NewzIntel.com

Category: Crime

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General James Co-Leads Bipartisan Coalition Urging Congress to Pass Legislation to Prevent Youth Substance Abuse

    Source: US State of New York

    EW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today co-led a bipartisan coalition of 40 other attorneys general from across the country in calling on Congress to pass the Youth Substance Use Prevention and Awareness Act, bipartisan legislation to reduce youth drug use through research-based public education campaigns and strategic community outreach. In a letter to Democratic and Republican leadership in the House and Senate, Attorney General James and the coalition emphasize the importance of proactive, science-based prevention efforts at a time when young people face increased risk of exposure to dangerous narcotics like fentanyl and xylazine.

    “Too many young people know firsthand just how deadly drugs like fentanyl can be,” said Attorney General James. “As the opioid epidemic continues to tear apart families and communities, attorneys general remain on the front lines protecting our youth, and we need all levels of government to help fight back. The Youth Substance Use Prevention and Awareness Act is a commonsense bipartisan measure that will provide significant resources to help save lives and educate young people about the dangers of drug use.”

    The legislation, introduced by U.S. Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), would amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide targeted federal funding for public service announcements (PSAs), youth-led campaigns, and other outreach tools that help prevent early substance use. All campaigns funded under the bill must be grounded in evidence, designed for cultural relevance, and adapted to meet the specific needs of local communities.

    Attorney General James and the coalition argue that youth substance use remains a growing public health and safety concern, especially amid a rise in fentanyl-related overdoses and the increasing availability of synthetic drugs. Research consistently shows that young people who begin using drugs at an early age are more likely to develop long-term substance use disorders, and the consequences can be devastating for families, schools, and communities.

    The Youth Substance Use Prevention and Awareness Act would fund a range of efforts to better reach young people with timely, credible, and accessible information, including:

    • Culturally relevant PSAs tailored specifically to youth;
    • Youth-led PSA contests to drive peer-to-peer engagement and creativity;
    • Federal grants for outreach across TV, radio, social media, streaming platforms, and other media; and
    • Annual reporting requirements to measure reach and effectiveness, ensuring transparency and accountability.

    The letter is led by Attorney General James and the attorneys general of Connecticut, New Hampshire, and South Dakota. Joining the letter are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and American Samoa. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former President of Asphalt Paving Company Sentenced to Prison for Bid Rigging

    Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

    A former senior executive of a Michigan asphalt paving company was sentenced yesterday to six months in prison and a $500,000 fine for his role in a multiyear conspiracy to rig bids for asphalt paving services contracts in Michigan.

    Daniel L. Israel, former president of Pontiac-based Asphalt Specialists LLC (ASI), pleaded guilty in October 2023 to conspiring with Al’s Asphalt Paving Company Inc. (Al’s Asphalt), and employees from those companies, to rig bids in each other’s favor. Israel is one of seven individuals that have been charged as part of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the asphalt paving services industry. Three companies also have been charged as part of the investigation, which to date has resulted in over $8.2 million in criminal fines.

    “Economic crime — like bid rigging — is no less harmful than violent crime,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Both inflict deep, lasting harm on our communities and disenfranchise those who believe in the American dream. As the defendant admitted, he conspired to eliminate competition to further enrich himself and his accomplices. The Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners will continue to ensure that individuals who cheat and deprive the public of the benefits of competition are incarcerated.”

    “This sentencing marks an important milestone in holding accountable those responsible for this flagrant bid rigging scheme,” said Special Agent in Charge Anthony Licari of the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG), Midwestern Region. “We remain committed to working closely with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to investigate and prosecute individuals who undermine fair competition and violate federal antitrust laws.”

    According to court documents, the co-conspirators coordinated each other’s bid prices so that the agreed-upon losing company would submit intentionally non-competitive bids. These bids gave customers the false impression of competition when, in fact, the co-conspirators already had decided among themselves who would win the contracts. Israel participated in the conspiracy from March 2013 through November 2018.

    Israel’s former employer, ASI, and another former ASI executive also pleaded guilty in January 2024 for their participation in the conspiracy with Al’s Asphalt. Al’s Asphalt and two of its executives previously pleaded guilty in January and October 2024 for their participation in the conspiracy. ASI was sentenced in August 2024 to pay a fine of $6,500,000.

    The Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office, DOT-OIG, and U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General investigated the case

    The Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office is prosecuting the case.

    Anyone with information in connection with this investigation should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Founder of Haitian Orphanage Sentenced to 210 Years in Prison for Sexually Abusing Boys in his Care

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    A Colorado man was sentenced today to 210 years in prison for sexually abusing numerous children at the orphanage he founded and directed in Haiti.

    According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Michael Karl Geilenfeld, 73, most recently of Littleton, founded St. Joseph’s Home for Boys — a home for orphaned, impoverished, and otherwise vulnerable children in Haiti — in 1985 and operated it for more than two decades. During this time, Geilenfeld repeatedly traveled from the United States to Haiti, where he sexually abused the boys entrusted to his care. He also physically and emotionally abused the children in the home, including through physical assault and other forms of punishment.

    In February 2025, a federal jury convicted Geilenfeld of one count of traveling in foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct and six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place between 2005 and 2010. Each of the six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct relates to a separate victim who was a child at the time of the offense.

    At trial, these six victims testified about the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of Geilenfeld and the devastating impact it had on them, as did other victims — now adults — who were not the subject of the charged offenses. Victims and witnesses also described the physical abuse Geilenfeld inflicted on his victims and the manipulation that he employed to keep his operation running and financially supported by others.

    “The defendant’s sustained sexual, physical, and emotional abuse of some of the most vulnerable children in the world is intolerable,” said Matthew Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This prosecution demonstrates the Department’s commitment to securing justice for children harmed by criminals who travel abroad from the United States to commit their crimes. We thank our partners for working with us to ensure that the defendant can never harm another child.”

    “This sentencing marks the end of a case built on the courage of survivors and the dedication of investigators,” said Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “For decades, Geilenfeld used his position of trust and access to exploit vulnerable children under the guise of humanitarian work. We are grateful to those victims who came forward to report their abuse. The FBI is committed to pursuing those who commit crimes against children no matter where they occur or how long ago they were committed.”

    U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and FBI investigated the case.

    Trial Attorneys Jessica L. Urban and Eduardo Palomo of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lacee Monk for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch, Durbin Lead Call for Inspector General to Investigate Emil Bove’s Abuse of Prosecutorial Power at DOJ’s Civil Rights Division 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Constitution Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, and Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) referred Emil Bove III to the Office of Inspector General. Senators asked Inspector General Michael Horowitz to investigate Mr. Bove’s potential abuse of prosecutorial authority within the Civil Rights Division. 
    Public reporting indicates that Mr. Bove used intimidation tactics to stymie protected rights of students, including freedom of speech and freedom of association. Mr. Bove reportedly instructed career prosecutors in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division to obtain a membership list of a student group at Columbia and investigate those students. After career prosecutors raised concerns about whether such actions violated the Constitution, Mr. Bove reportedly demanded prosecutors file for search warrants for the list. A magistrate judge twice rejected this request, finding the investigation initiated at Mr. Bove’s direction lacked probable cause. He then, purportedly, ordered FBI agents to intimidate protestors by putting on their raid jackets and stand in a phalanx formation.  
    “If these reports are accurate, Mr. Bove has abused his prosecutorial and supervisory authority to retaliate against protected First Amendment activity for the purpose of furthering President Trump’s political agenda,” the Senators write. “This matter must be reviewed by the Office of Inspector General (OIG). While we acknowledge that DOJ views attorney misconduct as the province of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), OPR is apparently not available to pursue this matter. Since the constructive removal of Jeffrey Ragsdale as Director and Chief Counsel, OPR has no publicly-known leadership, and our understanding is that the office has been shuttered completely. OIG is thus the only available avenue for oversight of attorney professional misconduct.” 
    The letter, led by Senator Welch and Ranking Member Durbin, was signed Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). 
    Read the letter here and below:  
    Dear Inspector General Horowitz:  
    We write to express our concern about grave allegations that Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove III violated the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Justice Manual, flouted his ethical responsibilities, abused the powers of his office, and exceeded the constitutional limitations on prosecutorial power by initiating pretextual criminal investigations against students at Columbia University and premising investigative steps on protected constitutional activity.  
    According to public reporting, Mr. Bove sought to have career prosecutors in DOJ’s Civil Rights Division obtain a membership list of a student group at Columbia and investigate its members. Prosecutors resisted this request due to the Justice Manual’s prohibition on initiating criminal investigations based on protected constitutional activity, such as freedom of association. These career prosecutors then learned Mr. Bove allegedly sought this list to share with immigration agents, creating a fear that the investigation was a pretextual effort to intimidate students engaged in First Amendment expression with threats of detention and deportation. Separately, Mr. Bove reportedly attempted to employ a different intimidation tactic, instructing Federal Bureau of Investigation agents on the Joint Terrorism Task Force to don their raid jackets and stand in a phalanx near protestors on Columbia’s campus. 
    Subsequently, Mr. Bove ordered prosecutors to obtain a search warrant for the nonpublic data associated with the student group’s Instagram account, based on the premise that the account was used to make a threat—despite the assessment of career prosecutors that the identified statement did not meet the legal definition of a threat. No prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York signed the warrant application, despite the action being brought in their jurisdiction, reportedly due to the same concerns shared by the career prosecutors in the Civil Rights Division. 
    Ultimately, Mr. Bove’s requested warrant application was rejected twice, once on initial review and again on reconsideration, by a federal magistrate judge for failing to establish probable cause. The nature of the second rejection appears to indicate further abuses because the magistrate judge imposed a special condition: if DOJ seeks to refile this search warrant application before another federal judge, they must include a transcript of the sealed discussions of these initial efforts. If these reports are accurate, Mr. Bove has abused his prosecutorial and supervisory authority to retaliate against protected First Amendment activity for the purpose of furthering President Trump’s political agenda.  
    This matter must be reviewed by the Office of Inspector General (OIG). While we acknowledge that DOJ views attorney misconduct as the province of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), OPR is apparently not available to pursue this matter. Since the constructive removal of Jeffrey Ragsdale as Director and Chief Counsel, OPR has no publicly-known leadership, and our understanding is that the office has been shuttered completely. OIG is thus the only available avenue for oversight of attorney professional misconduct.  
    Moreover, concurrent jurisdiction exists between OIG and OPR, particularly where misconduct creates waste, fraud, and abuse. The alleged abuse of power and unethical behavior in question involves the type of misconduct that extends beyond an attorney’s professional responsibilities and falls under the jurisdiction of OIG. In this extraordinary circumstance, we urge you to exercise existing concurrent jurisdiction to investigate all alleged misconduct. 
    Sincerely,  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison Names Leadership Team, Reorganizes Criminal Division

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ALBUQUERQUE – U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison announced today the appointment of a new executive leadership team to guide the District of New Mexico’s mission, along with a restructuring of the Albuquerque office’s Criminal Division to best advance the Administration’s priorities.

    Mr. Ellison named Kimberly Brawley as First Assistant U.S. Attorney, overseeing the Criminal, Civil, and Administrative Divisions. Ms. Brawley joined the office in 2007 and has worked across all sections of the Criminal Division. From 2013 to 2018, she supervised the General Crimes Section, which handled violent crimes, firearms offenses, narcotics, and immigration cases.   Since 2018 she has prosecuted white collar, national security, and civil rights cases.  Ms. Brawley earned her B.A. with honors from New Mexico State University and graduated cum laude from the University of New Mexico School of Law.  Before becoming an Assistant U.S. Attorney, she clerked for the office and practiced civil defense litigation in the private sector.

