that location was no longer accepting returns and that he needed to go to Sam’s Club in Newington.

David told NBC Connecticut Responds he spotted signs posted at the store’s entrance which stated returns were not allowed anymore.

He filed a complaint with the corporate office about this policy and didn’t hear back from the company.

NBC Connecticut reached out to Sam’s Club for clarification and a spokesperson said David was given incorrect information and should have been able to return his item because the signs he saw in the store refer to any sales made since the closing was announced. Those items are final and cannot be returned to any Sam’s Club location, the spokesperson said.

The Sam’s Club representative said they plan to reach out to David directly to correct the issue.

Experts said return policies for store closings can vary depending on the retailer so they suggest calling ahead.

One person is dead after a crash in Hartford.

Police said two victims were involved in a crash on Vine Street and one was pronounced dead. 

The victims' ages are unknown.

Police said they found the vehicle likely involved in the crash. 

Connecticut State Police Major Crimes Unit is investigating. 

Stacks of medical records were tossed in a public dumpster for anyone to access and the Connecticut State Department of Health is investigating.

Dozens of medical records were found buried in a dumpster behind Allied Medical Associates in Waterbury on Tuesday. The records contain sensitive and confidential medical information.

“I’m afraid that my medical records can be there and that’s not a good thing,” Yasmeen Burgos, of Waterbury, told NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters.

Burgos was treated by Allied Medical Associates’ sole physician Dr. Stephen P. Harris two years ago and worries her information could be compromised.

Harris told NBC Connecticut the medical office shut down two days after Christmas because bills hadn’t been paid.

“I can’t treat my patients and also stand over people watching what’s going on, so suddenly, I found out we were deeply in debt because a lot of our bills hadn’t been paid,” Harris said.

A note on the front door of Allied Medical Associates said the office is permanently closed and for patients to contact their attorney.

A state health employee arrived a short time after the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters to investigate the records in the Waterbury dumpster on Tuesday.

Harris showed the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters that his house and car were filled with patient records saved from his practice, however, he admits the others that were found were authorized to go in the garbage.

“There were two boxes of files that were labeled or I thought labeled 2010 and there’s only a seven-year period you have to maintain records, so we put them in the dumpster. You know, I’m responsible for it, I have talked to the state. We’re going to retrieve those and destroy them but it was not intentional- it was a bad decision, but it was a decision made because we had so little time to get out,” Harris said.

NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters asked Harris why the documents weren’t shredded in the first place.

“I know they needed to be shredded, but I felt that, you know, once the dumpster people came and put them in a dump covered up and chewed them up, there wouldn’t be anybody crawling through there to get those,” Harris said. “We had our own shredder and it takes forever to shred those and we didn’t have time to do it.”

State health officials secured the records on Tuesday afternoon. They said they cannot comment on an ongoing investigation, but they provided NBC Connecticut an outline of the state’s law regarding medical records.

According to state statute 19a-14-44 Discontinuance of Practice, patients must be informed.

“This must be done by placing a notice in a daily local newspaper published in the community, which is the prime locus of the practice. The notice shall appear twice, seven days apart. In addition, an individual letter is to be sent to each patient seen within the three years preceding the date of discontinuance of the practice. Medical records of all patients must be retained for at least sixty days following both the public and private notice to patients,” the law reads in part.

Fire crews battled a blaze on Connerton Street in New Britain overnight.

Mayor Erin Stewart said everyone was safe and accounted for as firefighters continued to fight the stubborn fire at 42 Connerton Street Wednesday morning.

There’s no word on what started the fire at this time.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

At least 13 flights have been canceled at Bradley International Airport due to winter weather and more travel impacts are expected.

The storm that moved in late Tuesday is expected to drop anywhere between 4 to 8 inches in the Windsor Locks area. The airport remains open and operating, but officials warned that travelers should check their flight status with their airline before heading out.

Further cancellations and delays are likely as the storm continues.

