NewzIntel.com

Category: Crime

  • MIL-OSI Security: Nevada Resident Arrested and Charged in Connection with Violent Tesla Arson in Las Vegas

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    A Las Vegas resident made his initial appearance today in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, Nevada, to face federal charges related to an arson at a Tesla collision business.

    Paul Hyon Kim, 36, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm and one count of arson. Kim was arrested by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers on March 26. He remains in federal custody.

    “The Department of Justice has been clear: anyone who participates in the wave of domestic terrorism targeting Tesla properties will suffer severe legal consequences,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. We will continue to find, arrest, and prosecute these attackers until the lesson is learned.”

    “As promised, acts of violence and vandalism will not be tolerated, and today law enforcement personnel acted quickly to arrest an individual on charges including arson,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Under Attorney General Bondi’s leadership, we will continue to pursue these investigations with the full force of law and will bring to justice anyone responsible for these attacks.”

    “Today’s federal charges demonstrate our strong partnerships and collaboration with law enforcement partners and the joint pursuit to end domestic terrorism,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Sue Fahami for the District of Nevada. “Thank you to the detectives from the Southern Nevada Counterterrorism Center (SNCTC), FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) ARMOR (All-Hazard Regional Multi-Agency Operations and Response) unit, as well as CCFD Arson Investigators and the Justice Department’s National Security Division for their hard work and tireless efforts. We will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law and remain steadfastly committed to working with our enforcement partners to end acts of domestic violence.”

    According to allegations in the complaint, on March 18, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department patrol officers responded to an emergency call about a person setting vehicles on fire and hearing gunshots at a Tesla collision business. The Clark County Fire Department arrived to suppress the fires. During the investigation, it was determined that Molotov cocktails and a .30 caliber AR-style firearm were used to damage and destroy five Tesla vehicles, and graffiti was sprayed to write “Resist” on the front of the building.

    On March 26, law enforcement officials executed various state search warrants related to this case, including a search warrant at Kim’s residence. Inside the residence, they found various firearms, including an AR style rifle consistent with the firearm used in the March 18, incident and with a suppressor on it, a black gun belt with a pouch and a small drop of pink paint residue, a black hoodie, face masks, and a handwritten note with what appeared to be an escape plan.

    Attorney General Pamela Bondi for the Department of Justice; Director Kash Patel of the FBI; Acting U.S. Attorney Sue Fahami for the District of Nevada; Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans of the FBI Las Vegas Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Cicolani of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and Sheriff Kevin McMahill for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department made the announcement.

    If convicted, Kim faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison for the unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm charge and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison up to a maximum of 20 years in prison for the arson charge.

    The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the Clark County District Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and the ATF are investigating the case and with significant assistance from the Clark County Fire Department.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Operskalski for the District of Nevada and Trial Attorney Patrick Cashman of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

    A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: James Mailhiot, Jr. Sentenced for Tax Evasion

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Rutland, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced that James Mailhiot, Jr., 56, of Rutland, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Rutland to four years of probation following his guilty plea to a charge of federal income tax evasion. U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Lanthier ordered that Mailhiot perform 200 hours of community service during his probationary term, pay restitution totaling $296,618, and an additional fine of $25,000. At today’s hearing, counsel represented to the court that Mailhiot was prepared to pay his restitution obligation in full immediately after sentencing.

    On November 14, 2024, the United States Attorney filed a one-count information charging Mailhiot with evading a significant portion of the income taxes he owed to the United States for Tax Years 2019 through 2022. Mailhiot pleaded guilty to that  information last December.

    According to the information, Mailhiot owned and operated a roofing business that generated approximately $1.6 million in gross revenues between 2019 and 2022. Mailhiot used an out-of-state accountant to prepare his federal income tax returns. To enable the accountant to prepare each return, Mailhiot sent the accountant records of revenues earned and expenses incurred on the various roofing jobs he completed that year. In fact, the records Mailhiot gave to the accountant were very incomplete, resulting in a very substantial understatement of the taxable income he earned each year, and very substantial underpayments of the taxes he owed to the Internal Revenue Service. According to the information, Mailhiot’s underpayments for years 2019-2022 totaled $296,000.

    This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.

    Mailhiot is represented by Mark Kaplan, Esq. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Brazilian National Pleads Guilty to Passport Fraud and Other Offenses

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BOSTON – A Dominican National, residing in Leominster, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to charges related to passport fraud and other offenses.

    Hector Eduardo Arias Mejia, 44, pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and making a false statement in an application for a United States passport. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for May 7, 2025. In December 2023, Arias Mejia was indicted by a federal grand jury.

    Arias Mejia, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, applied for a United States passport and a Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles Real ID using the name and other biographical information of a resident of Puerto Rico. In support of his application, Aris Mejia submitted a Massachusetts driver’s license in the citizen’s identity (with Arias Mejia’s photo on it), a Social Security card with the name of the citizen and a birth certificate issued in Puerto Rico in the citizen’s name.

    On February 25, 2020 Arias Mejia, again using the citizen’s identity, applied for a United States Passport at the Fall River post office. In support of the passport application, Arias Mejia submitted the Real ID he obtained in the citizen’s name and the birth certificate in the citizen’s name. The passport was issued.

    Law enforcement became aware of Arias Mejia fraudulent acts when it investigated individuals who simultaneously received government benefits in Boston and Puerto Rico. When it was revealed that the same individual was receiving benefits in both places, the individual in Puerto Rico was interviewed and it was determined that he was lawfully receiving benefits. Further investigation revealed that the person receiving benefits under the same name in Boston was Arias Mejia, a Dominican national. Aris Mejia had been using the Puerto Rico citizen’s identity since at least 2011.

    The charge of making a false statement in an application for a United States passport provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory sentence of two years in prison to be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The defendant will also be subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

    The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), a specialized investigative group comprising personnel from various state, local, and federal agencies with expertise in detecting, deterring, and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity and benefit fraud schemes.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement. Valuable assistance in the investigation was provided by Homeland Security Investigations in Santo Domingo; Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety; U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service; Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Slave Lake — Slave Lake RCMP lay firearms charges

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    On Jan. 29, 2025, Slave Lake RCMP attended a home in the area of 1 Avenue SW, Slave Lake, and located a firearm in the possession of a 31-year-old individual, a resident of Slave Lake.

    A search warrant was granted after members witnessed a firearm inside the residence, as the individual was bound by conditions of not to possess any weapons or firearms and was charged with 22 offenses, including: failure to comply with release order conditions x13, unauthorized possession of a firearm x4, possession of firearm when knowing it is unauthorized x4, and careless use of a firearm.

    The individual was brought before a justice of the peace, where he was remanded with a court date of Feb. 3, 2025, at the Alberta Court of Justice in High Prairie, Alta.

    Slave Lake RCMP seized several firearms and ammunition from the residence.

    The Peace Regional RCMP is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the location of, or sightings of crimes in the area and anyone with information is asked to please contact the Slave Lake RCMP at 780-849-3045 or your local police. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8377 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: St. Albert — St. Albert RCMP search warrant leads to drug seizure

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    On Feb. 6, 2025, the St. Albert RCMP Drug Unit, with assistance from the St. Albert RCMP Crime Reduction Unit, executed a search warrant on a vehicle and a residence in the Carlisle neighbourhood in Edmonton. As a result of the investigation and search warrants, police located and seized the following items:

    • Over 2.4 kilograms of cocaine
    • 895 grams of methamphetamine
    • 855 grams of buffing agent
    • Canadian currency
    • Drug paraphernalia consistent with drug trafficking
    • Three handguns, all of which were loaded at the time of their seizure, two of which had defaced serial numbers, and one was reported stolen
    • Multiple prohibited magazines
    • Approximately 400 rounds of ammunition

    A 33-year-old individual, a resident of Edmonton, has been charged with the following offences:

    • Trafficking in a controlled substance (x3)
    • Possession for the purpose of trafficking – Methamphetamine
    • Possession for the purpose of trafficking – Cocaine
    • Possession of proceeds of crime under $5000 (x3)
    • Possession of proceeds of crime over $5000
    • Unauthorized possession of a firearm (x6)
    • Careless use of a firearm (x2)
    • Possession of a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm
    • Carrying a concealed weapon
    • Tampering with a firearm serial number (x2)
    • Resist arrest

    The individual was taken before a justice of the peace and was remanded into custody with a next court date set for Feb. 14, 2025, at the Alberta Court of Justice in Edmonton.

