Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Angel Cooper Vause, 57, of Georgetown, was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to lying to federal investigators about her role in the 2009 kidnapping and murder of Brittanee Drexel.
According to evidence presented in court, Vause concealed the truth of what happened to Brittanee and her involvement for more than 13 years. Vause told investigators that Brittanee willingly joined her and Raymond Moody, that she left Moody and Brittanee at the Pole Yard Boat Landing near Georgetown, and that she did not take Brittanee’s cell phone with her, when in reality, she participated in Brittanee’s abduction and was complicit in her rape and murder. On the night of Brittanee’s disappearance in April 2009, Vause assisted Moody in luring the 17-year-old into their vehicle, promising her a ride to her hotel. Vause left Brittanee alone with Moody at the site of her rape and murder taking her cellphone, her only chance of survival, with her. The judge noted during the sentencing hearing that Vause was a “key participant in this tragedy, facilitating the kidnapping of a child.”
“For more than a decade, Brittanee’s loved ones were left to imagine the worst possible scenario in Brittanee’s disappearance while Vause withheld the truth,” said U.S. Attorney Adair Ford Boroughs for the District of South Carolina. “We hope Brittanee’s loved ones can now have both the closure and a measure of justice that comes with this sentence. May she rest in peace knowing that her mother Dawn was relentless in her pursuit of justice.”
“The FBI is committed to following the evidence to uncover the truth,” said Steve Jensen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Columbia field office. “This sentence underscores the gravity of lying during an investigation. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will always investigate the facts and hold accountable anyone who distorts the truth to obstruct justice.”
United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel sentenced Vause to 216 months imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office, the Myrtle Beach Police Department and the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Winston Holliday and Elle E. Klein are prosecuting the case.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)
CHICAGO — Two related Chinese companies conspired with former employees of an Illinois facility operated by Philips Medical Systems to unlawfully possess Philips’ trade secrets, according to an indictment returned in federal court in Chicago.
Philips owned and operated a facility in Aurora, Ill., that engaged in the research, development, and manufacture of X-ray tubes used in computed tomography (CT) medical imaging machines. The company spent years developing its proprietary X-ray technology and selling devices incorporating this proprietary technology to medical facilities. According to the indictment, China-based KUNSHAN GUOLI ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY CO. LTD. and a Kunshan GuoLi vice president, XIAOQIN DU, 63, of Suzhou, China, helped form a rival X-ray tube development company and headquartered it in Aurora. In 2017, Kunshan GuoLi and Du recruited and hired for the new company three engineers from Philips’ Aurora facility, CHIH-YEE JEN, 69, of Mequon, Wisc., FINCE TENDIAN, 56, of Aurora, Ill., and VLADIMIR NEVTONENKO, 76, of Arlington Heights, Ill.
The indictment alleges that before the end of his employment at Philips, Jen copied, without authorization, Philips’ X-ray trade secret information from internal Philips databases. Jen stole the proprietary information on behalf of Kunshan GuoLi and Du, the indictment states. Jen used the stolen information in connection with his work developing X-ray tubes at the rival X-ray tube development company for Kunshan GuoLi and a related Chinese company, KUNSHAN YIYUAN MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY CO. LTD., the indictment states. Jen then shared the information with Tendian, who used it in her work for the new company, the indictment states. Nevtonenko also allegedly possessed and used the stolen information in his work there.
The indictment charges the two Chinese companies and the four individuals with conspiracy to unlawfully possess trade secrets. Jen is also charged with an individual count of possession or attempted possession of a stolen trade secret. Jen, Tendian, and Nevtonenko pleaded not guilty during their arraignments in federal court in Chicago. Arraignments for the companies have not yet been scheduled, and an arrest warrant has been issued for Du. A joint status report on the case will be submitted to U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang by March 31, 2025.
The indictment was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kavitha Babu, Vikas Didwania, and Ramon Villalpando.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
OAKLAND – On Valentine’s Day, California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a consumer alert warning Californians to beware of romance scams. Romance scams occur when a criminal adopts a fake identity to gain a victim’s affection and trust to manipulate or steal their finances or personal information. This usually occurs through various forms of communication including phone calls, text messages, social media, and dating sites.
“Love should never come at a price,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Scammers can use deception and emotional manipulation to take advantage of people looking for connection. I urge Californians this Valentine’s Day to stay vigilant, protect their hearts and wallets, and remember — if a stranger online asks for money, gift cards, or personal information — it is most likely a scam.”
According to the Federal Trade Commission, in 2022 almost 70,000 people reported being victims of a romance scam, reporting an average loss of $4,400. New technology can make it easier for scammers to create sophisticated impersonations and to make more convincing requests for money or personal information. Remember, never send money, gift cards, or other financial details to someone you don’t know and haven’t met in person.
Learn the Warning Signs
You may be dealing with a scammer if they:
Send you photos that look too perfect to be real.
Profess their love to you quickly.
Lavish you with texts, emails and phone calls to draw you in.
Promise to meet in person, but never follow through.
Request to move off the platform where you first connected.
Make an urgent request for money to deal with an emergency or investment.
Protect Yourself from Romance Scams:
Don’t send money to someone you haven’t met in person: This is a common request made by scammers.
Don’t share personal information: Be careful about what personal information you share, such as your address or financial information.
Talk to friends and family: If you’re not sure about someone, talk to your friends and family for a second opinion.
Do your research: Use various search engines to look up a person’s photos and details to see if they have been used elsewhere.
Be wary of any investment offers, particularly those involving cryptocurrency: Scammers often set up fake websites simulating actual cryptocurrency investment opportunities in order to entice unsuspecting investors.
Check for inconsistencies: Watch for inconsistencies in a person’s story, such as changes in details or lack of information about their background.
Use dating apps safely: Avoid moving a conversation to a private messaging platform unless you are certain of the recipient’s identity. Scammers want you to move to an app that doesn’t identify them in real life.
Trust your instincts: If something seems too good to be true, it most likely is.
What to Do If You Suspect a Scam
If you believe you are being targeted by a romance scam, take action immediately:
Stop communicating. Do not engage further with the suspected scammer.
Report the profile. Social media and dating apps have built-in reporting features for fraudulent accounts.
File a complaint. Report scams to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), or your local law enforcement.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)
DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Allen Todd May, age 60, was sentenced to ten years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud, one count of escape, and one count of aggravated identity theft. May’s sentence is to be served consecutive to the approximately seven years he must serve on a sentence imposed in the Northern District of Texas, which he was serving when he escaped. May was also ordered to serve three years on supervised release after completion of his prison sentence and to pay $9,113,375.49 in restitution, and forfeit the fraud proceeds and assets he obtained during the scheme.
According to the plea agreement, between mid-2016 and December 2018, while serving a 20-year sentence at the Federal Prison Camp in Englewood, Colorado, May devised a scheme to falsely and fraudulently claim that he and entities controlled by him were entitled to oil and gas royalties that had not yet been claimed by the true owners. May was able to participate in this scheme through an unlawfully obtained iPhone he purchased from a fellow inmate at the Federal Prison Camp. Throughout the course of this scheme, May obtained more than $700,000 in royalties to which he was not entitled.
At the Federal Prison Camp, May worked as a facilities clerk where he drove vehicles on prison grounds. On December 21, 2018, May drove off the Federal Prison Camp Compound and eluded capture by federal law enforcement for nearly five years. While on the run, May engaged in the same fraudulent oil and gas royalties scheme and netted $8 million in funds to which he was not entitled and used these funds to support his extravagant lifestyle. He stole the identities of inmates serving long sentences, presented himself as those individuals, and conducted his fraud in their names.
The United States Marshals Service arrested May in August of 2023 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he had been living under an alias.
“The people of Colorado and Florida are safer today because Allen Todd May is back behind bars,” said Acting United States Attorney J. Bishop Grewell. “The Federal Government will not rest when it comes to pursuing fraudsters and fugitives.”
“This repeat offender demonstrated a blatant disregard for the law. While in federal prison, he orchestrated a $700,000 fraud scheme, audaciously escaped, and continued to victimize unsuspecting Americans while on the run for five years,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “Thanks to the tireless work of the U.S. Marshals Service, he was apprehended, and his criminal activities were stopped. The defendant’s actions leave no doubt that he is a threat to society and deserves to remain incarcerated.”
“On behalf of the U.S. Marshals, I want to recognize and thank the anonymous tipster for the information they provided that directly led to the arrest of this unorthodox fugitive,” said District of Colorado U.S. Marshal Kirk Taylor. “I would also like to thank and recognize the incredible tenacity of the Deputy U.S. Marshals who pursued every lead over the years in the District of Colorado, culminating in the arrest in the Southern District of Florida. Their relentless pursuit of this fugitive and the coordination of the agencies involved is a true testament to the U.S. Marshals Service.”
United States District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico presided over the sentencing.