    Christopher McNair will serve as Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney. Mr. McNair joined the office 2018 and has primarily handled firearms, violent crime, and immigration offenses. Mr. McNair graduated magna cum laude from the University of New Mexico School of Law and earned his B.A. from the University of New Mexico.

    Roberto Ortega has been appointed as Chief of the Civil Division. Mr. Ortega has over 35 years of legal experience, including 25 years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. He has prosecuted a wide range of federal criminal cases and now focuses on defending the United States in civil litigation. Mr. Ortega holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Stanford University and a Juris Doctor from the University of New Mexico School of Law. He is also an active community leader, having served on several local boards, including the UNM Alumni Association and the National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation. He and his wife, Dr. Loretta Cordova de Ortega, have four children.

    Niki Tapia-Brito will lead the Albuquerque Office’s Criminal Division as Chief. Ms. Tapia-Brito joined the office in 2011, after serving for 10 years as a prosecutor in the 7th and 2nd Judicial District Attorneys’ Offices.  Throughout her career with the office, Ms. Tapia-Brito has prosecuted federal cases in the Indian Crimes, Violent Crimes, Civil Rights and Public Integrity sections.  Ms. Tapia-Brito earned her B.A. from Stanford University and a JD at University of New Mexico School of Law.

    In the Las Cruces Branch Office, Richard Williams will serve as Chief of the Criminal Division. He joined the office in 2001 as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 2002. From July 2008 to July 2022, Mr. Williams served in supervisory roles, including Deputy Branch Chief and Section Supervisor. Throughout his career with the office, he has led numerous criminal investigations and prosecutions involving immigration, firearms, narcotics, money laundering, murder and other violent crimes, white-collar offenses, and various federal violations. He has also argued multiple appeals before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, securing two successful topside appeals. In recognition of his appellate work, Mr. Williams received the EOUSA Director’s Award for Superior Performance in 2010. Before joining the office, he practiced commercial litigation as an associate at Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. in Houston, Texas. Mr. Williams earned his J.D. with honors from the University of Texas School of Law and his B.A. cum laude from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. He grew up in Fort Worth, Texas.

    Paige Messec will continue to serve as the Chief of the Appellate Division, which she has headed since 2018. Ms. Messec joined the office in 2008 and served in the Immigration, General Crimes, and White Collar sections of the Criminal Division before moving to the Appellate Division in 2015. She received her undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Georgetown University and law degree cum laude from Harvard Law School. Before joining the office, she clerked for Judge Harris L Hartz on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

    Jeremy Peña has been appointed as Senior Litigation Counsel for the Albuquerque Criminal Division. Mr. Peña joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2011, starting in the General Crimes Section and moving to the White Collar Section that same year. In 2014, he received the U.S. Attorney’s Award for the trial conviction of Sheriff Thomas Rodella.  He has prosecuted some of the Office’s most complex cases, including Ayudando Guardians and the recent trial conviction of Solomon Peña.  Mr. Peña graduated from Pomona College and the University of Chicago Law School.  He was an Assistant District Attorney for five years before becoming an AUSA.

    In the Las Cruces Branch Office, Terri Abernathy will continue to serve as Senior Litigation Counsel for the Criminal Division, a position she has held since 2010. In this role, Ms. Abernathy is responsible for coordinating the training of Assistant U.S. Attorneys and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Las Cruces Office. She has been with the office since 2000 and serves as the District’s Border Security Coordinator. Over her 25-year career, Ms. Abernathy has prosecuted complex narcotics cases and more than a thousand immigration cases. Before joining the office, she clerked for Circuit Judge Bobby R. Baldock of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and is a graduate of Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri.

    In addition to his executive leadership team, Mr. Ellison announced a restructured Criminal Division in the Albuquerque Office, now organized into four sections:

    • Narcotics and Organized Crimes: Led by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine Ramirez and Deputy Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Lou Mattei.
    • White Collar Crimes: Led by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Federici.
    • Violent and General Crimes: Led by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel Hurtado and Deputy Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec.
    • Indian Country Crimes: Led by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew McGinley.

    The Las Cruces Branch Office is organized into two sections:

    • Organized and General Crimes: Led by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Joni Stahl.
    • Violent and General Crimes: Led by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Armijo.

    Public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for the District of New Mexico. With this new leadership team in place, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to vigorously enforcing the law, protecting our communities, and upholding the rights of all New Mexicans. The office will continue to collaborate closely with local, state, tribal, and federal partners to address violent crime, combat drug trafficking, and strengthen border security. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Previously Deported Mexican National Indicted For Illegally Possessing Firearm After Shots Fired From Vehicle

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the return of an indictment charging Hilario Diaz-Velazquez (32, Mexico) with illegal reentry after deportation and possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. If convicted, Diaz-Velazquez faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.

    According to court records, on March 30, 2025, the Palmetto Police Department responded to a call for service regarding shots fired on 14th Street in Palmetto. An officer from the Palmetto Police Department witnessed gunshots from a vehicle, and officers arrested the vehicle’s occupants. The occupants were arrested on state charges and two firearms were seized from the vehicle. One of the occupants was identified as Diaz-Velazquez. A review of Diaz-Velazquez’s immigration history showed that he was previously deported from the United States on November 26, 2012.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.          

    This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Palmetto Police Department, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam W. McCall.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Joint CBSA and OPP investigation leads to arrest and charges for drug importation and trafficking

    Source: Government of Canada News

    May 23, 2025
    Ottawa, Ontario

    A 47-year-old was arrested and is facing drug related charges after a joint investigation involving the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

    On Thursday, May 8, 2025, the CBSA conducted a secondary inspection of a package from Italy arriving at the Ottawa International Airport. Testing determined the contents was heroin.

    The CBSA requested assistance from the OPP Community Street Crime Unit (CSCU).

    On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, the joint investigation resulted in the execution of a search warrant by CSCU members, as well as members of the OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau and CBSA, at a residence on Red Castle Ride, in the Manotick area of Ottawa. One person was arrested the scene.

    Harvinder Singh Malhi of Ottawa has been charged under the Controlled Drug and Substance Act with:

    • Import Schedule 1 substance
    • Possession a of Schedule 1 substance for the purpose of trafficking

    The accused has been released from custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Ottawa on June 24, 2025.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman David Scott Requests $40 Million in FY2026 Community Project Funding Priorities for Georgia’s 13th District

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman David Scott (GA-13)

    WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Congressman David Scott (GA-13), a senior member of the House Agriculture and House Financial Services Committees, announced a list of fifteen Community Project Funding priorities in the 13th Congressional District for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations cycle.

    Each Fiscal Year, Members of Congress can request Federal funding from the House Committee on Appropriations for up to fifteen community projects in their home districts. As part of that process, Congressman David Scott solicited requests through stakeholder meetings and member level engagement and submitted the list of projects outlined below. These Federal dollars provide vital resources to improve transportation and water infrastructure, enhance public safety, and help veterans access lifesaving health care.

    “In every vote I cast and every bill I fight for, my focus is simple: delivering results for the people I represent in the 13th District,” said Congressman David Scott. The nearly $40 million in Federal funding I have requested are going directly back into our neighborhoods—to repair roads, modernize schools, expand access to clean water, and create good-paying jobs. These priorities represent crucial investments in infrastructure and services that will strengthen our communities and bolster local economies for Georgians. I look forward to working closely with officials from across the district on each request to ensure we address the needs of the hard-working families we serve.”

    Congressman Scott’s project include:

    Project Name: City of Jonesboro Pedestrian Improvements Project
    Explanation of Request: The City of Jonesboro would use this funding to make pedestrian improvement in high-traffic areas, including the installment of sidewalks, adding pedestrian crosswalks, installment of ADA accessibility features, lighting, and turnup/turndown walls as required to tie with existing grades.

    Project Name: Rockdale Veterans Transportation Assistance Project
    Explanation of Request: Rockdale County would use this funding to purchase a new vehicle to supplement its Veteran Transportation Program, which assists honorably discharged Rockdale County veterans of any age with trips to the Veterans Hospital in Decatur and the VA clinics in Stockbridge and Covington.

    Project Name: Newton County Sheriff Department Equipment Project
    Explanation of Request: The Newton County Sheriff’s Office would use this funding to purchase ten FAP-30 FBI-certified LES fingerprint sensors that would be used for mobile applications such as roadside stops, crime scene investigations, and serving warrants. Together, this equipment would give the law enforcement agency the capability to fingerprint offenders and victims efficiently and quickly.

    Project Name: Henry County Panola Road Resurfacing Project

    Explanation of Request: Henry County would use this funding to resurface 3.5 miles of Panola Road from Fairview Road to State Route 155. Panola Road serves as a critical east-west connection in northern Henry County, providing access to commercial areas, the City of Stockbridge, and the nearby Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

    Project Name: Gwinnett County Walton Court Booster Station
    Explanation of Request: The Gwinnett County Board of Supervisors would use this funding to upgrade the booster station facility, including installing a standby power source and updating the existing electrical system. This project with ensure that Gwinnett County residents will have adequate access to drinking water.

    Project Name: Newton County Salem Road Utility Relocation Project
    Explanation of Request: The Newton County Water and Sewage Authority would use this funding to relocate 15,640 feet of critical water main, 75 valves, 26 fire hydrants, and 1,050 feet of 10-inch sewer piping to accommodate proposed improvements to State Route 162 in Newton County.

    Project Name: Clayton County Police Department Precinct Anti-Crime Taskforce Project
    Explanation of Request: The Clayton County Police Department would use this funding to purchase and outfit fifteen police cruisers which will conduct gang enforcement operations, surveillance, and offender apprehension. The police cruisers would be outfitted with lighting and siren systems as well as hardware kits that support the Police Department’s in-car cameras.

    Project Name: Lawrenceville Police Department Equipment and Technology Update Project
    Explanation of Request: The Lawrenceville Police Department would use the funding to purchase four standard police cruisers which would conduct high-visibility enforcement, first-aid kits, trauma bags, mechanical breaching kits, a hydraulic breaching kit, a reusable training breach door, 16’ telescopic ladders, public safety camera trailers,  Bluetooth communication equipment, safety barriers, ballistic shields, gas masks, and tactical camera kits.

    Project Name: City of Conyers Technology and Equipment for Strategic Preparedness Project
    Explanation of Request: The City of Conyers Police Department would use this funding to purchase a mobile command vehicle and LTE-enabled portable radios to improve officer preparedness during large-scale incidents, high-threat situations, hostage rescue, and disaster response while enhancing the safety of first responders and civilians.

    Project Name: MARTA Securing Rail and Bus Facilities Project
    Explanation of Request: MARTA would use this funding to install anti-climb, anti-cut fencing around at bus yards and rail yard facilities to prevent unauthorized access to hazardous and dangerous areas.

    Project Name: Rockdale River Trail Connector Project
    Explanation of Request: Rockdale County would use this funding to connect two disconnected portions of the Rockdale River Trail. Connection these two portions of the trail would provide greater access to centers of business, downtown Conyers, recreational opportunities, and the Monastery of the Holy Spirit.