    St. Albert RCMP encourage the public to report any criminal or suspicious activity. Reports tell us where to look, who to look for, and where to patrol in the future. If you see a crime in progress, dial 911. If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Russia: Anti-war activist Maria Ponomarenko’s prison sentence extended in escalating repression

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Reacting to the Shipunovsky District Court ruling to extend the six-year sentence of Maria Ponomarenko, Russian journalist and anti-war activist, for speaking out against Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Russia Director, said:

    “The Russian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Maria Ponomarenko. Sentencing her to six years imprisonment for merely speaking out against the war, condemning the Russian bombing of the drama theatre in Mariupol, and mourning the loss of innocent lives was already unconscionable. Extending that sentence under spurious charges of attacking two guards – clearly a smokescreen to punish her for not changing her views and for standing up for justice – represents a new low in the authorities’ treatment of Maria.”

    Extending that sentence under spurious charges of attacking two guards – clearly a smokescreen to punish her for not changing her views and for standing up for justice – represents a new low in the authorities’ treatment of Maria

    Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Russia Director

    “Since the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine, the Russian authorities have routinely and brazenly used tactics to silence dissent, using spurious charges to imprison critics on politically motivated grounds. The Russian authorities must stop the war against Ukraine, stop the repression of their own people, repeal the ‘war censorship’ legislation and release all those imprisoned under it.”

    Background

    On 27 March, the Shipunovsky District Court granted an additional one year and 10 months to Maria Ponomarenko and ordered her to undergo outpatient psychiatric treatment upon her release. Taking into account the partial concurrence of sentences, the 22-month sentence will not be automatically added to Maria Ponomarenko’s previous term of imprisonment, meaning her combined prison term is less than seven years and 10 months.

    Maria Ponomarenko is a journalist with the online RusNews media and an activist from Barnaul, Altai Krai. On 15 February 2023, she was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment under Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code (“disseminating knowingly false information about the Russian Armed Forces”). The charges stemmed from her social media post about the bombing of the drama theatre in Mariupol, where hundreds of civilians were reportedly sheltering.

    She is serving her term in penal colony IK-6, in Shipunovo, a village 175 km from Barnaul. Throughout her imprisonment, she has faced ill-treatment, including solitary confinement in a punishment cell (SHIZO) – a harsh, cramped and isolating detention unit used to break prisoners’ spirits through severe restrictions and deprivation – where she had been placed multiple times on spurious grounds, and denied adequate health care, including for her deteriorating mental health.

    In November 2023, just months after Maria Ponomarenko’s transfer to IK-6, the authorities initiated another criminal case against her. This time it was under Article 321(2) of the Russian Criminal Code, for allegedly attacking two male penal colony officers, charges she firmly denies. Her additional criminal prosecution continues the trend whereby the Russian authorities impose additional penitentiary sanctions on those who are imprisoned on politically motivated charges, as the case of Aleksei Gorinov, another powerful anti-war voice, demonstrates.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Pakistan: Systematic attacks and relentless crackdown on Baloch activists must end

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Responding to the unlawful detention and harassment of Baloch activists in Quetta and Karachi over the past week in Pakistan, Babu Ram Pant, Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International, said:

    “The Pakistani authorities’ relentless crackdown on Baloch activists over the last week and continued detention of several protesters and Baloch activists, including Mahrang Baloch, Sammi Deen Baloch, and Bebarg Zehri, speaks of a systematic attack on the rights of Baloch community. Amnesty International is concerned by reports from family members that Mahrang and Bebarg – who is a person with disabilities, are not being given access to medical assistance despite their health severely deteriorating during custody.”

    “The weaponization of the legal system, through multiple bogus First Information Reports (FIRs) and preventative detentions under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, despite activists being granted bail, is a gross violation of their right to due process and fair trial. It shows wanton disregard by the law enforcement agencies for the rights of Baloch people under Pakistan’s Constitution and the country’s obligations under international human rights law.”

    The Pakistani authorities’ relentless crackdown on Baloch activists over the last week and continued detention of several protesters and Baloch activists, including Mahrang Baloch, Sammi Deen Baloch, and Bebarg Zehri, speaks of a systematic attack on the rights of Baloch community.

    Babu Ram Pant, Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International

    “Pakistani authorities must immediately release all Baloch activists being detained simply for exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Amnesty reiterates its call for a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the use of unlawful force during the 21 March peaceful protests and ensure those responsible are held to account and the violations are effectively remedied.”

    BACKGROUND

    Baloch activists, Bebarg Zehri and his brother Hammal Zehri, were taken by Counter Terrorism Department officials from their home in Quetta on 20 March 2025 following a press conference by the Baloch Yakjethi Committee (BYC) at the Quetta Press Club over their long-standing demand is for justice for families of victims of enforced disappearances. During a protest by BYC on 21 March calling for their release, three protesters were killed through use of unlawful force by law enforcement as per reports from local activists. Mobile network signals were completely shut down in the lead up to and following the protest.

    Central leader of the Baloch Yakjethi Committee, Mahrang Baloch, along with 17 other protesters, was detained the next day. Mahrang and Bebarg remain under preventative detention under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO), with separate terrorism charges also brought against Mahrang.

    On 24 March, at least six activists, including Sammi Deen Baloch a key leader in BYC, were detained for disregarding a blanket ban on assemblies in the city, following a protest in Karachi in Sindh province.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Russia: Anti-war activist Maria Ponomarenko’s prison sentence extended ‘under spurious charges’

    Source: Amnesty International –

    In 2023, Maria was sentenced to six years in prison for speaking out against the war in Ukraine

    An additional one year and 10 months has been added to Maria’s prison sentence

    Maria has faced ill-treatment including solitary confinement

    Extending the sentence is ‘clearly a smokescreen to punish her for not changing her views and for standing up for justice’ – Natalia Zviagina

    Reacting to the Shipunovsky District Court ruling to extend Russian journalist and anti-war activist Maria Ponomarenko’s six-year sentence, for speaking out against Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Russia Director, said:

    “The Russian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Maria Ponomarenko.

    “Sentencing Maria to six years imprisonment for merely speaking out against the war, condemning the Russian bombing of the theatre in Mariupol and mourning the loss of innocent lives was already unconscionable. Extending that sentence under spurious charges of attacking two guards – clearly a smokescreen to punish her for not changing her views and for standing up for justice – represents a new low in the authorities’ treatment of Maria.

    “Since the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine, the Russian authorities have routinely and brazenly used tactics to silence dissent, using false charges to imprison critics on politically motivated grounds. The Russian authorities must stop the war against Ukraine, stop the repression of their own people, repeal the ‘war censorship’ legislation and release all those imprisoned under it.”

    Jailed for highlighting Mariupol killings

    On 27 March, the Shipunovsky District Court added a further one year and 10 months to Maria Ponomarenko’s sentence bringing up to nearly eight years and ordered her to undergo outpatient psychiatric treatment upon her release.

    Maria Ponomarenko is a journalist with the online RusNews media and an activist from Barnaul, Altai Krai. On 15 February 2023, she was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment under Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code (“disseminating knowingly false information about the Russian Armed Forces”). The charges stemmed from her social media post about the bombing of the theatre in Mariupol, where hundreds of civilians were reportedly sheltering.

    She is serving her term in penal colony IK-6, in Shipunovo, a village 175 km from Barnaul. Throughout her imprisonment, she has faced ill-treatment, including solitary confinement in a punishment cell, a harsh, cramped and isolating detention unit used to break prisoners’ spirits through severe restrictions and deprivation – where she had been sent multiple times on false grounds, and denied adequate health care, including for her deteriorating mental health.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Financial news: 03/27/2025, 14-46 (Moscow time) the values of the upper limit of the price corridor and the range of market risk assessment for the security RU000A0JVWB3 (RSHB BO9) were changed.