The United States Marshals Service and the FBI Denver Field Office handled the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Martha Paluch and Tonya S. Andrews handled the prosecution.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News
BUFFALO, N.Y. — U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Frank E. Noeson III, 47, of Holland, NY, who was convicted of receipt of child pornography, was sentenced to serve 120 months in prison and 30 years supervised release by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who handled the case, stated that Noeson, who was then a 5th grade teacher at a local elementary school, engaged in sexual communications with a minor female (Victim) using Snapchat. The Victim was 16 years old when the communications began. During the communications, Noeson persuaded the Victim to create sexually explicit images and videos and send them to him. Noeson also engaged in sexual communications with another minor female victim, who was 15 years-old, using Snapchat. During these communications, the victim sent numerous images and videos of child pornography.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Buffalo Office Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia, the FBI Miami Field Office, and the Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief James Stauffiger.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle spoke about the the UK’s approach to the responsible development of artificial intelligence at the Munich Security Conference.
Innovation is defined by its ability to surprise.
Only a few years ago, GPT-2 meant nothing to the public.
For many of us, AI felt like a distant possibility at best.
Something that would never – could never – live up to the hype.
And yet, overnight, ChatGPT became a household name.
It unleashed an unprecedented wave of technological change.
And the pace of progress shows no signs of slowing down.
With DeepSeek, we’ve just seen once again just how sudden, how unpredictable, innovation can be.
The AI revolution is happening.
Ignoring it is simply not an option.
In the UK, we reject the doomsayers and the pessimists.
Because we are optimistic about the extraordinary potential of this technology.
And hopeful for the radical, far-reaching change it will bring.
Working in collaboration with our international partners, we’re going to create one of the biggest clusters of AI innovation in the world and deliver a new era of prosperity and wealth creation for our country.
This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
If we can seize it, we will close the door on a decade of slow growth and stagnant productivity.
Of taxes that are just too high.
We will deliver new jobs that put more money in working people’s pockets.
And we will drive forward a digital revolution inside government to make our state smaller, smarter, and more efficient.
But none of that is possible unless we can mitigate its risks that AI presents.
After all, businesses will only use these technologies if they can trust them.
Security and innovation go hand in hand.
AI is a powerful tool and powerful tools can be misused.
State-sponsored hackers are using AI to write malicious code and identify system vulnerabilities, increasing the sophistication and efficiency of their attacks.
Criminals are using AI deepfakes to assist in fraud, breaching security by impersonating officials.
Last year, attackers used live deepfake technology during a video call to mimic bank officials.
They stole $25 million.
And now we are seeing instances of people using AI to assist them in planning violent and harmful acts.
These aren’t distant possibilities.
They are real, tangible harms, happening right now.
The implications for our people could be pervasive and profound.
In the UK, we have built the largest team in a government dedicated to understanding AI capabilities and risks in the world.
That work is rooted in the strength of our partnerships with the companies who are right at the frontier of AI.
Working with those companies, the government can conduct scientifically informed tests to understand new AI capabilities and the risks they pose.
Make no mistake, I’m talking about risks to our people, their way of life, and the sovereignty and stability which underpins it.
That is why today, I am renaming our AI Safety Institute as the AI Security Institute.
This change brings us into line with what most people would expect an Institute like this to be doing.
They are not looking into freedom of speech.
They are not deciding what counts as bias or discrimination.
They are not politicians – nor should they be.
They are scientists – scientists who are squarely focused on rigorous research into the most serious emerging risks.
They are researching AI’s potential to assist with the development of chemical and biological weapons.
They are building on the expertise of our National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to understand how this technology could be used to help malicious actors commit cyber-attacks.
They want to understand how AI could undermine human control.
Our research shows that those risks are clear:
There has been a clear upward trend in AI system capabilities most relevant to national security in the past 18 months.
For the first time last year, AI models demonstrated PhD-level performance on chemistry and biology question sets.
The safeguards designed to prevent these models doing harm are not currently sufficient.
Every model tested by the Institute is vulnerable to safeguard evasion attacks.
And it is almost certain that these capabilities will continue to improve, while novel risks will emerge from systems acting as autonomous agents to complete tasks with only limited human instruction.
The more we understand these risks, the better we can work with companies to address them.
And the faster we can keep our nation safe, the faster our people can embrace the potential of AI to create wealth and improve their lives.
There are certain security risks which require immediate action.
That is why the Security Institute will collaborate with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, the Ministry of Defence’s science and technology organisation, to assess the dual-use scientific capabilities of frontier AI.
Today, we are also launching a criminal misuse team in the Security Institute, who will partner directly with the Home Office to conduct research on a range of crime and security issues which threaten to harm our citizens.
Earlier this month, the UK set out plans to make it illegal to own AI tools optimised to make images of child sexual abuse.
Reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material found online by the Internet Watch Foundation have quadrupled in a single year.
The Security Institute will work with the Home Office to explore what more we can do to prevent abusers using AI to commit their sickening crimes.
A security risk is a security risk, no matter where it comes from.
US companies have shown the lead in taking security risks seriously.
But we need to scrutinise all models regardless of their jurisdiction of origin.
So I’ve instructed the Security Institute to take a leading role in testing AI models wherever they come from, open or closed.
While we can’t discuss these results publicly, we will share them with our allies.
We are alive to the security risks of today.
But we need to focus on tomorrow, too, and the day after that.
We are now seeing the glimmers of AI agents that can act autonomously, of their own accord.
The 2025 International AI Safety Report, led by Yoshua Bengio, warns us that – without the checks and balances of people directing them – we must consider the possibility that risks won’t just come from malicious actors misusing AI models, but from the models themselves.
We don’t yet know the full extent of these risks.
However, as we deploy AI across our economy, our society, and the critical infrastructure that keeps our nation secure, we cannot afford to ignore them.
Because losing oversight and control of advanced AI systems, particularly Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), would be catastrophic.
It must be avoided at all costs.
I want to be clear exactly what this testing is, and what it’s not.
It’s not a barrier to market access. Not a blocker to innovation.
It is urgent scientific work to understand serious risks to our country.
Governments are not passive bystanders in the AI revolution.
We have agency in how AI shapes our society.
And we have a responsibility to use that agency to defend our democratic way of life.
Only countries with a deep and knowing understanding of this technology will be able to build the capacity they need to deliver for their citizens in the twenty-first century.
But success is not a given.
It depends on the democratic world rallying together to maintain our leadership in AI.
Together, we can protect our fundamental values – freedom, openness, and opportunity.
If we do that, we won’t just keep our people safe.
We will ensure that they are first to benefit from the new era of wealth and prosperity which AI will bring.
Jefferson City — Today, Governor Mike Kehoe ordered U.S. and Missouri flags be flown at half-staff at all government buildings in Macon County on Sunday, February 16, 2025, from sunrise to sunset in honor of U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Shelbe Faye Butner, who was tragically killed in the line of duty on January 30, 2025, while conducting a training exercise at Fort Stewart United States Army post in Georgia.
“Staff Sergeant Shelbe Faye Butner was dedicated to serving our country with honor, courage, and unwavering commitment,” said Governor Mike Kehoe. “Staff Sergeant Butner considered the welfare of others a personal responsibility and was guided by her love of country to serve our nation. Her sacrifice reminds us of the bravery and dedication of the men and women who put themselves in harm’s way to protect our freedoms. Claudia and I join Shelbe’s family and friends in honoring her service and mourning her loss.”
A 2015 graduate of Macon High School, Staff Sergeant Butner enlisted in the U.S. Army on June 1, 2015. She earned the Military Occupational Specialty Code 88M as an Army Motor Transport Operator and completed several advanced training courses, including the Army Basic Leader Course, Air Assault School, and Drill Sergeant School. She was assigned to the 6th Squadron – 8th Cavalry Regiment, where she was promoted to Staff Sergeant on August 1, 2022.
Staff Sergeant Butner was a proud and accomplished soldier, serving in the United States Army for nine years, including a tour in Kuwait. Throughout her career, Staff Sergeant Butner earned many commendations, including the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War Expeditionary Medal, and numerous others.
The flags will be flown at half-staff on the day of Butner’s interment services. To view the governor’s proclamation, click here.
A Nevada woman pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to defraud the United States by making claims for refunds of false COVID-19 related employment tax credits.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Candies Goode-McCoy, of Las Vegas, conspired with others to file tax returns seeking fraudulent refunds based on the employee retention credit (ERC) and paid sick and family leave credit. From around June 2022 through September 2023, McCoy filed approximately 1,227 false tax returns for her businesses and others claiming these refundable credits.
In total, these claims sought refunds of over $98 million, of which the IRS paid approximately $33 million. McCoy personally received over $1.3 million in fraudulent refunds and was paid about $800,000 from those on whose behalf she filed fraudulent returns. McCoy knew that these returns were fraudulent. Neither she nor the others for whom she filed them were eligible to receive the refundable credits in the amounts claimed. McCoy used the proceeds for her personal benefit, including the purchase of luxury cars, gambling at casinos, vacations and other luxury goods.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact, Congress authorized the ERC for small businesses to reduce the employment tax owed to the IRS. Congress also authorized the IRS to give a credit against employment taxes to reimburse businesses for the wages paid to employees who were on sick or family leave and could not work because of COVID-19. This credit was equal to the wages the business paid the employees during the sick or family leave, subject to a maximum amount.