    Project Name: Oxford Haygood Avenue Water Main Replacement Project
    Explanation of Request: The City of Oxford would use this funding to disconnect the existing iron water main, install a new resilient water main, and reconnect water services lines to ensure residents of the City of Oxford have necessary access to drinking water.

    Project Name: Jonesboro Enhancing Law Enforcement and Public Safety Project
    Explanation of Request: The City of Jonesboro Police Department would use this funding to purchase one portable message board trailer, three portable LED light tower trailers, one speed detection trailer, thirty stop sticks, four rapid ID devices, four alcohol detection services, eight police cruisers, ten laptops, thirty body cameras, and twenty-six in-car cameras. This equipment will improve officer reporting, access to real-time information, and public communication during public emergencies.

    Project Name: Alcovy Road Transmission Main Replacement Project
    Explanation of Request: Newton County would use this funding to install 4,200 linear feet of 36-inch water main to replace the existing transmission lines. This project would ensure potable water for nearly all residents of Newton County.

    Project Name: Gwinnett County Harvest Gwinnett Mobile Kitchen Project
    Explanation of Request: Gwinnett County would use this funding to purchase a 16-foot box truck with a lift for its “Live Healthy Gwinnett” initiative. The box truck with allow the county to more easily transport its mobile kitchens across cities and rural areas in the county.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ahead of George Floyd Anniversary, Pressley Reintroduces Suite of Bills to Transform Criminal Legal System, Improve Police Accountability

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

    People’s Justice Guarantee | Ending Qualified Immunity Act | Andrew Kearse Act

    WASHINGTON – Today, ahead of the five-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) reintroduced the People’s Justice Guarantee (PJG), the Ending Qualified Immunity Act, and the Andrew Kearse Accountability for Denial of Medical Care Act – a suite of bills that collectively will help build a fair, equitable, and just legal system in America, and improve police accountability.

    “It’s been nearly five years since George Floyd was murdered, and our families and communities continue to be plagued and destabilized by the overlapping crises of mass incarceration, police brutality, and overcriminalization,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “As we approach this somber anniversary and weather an unprecedented assault on Black and brown communities from the Trump Administration, I’m proud to reintroduce bold legislation and continue our push toward accountability, healing, and our collective liberation.”

    The People’s Justice Guarantee is a comprehensive, decarceration-focused resolution that outlines a framework for a fair, equitable and just legal system. The resolution, developed in close partnership with activists, advocates, and those most impacted by criminal and racial injustice, calls for an ongoing and participatory “people’s process” that centers the dignity and expertise of those impacted by the carceral state. The PJG is rooted in five guiding principles – shared power, freedom, equality, safety, and human dignity – and specifically calls for (1) decarceration and the dramatic reduction of jail and prison populations; (2) eliminating wealth-based discrimination and corporate profiteering; (3) transforming the experience of confinement; and (4) investing in historically impacted communities.

    The Ending Qualified Immunity Act, which Rep. Pressley is introducing alongside Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA), would eliminate the unjust and court-invented doctrine of qualified immunity and restore the ability for people to obtain relief when state and local officials, including police officers, violate their legal and constitutionally secured rights. The lawmakers’ bill would permit civil lawsuits against public officials, in their personal capacity, to hold them accountable for their wrongdoing.

    “On the five-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, we must never forget that true justice requires that victims of police brutality and their families get their day in court,” said Senator Markey. “But all too often, qualified immunity impedes victims from holding government officials accountable. Qualified immunity is a flawed and judge-made doctrine that shields law enforcement officers from being sued for wrongdoing. For decades, courts have been gutting the landmark civil rights law, the Civil Rights Act of 1871, which allows victims of abuse at the hands of state and local officials to vindicate their rights in court. We must hold accountable the public officials who abuse their positions of trust in our communities.”

    The Andrew Kearse Accountability for Denial of Medical Care Act, which the Congresswoman is introducing alongside Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) would hold law enforcement officers criminally liable for failing to obtain medical assistance to people in custody experiencing medical distress. The bill is named after Andrew Kearse, a 36-year-old Black man who on May 11, 2017 died of a heart attack in the back of a police cruiser after begging a police officer for help. Instead of providing Mr. Kearse with medical assistance, the officer dismissed his pleas and waited precious minutes until after Mr. Kearse became nonresponsive to call for medical assistance. Despite failing to seek potentially life-saving care for Mr. Kearse, the officer involved was not charged with a crime.

    “If an officer denies life-saving medical care for people in their custody, they should be held accountable,” said Senator Warren. “This bill is a step towards justice for Andrew Kearse and all who died a preventable death while in custody.”

    Full text of the People’s Justice Guarantee resolution is available here.

    A copy of the Ending Qualified Immunity Act can be found here.

    A copy of the Andrew Kearse Act can be found here and a summary is available here.

    Congresswoman Pressley has introduced over a dozen pieces of precise legislation informed by the People’s Justice Guarantee to fundamentally redefine what justice looks like in America, including the Ending Qualified Immunity Act and Andrew Kearse Accountability for the Denial of Medical Care Act.

    Congresswoman Pressley also led calls in Congress for President Biden to use his clemency authority to address mass incarceration and has applauded the President for granting clemency to thousands of people and commended him for commuting the death sentences of 37 individuals on federal death row.

    • In June 2023, Rep. Pressley and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-12)unveiled the Housing for Formerly Incarcerated Reentry and Stable Tenancy (Housing FIRST) Act, bold legislation to help people who are formerly incarcerated and those with criminal histories access safe and stable housing.
    • In May 2023, Rep. Pressley reintroduced her Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act to improve maternal health care and support for pregnant individuals who are incarcerated. It was originally introduced in March 2020 and reintroduced in February 2021 as part of the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Package—a suite of 12 bills aimed at addressing the Black maternal health crisis.
    • In May 2023, Rep. Pressley and Rep. Grace Napolitano (CA-31), Co-Chair of the Mental Health Caucus, requested the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to research post-traumatic prison disorder and share findings related to prevention and treatment for people returning from behind the wall.
    • In April 2023, Rep. Pressley and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) re-introduced their Ending Qualified Immunity Act, legislation that would eliminate the unjust and court-invented doctrine of qualified immunity and restore the ability for people to obtain relief when state and local officials, including police officers, violate their legal and constitutionally secured rights. Rep. Pressley originally introduced the bill in June 2020 with Rep. Justin Amash (L-MI) and reintroduced it with Sen. Markey in March 2021.
    • On April 6, 2023, Rep. Pressley and Rep. Hank Johnson led 25 of their colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus in calling on Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation to address racial disparities in traffic enforcement.
    • In April 2023, Rep. Pressley, in partnership with Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) and Ilhan Omar (MN-05), re-introduced the Ending PUSHOUT Act, their legislation to end the punitive pushout of girls of color from schools. It was originally introduced in December 2019 and reintroduced in March 2021.
    • In March 2023, Rep. Pressley, Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Congressman Greg Casar (TX-35) and 27 Members of Congress, alongside more than 300 advocacy organizations and community leaders, reintroduced the New Way Forward Act, a landmark piece of legislation that addresses some of the most harmful provisions of immigration law that drive racist enforcement practices, expanded incarceration in immigration detention centers, and unjust deportations. It was originally introduced in December 2019 by Reps. Chuy Garcia (IL-04), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Karen Bass (CA-37) and was reintroduced in January 2021.
    • In March 2023, Rep. Pressley and her colleagues re-introduced the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act to stop federal entities’ use of facial recognition tools and prohibit federal support for state and local law enforcement entities that use biometric technology. They reintroduced the bill in June 2021.
    • In December 2022, the House passed Congresswoman Pressley’s amendment to strengthen maternal health care for people who are incarcerated.
    • In December 2021, Rep. Pressley unveiled the Fair and Independent Experts in Clemency (FIX Clemency) Act, historic legislation to transform our nation’s clemency system and address the mass incarceration crisis.
    • In March 2021, Rep. Pressley sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland urging him to consider H. Res. 266, the People’s Justice Guarantee, as a framework for embedding justice in our criminal legal system and building integrity in the Department of Justice (DOJ). 
    • In February 2021, October 2020, Congresswoman Pressley reintroduced the Mental Health Justice Act with Reps. Katie Porter (CA-45), Tony Cardenas (CA-29), and Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), to support the creation of mental health first responder units that would be deployed in lieu of law enforcement when 911 is called due to a mental health crisis. The lawmakers originally introduced the legislation in October 2020.
    • In January 2021, she reintroduced the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act of 2021 with Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) to prohibit the use of the death penalty at the federal level, and require re-sentencing of those currently on death row. The lawmakers originally introduced the bill in July 2019.
    • In August 2020, she introduced the COVID-19 in Corrections Data Transparency Act with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and others, requires federal, state, and local prisons and jails to collect and publicly report COVID-19 data. The legislation was reintroduced in 2021.
    • In July 2020, she introduced the Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act with Reps. Ilhan Omar (MN-05) and Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), to prohibit federal funds to support the increased presence of police in K-12 schools and supports school districts that invests in counselors.
    • In June 2020, she introduced the Dismantle Mass Incarceration for Public Health Act with Reps. Tlaib (MI-13) and Barbara Lee (CA-13) to require decarceration to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in prisons and jails.
    • In June 2020, she introduced the Andrew Kearse Accountability for Denial of Medical Care Act with Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Ed Markey (D-MA), to hold police officers criminally liable for denying care to those in medical distress.
    • In May 2020, she introduced a resolution with Reps. Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Karen Bass (CA-37) and Barbara Lee (CA-13) to condemn any and all acts of police brutality, racial profiling, and militarization and over-policing of Black and brown communities.  
    • In July 2019, she introduced the No Biometric Barriers Housing Act with Reps. Yvette Clarke (NY-09) and Rashida Tlaib (MI-13) that would prohibit the use of biometric recognition technology in most public and assisted housing units funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), protecting tenants from biased surveillance technology. 
    • In June 2019, in conjunction with Gun Violence Awareness Month and the 5th Annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day, she introduced a resolution to honor survivors of homicide victims by establishing National Survivors of Homicide Victims Awareness Month. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Labrador Letter: Idaho Cracks Down on Online Child Predators