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Exchange – Moscow Exchange –

    03/27/2025

    14:46

    In accordance with the Methodology for determining the risk parameters of the stock market and deposit market of Moscow Exchange PJSC by NCO NCC (JSC) on March 27, 2025, 14:46 (Moscow time), the values of the upper limit of the price corridor (up to 107.66) and the range of market risk assessment (up to 1170.34 rubles, equivalent to a rate of 12.5%) of the security RU000A0JVWB3 (RSHB BO9) were changed.

    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.

    Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

    HTTPS: //VVV. MOEX.K.M.M.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Legal basis for suspension under Horizon Europe – E-001178/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001178/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Marc Botenga (The Left), Pernando Barrena Arza (The Left), Anthony Smith (The Left), João Oliveira (The Left), Mimmo Lucano (The Left), Dario Tamburrano (The Left), Per Clausen (The Left), Giorgos Georgiou (The Left), Lynn Boylan (The Left), Irene Montero (The Left), Estrella Galán (The Left), Rima Hassan (The Left), Nikos Pappas (The Left), Danilo Della Valle (The Left), Emma Fourreau (The Left), Konstantinos Arvanitis (The Left), Pasquale Tridico (The Left)

    In Written Question E-001930/2024, we asked the Commission if it would consider excluding Israeli participants from the Horizon Europe programme in the light of the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court decisions highlighting Israeli violations of international law and international humanitarian law in Palestine.

    The Commission replied that excluding participants from Horizon Europe projects on the sole grounds of their nationality would amount to discrimination[1].

    However, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Commission decided to suspend cooperation with Russian entities in research, science and innovation, as well as all payments to Russian entities under existing contracts because the Russian invasion constituted a violation of international law[2].

    • 1.On what legal basis were Russian entities suspended from receiving EU funding?
    • 2.In the light of the violations of international law by Israel, as confirmed by the International Court of Justice, why does the Commission not use the same legal basis to exclude Israeli entities?

    Submitted: 19.3.2025

    • [1] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-10-2024-001930-ASW_EN.html.
    • [2] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_1544.
    Last updated: 27 March 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Sixth and Final Defendant Sentenced to 39 Years in Federal Prison in Louisville Case Involving String of Violent Crimes, Drug and Gun Offenses, and Money Laundering

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Louisville, KY – The final defendant was sentenced this week to 39 years in federal prison for his role in numerous felony offenses, including kidnapping, robbery, drug trafficking, and firearm offenses. Several other defendants were previously sentenced on the charges.

    U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Stansbury of the FBI Louisville Field Office, Chief Paul Humphrey of the Louisville Metro Police Department, Sheriff Walt Sholar of the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office, and Sheriff John E. Aubrey of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office made the announcement.

    “This case is an example of the benefit of the strong working relationships that exist between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in the Western District of Kentucky,” said U.S. Attorney Bennett. “As a result of excellent collaboration and tireless work by our law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors, violent offenders have been removed from our streets making our community safer for all who live, work, and visit here.”  

    “John E. Lohden, Jr. and his associates used law enforcement impersonation tactics to terrorize innocent individuals, ultimately undermining the public’s trust in legitimate police officers and creating a climate of fear and anxiety in our neighborhoods,” said Special Agent in Charge Stansbury. “Lohden, Jr.’s sentence of decades behind bars should serve as a clear message to violent offenders walking our streets. The FBI, working alongside our partners at all levels, will find you and ensure you face the full weight of the law.”

    According to court documents, John E. Lohden, Jr., 35, of Louisville, was sentenced on March 25, 2025, to 39 years in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for two counts of kidnapping, two counts of impersonator making arrest or search, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, two counts of possession of an unregistered firearm, robbery, using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. John E. Lohden, Jr. was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he had previously been convicted of the following felony offenses.

    On November 16, 2021, in Jefferson Circuit Court, John E. Lohden, Jr. was convicted of receiving stolen property under $10,000.

    On November 28, 2007, in Jefferson Circuit Court, John E. Lohden, Jr. was convicted of tampering with physical evidence, escape in the second degree, and complicity to wanton endangerment in the first degree (3 counts).

    Dayton Peterson, 24, of Louisville, was sentenced on October 22, 2024, to 30 years in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for kidnapping, impersonator making arrest or search, robbery, using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and engaging in monetary transactions derived from a specified unlawful activity.

    Joshua Lohden, 26, of Louisville was sentenced on July 24, 2024, to 22 years in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for kidnapping, impersonator making arrest or search, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and robbery.

    David Langdon, 39, of Louisville was sentenced on September 11, 2024, to 11 years and 5 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for kidnapping, impersonator making arrest or search, robbery, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Langdon was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he had previously been convicted of the following felony offenses.

    On October 14, 2015, in Jefferson Circuit Court, Langdon was convicted of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, trafficking in a controlled substance in the first degree, and possession of a controlled substance in the first degree.

    On October 15, 2015, in Jefferson Circuit Court, Langdon was convicted of trafficking in a controlled substance in the first degree greater than 2 grams of heroin.

    J. Louis Nance, 34, of Louisville was sentenced on July 24, 2024, to 6 years in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for kidnapping and impersonator making arrest or search.

    Samantha Trummer, 30, of Louisville was sentenced on July 22, 2024, to 4 years of probation for engaging in monetary transactions derived from a specified unlawful activity.

    Defendants Dayton Peterson, John E. Lohden, Jr., and Samantha Trummer were found guilty after a 10-day jury trial in March of 2024. The remaining defendants pleaded guilty prior to trial.

    There is no parole in the federal system.

    The FBI, LMPD, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, with assistance from the ATF, IRS, DEA, and Kentucky State Police.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alicia P. Gomez and Frank E. Dahl III prosecuted the case, with assistance from paralegal Adela Alic.

    Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). Operation Take Back America is 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.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Financial news: 03/27/2025, 11-11 (Moscow time) the values of the upper limit of the price corridor and the range of market risk assessment for the security RU000A104YR0 (MOSMSP2 03) were changed.

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Exchange – Moscow Exchange –

    03/27/2025

    11:11

    In accordance with the Methodology for determining the risk parameters of the stock market and deposit market of Moscow Exchange PJSC by NCO NCC (JSC) on March 27, 2025, 11-11 (Moscow time), the values of the upper limit of the price corridor (up to 150.93) and the range of market risk assessment (up to 40.91 rubles, equivalent to a rate of 87.5%) of the RU000A104YR0 security (MOSMSP2 03) were changed.

    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.

    Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

    HTTPS: //VVV. MOEX.K.M.M.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Financial news: 03/27/2025, 11-12 (Moscow time) the values of the upper limit of the price corridor and the range of market risk assessment for the security RU000A105DN0 (FSK RS BO6) were changed.

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Exchange – Moscow Exchange –

    03/27/2025

    11:12

    In accordance with the Methodology for determining the risk parameters of the stock market and deposit market of Moscow Exchange PJSC by NCO NCC (JSC) on March 27, 2025, 11-12 (Moscow time), the values of the upper limit of the price corridor (up to 96.51) and the range of market risk assessment (up to 1053.36 rubles, equivalent to a rate of 21.25%) of the security RU000A105DN0 (FSK RS BO6) were changed.

    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.

    Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

    HTTPS: //VVV. MOEX.K.MO/N88913

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Financial news: 03/27/2025, 13:55 (Moscow time) the values of the lower limit of the price corridor and the range of market risk assessment for the RU000A100W60 (EuroplanB3) security were changed.

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Exchange – Moscow Exchange –

    03/27/2025

    13:55

    In accordance with the Methodology for determining the risk parameters of the stock market and deposit market of Moscow Exchange PJSC by NCO NCC (JSC) on March 27, 2025, 13:55 (Moscow time), the values of the lower limit of the price corridor (up to 98.27) and the range of market risk assessment (up to 941.13 rubles, equivalent to a rate of 10.0%) of the RU000A100W60 (EuroplanB3) security were changed.

    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.

    Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

    HTTPS: //VVV. MEEX.K.M.M.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Government meeting (2025, No. 10)

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    1. On the draft federal law “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On Assistance to the Development and Improvement of Management Efficiency in the Housing Sphere and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” and Article 2 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation”

    The bill is aimed at creating a single register of citizens entitled to receive state and municipal support for the purpose of improving their housing conditions.