McCoy is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 23, 2026. She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison as well as a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Sue Fahami for the District of Nevada made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney John C. Gerardi of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Anthony Lopez for the District of Nevada are prosecuting the case.
The Eskasoni RCMP Detachment has charged a man with drug trafficking after executing a search warrant in Eskasoni.
On February 12, at approximately 9 a.m., RCMP officers executed a search warrant at a home on Logan Dr. in relation to an ongoing drug trafficking investigation.
During the search, investigators seized cocaine, cash, cell phones, scales and other items used in the production and distribution of cocaine.
Stephen John Sylliboy, 71, of Eskasoni, has been charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking. He was released from custody and is due to appear in Eskasoni Provincial Court on May 6.
Nova Scotians are encouraged to contact their nearest RCMP detachment or local police to report crime in their communities. Anonymous tips can be made by calling Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, toll-free, at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submitting a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or using the P3 Tips app.
Spokane, Washington – On February 13, 2025, United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Nicholas James Thieschafer, age 31, of Spokane Valley, Washington, to 25 years in federal prison on charges of production and attempted production of child sexual abuse material. Judge Rice also imposed a life term of supervised release and restitution of over $63,000, to be paid to Thieschafer’s victims.
According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, a minor disclosed in February 2023 that Thieschafer had been sexually abusing the minor and had at times used his phone to take pictures. When law enforcement executed a search warrant at Theieschafer’s home and seized several electronic devices, investigators located 3,300 image and video files of child sexual abuse material, including 877 files depicting the child who made the initial disclosure. Investigators located several videos in which Theischafer was readily identifiable as the person sexually abusing the child.
“Those who prey on innocent children will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Rich Barker. “Protecting Eastern Washington communities—especially our most vulnerable among us—is a top priority. Our incredible team of prosecutors and support staff will continue to work tirelessly with federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement partners to ensure justice is served.”
“Thanks to the relentless efforts of our special agents, criminal analysts, and law enforcement partners, Mr. Thieschafer will be held accountable for his heinous crimes,” said ICE HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Murphy. “This case serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing need for HSI to stay vigilant in our mission to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Our commitment to the victims of these crimes is resolute, and we will continue to collaborate closely with our partners to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.”
This case was investigated by Homeland Security, Washington State Patrol, and the Spokane Police Department, which make up the Eastern Washington Missing and Exploited Children Task Force (MECTF), a Washington State Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) affiliate. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ann T. Wick.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham today announced Brian Young will serve as the agency’s Director of Enforcement. Young has been serving in an acting capacity since January 22, and previously was the Director of the Whistleblower Office. He is a distinguished federal prosecutor with nearly 20 years of service at the Department of Justice, including Acting Director of Litigation for the Antitrust Division and Chief of the Litigation Unit for the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division, and has successfully tried some of the most high-profile criminal fraud and manipulation cases in the CFTC’s markets. “Brian exemplifies the best of what we stand for at the CFTC,” said Acting Chairman Pham. “He is a fearless leader that will build an even more impressive enforcement program that will stay true to the CFTC’s mission to protect the American public from fraudsters and scammers. I am confident that under Brian’s leadership, the CFTC will expand and scale our resources to help more victims than ever before and ensure the integrity of our markets in the name of justice. Brian has hit the ground running and I look forward to seeing his continued impact to strengthen the Division of Enforcement and deliver results.” “I want to thank Acting Chairman Pham for her confidence in me and for her commitment to continuing the CFTC’s aggressive efforts to protect our global commodity markets from fraud, manipulation, and other abusive practices,” said Young. “As former Director of the Whistleblower Officer, I worked closely with the talented and dedicated staff of the Division of Enforcement, and I look forward to working with this highly motivated group to help bring justice for victims, protect those who cannot protect themselves, and root out misconduct and wrongdoing.” Brian Young, Director of Enforcement Young joined the CFTC in 2024 as the Director of the Whistleblower Office following nearly 20 years at the Department of Justice. During his first year as the Director of the Whistleblower Office, Young oversaw a team that achieved a record high number of annual dispositions of whistleblower award applications. His most recent role at DOJ was as the Acting Director of Litigation for the Antitrust Division, where he served as the highest-ranking career official in the Antitrust Division’s litigation program. There, he oversaw criminal prosecutions brought under the Sherman Act as well as civil merger and antitrust conduct litigation. Before his time at the Antitrust Division, Young served in various roles in the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division, culminating in his appointment as Chief of the Fraud Section’s Litigation Unit. While at the Fraud Section, Young tried several of the most significant white collar crime matters in the past decade, including prosecutions of the first individuals tried in the United States on charges of manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR); the former head of HSBC Bank’s Foreign Exchange (FX) desk in connection with a scheme to “frontrun” a client on a $3.5 billion FX trade; and two former London and Singapore-based Deutsche Bank precious metals traders arising from a scheme to “spoof” the futures markets by placing over $1 billion in non-bona fide orders on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Young joined the DOJ through the Attorney General’s Honors Program and began his career as a law clerk for the Honorable Alice M. Batchelder of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. During his time at DOJ, Young received the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service, three Assistant Attorney General’s Awards for Exceptional Service, and an Outstanding Service Award from the Washington Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
A Nevada woman pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to defraud the United States by making claims for refunds of false COVID-19 related employment tax credits.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Candies Goode-McCoy, of Las Vegas, conspired with others to file tax returns seeking fraudulent refunds based on the employee retention credit (ERC) and paid sick and family leave credit. From around June 2022 through September 2023, McCoy filed approximately 1,227 false tax returns for her businesses and others claiming these refundable credits.
In total, these claims sought refunds of over $98 million, of which the IRS paid approximately $33 million. McCoy personally received over $1.3 million in fraudulent refunds and was paid about $800,000 from those on whose behalf she filed fraudulent returns. McCoy knew that these returns were fraudulent. Neither she nor the others for whom she filed them were eligible to receive the refundable credits in the amounts claimed. McCoy used the proceeds for her personal benefit, including the purchase of luxury cars, gambling at casinos, vacations and other luxury goods.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact, Congress authorized the ERC for small businesses to reduce the employment tax owed to the IRS. Congress also authorized the IRS to give a credit against employment taxes to reimburse businesses for the wages paid to employees who were on sick or family leave and could not work because of COVID-19. This credit was equal to the wages the business paid the employees during the sick or family leave, subject to a maximum amount.
McCoy is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 23, 2026. She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison as well as a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Sue Fahami for the District of Nevada made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney John C. Gerardi of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Anthony Lopez for the District of Nevada are prosecuting the case.
ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man, already in custody awaiting trial on federal charges, now faces additional allegations of drug trafficking and firearms offenses.
According to court documents, on or about March 7, 2020, Kyle Majedi, 45, allegedly possessed with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. On the same day, Majedi is accused of possessing with the intent to distribute heroin.
The indictment further alleges that Majedi knowingly possessed a firearm in connection with these alleged drug trafficking activities. Majedi, who was previously convicted of possession for sale of a controlled substance, is prohibited from possessing firearms.
Majedi is currently in custody, awaiting trial on separate charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Trial is scheduled to begin on April 7, 2025. If convicted, Majedi faces up to 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
If convicted on the new charges, Majedi faces not less than 15 years and up to life in prison, followed by five years and up to life on supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Brendan Iber, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, made the announcement today.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this case with assistance from the New Mexico Department of Justice. Assistant United States Attorney Natasha Moghadam is prosecuting both cases.
The indictment is the result of a newly formed Firearms Trafficking Task Force. The New Mexico ATF Firearms Trafficking Task Force works with State and local law enforcement partners, including the New Mexico Department of Justice, the Albuquerque Police Department, Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office, the Bernalillo Police Department, and the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office to identify, deter, disrupt, and dismantle Firearms Trafficking Organizations (FTOs) supplying firearms to individuals and groups engaged in our community’s most egregious acts of violence, as well as any associated, violent offenders.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been sworn in as the US health and human services secretary, despite saying a few things that raised eyebrows during his confirmation hearing. One of those things was the claim that some people have a harder time coming off antidepressants than they do coming off heroin. He was referring specifically to the current generation of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs.
RFK Jr. is known for saying controversial things about medicine, but is he right on this count?
People trying to come off antidepressants who experience these types of symptom sometimes believe their depression has returned, and will start taking their antidepressant pills again. Differentiating between returning depression and SSRI discontinuation syndrome can be difficult. And it can lead to people continuing to take their antidepressant medication even though they no longer need it.
Evidence suggests that SSRIs with short half-lives (where the drug is rapidly broken down in the body) are more likely to cause discontinuation syndrome. These drugs include paroxetine and fluvoxamine, which cause discontinuation syndrome in about 7% of people. Antidepressants with a long half-life – such as sertraline and fluoxetine – only cause the syndrome in about 2% of people.
Other studies suggest that discontinuation syndrome may be as high as 40% when people stop taking SSRIs abruptly.
The situation is further complicated in that some SSRIs, when broken down by the body, have active metabolites. These metabolites can have similar effects to the SSRI and effectively prolong the half-life of the drug.