    Source: US State of Idaho

    Home Newsroom Labrador Letter: Idaho Cracks Down on Online Child Predators

    Dear Friends,
    One of the most important responsibilities of the Idaho Attorney General’s Office is to protect children from online exploitation. As technology evolves, so do the tactics of those who wish to do harm. That is why our Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force is one of the most active and vital units in my office. In April, that commitment led to real results.
    Through a statewide enforcement effort known as Operation Unhinged, the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force arrested 12 individuals for crimes involving the online exploitation of children. That number is twice the arrests made during the same month    last year. Seventeen residential search warrants were executed, and three cases have been accepted for federal prosecution. The remaining cases will move forward in Idaho state courts. Several additional investigations are ongoing as forensic experts continue to review the seized devices.
    The Task Force does more than just make arrests; we prosecute the crimes as well. The sentences we obtain are not just numbers. Each conviction represents a child who was protected, a predator who was apprehended, and a community that is now a little bit safer.
    When I became Idaho’s Attorney General, I learned from my team that our ICAC Task Force was facing a backlog of more than 1,400 tips. That was unacceptable. We took swift action to reform the structure and response protocols and hire additional personnel with funding from the Legislature. Today, ICAC responds to new tips within 24 hours. That change has made a real difference in protecting children and stopping abuse before it escalates. In fact, Idaho made more ICAC-related arrests last year, 55, than in the previous three years combined.
    Operation Unhinged was also Idaho’s contribution to a national proactive enforcement campaign that intensifies efforts during the months when children are more vulnerable online. But here in Idaho, we did more than just make arrests. We expanded community outreach, with ICAC attending 53 public safety events in April alone. Nearly 1,400 Idahoans participated in these events, gaining the tools they need to help keep children safe online. At the same time, our team trained 106 law enforcement professionals to better detect and investigate internet crimes against children.
    We also invested in advanced tools to meet evolving threats. One of our most effective new assets is Badger, Idaho’s newest Electronic Storage Detection K9 and a certified therapy dog. Badger is trained to locate hidden digital storage devices, such as thumb drives or SD cards, that criminals often attempt to conceal. During April’s operation, Badger helped locate crucial evidence in eight search warrants. He also participated in seven public presentations, providing both educational engagement and emotional support to our officers and the communities we serve.
    On the legal front, Idaho is leading the way. Last year, the Legislature passed House Bill 465, which criminalizes the use of artificial intelligence to generate child sexual abuse imagery. This new law equips our prosecutors with the tools they need to confront modern forms of exploitation and makes Idaho one of the first states in the country to respond to this emerging threat.None of these achievements would be possible without the dedicated cooperation of our law enforcement partners. Operation Unhinged involved agencies from every part of Idaho, including local police departments, county sheriffs, and federal partners such as the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations. I am grateful to each of them for standing with us in this mission.
    This work is not easy. It requires emotional strength and constant vigilance. But there is no more important calling than protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities. As Attorney General, I will continue to ensure our office has the tools, the talent, and the tenacity to carry out this mission.
    If you suspect a child is being exploited online, please contact your local police, call the ICAC Unit at (208) 947-8702, or file a report at www.cybertipline.com. To access internet safety resources or request a presentation in your community, visit ICACIdaho.org.
    Idaho is not just enforcing the law. We are leading a charge to protect our children and preserve their futures. We will never back down.
    Best regards,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Q&A: Ukraine Update

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
    Q: Why did you write to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about Ukraine?
    A: As a Pentagon watchdog, I’ve dedicated decades of congressional oversight to track taxpayer dollars appropriated for national defense, including military dollars assigned to help our allies. From government purchase cards  to $10,000 toilet seat lids and sloppy accounting that allowed a years-long $103 million embezzlement scheme, I keep my nose to the grindstone to root out wasteful spending, mismanagement and defense contractor fraud that run rampant at the Pentagon, no matter who’s in the White House. Under seven administrations, I’ve worked in the U.S. Senate to fix lax financial controls, including my bipartisan bill that would require the Department of Defense (DoD) to pass a full, independent audit. Astonishingly, the Pentagon is the only federal agency that’s been unable to earn a clean opinion on its audit, despite federal law requiring all federal agencies to conduct annual audits since 1990.
    At my annual 99 county meetings, Iowans have shared concerns about the amount of federal spending in support of Ukraine. Since the war started in 2022, Congress has appropriated $175 billion to help Ukraine defend itself from the Russian invasion, support allies in the region and to help avoid World War III. While I strongly support pushing back against Russian aggression, I’m also a relentless taskmaster to ensure scarce taxpayer dollars aren’t squandered once they leave the federal treasury. That’s why I’m asking Defense Secretary Hegseth to account for payments made with money Congress appropriated in national security supplemental bills. While the Pentagon does not send any money to Ukraine, it has received significant funds to replace military stocks delivered to Ukraine and to conduct a range of activities to help Ukraine and our European NATO allies in the region defend themselves. The Pentagon must ensure taxpayer dollars are accounted for and used as Congress intended, but the same problems with poor accounting systems at DoD were evident with the funds from the national security supplemental bills. Last October, the DoD Office of Inspector General (IG) published a report examining how the Pentagon expended the money for Ukraine. Its audit raised alarm bells, and I’ve asked the Secretary of Defense to track down the money trail left behind by the Biden administration. Specifically, the IG’s report revealed that of the 479 disbursements it reviewed, DoD didn’t provide documentation to support the accuracy of 323 transactions. We’re not talking peanuts and cracker jacks. The amount of undocumented expenditures exceeds $1 billion. Without supporting documentation, we don’t know how that money was used. What’s more, as federal auditors conducted the investigation, the Biden administration flunked fundamental fiscal stewardship responsibilities. According to the DoD’s watchdog, the audit team’s requests for information faced noncooperation and insufficient responses, allegedly providing insufficient responses to 52 requests and no response to 14 requests to document where the dollars went. I’m not ever going to let up on my efforts to improve the Pentagon’s financial controls. Protecting taxpayer dollars and strengthening military readiness, including U.S. strategic stockpiles, are too important to allow the Pentagon to go unchecked.
    Q: How are you standing up to Putin on behalf of innocent Ukrainian children?
    A: It’s been more three years since Russia started its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II. The senseless killing of civilians and casualties on the battlefield have led to needless human suffering and geopolitical ramifications around the world. One of the war’s atrocities has far-reaching consequences for Ukrainian society. Russia has abducted tens of thousands of Ukrainian children through unlawful deportations and forced transfers to Russify them. The goal is to erase from memory the children’s Ukrainian names, language and identity. What’s more, the State Department’s 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report found Russia recruits or uses child soldiers, has state-sponsored policy or pattern of human trafficking and is among the worst hubs for human trafficking in the world. In March, I called upon Secretary of State Marco Rubio to continue supporting investigations that are seeking to unravel the whereabouts of these innocent children and bring them back home. As President Trump leads efforts to secure a peace agreement to end the war, I’m leading a bipartisan resolution in the U.S. Senate that calls for the return of kidnapped Ukrainian children before any final peace agreement is reached. It condemns Russia’s abduction and forcible transfer of innocent young children to brainwash them and wipe away their heritage. The mass kidnapping of Ukrainian children by the Russian regime is yet another example of Vladimir Putin’s diabolical mission to restore the former Soviet empire. History shows this is a page out of his KGB-playbook when Stalin’s Soviet regime sent women and children from the Baltic countries to Siberia. The United States ought to demand the innocent children of Ukraine are returned before any agreement to end the war is reached so the Russians cannot use them as bargaining chips.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Meetings with National Parliaments – Implementation of the Directive on Protection of Environment through Criminal Law – 04-06-2025 – Committee on Legal Affairs

    Source: European Parliament

    2025.06.04_ICM_Env Law_banner.jpg © European Parliament

    The Committee on Legal Affairs, with the support of the Directorate for Relations with National Parliaments (DG PART), is organising an Interparliamentary Committee Meeting (ICM) on ‘Implementation of the Directive on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law’. The event will take place on 4 June 2025, from 14:30 to 16:30.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Highlights – Workshop on Generative AI, on 28th Regime and ICM on Environmental Crimes Directive – Committee on Legal Affairs

    Source: European Parliament

    Picture GenAI.PNG © Europarl

    At the meetings of 4 and 5 June 2025, JURI Members will host, with the Policy Department, a workshop on Generative AI and Copyright. The Workshop will be preceded by the presentation of a study on the same topic and will be followed by an exchange of views on the dossier Copyright and generative artificial intelligence – opportunities and challenges (2025/2058(INI)).

    At the same meeting, the JURI Committee will host, with the Policy Department, a workshop on the 28th Regime: a new legal framework for innovative companies and an interparliamentary meeting on the Implementation of the Directive on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law. Additionally, JURI Members will exchange views on the amendment of Regulation (EU) 2015/848 on insolvency proceedings to replace its Annexes A and B (025/0023(COD)) and will hear a reporting back to committee on the negotiations pursuant to Rule 75(3) by the rapporteur of the Compulsory licensing for crisis management and amending Regulation (EC) 816/2006 (2023/0129(COD)) dossier. Members will also vote on amendments in the opinion on establishing harmonised requirements in the internal market on transparency of interest representation carried out on behalf of third countries and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 (2023/0463(COD)) and will hear a presentation by EFRAG on its Work Plan 2025.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: SDTX charges another 282 people with immigration and related crimes in support of Operation Take Back America

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    HOUSTON – A total of 277 cases have been filed from May 16-22 in border-security related matters in the Southern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. 

    The filed cases include 21 involving human smuggling. A total of 165 people are charged with illegally entering the country, while another 88 face charges of felony reentry after prior removal. Most of those individuals have prior felonies such as narcotics, violent crime, immigration crimes and more. Other relevant cases charged this week relate to other immigration crimes.

    Those charged by criminal complaint include two Mexican males found near Roma after being recently removed. Rogelio Torres and William Rocael have prior convictions for burglary and aggravated assault, respectively, and had been removed from the country just this year, according to the allegations. Another charged includes Roberto Martinez who had already previously received an 84-month sentence for the same crime. Regardless, he was found near Cuevitas after his removal in 2020. Five more Mexican males – Jose Salvador Orozco-Olivares, Jesus Misael Espinoza-Garza, Rigoberto Santana-Guerra, Gaspar Garcia-De La O and Celso Jassel Cantu-Mendiola are also charged with illegal reentry after being removed on dates ranging from 2018-2024 but found again in the Rio Grande Valley area this past week. They are also alleged to also have prior felonies. All of these individuals could face up to 20 years in federal prison, if convicted.

    As part of the ongoing efforts, charges are also being filed against those that have failed to register and be fingerprinted. In one such case this week, Victor Manuel Herrera-Herrera admitted he had illegally entered the United States in April 2024 near Brownsville and has remained in the country since that time without having registered or been fingerprinted as required by law.

    In addition to the new cases, the sixth and final person admitted her role in a human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in death. Cynthia Gabriela Muniz Carreon and five others were part of a transnational human smuggling organization responsible for moving illegal aliens across the southern border of Texas. Their actions led to the death of a Guatemalan man and several other dangerous events, including a rollover crash. Although many of the aliens were from Guatemala, the smuggling group instructed them to falsely claim Mexican nationality which ensured they would be removed to Mexico instead of their home country, making it faster and easier for the organization to smuggle them back into the United States. Ledgers revealed the organization generated approximately $79,000 in smuggling proceeds between April 12 and 17, 2024, alone. All six face up to life in federal prison.

    In McAllen, an illegal alien was sent to prison for 36 months after distributing cocaine with children in his vehicle. On Aug. 14, 2024, law enforcement conducted surveillance on Heriberto Marin-Hebert and observed him making hand-to-hand exchanges around McAllen. They conducted a traffic stop, at which time he threw a box containing of cocaine in a ditch in an attempt to avoid detection. Authorities found multiple individually wrapped baggies of cocaine in the box as well as additional baggies of cocaine, drug scales, drug paraphernalia, two firearms and over $12,000 in cash at his residence. 

    A Mexican national received 135 months for smuggling methamphetamine and heroin into the country in Brownsville federal court this week. Ramon Gustavo Alfaro Velez drove his Ford F-150 to the Veterans International Port of Entry. Authorities referred him to a secondary inspection, uncovering 43 bundles hidden within a non-factory compartment beneath the bed liner which contained a white substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, weighing 139 kilograms. Velez admitted he was being paid $4,000 to travel to Dallas, collect narcotics proceeds and transport them to Mexico. He also admitted he had knowingly transported proceeds into Mexico on at least five prior occasions.