    2. On amendments to the Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of November 18, 2013 No. 1038 (in terms of amendments to the Regulation on the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation)

    The draft resolution proposes to grant the Russian Ministry of Construction the authority to adopt, among other things, standard additional professional programs in the field of construction and housing and public utilities.

    3. On amending the Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of March 16, 2009 No. 228 (in terms of amending the Regulation on the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media)

    The draft act provides for amendments to include in the scope of Roskomnadzor’s powers the area related to counteracting the financing of extremist activities.

    4. On Amendments to Certain Acts of the Government of the Russian Federation (in terms of amendments to the Regulation on the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media)

    The draft act is aimed at bringing the Regulation on the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media and the Regulation on the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation into line with the provisions of Federal Law No. 158-FZ of June 22, 2024 “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On Information, Information Technology and Information Protection” and Articles 11 and 15 of the Federal Law “On the Activities of Foreign Persons in the Information and Telecommunications Network “Internet” on the Territory of the Russian Federation”.

    5. On the draft federal law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation”

    The bill is aimed at introducing changes to the legislation of the Russian Federation that will allow widows (widowers) of participants in a special military operation to continue to use vehicles owned by their spouses during the period before the inheritance is accepted.

    6. On the draft federal law “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On Limited Liability Companies””

    The adoption of the bill will facilitate the expansion of the principle of discretion for participants in entrepreneurial activity, and will also allow for the optimization of the economic activity of companies in terms of determining the actual value of a participant’s share in the company, bypassing possible legal proceedings.

    7. On the draft federal law “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On Combating the Legalization (Laundering) of Criminally Obtained Incomes and the Financing of Terrorism” and the Federal Law “On Special Economic Measures and Coercive Measures”

    The bill is aimed at improving the system of freezing (blocking) funds or other property as one of the elements of the state system of countering terrorism and the application of special economic measures.

    8. On amendments to the Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of June 19, 2012 No. 610 (in terms of amendments to the Regulation on the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation)

    The draft act is aimed at bringing the situation into line with current legislation.

    9. On amending the Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of November 11, 2015 No. 1219 (in terms of amending the Regulation on the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation)

    The draft act is aimed at granting the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia the authority to approve risk indicators for violation of mandatory requirements applied by Rosprirodnadzor in the implementation of federal state land control (supervision).

    10. On amending the Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of November 7, 2016 No. 1140 (in terms of suspending the effect of certain clauses of the Regulation on the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation and the Regulation on the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance)

    The draft act is aimed at bringing the Rules for the creation, development and operation of the Federal State Information System in the field of veterinary medicine into line with the Federal Law of December 26, 2024 No. 496-FZ “On Amendments to the Law of the Russian Federation “On Veterinary Medicine” and Article 2 of the Federal Law “On Amendments to Article 14 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Veterinary Medicine””, as well as suspending the effect of certain provisions of Government acts.

    Moscow, March 26, 2025

    The content of the press releases of the Department of Press Service and References is a presentation of materials submitted by federal executive bodies for discussion at a meeting of the Government of the Russian Federation.

    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 –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Financial news: 03/27/2025, 10-12 (Moscow time) the values of the upper limit of the price corridor and the range of market risk assessment for the security RU000A0JT403 (VEB.RF 18) were changed.

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Exchange – Moscow Exchange –

    03/27/2025

    10:12

    In accordance with the Methodology for determining the risk parameters of the stock market and deposit market of Moscow Exchange PJSC by NCO NCC (JSC) on March 27, 2025, 10-12 (Moscow time), the values of the upper limit of the price corridor (up to 103.49) and the range of market risk assessment (up to 1156.73 rubles, equivalent to a rate of 6.25%) of the security RU000A0JT403 (VEB.RF 18) were changed.

    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.

    Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

    HTTPS: //VVV. MOEX.K.MO/N88906

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Marrero Bookkeeper Sentenced for Fraud and Tax Charges

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

    NEW ORLEANS, LA – ActingUnited States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that MARY B. KATICICH (“KATICICH”), age 64, of Marrero, La., was sentenced on March 25, 2025, for wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, and for making and subscribing a false tax return, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(1).

    According to court documents, KATICICH used her position as bookkeeper for a Belle Chasse, Louisiana-based company, to fraudulently divert funds for her own benefit, from the company’s bank accounts.  KATICICH also purchased personal items using company funds.  Further, KATICICH willfully filed a tax return for tax year 2016, that she did not believe to be true and correct, because it failed to report approximately $120,190.58 of income.

    United States District Judge Susie Morgan sentenced KATICICH to one year and one day in prison to be followed by (3) three years of supervised release.  KATICICH was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $439,650.51 to the owner of the company and $28,612.45 to the Internal Revenue Service.  Judge Morgan also imposed a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter.  The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria M. Carboni of the Financial Crimes Unit.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Rocky View County — Southern Alberta District Crime Reduction Unit and Calgary Police Service arrest and charge three for multiple break and enters

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    In February of 2025, Alberta RCMP and Calgary Police Service investigated a series of break and enters within the city of Calgary and six RCMP jurisdictions, where multiple offenders broke into dealerships and autobody shops stealing vehicle keys and vehicles. A total of 18 vehicles were stolen during the crime series and 15 have been recovered. A male was identified as the prime suspect.

    On Feb. 4, 2025, the RCMP Southern Alberta District Crime Reduction Unit, Olds RCMP, and Airdrie RCMP, with assistance from the Calgary Police Service, conducted a search warrant on a rural property in NE Calgary. Three vehicles, as well as two semi trailers, were recovered, all of which had been reported stolen out of Southern Alberta and British Columbia.

    On Feb. 13, 2025, a stolen Ford F150 from rural High River, Alta., was located at a residence in NW Calgary, and a search warrant was executed by members of the RCMP Southern Alberta District Crime Reduction Unit, Airdrie RCMP, and Calgary Police Service Tactical Unit. Two stolen vehicles were recovered by police, in addition to numerous identity documents believed to have been stolen or fraudulently produced.

    A 33-year-old individual, a resident of Calgary, was located in NW Calgary by the Airdrie RCMP Crime Reduction Unit and was arrested with the assistance of Calgary Police Service. The individual has been charged with the following offences:

    • Robbery;
    • Break, enter and theft (x5);
    • Possession of property obtained by crime over $5000 (x2);
    • Possession of property obtained by crime under $5000;
    • Theft of motor vehicle;
    • Criminal flight from police;
    • Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle;
    • Assault with a weapon;
    • Fail to comply with a probation order (x2);
    • Fail to comply with a release order (x2).

    Calgary Police Service have also laid the following charges against the individual:

    • Break and Enter and Theft (x5);
    • Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Under $5000
    • Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle;
    • Possession of Break in Instruments (x2);
    • Fail to Comply with Probation (x16);
    • Fail to Comply with Release Order (x4);
    • As well as several provincial driving offences.

    Further charges are pending from other RCMP jurisdictions in Southern Alberta.

    The 33-year-old individual has been remanded into custody with a next scheduled court appearance for March 4, 2025, in Alberta Court of Justice in Calgary.

    Two other individuals were arrested as a result of the search warrant.

    A 43-year-old individual, a resident of Calgary, was arrested on outstanding warrants and has been remanded into custody with a next scheduled court appearance for Feb. 19, 2025.

    A 31-year-old individual, a resident of Winnipeg, was arrested and charged with:

    • Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Over $5000;
    • Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Under $5000;
    • Fraudulent Concealment;
    • Fail to Comply with Release Order (x2);
    • As well as several provincial driving offences.

    The 31-year-old individual has been remanded into custody with his next scheduled court appearance for Feb. 19, 2025, in Alberta Court of Justice in Calgary.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Kehewin — Bonnyville RCMP arrest individual following home invasion with firearm – Update

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Bonnyville RCMP have arrested a 28-year-old individual, a resident of Kehewin, in connection to the home invasion that took place on Feb. 16, 2025. They have been charged with the following offences:

    • Theft under $5000 x4
    • Break and enter with intent x2
    • Mischief under $5000 x2
    • Unauthorized possession of firearm x5
    • Possession of firearm contrary to prohibition order x4
    • Resist peace officer
    • Discharge firearm with intent
    • Flight from peace officer
    • Theft of motor vehicle
    • Failure to comply with a probation order x5
    • Careless use of a firearm
    • Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose
    • Possession of a firearm knowing possession is unauthorized
    • Occupy motor vehicle with firearm x3
    • Operation while prohibited
    • Possession of property obtained by crime x5
    • Trespass at night

    The individual was taken before a justice of the peace and was remanded into custody with a last court appearance was on Feb. 18, 2025 at the Alberta Court of Justice in Bonnyville, Alta.