So fluoxetine, which has quite a long half-life and an active metabolite, rarely triggers discontinuation syndrome. On the other hand, paroxetine has a short half-life and no active metabolites and is the SSRI most likely to cause withdrawal effects, accounting for about 65% of cases.
The simplest explanation for discontinuation syndrome is that coming off these drugs leads to an abrupt and rapid reduction in serotonin, the neurotransmitter thought to mediate the initial antidepressant effects. This is a gross oversimplification, but appropriate levels of serotonin make you happy and relaxed, while low levels make you sad and anxious.
This serotonin discontinuation theory is supported by studies in rats, although other neurotransmitters are almost certainly involved.
How does this compare to heroin withdrawal?
Heroin activates a protein found in the brain, spinal cord and gastrointestinal tract called the mu opioid receptor. When activated, these receptors reduce the perception of pain by blocking pain signals in the nervous system.
More users of heroin experience a withdrawal syndrome compared to users of SSRIs. Around 85% of opioid users who inject the drug experience severe withdrawal symptoms when they come off it. As with SSRIs, opioid withdrawal syndrome severity depends on how long they have been used for and the half-life of the specific opioid.
The half-life of heroin is very short, which would suggest that it will cause severe withdrawal symptoms. However, heroin produces two active metabolites when it is broken down in the body, 6-MAM and morphine, which, like heroin, activate mu opioid receptors.
But these metabolites do not activate the mu opioid receptor to the same extent as heroin. So in most cases of heroin withdrawal, significant symptoms occur as mu opioid receptors quickly shift from a state of high to low activation, leading to severe effects.
Symptoms include drug craving, anxiety, nausea, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, fever and increased heart rate. These are all caused by changes to opioid receptors in the brain and gut. The gastrointestinal symptoms tend to be shorter lasting, whereas the psychological symptoms, such as anxiety and irritability, can last for years.
Withdrawal from heroin often requires treatment with methadone or buprenorphine, two drugs that activate the mu opioid receptor but which have long half-lives.
Typically, someone trying to come off heroin would go to the pharmacist and get a daily dose of methadone or buprenorphine. This is so-called substitution therapy because the new drug (methadone) substitutes for heroin.
Methadone has many advantages over heroin, including that it is free (no need for criminality to get money for heroin), clean (no need to use potentially dirty needles or potentially contaminated heroin) and less addictive, with reduced side-effects.
Heroin withdrawal is a relatively more common and more serious condition. But individual patients can still have a terrible time coming off SSRIs and a relatively easier time coming off heroin.
How do you come off SSRIs?
To come off SSRIs with minimal chance of a withdrawal syndrome, especially for the short-acting SSRIs, you should taper off the dose. This means that you would take progressively smaller and smaller doses over several weeks or months before coming off completely. Recent medical advice suggests that the tapering should be over a longer period than originally thought, and the final doses should be much lower.
You could also switch from a short-acting SSRI to one with a long half-life like fluoxetine, and then taper off fluoxetine, which should be easier than tapering off paroxetine.
Doctors should also consider “nocebo” effects. Just as doctors can increase placebo effects by being positive about a treatment, they can also increase negative effects (nocebo effects) by focusing on potential side-effects. So if your doctor focuses too much on a potential SSRI withdrawal syndrome, you will be more likely to experience negative effects.
In addition to tapering off SSRIs very slowly, several drugs are available to mitigate the withdrawal effects of SSRIs. These include anxiety-reducing drugs, such as benzodiazepines, and antiemetic drugs, such as ondansetron for nausea.
RFK Jr. has made several debatable statements related to health, including, for example, on vaccinations. On this occasion, though, concerning antidepressants, there is considerable evidence that coming off of SSRIs can be very difficult. But, for most people, it is unlikely that it would be as difficult as coming off heroin.
Colin Davidson has previously received funding from the NIH (USA) and the European Community for projects related to drug abuse. His PhD, on the SSRI paroxetine, was sponsored by GSK. He is currently a consultant on psychoactive substances for the UK Defence Science Technology Labs and is a member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (UK). The views expressed here are his own.
On February 14, 2025 at approximately 5:00 a.m., Battlefords RCMP received a report of an armed robbery on Railway Avenue E in North Battleford, SK.
Officers responded immediately and determined an adult male, who was armed with a firearm, approached a vehicle with two adult females inside. The adult male threatened the vehicle occupants and stole the vehicle. One of the females, 33-year-old Leanna Frenchman, was reportedly still inside. Based on initial investigation and the report made, Battlefords RCMP has not located Leanna and therefore are considering her missing. Investigators are concerned for her wellbeing and continue to actively investigate.
The second adult female exited the vehicle and reported no physical injuries to police.
Initial investigation indicates Leanna Frenchman may be in the presence of an adult male, who was reportedly armed. Initial investigation has determined Leanne and the adult male are not known to one another. It is unknown where they are travelling to, but they were last seen driving in the City of North Battleford in a red 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix with Saskatchewan license plate 186 NSA.
Leanna Frenchman is described as approximately 5’6″ tall and 105 lbs. She has brown eyes and brown hair.
We are working to obtain further descriptors of the suspect.
If you have seen Leanna Frenchman, the red Pontiac Grand Prix, or have information about this investigation, contact your local police at 310-RCMP immediately or 911 in an emergency. Information can also be submitted anonymously by contacting Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or www.saskcrimestoppers.com.
BOSTON – An El Salvadoran national living in Methuen, Mass. pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to illegal reentry.
Agustin Landaverde-Romero, 57, pleaded guilty to unlawful reentry of a deported alien. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for May 21, 2025. Landaverde-Romero was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2024.
On or about July 13, 2020, Landaverde-Romero was found in the United States without having received express consent of the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Landaverde-Romero was previously removed to El Salvador on Oct. 7, 1999.
The charge of illegal reentry provides for sentence of up to two years in prison, one year of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The defendant is subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of an imposed sentence. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Methuen Police Chief Scott J. McNamara made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)
Scheme Victimized Hundreds of Thousands of People in United States and Abroad
Two Estonian nationals pleaded guilty yesterday for their operation of a massive, multi-faceted cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that victimized hundreds of thousands of people from across the world, including in the United States. As part of the defendants’ guilty pleas, they agreed to forfeit assets valued over $400 million obtained during the conspiracy.
According to court documents, Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin, both 40, sold contracts to customers entitling them to a share of cryptocurrency mined by the defendants’ purported cryptocurrency mining service, HashFlare. Cryptocurrency mining is the process of using computers to generate cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin, for profit.
Between 2015 and 2019, Hashflare’s sales totaled more than $577 million, but HashFlare did not possess the requisite computing capacity to perform the vast majority of the mining the defendants told HashFlare customers it performed. HashFlare’s web-based dashboard, which purported to show customers their mining profits, instead reflected falsified data. Potapenko and Turõgin used the proceeds of the fraud conspiracy to purchase real estate and luxury vehicles and maintained investment and cryptocurrency accounts. Potapenko and Turõgin have agreed to forfeit assets worth, as of the date of the plea, more than $400 million. The forfeited assets will be available for a remission process to compensate victims of the crime. Details about the remission process will be announced at a later date.
Potapenko and Turõgin each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They are scheduled to be sentenced on May 8 and each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Justice Department thanks the Cybercrime Bureau of the Estonian Police and Border Guard for its support with this investigation. The Estonian Prosecutor General and Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs provided substantial assistance with the extradition. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided extensive assistance to the investigation and the extradition of the defendants.
Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller for the Western District of Washington, Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington of the FBI Seattle Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Seattle Field Office investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Adrienne E. Rosen and David Ginensky of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Friedman and Sok Jiang for the Western District of Washington are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jehiel Baer for the Western District of Washington is handling asset forfeiture aspects of the case.
Individuals who believe they may have been a victim in this case should visit www.fbi.gov/hashflare.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
The Foreign Secretary will press partners to replicate Britain’s world-first plans for a sanctions aimed at organised immigration crime gangs.
Foreign Secretary urges international action on one of the defining security threats of our time – irregular migration
Partners pressed to replicate UK’s world-first plans for sanctions targeting people smugglers
£8m additional funding will short-circuit people smugglers’ business model, delivering on the government’s Plan for Change and commitment to protect UK borders
European partners will be urged to join up with the UK’s pioneering efforts to smash the business model of people smugglers to help tackle irregular migration.
The Foreign Secretary David Lammy will press partners at the Munich Security Conference to replicate Britain’s world-first plans for a sanctions regime aimed squarely at organised immigration crime gangs and their networks.
On the first day of the conference (today), the Foreign Secretary met Vice President of the US J.D. Vance. They discussed the importance of the special relationship, the war in Ukraine, their shared commitment to NATO and AUKUS, and building on our strong trade which already delivers growth and jobs for millions.
The UK and Italy will co-host a migration roundtable on the second day of conference, gathering representatives from The Netherlands, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Germany and others to promote the use of innovative tools to tackle migrant smuggling and organised immigration crime.
The UK’s plans to freeze the assets of and slap travel bans on smugglers who facilitate the deadly trade in people will help to cripple people-smuggling crime rings and starve them of illicit finance fuelling their operations, delivering on the government’s commitment to secure borders.