    Also sentenced was a human smuggler for transporting aliens in his pickup truck after they had crossed the Rio Grande River via raft. Julian Alberto Soto tried to evade law enforcement by fleeing an attempted traffic stop at a high rate of speed. He eventually stopped, and authorities discovered all 10 passengers in his vehicle were in the country illegally. The court noted his involvement in a separate smuggling attempt involving 20 illegal aliens and found Soto’s repeated involvement in human smuggling warranted a sentence that would promote respect for the law and deter future illegal conduct. Judge Crane emphasized that the repeated violations took place in Roma and the close timing of these incidents demonstrated a pattern of recurring behavior. He received 46 months.

    In Houston, an illegal alien was ordered to serve 54 months this week for unlawfully returning to the United States. His term of imprisonment will run consecutively to another sentence for driving while intoxicated he received after running through a stop sign in August 2022. Rodolfo Hernandez-Marchan has previous convictions for illegal reentry, evading arrest and assault of a family member.

    Another human smuggler – a 38-year-old resident of Chatanooga, Tennessee – was ordered to serve 18 months after unlawfully transporting illegal aliens through the Falfurrias Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint. Upon his arrival, Josef Alquan Rutley claimed he was traveling to Laredo, denied having any passengers and said he was looking for a load. An x-ray scan revealed 22 illegal aliens locked inside the trailer with no means of escape. All were from the countries of Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.

    These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – Homeland Security Investigations, ICE – Enforcement and Removal Operations, Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

    The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.

    Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for this district. Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal history, including human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children. 

    The Southern District of Texas remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes. 

    An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Hartford Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Federal Tax Charge

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Harry Chavis, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, announced that CLYDE GIBSON, JR., 43, of Hartford, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sarah F. Russell in New Haven to a tax fraud offense.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, from at least 2015 and continuing into 2024, Gibson operated as a tax return preparer under the name Build Understand Destroys LLC, and charged clients a fee for the preparation of tax returns.  Gibson prepared thousands of federal tax returns, many of which claimed false deductions.  For example, in some returns Gibson prepared and filed for his clients, he included false Schedules C, which reported that his clients had operated sole proprietorship businesses and had incurred certain expenses and losses when, in fact, they had not operated such businesses and had not incurred the claimed expenses.  In some returns, Gibson included false Schedules D, which reported that his clients had incurred capital losses, including carryover losses, or bad debts when, in fact, they had not incurred such capital losses and bad debts in the claimed amounts.

    During the investigation, Gibson met with an undercover federal agent posing as a customer.  The agent provided Gibson with a W-2 form for the 2021 tax year and offered no information about valid deductions for business losses, capital losses, and bad debt.  Gibson initially prepared an appropriate return, on which the undercover agent would have owed taxes.  Gibson then voluntarily opted to edit the return to reflect false and fraudulent information on the Schedules C and D.

    During the 2016 through 2022 tax years, Gibson prepared at least 135 tax returns containing fraudulent information, causing a loss to the IRS of at least $125,197.

    Gibson pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent income tax returns, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of three years.  He is released on a $25,000 bond pending sentencing, which is not scheduled.

    Gibson has agreed to pay restitution of $125,197.

    This investigation has been conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elena L. Coronado.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Three people sentenced to prison for scheme to bill Medicare for millions of dollars in unnecessary medical equipment

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Three people have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a multi-million-dollar Medicare billing scheme.

    According to court documents, in November 2018, Jeremie Vargas Ramirez, 50, of Vienna, Jordana Lee Arpa, 42, of Vienna, and several other business partners agreed to create Kynetic Medical Group, doing business as NOVA DME, a durable medical equipment (DME) supplier. Ramirez was the de facto owner of NOVA DME and handled the day-to-day business operations, including business development, advertising, marketing, and billing. Arpa and Ramirez agreed that Arpa would be named as President and CEO of NOVA DME to conceal from Medicare that Ramirez was NOVA DME’s true owner.

    NOVA DME was approved in June 2021 to operate as a Medicare provider based on Arpa’s false statements, and Arpa, on behalf of NOVA DME, acknowledged Medicare’s prohibition on direct solicitation to beneficiaries. Arpa’s false statements facilitated the fraud scheme.

    In early 2021, Ramirez enlisted Dennis William Karnes, 56, of Lake Elsinore, California, to help make NOVA DME more profitable. Karnes had worked in the DME industry since at least 2000 and had taught classes on wheelchair sales and billing. Ramirez asked Karnes for DME “leads,” a list of insured customers who needed and were prescribed DME.

    Karnes assisted in procuring “leads” from foreign-based coconspirators, but many of these leads were for Medicare beneficiaries who did not need or want DME. Karnes introduced Ramirez to co-conspirators in Mexico and Russia. Though the standard industry practice is to vet leads to ensure they are legitimate before billing Medicare or other insurers, Karnes and Ramirez knew the leads were not vetted. Based on the frequency of complaints and returns, they also knew that many of the leads were fraudulent, though NOVA DME still submitted claims for reimbursement to Medicare.

    Karnes acted as a health care consultant to Ramirez and NOVA DME. Even though Karnes knew Ramirez and NOVA DME submitted claims for unnecessary and unwanted DME for Medicare beneficiaries, if Medicare denied a claim, Karnes often altered and resubmitted claims for approval.

    Around February 2022, Karnes introduced Ramirez to a Russian-based co-conspirator who owns and controls multiple DME companies throughout the United States. Karnes also knew that all the owner’s U.S.-based companies were eventually closed, some due to suspicions of billing fraud. From around January 2022 until June 2024, Karnes was responsible for transferring money on behalf of the companies because he was U.S. based and could conduct financial transactions without arousing as much suspicion as would a Russian-based businessperson. In addition to Karnes, a Russian-based associate was responsible for all Medicare billing for the companies.

    From approximately February 2022 until December 2023, with Ramirez’s permission, the Russian-based owner and associate submitted claims for Medicare beneficiaries on behalf of NOVA DME. Medicare sent payment for approved claims to NOVA DME via check or direct deposit. They then directed Karnes how much money to collect from Ramirez for the leads and where to send the money. At the Russian-based owner’s direction, Karnes instructed Ramirez to make regular payments to the Russian-based owner via a shell company called Sharp Ventures, LLC, which facilitated the laundering of Medicare fraud proceeds to Russia and elsewhere outside the United States. The payments ranged from $10,000 to $50,000 on a roughly weekly basis.

    DME recipients and their caretakers returned the DME and complained directly to Ramirez that they did not request or need the DME they received. Ramirez frequently relayed those reports of returned DME and customer complaints to Karnes.

    From January 2022 through December 2023 NOVA DME billed Medicare approximately $13,526,920 and was paid approximately $7,610,462, of which at least $4,060,000 to the Russian-based owner via Sharp Ventures, LLC at Karnes’ direction. Over the same period, Medicare received at least 508 complaints from at least 491 Medicare beneficiaries about NOVA DME. The complainants reported beneficiaries did not receive services from the provider, did not know the provider, returned the items but did not receive a refunds, and suspected identity theft.

    From this scheme, NOVA DME, Ramirez, and Arpa received at least $2,256,787 in fraudulent proceeds from Medicare. Karnes personally profited at least $888,500.

    Ramirez pled guilty on Jan. 31 to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. On April 18, he was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $2,256,787.

    Karnes pled guilty on Jan. 31 to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. On May 2, he was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $2,256,787.

    Arpa pled guilty on Feb. 7 to conspiracy to making false statements relating to healthcare matters. She was sentenced today to sic months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $2,256,787.

    Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Emily Odom, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division; and Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary H. Ray prosecuted the case.

    A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 1: 25-CR-13 (Ramirez); 1: 25-CR-14 (Karnes); and 1: 25-CR-15 (Arpa).

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Phoenix Woman Sentenced to Over Eight Years in Prison for Narcotics Trafficking and Bankruptcy Fraud

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    TUCSON, Ariz. – Betty Nora Anderson, 65, of Phoenix, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 100 months in prison, followed by 60 months of supervised release. Anderson previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine, Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, and Falsification of Records in a Bankruptcy Proceeding.

    In September 2022, United States Customs and Border Protection officers arrested Anderson as she attempted to smuggle 4.54 kilograms of fentanyl and 13.42 kilograms of methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico in her vehicle. After her arrest, Anderson was permitted to reside in the community pending the disposition of her case; however, she absconded twice from court supervision, ultimately leading to her pre-trial incarceration.

    In March 2023, while a fugitive from justice in the case, Anderson filed a petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona. Anderson’s petition contained false and misleading statements, which resulted in the discharge of debts that Anderson owed to her creditors. As part of her sentence in this case, Anderson was ordered to make restitution to those creditors in the amount of $52,358.00, the approximate total of her debt.         

    This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

    United States Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations in Nogales, Arizona conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael R. Lizano and Micah Schmit, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.

    CASE NUMBER:           CR-22-02124-RM-JR
    RELEASE NUMBER:     2025-082_Anderson

    # # #

    For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/

    Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Lisbon hosts the 21st CrimEx meeting of the EuroMed Justice project

    Source: Eurojust

    Under the framework of the 6th phase of the EuroMed Justice (EMJ) Project, the 21st CrimEx was held on 21 and 22 May in Lisbon, Portugal. Criminal justice representatives from 6 South Partner Countries (SPCs) and 9 European Union Member States gathered to discuss technical and strategic aspects of international judicial cooperation in criminal matters, focusing on exchanges on challenges and best practices on cases of trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling.

    Representatives from the South Partner Countries and EU Member States also prepared for the 6th EuroMed Prosecutors General Forum, which will be held at Eurojust in The Hague in July 2025. CrimEx members gave their recommendations and discussed the 2025-2027 multi-annual strategy, together with the action plans in relation to judicial cooperation on asset recovery (A) and trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling (B).

    Additionally, the EuroMed Justice Project team reported on recent activities. This included a presentation from the Egyptian representative on the Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) activity on combating illicit cultural heritage trafficking, which took place in Cairo, Egypt in March.

    After the conclusion of the meeting, the SPC representatives beneficiated from a study visit at the Portuguese Judiciary Police, where they continued the exchanges with practitioners from the Portuguese National Authorities on trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling investigations.

    In the margins of the main discussions, several bilateral meetings took place between the delegations.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Members consider China’s request for panel to examine Canadian surtax measures

    Source: World Trade Organization

    The DSB Chair, Ambassador Clare Kelly (New Zealand), announced at the start of the meeting that Canada’s request for a panel in DS636, “China — Additional Import Duties on Certain Agricultural and Fishery Products from Canada”, had been removed from the agenda at the request of Canada.

    DS627: Canada — Measures on Certain Products of Chinese Origin

    China submitted its first request for the establishment of a dispute panel with respect to the surtax measures imposed by Canada on certain products of Chinese origin, including electric vehicles and steel and aluminium products. The request also cites Canada’s alleged decision to impose measures on certain solar products, critical minerals, semiconductors, permanent magnets and natural graphite imported from China. China also cited in its panel request any other Canadian surtax measures on products or materials that originate in China.

    China and Canada held consultations in April 2025 but failed to resolve the dispute, China said, prompting its request for the panel. China said the measures are in direct breach of Canada’s WTO obligations. China said it remains open to working with Canada to resolve the dispute amicably in accordance with WTO rules.