Several airlines are offering travel waivers for travel out of Bradley due to the storm. Check with your airline for specific details.

Flight status updates can be found on the airport website by clicking here.

Hartford police are investigating a shooting Tuesday night and said they found a car that fled from officers. It was on Yale Street and it had been set on fire, according to police.

The investigation started when an officer heard six gunshots from a back lot in the 600 block of Blue Hills Avenue at 9:42 p.m., then saw an Acura flee west on East Euclid Street and south on Blue Hills Avenue, according to police.

Police chased the car until officers lost sight of it on Interstate 91 South, according to police.

Investigators determined that the Blue Hills Avenue lot was the crime scene. The victim had been shot in the back and walked to Mt. Sinai Hospital, but was transported to St. Francis Hospital. His injuries are not life-threatening, police said.

Hartford patrol officers also responded to Yale Street to investigate a car fire and determined it was the car officers had been chasing after the shooting, police said.

Crews at the scene determined the car fire had been set. The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call LT Cicero 869-757-4179.

FBI agents showed up at Steve Bannon’s Washington home last week intent on serving him with a subpoena to appear before a grand jury investigating possible ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia, a source familiar with the proceedings told NBC News.

The agents were unaware at the time that Trump's former chief strategist had retained Washington lawyer William Burck just hours earlier, according to two people familiar with the events that took place on Jan. 9.

Once redirected, the agents sent the order to Burck, who is also representing two other witnesses in the probe being led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Mueller may still leave open the option for an interview in lieu of grand jury testimony and Bannon is likely to accept such an option if it is made available, according to a source close to Bannon.

Bannon departed the White House in August and was booted from Breitbart amid fallout over quotes attributed to him in author Michael Wolff's book.

Bristol police arrested a man on narcotics and weapons charges at Bristol Central High School Tuesday.

Police said a detective spotted 37-year-old Jose Torres leaving the school around 7:50 p.m. The detective recognized Torres, who had two outstanding arrest warrants for sale of narcotics.

While taking Torres into custody, officers found a .380 semi-automatic handgun inside Torres’ vehicle. He was also found to be in possession of cocaine, according to police.

Torres told police he was at the school for a sporting event.

Torres was arrested for the warrant charges and also charged with several additional offenses including possession of a firearm on school grounds, weapons in a motor vehicle, and possession of narcotics.

Torres is a convicted felon, police said.

The suspect was held on a total bond of $120,000 and is due in court Wednesday.

Norwalk police are searching for a suspect accused of buying several thousand dollars' worth of jewelry and handbags using stolen credit cards.

Police said the suspect pictured above made the purchases at the Trumbull Mall and at Saks Fifth Avenue in Greenwich on Oct. 19, 2017.

The suspect used stolen credit cards and also opened several other store credit cards in the victim’s name, according to police.

Anyone who recognizes the suspect is asked to contact Detective Imparato at 203-854-3190 or the Norwalk Police Tip Line at 203-854-3111.

Britain has created a “minister for loneliness” to tackle public health problems associated with social isolation, NBC News reported.

The minister, Tracey Crouch, was appointed after research showed that one in 10 people felt lonely "always or often" and hundreds of thousands of the elderly hadn't spoken to a friend or relative in the past month.

The minister for sport and civil society, as the title is officially called, will come up with a national strategy to tackle isolation across all ages and find ways of measuring alienation in official statistics.

Bitcoin fell below $10,000 for the first time since November, with more than $36 billion of value being wiped off the cryptocurrency in the last day, CNBC reported.

The world's largest cryptocurrency was trading at $9,958.31 at about 6:50 a.m. Wednesday and was down almost 12 percent in the last 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data. It recovered by 7:45 a.m. to $10,551.48.

More than $36 billion of value was wiped off of the cryptocurrency in the last day.

The last time bitcoin fell below the $10,000 mark was Nov. 30. And last month, it soared to a record high of $19,343. However, bitcoin has since been on a gradual decline and is now down 48 percent from that all-time high.