The Government is targeting irregular migration through a ‘whole-of-route’ approach, tackling both smugglers and the drivers of migration – such as limited opportunities in would-be migrants’ region.
A new £8m funding package announced today will give more people in East Africa an alternative to making perilous journeys to the UK in small boats by boosting access to education alongside employment opportunities across the region.
This programme has already helped to deliver entrepreneurship training to over 650 would-be and returned migrants in Ethiopia and Kenya, enabling many of them to set up their own businesses in their home countries, rather than migrating further afield.
Foreign Secretary, David Lammy said:
Criminal gangs enabling irregular migration are a national security threat across Europe. We must deliver on our mandate to smash the gangs, secure this country’s borders and deliver the Plan for Change.
Only by working together with our neighbours will we take the wind out of their sails and degrade the appalling trade in people.
We must also target the root causes of migration, which is why we are boosting opportunities across Eastern Africa – making people less likely to travel to the UK in the first place.
This will further boost this government’s progress on irregular migration. Nearly 19,000 failed asylum seekers, foreign criminals and other immigration offenders have been returned since the election to countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and South America following a major escalation in immigration enforcement by the Home Office.
The government’s success in ramping up removals is a key part of our Plan for Change to deliver on working people’s priorities and finally restoring order to the asylum system. This new approach focusses on breaking the business model of smuggling gangs through tougher law enforcement powers than ever before, rapidly removing those who are here illegally and ending the false promise of jobs used by gangs to sell spaces on boats.
Following a drive from this government to have more deployable enforcement staff, a renewed crackdown on those attempting to undermine the UK’s borders last month saw the highest January in over half a decade for enforcement activity.
Throughout January alone, Immigration Enforcement teams descended on 828 premises, including nail bars, convenience stores, restaurants and car washes, marking a 48% rise compared to the previous January. Arrests also surged to 609, demonstrating a 73% increase from just 352 the previous year.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News
SACRAMENTO—February is the month of love; unfortunately, not everyone who seems to be looking for love has good intentions. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Sacramento Field Office is issuing an urgent warning: perpetrators are posing as perfect partners to ensnare heart and wallets. Their schemes are very sophisticated and have harvesting and personal information and savings.
The warning about these scams has never been more urgent. Confidence fraud and romance scams result in some of the most significant financial losses when compared to other Internet-facilitated crimes. In 2023 alone, 17,832 victims reported more than $650 million in losses. Sadly, this number is conservative. Many victims suffer in silence, too ashamed or afraid to come forward.
While finding love on dating sites or with remote partners with whom you’ve connected with through social networks or affinity groups online isn’t impossible, heartless perpetrators lurk within online communities and platforms, seeking hearts and finances to ensnare. If you think you won’t be targeted, think again; people of all ages and backgrounds can fall victim to a romance scam.
Romance and confidence scams start with seemingly innocent contact online and builds into a carefully orchestrated scheme. While the elements may vary to best ensnare the intended victim, thee scams often include the following elements:
The person harvests information about you from your online presence to establish a quick and seemingly significant bond.
The person showers you with attention and appears to have an unusually high number of common interests and similar background.
Images are exchanged and video chats are conducted using images and content that are synthetic or gleaned from online sources.
The FBI urges the public to beware of some common red flags:
You have yet to physically meet your beloved and have been met with excuses when trying to arrange an in-person connection.
You have been asked to provide money, gift cards, or cryptocurrency.
You have been given directions for investing money on specific online platforms.
You have been asked to receive and send money on their behalf.
You have been asked to share images that you would not want posted publicly.
If any of the red flags apply to you:
Immediately report any transfer of funds to your financial institution.
File a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
Contact the FBI Sacramento Field Office at 916-746-7000 or your local law enforcement agency.
If you plan to travel to meet your long-distance love, proceed with caution, especially if those plans involve travel to a foreign country. Some victims who have agreed to meet in person with an online love interest have been reported missing or have been injured, and at least one was reported dead. Always review the State Department’s Travel Advisories at http://travel.state.gov/ before travelling.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)
NEW YORK, NY—The New York FBI/NYPD Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force is searching for possible victims involved in a child sexual exploitation investigation involving a man named Ramel Warner. A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York indicted Warner on January 28, 2025, with one count of sexual exploitation of a child. The FBI’s New York Office believes there may be additional victims in this case.
Investigators say that Warner, who goes by the nickname Menah, allegedly raped a child in 2022 when he was supposed to be babysitting the child. The defendant recorded six videos of his sexual abuse of the child, which were subsequently distributed on the dark web.
As detailed in court filings, Warner, in the past, has had repeated and close access to children, including in schools. Warner has previously worked with afterschool programs in Brooklyn. At the time of his arrest, the defendant was also involved in a dance group for minor children operating out of a Brooklyn middle school.
The FBI is asking parents or guardians, possible victims, or anyone with information about sexual exploitation by Warner should contact the FBI at RWarnerCase@fbi.gov.
A spontaneous memorial of flowers in St Petersburg, Russia, on the day of Alexei Navalny’s death, February 16 2024.Aleksey Dushutin/Shutterstock
This is the best day of the past five months for me … This is my home … I am not afraid of anything and I urge you not to be afraid of anything either.
These were Alexei Navalny’s words after landing at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on January 17 2021. Russia’s leading opposition figure had spent the past months recovering in Germany from an attempt on his life by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). Minutes after making his comments, Navalny was detained at border control. And he would remain behind bars until his death on February 16 2024, in the remote “Polar Wolf” penal colony within the Arctic Circle.
“Why did he return to Russia?” That’s the question I’m asked about Navalny most frequently. Wasn’t it a mistake to return to certain imprisonment, when he could have maintained his opposition to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, from abroad?
But Navalny’s decision to return didn’t surprise me. I’ve researched and written about him extensively, including co-authoring Navalny: Putin’s Nemesis, Russia’s Future?, the first English-language, book-length account of his life and political activities. Defying the Kremlin by returning was a signature move, reflecting both his obstinacy and bravery. He wanted to make sure his supporters and activists in Russia did not feel abandoned, risking their lives while he lived a cushy life in exile.
The Insights section is committed to high-quality longform journalism. Our editors work with academics from many different backgrounds who are tackling a wide range of societal and scientific challenges.
Besides, Navalny wasn’t returning to certain imprisonment. A close ally of his, Vladimir Ashurkov, told me in May 2022 that his “incarceration in Russia was not a certainty. It was a probability, a scenario – but it wasn’t like he was walking into a certain long-term prison term.”
Also, Navalny hadn’t chosen to leave Russia in the first place. He was unconscious when taken by plane from Omsk to Berlin for treatment following his poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok in August 2020. Navalny had been consistent in saying he was a Russian politician who needed to remain in Russia to be effective.
In a subsequent interview, conducted in a forest on the outskirts of the German capital as he slowly recovered, Navalny said: “In people’s minds, if you leave the country, that means you’ve surrendered.”
Video: ACF.
Outrage, detention and death
Two days after Navalny’s final return to Russia, the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF) – the organisation he established in 2011 – published its biggest ever investigation. The YouTube video exploring “Putin’s palace” on the Black Sea coast achieved an extraordinary 100 million views within ten days. By the start of February 2021, polling suggested it had been watched by more than a quarter of all adults in Russia.
Outrage at Navalny’s detention, combined with this Putin investigation, got people on to the streets. On January 23 2021, 160,000 people turned out across Russia in events that did not have prior approval from the authorities. More than 40% of the participants said they were taking part in a protest for the first time.
But the Russian authorities were determined to also make it their last time. Law enforcement mounted an awesome display of strength, detaining protesters and sometimes beating them. The number of participants at protests on January 31 and February 2 declined sharply as a result.
Between Navalny’s return to Russia in January 2021 and his death in February 2024, aged 47, he faced criminal case after criminal case, adding years and years to his time in prison and increasing the severity of his detention. By the time of his death, he was in the harshest type of prison in the Russian penitentiary system – a “special regime” colony – and was frequently sent to a punishment cell.
The obvious intent was to demoralise Navalny, his team and supporters – making an example of him to spread fear among anyone else who might consider mounting a challenge to the Kremlin. But Navalny fought back, as described in his posthumously published memoir, Patriot. He made legal challenges against his jailers. He went on hunger strike. And he formed a union for his fellow prisoners.
He also used his court appearances to make clear his political views, including following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, declaring: “I am against this war. I consider it immoral, fratricidal, and criminal.”
Navalny’s final public appearance was via video link. He was in good spirits, with his trademark optimism and humour still on display. Tongue firmly in cheek, he asked the judge for financial help:
Your Honour, I will send you my personal account number so that you can use your huge salary as a federal judge to ‘warm up’ my personal account, because I am running out of money.
Navalny died the following day. According to the prison authorities, he collapsed after a short walk and lost consciousness. Although the Russian authorities claimed he had died of natural causes, documents published in September 2024 by The Insider – a Russia-focused, Latvia-based independent investigative website – suggest Navalny may have been poisoned.