    Canada said it engaged with China in a constructive manner during the consultations. It is unfortunate that China has included in its panel request claims related to certain solar products, critical minerals, semiconductors, permanent magnets and natural graphite imported from China, Canada said, noting that there are no Canadian surtax measures on these products.

    Canada said its surtax measures on electric vehicles, steel and aluminium products are justified under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and that it was fully prepared to defend these measures. In light of this, Canada said it is not ready to accept the establishment of a panel. Canada remains committed to maintaining constructive dialogue with China and to the rules-based multilateral trading system, it added.

    The DSB took note of the statements and agreed to revert to the matter if requested by a member.

    Appellate Body appointments

    Colombia, speaking on behalf of 130 members, introduced for the 87th time the group’s proposal to start the selection processes for filling vacancies on the Appellate Body. The extensive number of members submitting the proposal reflects a common interest in the functioning of the Appellate Body and, more generally, in the functioning of the WTO’s dispute settlement system, Colombia said.

    The United States said it does not support the proposal and noted its longstanding concerns with WTO dispute settlement that have persisted across US administrations. The US cited as an example its concern over rulings containing interpretations deviating from the text of WTO agreements and creating precedents. It emphasized that the dispute settlement system was intended to resolve specific disputes rather than create new rules for members. The US reiterated that fundamental reform of WTO dispute settlement is needed and that it will reflect on the extent to which it is possible to achieve such a reformed WTO dispute settlement system.

    More than 20 members took the floor to comment, one speaking on behalf of a group of members. Several members urged others to consider joining the Multi-party interim appeal arrangement (MPIA), a contingent measure to safeguard the right to appeal in the absence of a functioning Appellate Body. A number welcomed the decision of Malaysia and Paraguay to join the MPIA.

    Colombia, on behalf of the 130 members, said it regretted that for the 87th occasion members have not been able to launch the selection processes. Ongoing conversations about reform of the dispute settlement system should not prevent the Appellate Body from continuing to operate fully, and members shall comply with their obligation under the Dispute Settlement Understanding to fill the vacancies as they arise, Colombia said for the group.

    Dispute settlement reform

    The DSB Chair said that, as members would recall from the last General Council (GC) meeting on 20-21 May, the GC Chair Ambassador Saqer Abdullah Almoqbel (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) had informed members about his intention to consult with interested delegations on advancing work in three key areas, including dispute settlement reform. The consultations are now ongoing, the DSB Chair said.

    Surveillance of implementation

    The United States presented status reports with regard to DS184, “US — Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Products from Japan”,  DS160, “United States — Section 110(5) of US Copyright Act”, DS464, “United States — Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Measures on Large Residential Washers from Korea”, and DS471, “United States — Certain Methodologies and their Application to Anti-Dumping Proceedings Involving China.”

    The European Union presented a status report with regard to DS291, “EC — Measures Affecting the Approval and Marketing of Biotech Products.”

    Indonesia presented its status reports in DS477 and DS478, “Indonesia — Importation of Horticultural Products, Animals and Animal Products.” 

    Next meeting

    The next regular DSB meeting will take place on 23 June 2025.

    Share

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Arkansas Drug Ring and Their California Suppliers Sentenced to a Combined 132 Years in Federal Prison

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    EL DORADO – Fifteen members and associates of a South Arkansas drug trafficking organization, including two Los Angeles-area narcotics suppliers, have been sentenced to serve a combined 1,591 months in the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.  The Honorable Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearings, which took place between August 7, 2024, and May 21, 2025, in the United States District Court at El Dorado, Arkansas.  There is no parole in the federal system. 

    According to court records, between August 2021 and August 2022, Christopher Walters, age 45, of Magnolia, operated a drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for distributing kilograms of methamphetamine in and around Columbia County, Arkansas.  Walters sourced bulk methamphetamine from Michael Cummings, a 46-year-old Southern California business owner who doubled as an interstate narcotics supplier.  Cummings employed Robert Leonne Morris, age 47, of Los Angeles, to deliver methamphetamine and other drugs to Walters in Arkansas, at times by rail.  Walters then engaged numerous South Arkansas DTO members and associates in storing, transporting and distributing that methamphetamine, and attempting to do so, before sharing the substantial profits with Cummings.

    On August 10, 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and its state and local partners executed search warrants at multiple Columbia County properties owned or controlled by DTO members and associates, including Walters.  In so doing, investigators found and seized methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, more than 15 firearms, including tactical rifles, and thousands of dollars in cash.

    Between September 2022 and March 2023, a federal grand jury sitting in the Western District of Arkansas returned indictments charging 15 members and associates of Walters’ DTO, including Cummings and Morris, with a total of fifty (50) felony counts.  All 15 defendants pleaded guilty to one or more felony violations of the Controlled Substances Act, and have been sentenced as follows:

     

    Defendant

    Prison Term

    Sentence Date
    Christopher Walters, 45, of Magnolia, Arkansas

    222 months

    December 6, 2024
    Michael Cummings, 46, of Los Angeles, California

    162 months

    March 21, 2025
    Jvance Radford, 47, of Magnolia, Arkansas

    144 months

    August 22, 2024
    Joseph Lowe, 38, of Magnolia, Arkansas

    140 months

    August 12, 2024
    Robert Leonne Morris, 47, of Los Angeles, California

    121 months

    May 21, 2025
    Lacadran D. Thomas, 37, of Magnolia, Arkansas

    120 months

    August 22, 2024
    Marcus S. Jordan, 42, of Waldo, Arkansas

    110 months

    December 4, 2024
    Hendrick Johnson, 27, of Magnolia, Arkansas

    108 months

    September 11, 2024
    Dawnisha D. Jordan, 40, of Magnolia, Arkansas

    98 months

    August 7, 2024
    John L. Grissom, 40, of Magnolia, Arkansas

    97 months

    August 7, 2024
    Jarrod D. Wilson, 38, of Magnolia, Arkansas

    78 months

    March 20, 2025
    Nyterious L. Sharp, 32, of Waldo, Arkansas

    60 months

    August 23, 2024
    Antonio J. Johnson, 41, of Magnolia, Arkansas

    54 months

    August 22, 2024
    Malaysia D. Benjamin, 36, of Los Angeles, California

    41 months

    December 5, 2024
    Mario L. Meadows, 36, of Magnolia, Arkansas

    36 months

    May 21, 2025

     

    In addition to his 162-month prison sentence, a $100,000 money judgment was also entered against Cummings, representing his profits from the year-long conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in South Arkansas.  That judgment is executable against Cummings’ assets in California and elsewhere. 

    U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes made the announcement.

    The case was investigated by the Magnolia Police Department, the 13th Judicial District Drug Task Force, the Union County, Arkansas, Sheriff’s Office, the El Dorado Police Department, the Arkansas State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Jones prosecuted the case for the United States.

    The case was investigated and prosecuted under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website at www.pacer.gov.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Utah Drug Trafficking Ringleader Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Career offender and previously convicted felon of drug-related crimes ordered by the court to forfeit over $300,000 in cash, three firearms and two vehicles

    SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Llobani Federico Figueroa, aka “Pablo,” 33, of Magna, Utah, was sentenced to 264 months’ imprisonment after he admitted to operating a continuing criminal enterprise in the District of Utah, which had ties to California and Mexico.

    The sentence, imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Howard C. Nielson, Jr., comes after Figueroa pleaded guilty on December 11, 2024, to continuing a criminal enterprise and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In addition to the sentence, Figueroa was ordered by the court to 10 years’ supervised release and forfeited over $300,961.00 in U.S. currency, three firearms, firearm accessories and ammunition, and two vehicles.

    According to court documents and statements made at Llobani’s change of plea and sentencing hearings, Figueroa, beginning at the age of 18, engaged in over a decade-long series of drug trafficking offenses. However, between at least December 2022 and August 2023, Llobani engaged in continuous drug trafficking. Specifically, according to court documents, Figueroa was the primary conduit among multiple Californian and Mexico-based sources of supply and broker/distributors in the District of Utah. Figueroa admitted that he regularly obtained methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine. He then caused those controlled substances to be transported to Utah by courier, and he maintained various locations in which the controlled substances were stored and sold. His drug trafficking enterprise involved five or more people, including his co-defendants and others. See prior press release here: Utah Fugitive and Alleged Drug Trafficking Ringleader Among 28 Defendants Charged in Major Multi-Agency Operation.

    Llobani further admitted his role in the drug trafficking organization was as a manager or supervisor and he recruited other participants and organized couriers to distribute controlled substances on his behalf. He then delegated other responsibilities to his coconspirators and admitted his organization could not have functioned without the involvement and assistance of these others.

    In addition to Figueroa’s prior convictions, he is the subject of three pending criminal cases with the state of Utah. The pending charges include, but are not limited to, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, a first degree felony; distribution of methamphetamine, a federal class A felony; and manslaughter, a second degree felony.

    “As a decades-long drug-trafficker, Mr. Figueroa has been a threat and danger to the people of our state,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Felice John Viti for the District of Utah. “His well-deserved decades-long sentence will serve as a reminder that those who peddle poison into our communities in violation of federal law for their own financial gain will face justice and forfeit their ill-gotten gains.”

    “An individual struggling with substance abuse isn’t just a statistic. It’s someone’s son, daughter, a friend. Too many families have been devastated by an epidemic that Mr. Figueroa directly contributed to,” said Special Agent in Charge Mehtab Syed of the Salt Lake City FBI. “Drugs and violent crime go hand-in-hand. The FBI is committed to dismantling criminal organizations in our steadfast effort to keep our communities safe.”

    “This operation exemplifies the dedication and skill of our street crimes unit,” said West Valley City Police Chief, Colleen Jacobs. “Their meticulous investigation was key in the arrest of a significant drug trafficker, and led to the dismantling of a major source of illicit drugs in our state. This success underscores our unwavering commitment to public safety and the relentless pursuit of those who endanger our neighborhoods.”

    The case was investigated jointly by the FBI Safe Streets Violent Task Force and West Valley City Police Department.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case. 
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: United States Recovers Approximately $2.5 Million of Cryptocurrency Involved in Fraudulent Confidence Schemes

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

                WASHINGTON – United States District Court Judge Amir H. Ali has ordered forfeiture of approximately $2.5 million worth of virtual currency involved in cryptocurrency confidence schemes to the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Chief John Lynch of the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section of the Department of Justice, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the San Diego Field Office.

                “Whether they are in our district’s streets or hiding behind a computer screen abroad, the United States will continue to hold fraudsters and grifters responsible, seize money they scam from hardworking Americans, and use our authority to compensate victims,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro.

                “Cryptocurrency confidence schemes defraud and manipulate vulnerable victims into losing devastating amounts of money,” said Moy of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. “We hope today’s announcement brings a measure of justice to the victims and serves as a reminder, the FBI will hold fraudsters accountable, no matter where they are located.”

                Members of the public who believe they are victims of a cybercrime – including cryptocurrency scams, romance scams, investment scams, and fraud scams – should contact the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov.

                In this case and others, the United States of America utilizes asset forfeiture to punish and deter criminal activity by depriving criminals of property used in or acquired through illegal activities; to promote and enhance cooperation among federal and foreign law enforcement agencies; and most importantly, to recover assets that may be used to compensate victims. For more information, please visit https://www.justice.gov/afp.