    Background:

    Feb. 18, 2025

    Bonnyville RCMP arrest individual following home invasion with firearm

    On Feb. 16, 2025, at approximately 6:49 p.m., Bonnyville RCMP responded to a home invasion, with a firearm, that occurred at a residence located in Kehewin.

    Officers from Bonnyville RCMP and St. Paul RCMP attended the location and learned that the suspect had fled the area on foot. The victim was not harmed. Containment was established and the Emergency Response Team was notified. Following additional investigation, it was discovered that the suspect had fled in a stolen an SUV. The vehicle was later located with the assistance of Elk Point RCMP, occupied, on Road 2 in Kehewin.

    The Emergency Response Team attended and successfully apprehended the suspect, a 28-year-old resident of Kehewin. They have been charged with the following offences:

    • Break and enter with intent – Residence x2
    • Discharge firearm while being reckless
    • Fail to comply with probation order x5
    • Numerous additional charges.

    The suspect is currently awaiting a judicial interim hearing, as such no additional information is available at this time. An update is expected upon completion with the suspects name, court date and additional charges.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges for 2023 Crime Spree

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)

    strong>ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man pleaded guilty in federal court to multiple robbery and firearms charges for a crime spree in the summer of 2023.

    According to court records, between July 11, 2023, to September 16, 2023, Demetrius Antonnie Bailey, 41, engaged in a series of armed robberies targeting retail stores in Albuquerque. Bailey and his accomplice conspired to commit robberies at Harbor Freight Tools, multiple Metro by T-Mobile locations, a T-Mobile store, a Verizon store, and a JC Penney. During these robberies, they threatened and overpowered store employees and security to steal merchandise and cash. In each robbery, a replica firearm or a real handgun was brandished to intimidate store employees and security personnel. The stolen items included electronics, cellular phones, cash, and clothing valued at tens of thousands of dollars.

    Bailey pleaded guilty to 10 counts, including interference with commerce by robbery, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. His offenses also included knowingly participating in violent retail thefts. At sentencing, if the district court accepts the plea agreement, Bailey faces not less than ten years and up to twenty-two years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrinand Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

    The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maria Elena Stiteler and Natasha Moghadam are prosecuting the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Manning — Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit investigates homicide in Manning

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    On March 16, 2025, at 2:25 p.m., Manning RCMP responded to a report that a deceased individual, later identified as Nathan Loonskin, a 38-year-old Paddle Prairie, Alta. resident, was located within a vehicle on Range Road 224, in Carcajou, Alta. The Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit was deployed and has taken carriage of the investigation.

    The deceased has been taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Edmonton and the death has been deemed as a homicide. Although early in the investigation, RCMP believes this was an isolated incident and that there is no ongoing risk to the public.

    Alberta RMCP Major Crimes is requesting assistance from the public. Anyone with dash cam footage, or reports of suspicious persons or activity, in the area of Highway 35, between Manning and Paddle Prairie, between March 15, 2025 around 8:00 p.m. and Mar. 16, 2025 around 2:00 p.m., is asked to please come forth. Furthermore, anyone who has knowledge of the whereabouts of Nathan Loonskin leading up to March 16, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. is asked to please do the same.

    Anyone with information can contact the Manning RCMP at 780-836-3007 or your local police. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www. P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store. To report crime online, or for access to RCMP news and information, download the Alberta RCMP app through Apple or Google Play.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Chinese National in Custody and Indicted After Allegedly Checking a Bag with a Firearm at Provo Airport

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A Chinese national was indicted by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City for a firearm crime after she allegedly possessed an undeclared pistol in her checked luggage and ammunition in her carry-on bag at the Provo Airport.

    Xuemei Zhao, 53, of People’s Republic of China, was initially charged by complaint on March 20, 2025. 

    According to court documents, on March 20, 2025, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) discovered a black Rossi Braztech Int’l .357 revolver pistol in Zhao’s checked luggage, which was destined for Dallas – Ft. Worth via American Airlines flight 6189. Prior to delivering the suitcase to American Airlines, Zhao did not disclose the presence of the handgun to TSA or American Airlines. In addition to the firearm, Zhao had 9 rounds of .357 ammunition in her carry-on luggage. Zhao was taken into custody and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was contacted and confirmed Zhao arrived on a tourist visa, and had a currently pending asylum application, and was not a lawful permanent resident of the United States (she did not have a “green card”).

    Zhao is charged with possession of a firearm by a restricted person (alien). Her initial appearance on the indictment is March 28, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. in courtroom 8.4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

    Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti for the District of Utah made the announcement.

    The case is being investigated by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, Provo Resident Agency. Valuable assistance was provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

    Assistant United States Attorney Michael Kennedy of the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.

    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 an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Former VA Employees Plead Guilty To Conspiracy To Commit Honest Services Wire Fraud

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On March 26, 2024, Monika D. Schorer, 59, of Jonesborough, Tennessee, and Teresa Schorer, 59, of Jonesborough, Tennessee, entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud before the Honorable Clifton L. Corker, United States District Judge in the United States District Court at Greeneville.                  

    Each defendant faces a term of up to 20 years in Federal prison, $250,000 in fines, and supervised release of three years.  Under their written plea agreements, each defendant has agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $213,154.50 for a combined total of $426,309.  Sentencing for Monika Schorer has been set for July 23, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. and sentencing for Teresa Schorer’s has been set for July 23, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., both before Judge Corker in the United States District Court at Greeneville.

    According to their plea agreements, which have been filed with the court, each woman worked for the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center in Mountain Home, Tennessee, and each accepted cash bribe payments from individuals who worked as a surgical sales representative for an independent distributor of a nationwide orthopedic company that manufactured replacement joints and products used during surgeries in which those joints were implanted.  The sales representatives routinely sold products to the VA Medical Center where the women worked.  According to the filed plea agreements, the sales representatives (who have previously entered guilty pleas) formed a separate company in June 2018 and began selling their own acquired inventory to the VA at inflated prices or when not medically necessary, resulting in losses to the VA.  By their written plea agreements, each defendant agreed that they conspired and accepted cash bribe payments from the sales representatives of $9,900 each in September 2018 and $7,000 each in October 2018 for their agreement to commit, collude, and aid in the fraud against the VA.   

    U.S. Attorney Francis M. “Trey” Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee; Nate Landkammer, Special Agent-in-Charge, Mid Atlantic Field Office, VA Office of the Inspector General; Elisa Pellegrini, Special Agent-in-Charge, General Services Administration (GSA) Office of the Inspector General, Mid-Atlantic Division; and Donald “Trey” Eakins, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement.

    This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the VA Office of the Inspector General, GSA Office of the Inspector General, and the IRS.

    Assistant United States Attorneys Mac D. Heavener, III, and Ryan Blackwell, represent the United States.