A mourner adds her tribute to Alexei Navalny’s grave in Moscow after his burial on March 1 2024. Aleksey Dushutin/Shutterstock
Whether or not Putin directly ordered his death, Russia’s president bears responsibility – for leading a system that tried to assassinate Navalny in August 2020, and for allowing his imprisonment following Navalny’s return to Russia in conditions designed to crush him.
Commenting in March 2024, Putin stated that, just days before Navalny’s death, he had agreed for his most vocal opponent to be included in a prisoner swap – on condition the opposition figure never returned to Russia. “But, unfortunately,” Putin added, “what happened, happened.”
‘No one will forget’
Putin is afraid of Alexei, even after he killed him.
Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny’s wife, wrote these words on January 10 2025 after reading a curious letter. His mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, had written to Rosfinmonitoring – a Russian state body – with a request for her son’s name to be removed from their list of “extremists and terrorists” now he was no longer alive.
The official response was straight from Kafka. Navalny’s name could not be removed as it had been added following the initiation of a criminal case against him. Even though he was dead, Rosfinmonitoring had not been informed about a termination of the case “in accordance with the procedure established by law”, so his name would have to remain.
This appears to be yet another instance of the Russian state exercising cruelty behind the veil of bureaucratic legality – such as when the prison authorities initially refused to release Navalny’s body to his mother after his death.
“Putin is doing this to scare you,” Yulia continued. “He wants you to be afraid to even mention Alexei, and gradually to forget his name. But no one will forget.”
Alexei Navalny and his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, at a protest rally in Moscow, May 2012. Dmitry Laudin/Shutterstock
Today, Navalny’s family and team continue his work outside of Russia – and are fighting to keep his name alive back home. But the odds are against them. Polling suggests the share of Russians who say they know nothing about Navalny or his activities roughly doubled to 30% between his return in January 2021 and his death three years later.
Navalny fought against an autocratic system – and paid the price with his life. Given the very real fears Russians may have of voicing support for a man still labelled an extremist by the Putin regime, it’s not easy to assess what people there really think of him and his legacy. But we will also never know how popular Navalny would have been in the “normal” political system he fought for.
What made Navalny the force he was?
Navalny didn’t mean for the humble yellow rubber duck to become such a potent symbol of resistance.
In March 2017, the ACF published its latest investigation into elite corruption, this time focusing on then-prime minister (and former president), Dmitry Medvedev. Navalny’s team members had become masters of producing slick videos that enabled their message to reach a broad audience. A week after posting, the film had racked up over 7 million views on YouTube – an extraordinary number at that time.
The film included shocking details of Medvedev’s alleged avarice, including yachts and luxury properties. In the centre of a large pond in one of these properties was a duck house, footage of which was captured by the ACF using a drone.
Video: ACF.
Such luxuries jarred with many people’s view of Medvedev as being a bit different to Putin and his cronies. As Navalny wrote in his memoir, Medvedev had previously seemed “harmless and incongruous”. (At the time, Medvedev’s spokeswoman said it was “pointless” to comment on the ACF investigation, suggesting the report was a “propaganda attack from an opposition figure and a convict”.)
But people were angry, and the report triggered mass street protests across Russia. They carried yellow ducks and trainers, a second unintended symbol from the film given Medvedev’s penchant for them.
Another reason why so many people came out to protest on March 26 2017 was the organising work carried out by Navalny’s movement.
The previous December, Navalny had announced his intention to run in the 2018 presidential election. As part of the campaign, he and his team created a network of regional headquarters to bring together supporters and train activists across Russia. Although the authorities had rejected Navalny’s efforts to register an official political party, this regional network functioned in much the same way, gathering like-minded people in support of an electoral candidate. And this infrastructure helped get people out on the streets.
The Kremlin saw this as a clear threat. According to a December 2020 investigation by Bellingcat, CNN, Der Spiegel and The Insider, the FSB assassination squad implicated in the Novichok poisoning of Navalny had started trailing him in January 2017 – one month after he announced his run for the presidency.
At the protests against Medvedev, the authorities’ growing intolerance of Navalny was also on display – he was detained, fined and sentenced to 15 days’ imprisonment.
The Medvedev investigation was far from the beginning of Navalny’s story as a thorn in the Kremlin’s side. But this episode brings together all of the elements that made Navalny the force he was: anti-corruption activism, protest mobilisation, attempts to run as a “normal” politician in a system rigged against him, and savvy use of social media to raise his profile in all of these domains.
Courting controversy
In Patriot, Navalny writes that he always “felt sure a broad coalition was needed to fight Putin”. Yet over the years, his attempts to form that coalition led to some of the most controversial points of his political career.
In a 2007 video, Navalny referred to himself as a “certified nationalist”, advocating for the deportation of illegal immigrants, albeit without using violence and distancing himself from neo-Nazism. In the video, he says: “We have the right to be Russians in Russia, and we’ll defend that right.”
Although alienating some, Navalny was attempting to present a more acceptable face of nationalism, and he hoped to build a bridge between nationalists and liberals in taking on the Kremlin’s burgeoning authoritarianism.
But the prominence of nationalism in Navalny’s political identity varied markedly over time, probably reflecting his shifting estimations of which platform could attract the largest support within Russia. By the time of his thwarted run in the 2018 presidential election, nationalist talking points were all but absent from his rhetoric.
However, some of these former comments and positions continue to influence how people view him. For example, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Navalny tried to take a pragmatic stance. While acknowledging Russia’s flouting of international law, he said that Crimea was “now part of the Russian Federation” and would “never become part of Ukraine in the foreseeable future”.
Many Ukrainians take this as clear evidence that Navalny was a Russian imperialist. Though he later revised his position, saying Crimea should be returned to Ukraine, some saw this as too little, too late. But others were willing to look past the more controversial parts of his biography, recognising that Navalny represented the most effective domestic challenge to Putin.
Another key attempt to build a broad political coalition was Navalny’s Smart Voting initiative. This was a tactical voting project in which Navalny’s team encouraged voters to back the individual thought best-placed to defeat the ruling United Russia candidate, regardless of the challenger’s ideological position.
The project wasn’t met with universal approval. Some opposition figures and voters baulked at, or flatly refused to consider, the idea of voting for people whose ideological positions they found repugnant – or whom they viewed as being “fake” opposition figures, entirely in bed with the authorities. (This makes clear that Navalny was never the leader of the political opposition in Russia; he was, rather, the leading figure of a fractious constellation of individuals and groups.)
But others relished the opportunity to make rigged elections work in their favour. And there is evidence that Smart Voting did sometimes work, including in the September 2020 regional and local elections, for which Navalny had been campaigning when he was poisoned with Novichok.
In an astonishing moment captured on film during his recovery in Germany, Navalny speaks to an alleged member of the FSB squad sent to kill him. Pretending to be the aide to a senior FSB official, Navalny finds out that the nerve agent had been placed in his underpants.
How do Russians feel about Navalny now?
It’s like a member of the family has died.
This is what one Russian friend told me after hearing of Navalny’s death a year ago. Soon afterwards, the Levada Center – an independent Russian polling organisation – conducted a nationally representative survey to gauge the public’s reaction to the news.
The poll found that Navalny’s death was the second-most mentioned event by Russian people that month, after the capture of the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka by Russian troops. But when asked how they felt about his death, 69% of respondents said they had “no particular feelings” either way – while only 17% said they felt “sympathy” or “pity”.
And that broadly fits with Navalny’s approval ratings in Russia. After his poisoning in 2020, 20% of Russians said they approved of his activities – but this was down to 11% by February 2024.
Video: BBC.
Of course, these numbers must be taken for what they are: polling in an authoritarian state regarding a figure vilified and imprisoned by the regime, during a time of war and amid draconian restrictions on free speech. To what extent the drop in support for Navalny was real, rather than reflecting the increased fear people had in voicing their approval for an anti-regime figure, is hard to say with certainty.
When asked why they liked Navalny, 31% of those who approved of his activities said he spoke “the truth”, “honestly” or “directly”. For those who did not approve of his activities, 22% said he was “paid by the west”, “represented” the west’s interests, that he was a “foreign agent”, a “traitor” or a “puppet”.
The Kremlin had long tried to discredit Navalny as a western-backed traitor. After Navalny’s 2020 poisoning, Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that “experts from the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency are working with him”. The Russian state claimed that, rather than a patriot exposing official malfeasance with a view to strengthening his country, Navalny was a CIA stooge intent on destroying Russia.
Peskov provided no evidence to back up this claim – and the official propaganda wasn’t believed by all. Thousands of Russians defied the authorities by coming out to pay their respects at Navalny’s funeral on March 1 2024. Many, if not all, knew this was a significant risk. Police employed video footage to track down members of the funeral crowd, including by using facial recognition technology.
The first person to be detained was a Muscovite the police claimed they heard shouting “Glory to the heroes!” – a traditional Ukrainian response to the declaration “Glory to Ukraine!”, but this time referencing Navalny. She spent a night in a police station before being fined for “displaying a banned symbol”.
Putin always avoided mentioning Navalny’s name in public while he was alive – instead referring to him as “this gentleman”, “the character you mentioned”, or the “Berlin patient”. (The only recorded instance of Putin using Navalny’s name in public when he was alive was in 2013.)