                This matter was investigated by the FBI San Diego Field Office. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and FBI’s Virtual Asset Unit provided valuable assistance. The Department of Justice would like to acknowledge Tether for its assistance in effectuating the transfer of these assets.

               This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rick Blaylock Jr., Asset Forfeiture Coordinator, and Kevin Rosenberg, Acting Deputy Chief of the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia—along with Trial Attorney Stefanie Schwartz and Gaelin Bernstein from the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Department of Justice. Supervisory Paralegal Gina Torres provided valuable assistance.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defendant Convicted in Armed Assault Gets 18 Year Prison Term

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

                WASHINGTON – Aaron Brown, 29, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today in Superior Court to 18 years in prison for assault with intent to kill (while armed) stemming from the killing of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes in March of 2020, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Steven J. Jensen of the Washington Field Office, ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Washington Field Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

                Brown also pleaded guilty to the assault with intent to kill charge on December 20, 2024, before Judge Rainey Brandt. Brown’s charge stemmed from his participation in a shooting after Lukes’s homicide. Previously, a jury found three of Brown’s co-defendants, Stephon Nelson, Tyiion Freeman and Koran Jackson—guilty of first-degree murder while armed, several counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, conspiracy to commit various firearms offenses and other firearms-related charges.  Freeman received 108 years; Jackson was sentenced to 164 years in prison while Nelson received 108 ½ years of incarceration.

                Between February 1, 2020, and May 31, 2020, the defendants, along with one other defendant (whose case was severed pre-trial and will be tried in August 2025), participated in a conspiracy to illegally possess, carry, and transfer firearms for the purpose of using those firearms in the commission of dangerous and violent crimes. Jackson, Freeman, Nelson along with Brown and the severed defendant, are members and associates of neighborhood crews. Between 2019-2020, the defendants’ neighborhood crews were feuding with other crews and the feud escalated when Tahlil Byrd, also known as Slatt Goon, was killed in September 2019.

                On March 1, 2020, Brown along with his co-defendants (Jackson, Freeman and the severed co-defendant) participated in two shootings in two separate neighborhoods over the span of 10 minutes. At 2:08 p.m., the defendants, who were traveling in a stolen Kia Soul, followed 13-year-old Malachi Lukes, along with his three friends, into the Ninth Street area of the 600 block of S Street, N.W., where two defendants exited the Kia Soul and opened fire on them. Malachi Lukes was shot in the back as he fled. The bullet traveled through his heart and lung causing him to collapse to his death. Brown remained in the car while the shooting took place. The defendants then traveled to another neighborhood where members of the rival crew were known to gather and at 2:18 p.m., opened fire on individuals in that block. No injuries were reported in that shooting spree. Brown was one of the shooters. 

                In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Jensen, ATF Special Agent in Charge Spotswood and Chief Smith commended the work of those investigating the case from the MPD and ATF along with the Arlington County Police Department. They also thanked the Arlington County Sheriff Department; U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Capitol Police; D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences; DOJ Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section; Montgomery County Police Department; D.C. Department of Corrections; and the Internal Revenue Service—Atlanta Branch. 

                They also commended the efforts of those who provided assistance with the case including Lead Paralegal Sharon Newman, Supervisory Paralegal Tasha Harris, Paralegals April Urbanowski and Alyssa Schroeder, former Superior Court Operations Manager Linda McDonald, and Victim Witness Advocate Jennifer Allen. They acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Jackson, Tamara Rubb, and Nebiyu Feleke, who prosecuted the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Guatemalan Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 14 Years

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SAN DIEGO – Arnoldo Oswaldo Vargas-Samayoa, a Guatemalan national, was sentenced in federal court today to ­14 years in prison for managing a cocaine trafficking organization that smuggled more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine into the United States from Guatemala.

    Following his surrender to U.S. authorities in June 2024 at Los Angeles International Airport, Vargas-Samayoa pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to import cocaine that were filed in January 2020.

    In imposing sentence, U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo noted that Vargas-Samayoa was a “manager of a very extensive international drug ring” and money laundering effort who did not make a “mistake” but rather “chose a lifestyle.”

    Vargas admitted he sourced the cocaine from two different Guatemalan suppliers and coordinated delivery to a Mexico-based drug trafficker. Vargas and the Mexico-based trafficker arranged for the drugs to be hidden in vehicles and smuggled into the United States through ports of entry in Southern California and Southern Texas.

    Vargas, whose communications were being intercepted by law enforcement, messaged with the trafficker while cocaine loads were being moved into the United States to confirm the drugs were successfully smuggled. Once in the United States, some of that cocaine was moved to the Chicago area for further distribution. Vargas received a commission of $1,000 U.S. dollars for each kilogram of cocaine he delivered to the Mexico-based trafficker.

    “Cocaine continues to be a dangerous and highly addictive drug with devastating consequences for individuals and communities,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “We remain committed to dismantling the entire supply chain—from powerful cartel leaders to street-level dealers—and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable.”

    “This sentencing sends the message that those who traffic dangerous drugs into our country will be held accountable,” said Shawn Gibson, special agent in charge for HSI San Diego. “Thanks to the outstanding investigative work and strong domestic and international law enforcement partnerships, we were able to disrupt a key supply line of a major drug trafficking network. We remain committed to targeting high-level drug trafficking organizations and keeping deadly narcotics, like cocaine, out of our communities.”

    The U.S. Attorney’s office has previously convicted, and the court has sentenced, multiple couriers attempting to smuggle narcotics for the same drug trafficking organization as well as individuals engaged in related money laundering efforts (see list below). Through the related investigation of this matter, law enforcement has seized more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, more than $2 million in bulk currency, and firearms.     

    Vargas’ father, Arnoldo Vargas Estrada, is the former mayor of Zacapa, Guatemala who was convicted by a jury in the Eastern District of New York in Case No. 90cr00855-SJF of five counts related to the importation of narcotics. He was sentenced to 365-months in custody. Vargas Estrada was one of the first Guatemalan drug traffickers to be extradited to the United States in the early 1990’s. He was released in 2017, returned to Guatemala, and then reelected as mayor of Zacapa holding that position until 2024.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    This case is the result of ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle and prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations and enterprises.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Casper.

    DEFENDANT                                             Case Number 20CR00240-CAB                            

    Arnoldo Oswaldo Vargas-Samayoa, aka “Lalo”, aka “Pedrito”   Age: 50       Zacapa, Guatemala

    SUMMARY OF CHARGES

    Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 960 and 963

    Maximum penalty: Mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life in prison

    RELATED SENTENCES

    Case No. 17cr648-GPC

    Defendant/Conviction Charge/Custodial Sentence                                       

    Walter Rovidio Ipina

    Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine (21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1), 846)

    50 months

    Zachary Vasquez

    Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine (21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1), 846)

    66 months

    Juan Angel Mexicano

    Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine (21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1), 846)

    135 months

    Luis Fernandez Oliva-Campos (18 U.S.C. Sec. 1956(h))                                                                   

    Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments

    31 months

    David Castaneda-Solis   

    Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments (18 U.S.C. Sec. 1956(h))                                                                       70 months

    Jacob Castillo-Lopez

    Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine (21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1), 846)                                                                           33 months

    Case No. 18cr4414-GPC

    Melchor Cardenas

    Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine

    60 months

    INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

    Homeland Security Investigations

    Customs and Border Protection

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICE investigation leads to indictment of 8 individuals with ties to China in transnational elder fraud scheme

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A federal indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Providence charges eight individuals for their roles in orchestrating and executing an elaborate transnational fraud and money laundering scheme targeting elderly citizens in the United States and Canada.

    The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-led investigation identified approximately 300 individuals in at least 37 states who have been defrauded. At this time, victims are estimated to have suffered known losses exceeding $5 million. However, investigators have identified a bank account through which approximately $16 million in additional suspected fraud funds appear to have been laundered.

    According to the charging documents, members of the conspiracy sent pop-up messages to seniors’ computers, often styled to appear as if they were originating from a well-known technology company. The messages contained various false claims, including that that the victims’ financial accounts had been compromised, that their computers had been hacked, or that the victims had been identified as the target of a criminal investigation.

    The pop-up message contained information that directed victims to call a “live agent,” who informed the victims that their financial assets were at risk or could be garnished, but the agent could assist in protecting their assets. During a series of calls, victims were connected with others who falsely claimed to be “representatives” of the victim’s financial institutions or government agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Reserve Bank. Those “representatives” were, in fact, members of the conspiracy.

    During these calls, some victims were instructed that, in order to protect their assets, they should initiate a transfer of their funds from their accounts via wire transfers and cryptocurrency transfers to accounts controlled by agencies the scammers purportedly represented. Other victims were told to withdraw their funds in cash, purchase gold bars and turn them over to a purported government courier who would come to their home for transfer to a secure government location. Still others were told to simply turn the cash over to a courier for safe keeping by the government.

    The indictment charges:

    • Nanjun Song 27, of Brooklyn, New York, a Chinese national who has allegedly overstayed a B2 visa, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. ICE Homeland Security Investigations Las Vegas arrested the defendant. He is detained in federal custody in Rhode Island.
    • Jirui Liu, 23, of Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, a citizen of China and Canada, whose U.S. visa has expired, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. HSI Providence arrested the defendant with assistance from the Connecticut State Police and Narragansett Police Department. He is detained in federal custody in Rhode Island.
    • Xiang Li, 37, of Flushing, New York, a Chinese national and with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. HSI Providence with HSI New York and the New York City Police Department arrested the defendant. He was detained in New York and is being transferred to Rhode Island.
    • Xuehai Sun, 37, of Flushing New York, a Chinese national, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. HSI Providence with HSI New York and the NYPD arrested the defendant and he appeared that day in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
    • Fangzheng Wang, 24, of Westborough, Massachusetts, a Chinese national, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. HSI Providence with HSI New England arrested the defendant and he is detained in federal custody in Rhode Island.
    • Cynthia Jia Sun, 25, of Houston, Texas, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. HSI Houston with the Texas Department of Public Safety and is in federal custody in Houston arrested the defendant. She is awaiting transfer to Rhode Island.
    • Zhenyang Xin, 25, of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, a Chinese national, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. An arrest warrant has been issued for the defendant.
    • Wing Kit Ho, 22, of Markham, Ontario, Canada, a Canadian citizen born in Hong Kong, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. An arrest warrant has been issued for the defendant.

    A federal indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    HSI Providence and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation led the investigation with assistance from and HSI New England, HSI New York, HSI Houston, and HSI Los Angeles, the Narragansett Police Department, East Providence Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, New York Police Department, Connecticut State Police. The United States Attorney’s Offices in the Eastern District of New York and Southern District of Texas provided valuable assistance.

    This investigation is an initiative of the Rhode Island Homeland Security Task Force, a multiagency task force focused on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas Adds 334 New Immigration Cases This Week

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    SAN ANTONIO – Acting United States Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas announced today, that federal prosecutors in the district filed 334 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from May 16 through May 22.

    Among the new cases, Salvadoran felon Erick Douglas Serrano-Aleman was arrested by Van Horn Border Patrol agents for being an illegal alien present in the U.S. A criminal complaint indicates Serrano-Aleman was previously convicted of transporting and selling a controlled substance as well as accessory. In 2004, he was convicted for illegal re-entry in Nogales, Arizona. Serrano-Aleman has been deported twice and allegedly claims to be a member of the Sureño 13 gang.