                                                                                                                   ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cassidy, Cotton, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Keep Cellphones Out of Jails, Increase Public Safety

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and a group of Republican colleagues introduced the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act of 2025 to prevent inmates from using contraband cellphone use in prison facilities by allowing state and federal prisons to use cellphone jamming systems. 
    “Cellphone use behind bars allows criminals to commit more crimes,” said Dr. Cassidy. “This is a simple way to cut them off and keep our communities safe.”
    “For far too long, contraband cellphones have been a major security threat in our prisons, allowing criminals to coordinate crimes from behind bars. This legislation is a common-sense step to cut off their ability to threaten witnesses, organize drug trafficking, and endanger law-abiding citizens from within prison walls,” said Senator Cotton.
    Cassidy and Cotton were joined by U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Cyndi Hyde-Smith (R-MS), James Lankford (R-OK), and James Risch (R-ID) also joined the legislation. U.S. Representative David Kustoff (R-TN-08) is leading companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
    “Criminals are using contraband cellphones to commit crimes while in prison. The extent of coordinated criminal activity carried out by inmates is a serious threat to public safety,” said Representative Kustoff. “As a former United States Attorney, I have seen first-hand the dangerous effects of contraband cellphone use to both law enforcement officers and our communities. It should be impossible for prisoners to organize gang activity, traffic drugs, and coordinate any other wrongdoing from behind bars. The Cellphone Jamming Reform Act is commonsense legislation that will crack down on cellphones in prisons and protect inmates, guards, and the public at large.”
    Background
    The use of contraband cellphones is widespread in both federal and state prison facilities. Inmates have used contraband cellphones to conduct illegal activities, including ordering hits on individuals outside of the prison walls, running illegal drug operations, conducting illegal business deals, facilitating sex trafficking, and organizing escapes that endanger correctional employees, other inmates, and members of the public.
    Last year, two 13-year-old boys were killed at a birthday party in Atlanta after inmates in a Georgia prison used contraband cellphones to order their murder. In December 2024, two California inmates were convicted of murder, racketeering, and other RICO-related crimes for running a heroin and meth trafficking operation from their prison cells. In 2018, a gang fight over territory using cellphones to trade contraband sparked a brawl inside the Lee Correctional Institution in South Carolina and left seven inmates dead and 20 injured.
    Bureau of Prisons Correctional officer Lt. Osvaldo Albarati was murdered in 2013 for interrupting an illicit contraband cellphone business. His assassination was initiated by an inmate using a contraband cellphone to contact the gunman as outlined in the indictment.    

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Signal-gate security blunder overshadows Black Sea ceasefire

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jonathan Este, Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor

    Depending on what you think of Donald Trump, his administration could fit either of the following two descriptions. Chaotic, vindictive and accident-prone, marked by mendacity, driven by impulse and bent on securing the will of the leader, rather than – as in the US constitution – the will of the people. Or it could be a government masterminded by a man playing 4D chess while all around him are playing chequers. A president whose deal-making skills and focus on outcomes ensure the security and prosperity of America and its allies.

    If you base your assessment on the people Trump has chosen as his key national security advisers then, after the recent Signal chat group intelligence debacle, you’d almost certainly opt for chaotic and accident-prone, at the very least.

    Looking around the Signal chatroom, who do we have? National security advisor Mike Waltz, Vice-President J.D. Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA director John Ratcliffe and a supporting cast of other senior Trump staffers. And, unwittingly, the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg.

    Heads must roll, say Trump’s critics. But who from this hydra-headed beast should take the fall? Should it be Waltz, who invited Goldberg to the chat group? Or Hegseth, who posted operational details of a US attack, including the when, where and how, hours before it was due to take place? Should it be Vance, whose swipe at America’s freeloading European allies has caused considerable angst across the Atlantic?

    Or perhaps one or another of Gabbard and Ratcliffe, who sat in front of the Senate select committee on intelligence on Tuesday and maintained that no classified material or “war plans” had been revealed to the group – sworn evidence now revealed to be unreliable at best?

    Sign up to receive our weekly World Affairs Briefing newsletter from The Conversation UK. Every Thursday we’ll bring you expert analysis of the big stories in international relations.

    At present it seems as if none of them are going to pay for their dangerous incompetence. Instead their ire is turned on Goldberg, who has variously been called a “sleazebag” by Trump himself, “loser” and the “bottom scum of journalists” by Waltz and a “deceitful and highly discredited, so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again” by Hegseth.

    Robert Dover of the University of Hull, whose research centres on intelligence and national security, believes this is a “national security blunder almost without parallel”. He points to the hypocrisy of people like Hegseth who savaged Hillary Clinton for using a private email server to conduct official business when she was secretary of state under Barack Obama.

    Dover also notes the damage the episode will have done to America’s already shaky relations with its allies in Europe. Being disparaged by the vice-president as freeloaders and dismissed by the defense secretary as “pathetic”, he believes, will be “difficult to unsee”.



    Read more:
    Signal chat group affair: unprecedented security breach will seriously damage US international relations

    But credit where it’s due, it appears that US diplomacy may at least be bearing some – limited – fruit. At least, that is, if the two partial ceasefires recently negotiated between Russia and Ukraine actually materialise. That’s a fairly big if, of course. Despite a pledge by both sides that they could support a deal to avoid targeting each other’s energy infrastructure, there’s no sign yet of a cessation of attacks.

    And there has been a degree of scepticism over the recently announced plan for a maritime ceasefire to allow the free passage of shipping on the Black Sea. Critics say this favours Russia far more than Ukraine. Over the course of the war, Ukraine has successfully driven Russia’s Black Sea fleet away from its base in Crimea, giving it the upper hand in the maritime war. But maritime strategy expert, Basil Germond, says the situation is more nuanced, and the deal represents considerable upside for Ukraine as well.



    Read more:
    Russia has most to gain from Black Sea ceasefire – but it’s marginal, and Ukraine benefits too

    Setting aside America’s eventful recent forays into foreign relations, there’s a major domestic fix brewing which many US legal scholars believe could plunge the country into a constitutional crisis.

    Anne Richardson Oakes, an expert in US constitutional law at Birmingham City University, anticipates a potential clash between between the executive and the judiciary which could threaten the separation of powers that lies at the heart of American democracy.

    Oakes observes there are more than 130 legal challenges to Trump administration policies presently before the courts, some of which will end up in front of America’s highest legal authority, the Supreme Court, which is tasked with assessing the constitutionality of those policies. She warns that we’ve already seen evidence that Trump and his senior officials resent what they consider to be interference from the judiciary into the legitimate executive power of the elected president.

    Will there be a stand-off where the Trump administration simply ignores the Supreme Court’s ruling? It’s happened before, says Oakes. In the mid-20th century, in Little Rock, Arkansas, when the governor used the state’s national guard to prevent the court-ordered desegregation of public schools. On that occasion the then president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, sent in federal troops to enforce the court’s ruling and a constitutional crisis was averted.



    Read more:
    US stands on the brink of a constitutional crisis as Donald Trump takes on America’s legal system

    But what if it’s the serving president who chooses to ignore a Supreme Court ruling? This was the case in the 1830s when greedy cotton farmers in Georgia were bent on forcing the Native American peoples off their lands. The Cherokee actually took the state of Georgia to the Supreme Court, which ruled that as a “dependent nation” within the United States they were entitled to the protection of the federal government and that the state of Georgia had no right to order their removal.

    As historian Sean Lang of Anglia Ruskin University recounts, Georgia ignored the Supreme Court’s ruling and sent in troops to expel the Cherokee who were then forced to move to new lands in a journey known as the “Train of Tears”. Lang writes that then US president, Andrew Jackson, a populist advocate of states’ rights and former “Indian fighter”, ignored the Supreme Court’s ruling, “sneering that [Chief Justice John] Marshall had no means of enforcing it”.

    Lang concludes: “It’s a history lesson Greenlanders, Mexicans and Canadians – and indeed many Americans who may fall foul of this administration and seek recourse to the law – would do well to study.”



    Read more:
    Trump’s America is facing an Andrew Jackson moment – and it’s bad news for the constitution

    Trump’s chilling effect

    The Trump administration’s antipathy towards judges who have opposed its policies have extended towards those law firms who have in some way crossed the US president. But the legal system is not the only sector to feel the chilling effect of Trump’s displeasure, writes Dafydd Townley.

    The world of higher education in the US is also apprehensive after the administration went after Columbia University, home to some of the most outspoken protest over US policies towards Israel and Gaza. Columbia has recently had to agree to allow the administration to “review” some of its academic programmes, starting with its Middle Eastern studies, after the administration threatened to cancel US$400 million (£310 million) of government contracts with the university.

    The news media is also under heavy pressure. The administration has taken control of the White House press pool from the non-partisan White House Correspondents’ Association and has blackballed Associated Press for refusing to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. We’ve also seen Trump himself bring lawsuits against media organisations he judges to have crossed him. And now the president has called for the defunding of America’s two biggest public broadcasters, NPR and PBL, for what he perceives as their liberal bias.

    Townley, an expert in US politics at the University of Portsmouth is concerned that this all adds up to a deliberate attempt to cripple institutions which underwrite American democracy.



    Read more:
    Donald Trump’s ‘chilling effect’ on free speech and dissent is threatening US democracy

    Popularity falls as prices rise

    Trump’s leadership continues to be very polarising, writes Paul Whiteley, a political scientist and polling specialist at the University of Essex, who has spent years studying political trends in the US. Looking at the most recent numbers, Whiteley finds that while Trump’s approval ratings are fairly steady at 48% approval and 49% disapproval, when you dig down you find that only 6% of registered Democrats approve of his performance, while 93% disapprove. For registered Republicans it’s almost exactly the opposite.

    Whiteley takes his analysis further, looking at measures such as consumer sentiment, which has fallen sharply since January, with talk of tariffs and the return of inflation affecting people’s confidence in the economy. He points out there tends to be a fairly strong historical correlation between confidence in the economy and popular approval of a president’s performance.



    Read more:
    Three graphs that show what’s happening with Donald Trump’s popularity

    Another factor which will surely affect people’s confidence in the government are the job losses flowing from Elon Musk’s work as “efficiency tsar”. Thomas Gift, the director of the Centre on US Politics at University College London, believes that federal job losses as a result of Musk’s cuts are spread indiscriminately among Democrat and Republican states. As a result there may be some Republican voters who are experiencing what he calls “buyer’s remorse”.

    At the same time, rising inflation is flowing into the cost of living, something many people voted for Trump to punish the Democrats for. As Gift points out, both parties are experiencing a dip in support at present as people reject politics for having a generally negative effect on their lives. But from now, it’ll be the Republicans who will feel the sting of popular disapproval more keenly.



    Read more:
    Trump’s job cuts are causing Republican angst as all parties face backlash

    World Affairs Briefing from The Conversation UK is available as a weekly email newsletter. Click here to get updates directly in your inbox.

    – ref. Signal-gate security blunder overshadows Black Sea ceasefire – https://theconversation.com/signal-gate-security-blunder-overshadows-black-sea-ceasefire-253245

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Security: United States Files Civil Forfeiture Complaint for $47 Million in Proceeds From the Sale of Iranian Oil

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

               WASHINGTON – A civil forfeiture complaint was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that $47 million in proceeds from the sale of nearly one million barrels of Iranian petroleum is forfeitable as property of, or affording a person a source of influence over, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) or its Qods Force (IRGC-QF), designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO).

               The forfeiture was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, FBI Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston, Sr. of the Minneapolis Field Office, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonso of the New York Office.

               The forfeiture complaint alleges a scheme between 2022 and 2024 to facilitate the shipment, storage, and sale of Iranian petroleum product for the benefit of the IRGC and IRGC-QF. The facilitators used deceptive practices to masquerade the Iranian oil as Malaysian, including by manipulating the tanker’s automatic identification system (AIS) to conceal that it onboarded the oil from a port in Iran. The facilitators presented falsified documents to the Croatian storage facility and port authority, claiming that the oil was Malaysian. The facilitators paid for storage fees associated with the oil’s storage at the Croatian facility in U.S. dollars, transactions that were conducted through U.S. financial institutions that would have refused the transactions had they known they were associated with Iranian oil. The petroleum product was sold in 2024, and the United States seized $47 million in proceeds from that sale.

               The civil forfeiture complaint further alleges that the petroleum product constitutes the property of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), which has perpetuated a federal crime of terrorism by providing material support to the IRGC and IRGC-QF. As alleged, profits from petroleum product sales support the IRGC’s full range of malign activities, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, support for terrorism, and both domestic and international human rights abuses.

               “We will aggressively enforce U.S. sanctions against Iran, in furtherance of President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign,” said U.S. Attorney Martin. “With the continued seizures of Iranian oil and U.S. dollar profits, we are sending a clear message to Iran that bypassing the sanctions put in place by the U.S. Government is not as easy as playing a shell game with tankers filled with oil. We remain committed to thwarting Iran’s devious attempts, and to deprive its terrorists of the funding they desire.”

               “The FBI will not allow hostile regimes to evade U.S. sanctions or exploit our financial systems to fund designated terrorist organizations,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Winston. “The FBI, alongside our partners, will relentlessly enforce U.S. sanctions against Iran and safeguard U.S. national security by disrupting illicit networks that seek to profit from sanctioned oil sales.”

               “Through the work of HSI’s Counterproliferation Investigations group, alongside the FBI, the U.S. government has seized $47 million worth of funds allegedly meant for terrorist groups intent on causing catastrophic harm,” said HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Alfonso. “The expertise of HSI personnel, coupled with federal law enforcement’s whole-of-government approach, ensures the wellbeing of the United States and our innocent foreign counterparts, alike. We are relentlessly utilizing every tool at our disposal in pursuit of any and all security threats.”

               Funds successfully forfeited with a connection to a state sponsor of terrorism may in whole or in part be directed to the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund.

               FBI Minneapolis Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations New York are investigating the case.

               Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert, Maeghan O. Mikorski, and Brian Hudak for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Adam Small of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are litigating the case. They received assistance from former Paralegal Specialist Brian Rickers and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

               A civil forfeiture complaint is merely an allegation.  The burden to prove forfeitability in a civil forfeiture proceeding is upon the government.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Violent Crime Consortium Keeps Public Safety at Forefront

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)

    CLEVELAND – The Northern Ohio Violent Crime Consortium (NOVCC) recently brought together more than 100 regional law enforcement participants, representing more than 20 agencies, to take part in a region-wide initiative to discuss public safety. The annual event is hosted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Northern District of Ohio. The District covers the 40 northern-most counties in the state of Ohio, which is home to more than 5.7 million people.

    The violent crime consortium was established in 2007 through a Department of Justice grant to specifically address violent crime issues in eight Northern Ohio cities: Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Elyria, Lorain, Mansfield, Toledo, and Youngstown.

    As the current top federal law enforcement officer for the District, Acting U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik provided welcoming remarks on the importance of the consortium’s work to keep crime off the streets.

    “The Consortium’s purpose is to prevent and reduce violent crime through the use of data-driven and evidence-based technologies,” said Skutnik. “NOVCC enhances our member agencies through skills training on accepted best practices and emerging technologies.”

    Subject-matter experts addressed several key topics at this year’s gathering including the importance of inter-agency data sharing and information to combat crime, promising law enforcement practices, and modern policing in the digital age.

    The USAO would like to acknowledge and thank the following for attending and participating in this year’s event:

    Event speakers representing

    • Fordham University
    • Johns Hopkins University Center for Gun Violence Solutions
    • Blacksburg, Virginia Police Department
    • Brookhaven, Georgia Police Department
    • Research Innovations, Inc.

    Law enforcement agencies represented

    • Akron Police Department
    • Avon Police Department
    • The University of Akron Police Department
    • Barberton Police Department
    • Berea Police Department
    • Canton Police Department
    • Cleveland Division of Police
    • Cuyahoga County Sheriff
    • Elyria Police Department
    • Lorain Police Department
    • Mansfield Police Department
    • Maple Heights Police Department
    • North Royalton Police Department
    • Put-in-Bay Police Department
    • Sandusky Police Department
    • Toledo Police Department
    • Warren Police Department
    • Westlake Police Department
    • Youngstown Police Department

    State agencies

    • Ohio Adult Parole Authority
    • Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
    • Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services

    Nonprofit agency

    • Partnership for a Safer Cleveland

    Federal agencies

    • ATF-Cleveland
    • FBI-Cleveland
    • U.S. Marshals Service-Cleveland
    • U.S. Department of Justice-Office of Legal Policy

    For more information about the consortium, contact Thomas McCartney at 216-622-3955.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Irvine Man Sentenced to Nearly Four Years in Federal Prison for Stealing and Reselling High-End Violins and for Robbing Bank in O.C. Last Year

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

    SANTA ANA, California – An Orange County man was sentenced today to 46 months in federal prison for orchestrating a scheme to steal high-value violins and robbing a bank in Irvine.

    Mark Meng, 58, of Irvine, was sentenced by United States District Judge David O. Carter, who scheduled a restitution hearing for June 24 in this case.

    Meng pleaded guilty in September 2024 to one count of wire fraud and one count of bank robbery. He has been in federal custody since May 2024.

    From August 2020 to April 2023, Meng schemed to steal valuable violins and keep or resell them for his personal gain. Meng – posing as a collector of musical instruments – contacted violin shops across the country to express interest in receiving the violins on loan for a trial period to determine if he wished to buy them. In some cases, he purchased violin bows before asking for the violins on a trial-period basis.

    After receiving each violin, Meng negotiated a purchase price for it, kept the instrument beyond the trial period, then provided the violin shops with a check or set of checks for the violin, knowing the whole time the checks he wrote to the violin shops would be rejected due to insufficient funds.

    When a violin-shop representative contacted Meng to inform him that the shop’s bank had rejected his checks, he sent a new series of checks, which also later were rejected due to insufficient funds. Sometimes, Meng lied to the violin shops by falsely telling them he had mailed the violin back to them, but that they had been lost in the mail. Eventually, Meng stopped communicating with the violin shops.

    After fraudulently obtaining the violins, Meng re-sold them to a buyer – often during the trial periods from the violin shops. For example, on February 1, 2023, a victim loaned Meng a Guilio Degani violin – valued at $175,000 – pursuant to a trial-period contract, which required Meng to return or purchase the violin by February 10, 2023. However, Meng attempted to sell this violin to a buyer – who was unaware of the violin’s stolen origin.

    According to court documents, Meng also stole the following:

    • one Lorenzo Ventapane violin, dated 1823, and valued at $175,000;
    • one Guilio Degani violin, dated 1903, and valued at $55,000;
    • one Caressa & Francais violin, dated 1913, and valued at $40,000;
    • one Francais Lott violin bow, stamped “Lupot,” and valued at $7,500;
    • one Gand & Bernardel violin, dated 1870, and valued at $60,000;
    • one French, Charles J.B. Colin Mezin violin, valued at $6,500; and
    • one German, E.H. Roth Guarneri violin, valued at $6,500.

    Despite knowing that he did not own these violins and violin bows, Meng sold three of these stolen violins and a violin bow to a victim for a total of $44,700.

    In January 2023, Meng emailed one violin shop in Alexandria, Virginia, to express an interest in obtaining the Ventapane violin and the Degani violin on a trial basis, all the while intending to fraudulently obtain then re-sell them.

    On April 2, 2024, Meng entered a bank branch in Irvine, wearing a hat, sunglasses, a bandana covering his face, and blue latex gloves. Meng gave the bank teller a note stating “$18,000. Withdraw. Please. Stay Cool. No harm. Thx.” When the teller told Meng she did not have access to the money he demanded, Meng responded, “Give me whatever you have.” The teller, fearing harm to herself and her co-workers, handed Meng $446.

    The FBI’s Art Crime Team investigated this matter, with assistance from the Irvine Police Department and the Glendale Police Department.

    Assistant United States Attorneys Laura A. Alexander and Mark A. Williams, both of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section, prosecuted this case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Stamford Man Indicted for Defrauding Mars, Inc. out of Millions of Dollars

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

    Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Anish Shukla, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Harry Chavis, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, and Charmeka Parker, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Region of the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned a nine-count indictment charging PAUL R. STEED, 58, of Stamford, with fraud and tax offenses stemming from his alleged commission of multiple frauds against his former employer Mars, Inc.

    The indictment was returned yesterday, and Steed was arrested this morning.  He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport, pleaded not guilty, and is currently detained.

    The indictment alleges that, between approximately 2011 and 2023, Steed was employed by Mars Wrigley, a subsidiary of Mars. Inc. (“Mars”), working remotely from his home in Stamford.  Steed served as Global Price Risk Manager for Mars Wrigley’s Global Cocoa Enterprise.  As part of his employment, Steed was responsible for managing Mars Wrigley’s participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) Sugar-Containing Products Re-Export Program.  In approximately 2016, Steed created a company, MCNA LLC, to mimic an actual Mars entity, Mars Chocolate North America.  He then diverted millions of dollars in Mars assets to a bank account he set up in MCNA’s name by directing sugar refineries purchasing Mars’s re-export credits, obtained through the USDA program, to pay MCNA LLC as if it were a legitimate Mars entity.

    The indictment also alleges that Mars had an ownership interest in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (“ICE”), a financial services company that operated financial exchanges and clearing houses, and received quarterly dividends in connection with that ownership.  In 2017, Steed directed Computershare Limited (“Computershare”), a company that ICE utilized for stock-related services, to pay MCNA LLC for Mars’s dividends from its ownership shares in ICE.  As a result, more than $700,000 in dividend payments were diverted to the MCNA LLC account.  In 2023, after Steed had used a fraudulent letter purportedly from the Mars Treasurer authorizing him to trade ICE shares, Steed directed Computershare to sell Mars’s ICE shares entirely.  Computershare issued a check in the amount of more than $11.3 million, which Steed deposited into the MCNA LLC account.

    The indictment further alleges that, from 2013 through 2020, Steed used a company he owned called Ibera LLC to invoice Mars for services Mars did not receive.  Mars paid Ibera LLC approximately $580,000 through this scheme.

    The indictment charges Steed with seven counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment on each count.  Steed is also charged with two counts of tax evasion, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years on each count, for failing to report and pay taxes on his stolen income, as alleged.

    According to statements made in court, Steed is alleged to have stolen more than $28 million from Mars and through his schemes.  More than $18 million was seized today for forfeiture, and the government is seeking to forfeit a Greenwich home that Steed is alleged to have purchased with nearly $2.3 million in stolen funds.  It is alleged that another $2 million was sent by Steed to Argentina, where he is a dual citizen, has family ties, and owns a ranch.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

    This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David E. Novick.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Choppa City Crew Members Sentenced to Decades in Prison for Roles in Three Brinks Armored Car Robberies

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

    WASHINGTON – William Brock, 33, and Anthony Antwon McNair, Jr., 36, both of Washington, D.C., were sentenced today to 657 months (54.75 years) months and 378 months (31.5 years) in prison respectively for their roles in a series of armed robberies of Brink’s armored cars in Washington, D.C., that resulted in the loss of more than $1.2 million. 

               The sentences were announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

               Brock and McNair were found guilty by a federal jury on September 9, 2024, of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery, interference with interstate commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act Robbery), bank robbery, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. The jury also found co-defendant Erin Sheffey guilty the same day of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery. Sheffey was sentenced January 15, 2025, to 18 years in prison.

               In addition to the prison terms, U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ordered Brock and McNair to each serve three years of supervised release and pay $1.2 million in restitution.

              The three Brink’s truck robberies occurred on October 6, 2021, December 8, 2021, and March 2, 2022. In those robberies, the defendants used firearms to assault the drivers of Brink’s armored cars and steal money. In total, the defendants stole over $1.2 million. 

                According to court documents and the evidence at trial, the three defendants were members of the Choppa City street crew. Brock, McNair, and Sheffey conspired together and with others to plan and carry out the robberies, brandishing firearms on busy District streets while doing so. 

               Each robbery occurred on a Wednesday at about 9 a.m., and two occurred on busy city throughfares, causing a significant risk to the public. Testimony in the case revealed that the conspirators used assault rifles to carry out their robberies. 

              Brock planned the robberies for months, learning the routes and arrival times of the Brink’s drivers, to ensure the robbery team was in place. As the Brink’s driver exited his armored car vehicle to deliver money to a business, the robbers ambushed him. In two cases, the defendants assaulted one of the Brink’s drivers, even after he had complied to their demands and had turned over his courier bag.

              Members of the crew used social media to show off large sums of money they stole during the robberies and photographed themselves making high-end luxury purchases. For example, within two days of the robberies, Brock purchased vehicles in cash totaling over $36,000. 

               Leading up to trial, all three men attempted to intimidate witnesses in the case. These attempts, among other things, were cited as bases for their decades-long sentences.

              This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Violent Crimes Task Force and the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Tepfer and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Schneider. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Josh Gold, Meredith Mayer-Dempsey, and Thomas Strong.

    An AR-15 used by the defendants during the armed robberies

    Brock (right) and McNair (left) robbing a Brinks armored car employee with a firearm on December 8, 2021. Brock and McNair assaulted the driver by beating him with their pistols even after he turned over the delivery bag.

    23cr26

    MIL Security OSI –