However, having been re-elected president in 2024 and with Navalny dead, Putin finally broke his long-held practice, saying: “As for Navalny, yes he passed away – this is always a sad event.” It was as if the death of his nemesis diminished the potency of his name – and the challenge that Navalny had long presented to Putin.
Nobody can become another Navalny
Someone else will rise up and take my place. I haven’t done anything unique or difficult. Anyone could do what I’ve done.
So wrote Navalny in the memoir published after his death. But that hasn’t happened: no Navalny 2.0 has yet emerged. And it’s no real surprise. The Kremlin has taken clear steps to ensure nobody can become another Navalny within Russia.
In 2021, the authorities made a clear decision to destroy Navalny’s organisations within Russia, including the ACF and his regional network. Without the organisational infrastructure and legal ability to function in Russia, no figure has been able to take his place directly.
More broadly, the fate of Navalny and his movement has had a chilling effect on the opposition landscape. So too have other steps taken by the authorities.
Russia has become markedly more repressive since the start of its war on Ukraine. The human rights NGO First Department looked into the number of cases relating to “treason”, “espionage” and “confidential cooperation with a foreign state” since Russia introduced the current version of its criminal code in 1997. Of the more than 1,000 cases, 792 – the vast majority – were initiated following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Russian law enforcement has also used nebulous anti-extremism and anti-terrorism legislation to crack down on dissenting voices. Three of Navalny’s lawyers were sentenced in January 2025 for participating in an “extremist organisation”, as the ACF was designated by a Moscow court in June 2021. The Russian legislature has also passed a barrage of legislation relating to so-called “foreign agents”, to tarnish the work of those the regime regards as foreign-backed “fifth columnists”.
Mass street protests are largely a thing of the past in Russia. Restrictions were placed on public gatherings during the COVID pandemic – but these rules were applied selectively, with opposition individuals and groups being targeted. And opportunities for collective action were further reduced following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Freedom of speech has also come under assault. Article 29, point five of the Russian constitution states: “Censorship shall be prohibited.” But in September 2024, Kremlin spokesperson Peskov said: “In the state of war that we are in, restrictions are justified, and censorship is justified.”
Legislation passed very soon after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine made it illegal to comment on the Russian military’s activities truthfully – and even to call the war a war.
YouTube – the platform so central to Navalny’s ability to spread his message – has been targeted. Without banning it outright – perhaps afraid of the public backlash this might cause – the Russian state media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has slowed down internet traffic to the site within Russia. The result has been a move of users to other websites supporting video content, including VKontakte – a Russian social media platform.
In short, conditions in Russia are very different now compared to when Navalny first emerged. The relative freedom of the 2000s and 2010s gave him the space to challenge the corruption and authoritarianism of an evolving system headed by Putin. But this space has shrunk over time, to the point where no room remains for a figure like him within Russia.
In 2019, Navalny told Ivan Zhdanov, who is now director of the ACF: “We changed the regime, but not in the way we wanted.” So, did Navalny and his team push the Kremlin to become more authoritarian – making it not only intolerant of him but also any possible successor?
There may be some truth in this. And yet, the drastic steps taken by the regime following the start of the war on Ukraine suggest there were other, even more significant factors that have laid bare the violent nature of Putin’s personal autocracy – and the president’s disdain for dissenters.
Plenty for Russians to be angry about
How can we win the war when dedushka [grandpa] is a moron?
In June 2023, Evgeny Prigozhin – a long-time associate of Putin and head of the private military Wagner Group – staged an armed rebellion, marching his forces on the Russian capital. This was not a full-blown political movement against Putin. But the target of Prigozhin’s invective against Russia’s military leadership had become increasingly blurry, testing the taboo of direct criticism of the president – who is sometimes referred to, disparagingly, as “grandpa” in Russia.
And Prigozhin paid the price. In August 2023, he was killed when the private jet he was flying in crashed after an explosion on board. Afterwards, Putin referred to Prigozhin as a “talented person” who “made serious mistakes in life”.
In the west, opposition to the Kremlin is often associated with more liberal figures like Navalny. Yet the most consequential domestic challenge to Putin’s rule came from a very different part of the ideological spectrum – a figure in Prigozhin leading a segment of Russian society that wanted the Kremlin to prosecute its war on Ukraine even more aggressively.
Video: BBC.
Today, there is plenty for Russians to be angry about, and Putin knows it. He recently acknowledged an “overheating of the economy”. This has resulted in high inflation, in part due to all the resources being channelled into supporting the war effort. Such cost-of-living concerns weigh more heavily than the war on the minds of most Russians.
A favourite talking point of the Kremlin is how Putin imposed order in Russia following the “wild 1990s” – characterised by economic turbulence and symbolised by then-president Boris Yeltsin’s public drunkenness. Many Russians attribute the stability and rise in living standards they experienced in the 2000s with Putin’s rule – and thank him for it by providing support for his continued leadership.
The current economic problems are an acute worry for the Kremlin because they jeopardise this basic social contract struck with the Russian people. In fact, one way the Kremlin tried to discredit Navalny was by comparing him with Yeltsin, suggesting he posed the same threats as a failed reformer. In his memoir, Navalny concedes that “few things get under my skin more”.
Although originally a fan of Yeltsin, Navalny became an ardent critic. His argument was that Yeltsin and those around him squandered the opportunity to make Russia a “normal” European country.
Navalny also wanted Russians to feel entitled to more. Rather than be content with their relative living standards compared with the early post-Soviet period, he encouraged them to imagine the level of wealth citizens could enjoy based on Russia’s extraordinary resources – but with the rule of law, less corruption, and real democratic processes.
‘Think of other possible Russias’
When looking at forms of criticism and dissent in Russia today, we need to distinguish between anti-war, anti-government, and anti-Putin activities.
Despite the risk of harsh consequences, there are daily forms of anti-war resistance, including arson attacks on military enlistment offices. Some are orchestrated from Ukraine, with Russians blackmailed into acting. But other cases are likely to be forms of domestic resistance.
Criticism of the government is still sometimes possible, largely because Russia has a “dual executive” system, consisting of a prime minister and presidency. This allows the much more powerful presidency to deflect blame to the government when things go wrong.
There are nominal opposition parties in Russia – sometimes referred to as the “systemic opposition”, because they are loyal to the Kremlin and therefore tolerated by the system. Within the State Duma, these parties often criticise particular government ministries for apparent failings. But they rarely, if ever, now dare criticise Putin directly.
Nothing anywhere close to the challenge presented by Navalny appears on the horizon in Russia – at either end of the political spectrum. But the presence of clear popular grievances, and the existence of organisations (albeit not Navalny’s) that could channel this anger should the Kremlin’s grip loosen, mean we cannot write off all opposition in Russia.
Navalny’s wife, Yulia, has vowed to continue her husband’s work. And his team in exile maintain focus on elite corruption in Russia, now from their base in Vilnius, Lithuania. The ACF’s most recent investigation is on Igor Sechin, CEO of the oil company Rosneft.
But some have argued this work is no longer as relevant as it was. Sam Greene, professor in Russian politics at King’s College London, captured this doubt in a recent Substack post:
[T]here is a palpable sense that these sorts of investigations may not be relevant to as many people as they used to be, given everything that has transpired since the mid-2010s, when they were the bread and butter of the Anti-Corruption Foundation. Some … have gone as far as to suggest that they have become effectively meaningless … and thus that Team Navalny should move on.
Navalny’s team are understandably irritated by suggestions they’re no longer as effective as they once were. But it’s important to note that this criticism has often been sharpest within Russia’s liberal opposition. The ACF has been rocked, for example, by recent accusations from Maxim Katz, one such liberal opposition figure, that the organisation helped “launder the reputations” of two former bank owners. In their response, posted on YouTube, the ACF referred to Katz’s accusations as “lies” – but this continued squabbling has left some Russians feeling “disillusioned and unrepresented”.
So, what will Navalny’s long-term legacy be? Patriot includes a revealing section on Mikhail Gorbachev – the last leader of the Soviet Union, whom Navalny describes as “unpopular in Russia, and also in our family”. He continues:
Usually, when you tell foreigners this, they are very surprised, because Gorbachev is thought of as the person who gave Eastern Europe back its freedom and thanks to whom Germany was reunited. Of course, that is true … but within Russia and the USSR he was not particularly liked.
At the moment, there is a similar split in perceptions of Navalny. Internationally, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded the Sakharov Prize by the European Parliament, and a documentary about him won an Oscar.
But there are also those outside of Russia who remain critical: “Navalny’s life has brought no benefit to the Ukrainian victory; instead, he has caused considerable harm,” wrote one Ukrainian academic. “He fuelled the illusion in the west that democracy in Russia is possible.”
Trailer for the Oscar-winning documentary Navalny.
Inside Russia, according to Levada Center polling shortly after his death, 53% of Russians thought Navalny played “no special role” in the history of the country, while 19% said he played a “rather negative” role. Revealingly, when commenting on Navalny’s death, one man in Moscow told RFE/RL’s Russian Service: “I think that everyone who is against Russia is guilty, even if they are right.”
But, for a small minority in Russia, Navalny will go down as a messiah-like figure who miraculously cheated death in 2020, then made the ultimate sacrifice in his battle of good and evil with the Kremlin. This view may have been reinforced by Navalny’s increasing openness about his Christian faith.
Ultimately, Navalny’s long-term status in Russia will depend on the nature of the political system after Putin has gone. Since it seems likely that authoritarianism will outlast Putin, a more favourable official story about Navalny is unlikely to emerge any time soon. However, how any post-Putin regime tries to make sense of Navalny’s legacy will tell us a lot about that regime.
While he was alive, Navalny stood for the freer Russia in which he had emerged as a leading opposition figure – and also what he called the “Beautiful Russia of the Future”. Perhaps, after his death, his lasting legacy in Russia remains the ability for some to think – if only in private – of other possible Russias.
To hear about new Insights articles, join the hundreds of thousands of people who value The Conversation’s evidence-based news. Subscribe to our newsletter.
Ben Noble has previously received funding from the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust. He is an Associate Fellow of Chatham House.
Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –
From February 1 to 28, 2025, the Invitational Stage of the V International Financial Security Olympiad is being held in Russian and English on the international social and educational platform “Commonwealth”.
Let us recall that last season two students from the State University of Management became Olympiad prize winners.
Pupils of grades 8-11 and students are invited to participate. Upon completion of the stage, participants who have completed the tasks will receive a certificate.
The invitational stage is a great opportunity not only to test your knowledge of financial security, but also to prepare for the new cycle of the Olympiad and get acquainted with the format of the tasks.
To participate, you must register on the Olympiad platform. Tasks will be available from February 1 to February 28.
The International Financial Security Olympiad has been held since 2021 under the patronage of the President of Russia and the Government of the Russian Federation. In 2024, representatives of 36 countries reached the final of the Olympiad.
The International Financial Security Olympiad is aimed at popularizing financial security as a norm of life, as well as at forming a new type of thinking among young people: from the financial security of an individual to the financial security of the state. Winners and prize winners are granted additional rights when entering higher education programs.
The Olympiad organizers are: the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, the International Network Institute in the Sphere of AML/CFT and the International Educational and Methodological Center for Financial Monitoring.
Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 02/14/2025
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.
The victim of a fatal stabbing in Ealing has been named – as detectives continue to appeal for witnesses.
Police were called at around 22:15hrs on Monday, 10 February, to the Grosvenor pub in Oaklands Road, Hanwell, to reports that a man had stumbled into the pub with serious injuries.
Officers attended the scene alongside London Ambulance Service crews, and found 33-year-old Dariusz Serafin there with a several knife wounds. Despite the efforts of paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Homicide detectives are carrying out extensive enquiries to establish the circumstances of the incident. There have not been any arrests.
Detective Chief Inspector Alison Foxwell, from the Met’s Specialist Crime unit, said: “We are making good progress with our investigation, and a number of leads are being followed up.
“Our enquiries thus far lead us to believe that the stabbing took place in the vicinity of Sydney Road junction with Regina Road. Although this is a predominantly residential area, its proximity to The Broadway – and a number of shops, pubs and restaurants still open at the time of the incident – leads us to believe there will have been witnesses who may have seen or heard something.
“We urge anyone with information to contact us urgently. There may also be CCTV, ring doorbell or dash cam footage which may be relevant to the investigation.
“We urge anybody who was in the area to check their footage from between 20.30hrs and 22.30hrs on Monday, 10 February, and to notify the police if they believe they have captured anything which may assist our investigation.”
The victim’s family are being supported by specialists. In a statement, they said: “Dariusz, known for his boundless empathy and loving spirit for people and animals, touched everyone he met with his kindness and compassion. His presence will be deeply missed, but his memory will live on in the hearts of those he loved.
“In his honour, his family urges everyone to help end senseless knife crime in the streets of London, and to assist in bringing the person responsible for his death to justice. Rest peacefully, Dariusz.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact 101 or ‘X’ @MetCC, quoting CAD 7176/10FEB25. You can also provide information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Information can also be provided directly to police via an online portal.
NASHVILLE – A U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement investigation with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation led to a four-count indictment which was unsealed in the Middle District of Tennessee charging eight defendants, with ties to the Tren da Aragua (TdA) gang, with various offenses stemming from their involvement with a transnational commercial sex enterprise.
“The success of this operation to stop Tren da Aragua operating in our communities is a significant step forward in our ongoing battle against human trafficking and transnational organized crime,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Nashville Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud. “This investigation exemplifies the importance of collaboration among local, state, and federal agencies in ending these crimes in our communities. Human exploitation leaves a trail of suffering in its wake.”
The defendants, Yilibeth del Carmen Rivero-De Caldera, 51, Kleiver Daniel Mota-Rivero, 35, Yuribetzi Del Valle Gomez Machuca, 39, Wilmarys Del Valle Manzano Solorzano, 22, Frankyanna Del Valle Romero-Rivero, 30, Endrik Alexander Morales-Rivero, 25, Jesus Enrique Castillo Rodriguez, 24, Ariannys Beatriz Gutierrez-Carrillo, 24; all of Venezuela, operated an illegal commercial sex and sex trafficking enterprise out of Nashville motels from July 2022 through March 2024, according to court documents.
The defendants facilitated the victims’ arrival into the United States and used online commercial sex websites to post advertisements and internet or cellular communications to conduct illicit criminal activities, according to the indictment.
“This indictment demonstrates our commitment to stop human trafficking whenever and wherever we find it, and to hold those involved accountable” said acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Robert E. McGuire. “We are coming after transnational criminal organizations like TdA, but this case shows that we will also do whatever it takes to stop those who would traffic women and girls no matter who is behind their suffering.”
“We will not allow TdA – or any criminal organization – to get a stronghold in Tennessee,” said Tennessee Bureau of Investigations Director David Rausch. “We are thankful for our local, state, and federal partners who joined us in investigating this case, and we stand prepared to continue aggressively investigating human trafficking in our state, holding traffickers and buyers accountable and helping victims take their first steps toward becoming survivors.”
A grand jury in the Middle District of Tennessee previously returned the four-count indictment charging all eight defendants for roles in facilitating the recruiting of young women from impoverished parts of Venezuela and other South and Central American countries, and their transportation across the U.S. southern border and state lines to engage in commercial sex in the Nashville area.
Three of the defendants, Yilibeth del Carmen Rivero-De Caldera, Kleiver Daniel Mota-Rivero, and Yuribetzi Del Valle Gomez Machuca, are additionally charged with sex trafficking conspiracy for conspiring to use force, fraud, and coercion to compel the women into engaging in commercial sex acts for the defendants’ profit that include invoking alleged ties to the Venezuelan gang TdA and its reputation for violence. The indictment further charges defendant Kleiver Daniel Mota-Rivero with one count of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien.
Mother and son defendants Rivero-De Caldera and Mota-Rivero are charged with conspiring to impose a coercive debt scheme upon the victims to compel them to continue engaging in commercial sex acts until the defendants deemed their debts repaid. Defendants Rivero-De Caldera and Mota-Rivero previously were arrested and detained on state charges relating to their conduct.
The defendants face a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. Conspiracy to commit interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and conspiracy to commit interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Mota-Rivero also faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison if convicted of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien.
In addition to ICE HSI Nashville and TBI, the FBI, the DEA, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, Shelbyville Police Department, U.S. Secret Service, and additional federal, state, and local Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force partners who coordinated related law enforcement operations across multiple jurisdictions assisted in this investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooke K. Schiferle for the Middle District of Tennessee and Trial Attorneys Lindsey Roberson and Jessica Arco of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case.
To report any information about human trafficking, child sexual abuse, or the trafficking in child sexual abuse material contact the ICE Tip Line at 1-866-347-2423.
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 14.02.2025, 11-34 (Moscow time), the values of the upper limit of the price corridor (up to 2.824) and the range of market risk assessment (up to 3.06179 rubles, equivalent to a rate of 25.0%) of the UPRO security (Unipro JSC) 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
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 14.02.2025, 12-10 (Moscow time), the values of the upper limit of the price corridor (up to 100.83) and the range of market risk assessment (up to 1068.38 rubles, equivalent to a rate of 7.5%) of the security RU000A101590 (DOM 1P-7R) 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
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 14.02.2025, 12-18 (Moscow time), the values of the upper limit of the price corridor (up to 70.68) and the range of market risk assessment (up to 740.96 rubles, equivalent to a rate of 12.5%) of the SU26239RMFS2 security (OFZ 26239) 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
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 14.02.2025, 13-19 (Moscow time), the values of the upper limit of the price corridor (up to 106.67) and the range of market risk assessment (up to 114.405 rubles, equivalent to a rate of 21.25%) of the FLOT (Sovcomflot) 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
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 14.02.2025, 13-39 (Moscow time), the values of the upper limit of the price corridor (up to 86.83) and the range of market risk assessment (up to 267.38 rubles, equivalent to a rate of 7.5%) of the security RU000A102CR0 (MosOb35015) 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