    In El Paso, multiple alleged human smugglers were arrested, including U.S. citizen Ernesto Covarrubias and Tanya Joselyn De La Paz-Nunez, a Mexican national in possession of a legal B1/B2 Visa Border Crossing Card. Covarrubias, as the vehicle driver, and De La Paz-Nunez allegedly picked up five illegal aliens inside a pecan orchard near the Tornillo Port of Entry, intending to transport them to a stash house.

    U.S. citizen Gabriela Ivon Trejo-Gonzalez was arrested after U.S. Border Patrol agents allegedly observed six individuals crawl through a breach in the border fence near the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry and board Trejo-Gonzalez’s vehicle. The defendant allegedly drove away at a high rate of speed and continued in an attempt to evade law enforcement before becoming inoperable. Trejo-Gonzalez allegedly claimed she would be paid $500 per alien. She was convicted for alien smuggling in New Mexico in June 2023 and probation violation in October 2023.

    Juan Pedro Carmona-Cerritos, a Mexican felon, was arrested in El Paso and charged with illegal re-entry. Carmona-Cerritos was last removed from the U.S. in April 2009. He was previously convicted of child abuse in 2004 and second degree reckless homicide in 2005 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, for which he was sentenced to a total of approximately three years in prison. Guatemalan national Ramon Cortes-Velasquez was also arrested for illegal re-entry in El Paso, having been convicted of assault causing bodily injury to a family member in February and removed from the U.S. to Guatemala in March.

    Mexican nationals Jose Rolando Arenas-Aleman and J Angel Nava-Sanchez were arrested near Del Rio. According to court documents, Arenas-Aleman was arrested May 14 by U.S. Border Patrol agents for being an illegal alien present in the United States. He had previously been removed to Mexico for the second time through Laredo on Sept. 6, 2024 following his second conviction for Driving While Intoxicated. Nava-Sanchez was arrested May 15 after allegedly crossing the Rio Grande River near Del Rio. Nava-Sanchez was convicted twice in Tarrant County. He was found sentenced to 45 days in jail for a DWI in July 2022 and 29 days in jail in August 2018, for assault causing bodily injury to a family member.

    A U.S. citizen was arrested May 19 during a traffic stop on Highway 85 near Dilley. A criminal complaint alleges that Alex Guadalupe Nieto was the driver of a vehicle transporting six illegal aliens. The complaint alleges that Nieto stated he and another individual drove from Houston, picking up the six illegal aliens on the side of the road, and that he had expected to be paid $500.00 to transport the aliens.

    In Austin, Mexican national Juan Robledo-Trevino aka Octavio Garcia-Sanchez was taken into federal custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after being arrested and sentenced to 10 days in the Travis County Jail for failure to identify. Robledo-Trevino has two prior convictions for illegal re-entry, and four previous DWI convictions. He’s been removed from the U.S. to Mexico four times, most recently in November 2016, and voluntarily returned to Mexico twice.

    Mexican national Jose Hernandez-Martinez was taken into ICE custody in Austin where he had been arrested for his second DWI and spent 20 days in the Travis County Jail. Hernandez-Martinez has a prior illegal entry conviction along with convictions for theft and assault causing bodily injury to a family member. He voluntarily returned to Mexico in 2006, and has been twice removed from the U.S.

    Edgar Aguilar-Mejia, a Guatemalan national, was also taken into ICE custody in Austin. Aguilar-Mejia was convicted twice in 2023 for illegal re-entry and has been removed from the U.S. three times before, as recent as April 2024.

    These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

    These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Increasing State Police Patrols at Synagogues

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul has directed State Police to increase patrols at Synagogues and other Jewish institutions following the horrific murder of two Israeli Embassy employees leaving a Jewish event outside of the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. While there are no known threats to New Yorkers, State Police has increased patrol visibility and are conducting regular checks of vulnerable sites, such as Jewish religious institutions and schools. New Yorkers can contact the State’s Hate and Bias Prevention Unit at 1-844-662-4283 or visit here to report any issues of harassment or violence.

    “Antisemitism is a threat to all of us, and this act of terrorism is a painful reminder that we must continue to fight it wherever it rears its ugly head,” Governor Hochul said. “Public safety is my top priority and I will continue fighting hate to ensure all New Yorkers can feel safe in their communities.”

    The New York State Intelligence Center remains in close contact with our federal, state and local partners, and will continue to monitor for any threats.

    Governor Hochul continues to combat the rise in hate crimes and secured $35 million in the FY26 Enacted Budget for Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes (SCAHC) program. These grants provide funding to boost safety and security for certain organizations at risk of hate crimes or attacks because of their ideology, beliefs or mission.

    Under Governor Kathy Hochul’s leadership, the New York State Division of Human Rights established the Hate and Bias Prevention Unit (HBPU) in December 2022 to help communities combat prejudice and discrimination. The HBPU Response Team offers support to communities impacted by bias or hate and connects impacted individuals with referrals to relevant stakeholders including State Police when incidents rise to the level of a crime. The Response Team helps to create community healing and support, through conflict resolution meetings, restorative justice practices, public education and assisting those impacted by hate or bias in filing complaints and/or accessing resources with other relevant State agencies.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Man Charged in Connection With CARES Act Loan Fraud

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Joseph Ronald Trenkle, 54, formerly of Cherry Hills Village, Colorado and currently of Dorado, Puerto Rico, has been charged in a criminal information with one count each of wire fraud and money laundering.

    According to the information, between April 30, 2020, and February 25, 2022, Trenkle applied for and received $1,850,000 in COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and $2,999,995 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds from an SBA-approved lender.  The information alleges that after first obtaining an EIDL loan in March 2020, Trenkle made two requests to increase the amount of his EIDL and made false representations as part of each of request.  The information further alleges that Trenkle submitted two fraudulent PPP loan applications, and also submitted fraudulent applications for PPP loan forgiveness for each PPP loan.

    The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted in March 2020 and was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans dealing with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The CARES Act created the PPP, a program administered by the SBA that provided loans to small businesses to retain workers, maintain payroll, and certain other expenses consistent with PPP rules.  Additionally, the CARES Act authorized the SBA to provide EIDLs to eligible small businesses experiencing substantial financial disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The defendant made his initial appearance on May 22, 2025, in Denver in front of Magistrate Judge Cyrus Y. Chung.

    The charges contained in the information are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Craig Fansler.

    Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form

    Case Number:                    25-cr-00150-RMR             

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Jayapal Introduces Resolution Supporting May as Sex Ed for All Month

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (7th District of Washington)

    WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) led lawmakers today in introducing a measure that would designate May as Sex Ed for All Month. The Resolution calls for bolstering an effective initiative that provides young people with comprehensive, accurate, and inclusive sexual health information, as well as access to sexual and reproductive health care services, empowering them to make healthy decisions for themselves and promoting healthy lifelong attitudes toward sex, health, and reproductive rights.

    “In a time when the Trump administration is threatening our reproductive rights and bodily autonomy, this Resolution expresses support for protecting young people’s access to comprehensive, culturally responsive, and equitable sex education,” said Congresswoman Jayapal. “I’m proud that Washington state is a leader in providing accurate and inclusive sexual health education to all students, and this Resolution supports ensuring that young people across the country have access to the same resources. Sexual and reproductive health is an issue of social justice, and the May as Sex Ed for All Month Resolution sets forth a vision for a future in which young people have the information and care they need to make healthy decisions for themselves while we decrease the rate of sexually transmitted infections.”

    Sex education that includes information beyond abstinence has been found to delay sexual activity, increase contraceptive use, and decrease physical aggression between intimate partners. Young people who receive sex education are 50 percent less likely to experience an unintended pregnancy and 31 percent less likely to contract a sexually transmitted infection. 

    The Resolution calls on public officials at all levels of government to advocate for sex education legislation and recommends the implementation of sex education in schools. Specifically, the resolution prioritizes sex education programs that are comprehensive and evidence-based, medically accurate, age-appropriate, equitable, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed. The resolution discourages programs that withhold health-promoting information about sexuality-related topics, promote gender or racial stereotypes, or are unresponsive to gender or racial inequities, fail to address the needs of sexually active young people, and fail to be inclusive of individuals with varying gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations.                                                                                       

    Today’s resolution is co-sponsored by Alma Adams (NC-12), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Lateefah Simon (CA-13) and Jill Tokuda (HI-02). 

    The resolution is also endorsed by Advocates for Youth, AIDS Foundation Chicago, AIDS United, Alabama Campaign for Adolescent Sexual Health, All* Above All, American College of Nurse-Midwives, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Reproductive Rights, EducateUS, Equality California, Equality Illinois, Equality New Mexico, Guttmacher Institute, Health Connected, Healthy Teen Network, Ibis Reproductive Health, If/When/How, More Than Sex-Ed, a project of Community Partners, National Center for Youth Law, National Council of Jewish Women, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, National Network of Abortion Funds, National Organization for Women, National Women’s Law Center, National Working Positive Coalition, NE FL Diversity Caucus, Nevada County Citizens for Choice, New Voices for Reproductive Justice, Nicole Clark Consulting, LLC, PFLAG Tulare Kings Counties, Phenix Health, Physicians for Reproductive Health, PITA MERAH, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Population Institute, Pride Action Tank, PWN-USA Ohio, Religious Community for Reproductive Choice, Reproaction, Reproductive Freedom for All, Rural AIDS Action Network, Secular Student Alliance, SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, Silver State Equality, SiX Action, Stop Sexual Assault in Schools, The AIDS Institute, The Center for HIV Law and Policy, U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus, UCSF Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, Underprivileged Welfare Support Development Association, Union for Reform Judaism, Women of Reform Judaism, Women’s Foundation of Florida, and Woodhull Action Fund.

    Issues: Arts & Education

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: A meeting of the government commission to coordinate work to eliminate the consequences of the emergency caused by the sinking of tankers in the Kerch Strait was held in Moscow

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    The meeting was chaired by the First Deputy Chairman of the Government Commission, Head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Alexander Kurenkov.

    According to the Russian Ministry of Transport, geological surveys in the area of sunken tankers in the Kerch Strait have been completed. The development of design and working documentation continues, rolled metal products for the manufacture of three cofferdams have been purchased and delivered to the plant. The manufacture of metal structures for the first structure will be completed by June 25. The mass of the metal structures of each cofferdam will be 1.5 thousand tons.

    The Russian government has allocated an additional 7.5 billion rubles to eliminate the consequences of the oil spill in the Kerch Strait. The funds will be sent to Rosmorrechflot for the manufacture and installation of three special protective structures – cofferdams over the sunken fragments of tankers. Earlier, the government allocated more than 1 billion rubles for the design of cofferdams, as well as for the dismantling of a number of structures on the sunken fragments of tankers.

    Rospotrebnadzor continues to conduct close daily monitoring of the safety of drinking water, water from water sources, atmospheric air, caught fish, sea water and sand or coastal pebbles.

    During the commission meeting, based on the latest monitoring studies, readiness for the resort season to be held in the usual volume and without restrictions on the coast of Krasnodar Krai from Novorossiysk to Sochi, as well as in the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol was confirmed. In the city of Anapa and the Temryuk district of Krasnodar Krai, which were subjected to the greatest pollution in connection with the emergency, the resort season will be organized with restrictions on access to beach areas and the Black Sea waters in the beach zone.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –