NewzIntel.com

Category: Crime

  • MIL-OSI Security: Happy Valley-Goose Bay — Happy Valley-Goose Bay RCMP investigates theft at Woodward’s C-Store, seeks assistance identifying suspects

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Happy Valley-Goose Bay RCMP is investigating a recent theft of merchandise from Woodward’s C-Store in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Police are seeking assistance from the public to identify two suspects.

    Shortly after 10:00 p.m. on December 18, 2024, a man wearing a hood over his head and a pair of sunglasses entered the Tenth Street store while a woman with her hood up held the door open. The man gathered some items from the store and ran out the open door with the woman following behind him. Efforts to locate the two were unsuccessful. Images of the two suspects are attached.

    The investigation is continuing.

    Anyone having information about this crime or the identity of the two suspects is asked to contact Happy Valley-Goose Bay RCMP at 709-896-3833 or, to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers: #SayItHere 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visit www.nlcrimestoppers.com or use the P3Tips app.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Nationwide Lawsuit Filed in Rhode Island Alleging CVS Knowingly Dispensed Controlled Substances in Violation of the Controlled Substances Act and the False Claims Act

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

    PROVIDENCE, RI – In a civil complaint unsealed today in federal court in Providence, Rhode Island, the Justice Department alleges that CVS Pharmacy, Inc., and various subsidiaries (collectively, CVS) filled unlawful prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and sought reimbursement from federal healthcare programs for some of the unlawful prescriptions in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA). CVS is the country’s largest pharmacy chain, with more than 9,000 pharmacies across the United States.

    The government’s complaint alleges that, from October 17, 2013, to the present, CVS knowingly filled prescriptions for controlled substances that lacked a legitimate medical purpose, were not valid, and/or were not issued in the usual course of professional practice. Among the large quantities of unlawful prescriptions that CVS allegedly filled were prescriptions for dangerous and excessive quantities of opioids, early fills of opioids, and “trinity” prescriptions, an especially dangerous and abused combination of drugs made up of an opioid, a benzodiazepine, and a muscle relaxant. CVS also allegedly filled large quantities of prescriptions for controlled substances written by prescribers it knew to be engaged in “pill mill practices” – that is, prescribers who issue large numbers of controlled substance prescriptions without any medical purpose. According to the complaint, CVS ignored substantial evidence from multiple sources, including its own pharmacists and internal data, indicating that its stores were dispensing unlawful prescriptions. 

    The complaint alleges that CVS’s violations resulted from corporate-mandated performance metrics, incentive compensation, and staffing policies that prioritized corporate profits over patient safety. CVS set staffing levels far too low for pharmacists to both meet their performance metrics and comply with their legal obligations. CVS also allegedly deprived its pharmacists of crucial information (including by, for example, preventing pharmacists from warning one another about certain prescribers) that could have reduced the number of unlawful prescriptions filled. The complaint alleges that CVS’s actions helped to fuel the prescription opioid crisis and that, in some particularly tragic instances, patients died after overdosing on opioids shortly after filling unlawful prescriptions at CVS.

    “Opioid deaths remain a scourge on communities across Rhode Island and the nation, robbing families of loved ones and leaving a path of devastation in their wake,” said Zachary A. Cunha, U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island. “This lawsuit alleges that CVS failed to exercise its critical role as gatekeeper of dangerous prescription opioids and, instead, facilitated the illegal distribution of these highly addictive drugs, including by pill mill prescribers. When corporations such as CVS prize profits over patient safety and overburden their pharmacy staff so that they cannot carry out the basic responsibility of ensuring that prescriptions are legitimate, we will use every tool at our disposal to see that they answer for it.”

    “Our complaint alleges that CVS repeatedly filled controlled substance prescriptions that were unlawful and pressured its pharmacists to fill such prescriptions without taking the time needed to confirm their validity,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The practices alleged contributed to the opioid crisis and opioid-related deaths, and today’s complaint seeks to hold CVS accountable for its misconduct.”

    The government alleges that by knowingly filling unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances, CVS violated the CSA and, where CVS sought reimbursement from federal healthcare programs, also violated the FCA. The complaint alleges that CVS’s actions helped to fuel the prescription opioid crisis. If CVS is found liable, it could face civil penalties for each unlawful prescription filled in violation of the CSA and treble damages and applicable penalties for each prescription reimbursed by federal healthcare programs in violation of the FCA. The court also may award injunctive relief to prevent CVS from committing further CSA violations, including ordering appropriate changes to corporate compliance programs and policies.

    “When lives are destroyed or lost to opioid abuse, it doesn’t matter if the supplier is a street-level dealer, a pill mill, or a nationwide corporation,” said Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Our laws regarding the distribution of opioids and other controlled substances are clear and apply to everyone. We will pursue whatever legal action is necessary to stop any enterprise, regardless of size, that places profit over the safety of our citizens.”

    “CVS is alleged to have dispensed large amounts of highly addictive opioid medications to persons they knew had no medical need for them. Simply put, they put profits over their obligation to keep their customers safe,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “A pharmacy is the final step in the pharmaceutical distribution process that is in place to keep customers safe. In the fight against the opioid epidemic, DEA will continue to be relentless in holding those accountable who violate our drug laws and place our communities in danger whether they are a criminal cartel or large pharmacy chain.”

    “Pharmacies and pharmacists are critical partners to ensure controlled substances are dispensed lawfully and safely to the public,” said Deputy Inspector General Christian J. Schrank of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG is committed to holding individuals and entities that dispense these controlled substances improperly and without legitimate medical purpose accountable.”

    “Protecting TRICARE, the healthcare system for military members and their dependents, is a top priority for the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS),” stated Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty, DCIS Northeast Field Office. “Today’s filing demonstrates DCIS’ ongoing commitment to partner with the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners to investigate health care providers that submit false claims to TRICARE and put its beneficiaries at risk.”

    Whistleblower Hillary Estright, who previously worked for CVS, filed an action on October 17, 2019, under the qui tam provisions of the FCA. Those provisions authorize private parties to sue on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in any recovery. The Act permits the United States to intervene and take over such lawsuits, as it has done here.

    The case is captioned United States ex rel. Estright v. Health Corporation, et al., No. 1:22-cv-222 (D.R.I.).

    The United States’ intervention in this matter underscores the government’s commitment to combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to HHS, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

    The United States’ enforcement action is being litigated by attorneys from the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the District of Rhode Island (First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara M. Bloom and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Love Hubbard and Rachna Vyas), the Justice Department Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch (Assistant Directors Amy L. DeLine and C.B. Buente, Senior Litigation Counsel Donald Lorenzen, and Trial Attorneys Benjamin Cornfeld and Amanda K. Kelly) and Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section (Trial Attorneys Claire L. Norsetter, Joshua Barron, and Megan F. Engel), as well as the Eastern District of Virginia (Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clare Wuerker and John Beerbower), the District of Hawaii (Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sydney Spector and Tracy Weinstein), and the Eastern District of Texas (Assistant U.S. Attorneys James Gillingham and Adrian Garcia).

    The DEA’s Office of Diversion Control, Washington, D.C. Field Division, HHS-OIG, and DCIS conducted the investigation. Several other offices provided substantial assistance in the investigation, including the United States Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of California, the Northern District of Ohio, DEA’s Office of Chief Counsel, DEA’s Office of Diversion Control, Los Angeles Field Division, the Office of Personnel Management, the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and the FBI.

    The claims asserted against the defendants are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Cornwall — Tools and drugs seized in theft investigation

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    On December 18th, 2024, Stratford RCMP received a complaint from a local business of stolen power tools valued at over $1500. RCMP later arrested a 31-year-old man and seized the tools, cocaine and methamphetamine in the process.

    On December 20th, 2024, the Queens District RCMP, with the assistance of the RCMP Major Crime Unit and the RCMP Provincial General Investigation Section arrested a 31-year-old man in Cornwall for possession of property obtained by crime and trafficking property obtained by crime in connection to the stolen tools. In the process of the arrest, police seized stolen power tools, and small quantities of cocaine, and methamphetamine. The man will appear in Provincial Court on February 3rd, 2025, to answer charges concerning this ongoing investigation.

    “This investigation demonstrates that thefts in Island communities can often be directly linked to drugs and it demonstrates the importance of a coordinated law enforcement approach to help make all our communities safer” said Cpl Gavin Moore the Media Relations Officer for the PEI RCMP.

    If you have information about stolen property or drugs, call your local police detachment or call Crime Stoppers at 1800-222-(TIPS) 8477.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Russian National Assisted Sanctioned Oligarch in Schemes to Employ an American Citizen to Launch and Operate Russian Television Network

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

    Defendant Also Helped Oligarch Illegally Transfer a $10 Million U.S. Investment to Business Associate

    Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Menno Goedman, the Co-Director of Task Force KleptoCapture, and James E. Dennehy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of a Superseding Indictment charging ALEXEY KOMOV with conspiracy and violations of U.S. sanctions arising from his assistance to sanctioned Russian oligarch KONSTANTIN MALOFEYEV, who was previously charged in April 2022.  As alleged, KOMOV conspired with MALOFEYEV to recruit and employ an American citizen, Jack Hanick, who worked for MALOFEYEV in launching and operating a television network in Russia.  KOMOV also conspired with MALOFEYEV, Hanick, and others to illegally transfer a $10 million investment that MALOFEYEV had made in a U.S. bank to a business associate in Greece, in violation of the sanctions blocking MALOFEYEV’s assets from being transferred. 

    U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Alexey Komov facilitated the efforts of Konstantin Malofeyev – an oligarch closely tied to Russian aggression in Ukraine who has been determined by OFAC to have been one of the main sources of financing for the promotion of Russia-aligned separatist groups operating in the sovereign nation of Ukraine – to flout U.S. sanctions.  The unsealing today of the Indictment against Komov is yet another reminder that this Office will continue to hold those accountable that seek to undermine the United States’ national security goals.”

    KleptoCapture Co-Director Menno Goedman said: “The indictment alleges Alexey Komov played an essential role in a multi-faceted scheme to violate and evade U.S. sanctions imposed on a significant financier of Russian aggression in Ukraine.  Task Force KleptoCapture will continue to disrupt schemes perpetrated by Komov and other sanction evaders, whenever and wherever they may hide.”

    FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said: “Alexey Komov, a Russian national, allegedly conspired with an American citizen and a sanctioned Russian oligarch to develop a Russian cable network to promote anti-Western propaganda. This alleged conspiracy violated laws designed to protect the national security of the United States and our allies. The FBI remains committed to apprehending foreign nationals who employ our citizens to satisfy their odious agenda.”

    According to the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]

    In 2014, the President issued Executive Order 13660, which declared a national emergency with respect to the situation in Ukraine.  To address this national emergency, the President blocked all property and interest in property that came within the U.S. or the possession or control of any U.S. person, of individuals determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to be responsible for or complicit in, or who engaged in, actions or policies that threatened the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine, or who materially assist, sponsor, or provide financial, material, or technological support for, or goods and services to, individuals or entities engaging in such activities.  Executive Order 13660, along with certain regulations issued pursuant to it (the “Ukraine-Related Sanctions Regulations”) prohibits, among other things, making or receiving any funds, goods, or services by, to, from, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked.

    On December 19, 2014, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) designated MALOFEYEV as a Specially Designated National (“SDN”) pursuant to Executive Order 13660.  OFAC’s designation of MALOFEYEV explained that he was one of the main sources of financing for Russians promoting separatism in Crimea, and has materially assisted, sponsored, and provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods and services to or in support of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, a separatist organization in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk.

    As alleged in the Indictment, beginning in at least 2012, KOMOV assisted MALOFEYEV in recruiting and hiring a U.S. citizen named Jack Hanick to work on a new Russian cable television news network (the “Russian TV Network”) that MALOFEYEV was creating.  As part of KOMOV’s recruitment of Hanick, KOMOV travelled to Manhattan to meet with Hanick and subsequently introduced Hanick to MALOFEYEV in Russia.  With KOMOV’s knowledge, MALOFEYEV negotiated directly with Hanick regarding Hanick’s salary, payment for Hanick’s housing in Moscow, and Hanick’s Russian work visa.  MALOFEYEV paid Hanick through two separate Russian entities through the end of 2018.

    After OFAC designated MALOFEYEV as a SDN in December 2014, MALOFEYEV continued to employ Hanick on the Russian TV Network, with KOMOV’s assistance and input, and in violation of the Ukraine-Related Sanctions Regulations.  For example, prior to the launch of the Russian TV Network on the air in Russia in April 2015, KOMOV wrote an e-mail to MALOFEYEV, Hanick, and another employee, referencing their prior discussion with MALOFEYEV earlier that day and instructing Hanick to create two types of programs and allocate staff. KOMOV further wrote, “Hopefully Konstantin will be providing general direction and guidance for both projects. Looking forward to our long-term co-operation on those exciting endeavors!”  In turn, Hanick requested KOMOV to serve as a moderator for the first broadcast, writing “KM [i.e. MALOFEYEV] and I agree that we need you on this the first show on [the Russian TV Network]!!!”

    With KOMOV’s participation, MALOFEYEV also employed Hanick to assist MALOFEYEV in transferring a shell company that MALOFEYEV owned to a Greek associate of MALOFEYEV (the “Greek Business Associate”).  In 2014, MALOFEYEV, assisted by KOMOV, had used the shell company to make a $10 million investment in a Texas-based bank holding company (the “Texas Bank”).  KOMOV helped set up the deal, emailing a Texas-based attorney (“Individiual-1”), “I plan to come to the US with two of my close friends Konstantin Malofeev [sic] and [another individual] on Feb 4-9, 2014 . . . I’d like the three of us to meet with you to discuss our cooperation, and also joint investment projects (please propose attractive investment opportunities with reliable partners for $50-100 mln participation from our side)”. On or about March 25, 2014, KOMOV wrote to Individual-I, “Konstantin has confirmed today that he goes ahead with the 10 mln investment in the bank project.”

    Beginning in or about March 2015, with KOMOV’s assistance, MALOFEYEV began making plans to transfer ownership of the shell company to the Greek Business Associate, in violation of the Ukraine-Related Sanctions Regulations.  On or about March 4, 2015, KOMOV wrote to Individual-1, “I need to discuss with you several things: previous investment in the bank project (we want to consider selling it)”.  On or about March 17, 2015, KOMOV wrote to Individual-I about the Texas Bank interest, in part, “We want to keep it where it is now, only the owner from our side changes.”  Consistent with that plan, in or about May 2015, MALOFEYEV’s attorney drafted a Sale and Purchase Agreement that purported to transfer the shell company to the Greek Business Associate in exchange for one U.S. dollar.  In June 2015 MALOFEYEV had Hanick physically transport a copy of MALOFEYEV’s certificate of shares in the Texas Bank from Moscow to Athens to be given to the Greek Business Associate.  MALOFEYEV signed the Sale and Purchase Agreement in June 2015, but the agreement was fraudulently backdated to July 2014 to make it appear that the transfer had taken place prior to the imposition of U.S. sanctions.  MALOFEYEV’s attorney then falsely represented to the Texas Bank that the transfer had taken place in July 2014, even though MALOFEYEV and his attorney well knew that the transfer of the shell company was executed in June 2015.

    The U.S. seized and forfeited approximately $5.4 million in the property traceable to MALOFEYEV’s Texas Bank investment, which had been converted by the Texas Bank in 2016 to cash held in a blocked U.S. bank account.  In February 2023, the U.S. Attorney General authorized a transfer of these forfeited funds to the State Department to support Ukrainian veterans.

    MALOFEYEV, of Russia, is believed to be in Russia and remains at large.

    *                *                *

    KOMOV, 53, a Russian national, is charged with conspiracy to violate and substantive violation of International Emergency Economic Powers Act, each of which carry a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison.

    The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

    Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and thanked the support and expertise of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and Office of International Affairs in the conduct of this matter.

    The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vladislav Vainberg, Thane Rehn, Jessica Greenwood, and Trial Attorney Scott Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Section are in charge of the prosecution. 
     

    [1] The entirety of the text of the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Five Men From Grand Strand and Pee Dee Region Sentenced for Fentanyl Trafficking and Related Gun Crimes

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

    FLORENCE, S.C. — Five men from across the Pee Dee and Grand Strand were sentenced to multi-year terms in federal prison after pleading guilty to a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy operating in and around Horry County and related firearms crimes.

    • Joshua Rodriguez, 33, of Myrtle Beach, was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl;
    • Derrick Adrien Hooks, Jr., 27, of Chesterfield, was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl;
    • Christopher Brown, 32, of Pawleys Island, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl;
    • Jonathan Thien Ta, 32, of Myrtle Beach, was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of firearm and ammunition; Ta’s federal sentence will run consecutive to a state sentence he is serving on separate firearms-related conduct; and
    • Neil Alexander Torres, 32, of Myrtle Beach, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of firearm and ammunition.

    Rodriguez and Brown’s terms of imprisonment will be followed by a five-year term of court-ordered supervision. Hook’s term of imprisonment will be followed by a four-year term of court-ordered supervision. Ta and Torres’s terms of imprisonment will be followed by three-year terms of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system.

    As to Ta and Torres, evidence presented to the court showed that on Nov. 26, 2020, officers with Myrtle Beach Police Department arrived at a restaurant in Myrtle Beach with a warrant to arrest Ta. Officers tried to take Ta into custody, but Ta disobeyed law enforcement commands, reaching into his waistband and pulling out a loaded 9mm handgun, which he passed to Torres before Ta attempted to flee on foot. At the time of the incident, both Ta and Torres were convicted felons who could not legally possess either the firearm or the ammunition with which it was loaded.

    Additional evidence presented to the court showed that from 2018 to 2023, Rodriguez, Hooks, and Brown were involved in trafficking pressed pills containing fentanyl in and around Horry County. Fentanyl is potentially lethal in very small doses.

    Rodriguez, who was a high-level distributor, was accountable for distributing some 14 kilograms of fentanyl over the course of the conspiracy. He frequently possessed firearms in connection with his drug trafficking and threatened to use violence against others.

    On July 1, 2021, law enforcement in Horry County attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a car driven and solely occupied by Hooks. Hooks fled from officers and threw pills and suspected marijuana out of the car during the ensuing chase. Law enforcement then obtained a search warrant for the home in Little River Hooks had come from just prior to the traffic stop. In Hooks’ room at the house, law enforcement found approximately 3.5 kilogram of pills, multiple kilograms of suspected marijuana, a 5.56 caliber firearm, assorted magazines, and ammunition and more than $10,000 in cash. Further investigation revealed that over the course of his involvement in the conspiracy, Hooks was accountable for trafficking 1.6 kilograms of fentanyl.

    Investigation showed Brown was involved as a lower-level distributor within the conspiracy. In approximately five years, Brown was accountable for trafficking 2.7 kilograms of fentanyl. Like Hooks, Brown had a history of fleeing from law enforcement. In 2023, Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Brown in Pawleys Island. Brown fled, reaching speeds of 91 miles per hour while trying to evade law enforcement.

    United States District Judge Joseph Dawson, III, sentenced all five men.

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

    This case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office, Myrtle Beach Police Department, Horry County Police Department, Horry County Sheriff’s Office, and the 15th Circuit Drug Enforcement Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Flynn is prosecuting the case.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two-Time Convicted Felon Sentenced to Over 11 Years in Prison for Drug and Firearm Charges

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BOSTON – A Lynn man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for drug and firearm charges.

    Jose Perez, 27, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor to 142 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In August 2024, Perez was convicted after a five day jury trial of one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. In January 2023, Perez was arrested and charged along with co-defendant Henry Del Rio.

    In December 2022, police officers attempted to stop a vehicle speeding through Lexington, Mass. that Perez was driving. Instead of pulling over, Perez accelerated and engaged in a high-speed escape attempt, traveling more than 85 miles per hour on residential streets, crashing head-first into another vehicle, and ultimately losing control and colliding into a post. As Perez exited the vehicle, a loaded Glock 34X 9mm semi-automatic handgun dropped to the ground. Perez and Del Rio, his passenger, then fled and led officers on a foot chase through a Stop and Shop parking lot. After officers apprehended Perez and Del Rio, Perez was found with over $2,000 cash in his pockets.  Officers also recovered a bag of cocaine and a bag containing 44 smaller, individually wrapped bags of fentanyl in Del Rio’s flight path, as well as a bag of cocaine in the vehicle Perez had crashed.

    At the time, Perez was on supervised release in connection with two prior federal convictions: one in 2017 for engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license, and one in 2020 for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and felon in possession of a firearm.  Given Perez’s status as a felon, he is barred from possessing a firearm.

    In May 2024, Del Rio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled sentences and is scheduled to be sentenced in January 2025.

    United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Lexington, Chelsea and MBTA Police Departments and Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mike Crowley and Sarah Hoefle of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit prosecuted the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Convicted felon admits to illegal firearms possession

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    HOUSTON – A 49-year-old Houston man has been convicted illegally possessing six firearms, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. 

    Christopher Curry admitted he was a convicted felon and planned to exchange the guns for marijuana. 

    At the time of his arrest Oct. 17, authorities found him in possession of six firearms. In his vehicle were a shotgun, a pistol and several semiautomatic rifles. 

    Curry has three felony convictions to include two drug possessions and being a felon in possession of a firearm. As such, he is prohibited of possessing firearms or ammunition per federal law. 

    Senior U.S. District Judge Sim Lake accepted the plea and set sentencing for March 14, 2025. At that time he faces up to 15 years in federal prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine. 

    He has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing. 

    The Houston Police Department Northeast Crime Suppression Team and the Department of Public Safety conducted the joint investigation with the assistance of the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Crime Gun Strike Force.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney John Ganz is prosecuting the case. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Stanley — Cumberland County District RCMP make arrest for property crime and drug offences

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Cumberland County District RCMP arrested a man for multiple property crime and drug offences after receiving information about a stolen dirt bike.

    On December 18, officers learned that a dirt bike previously reported stolen may be located in the Cumberland area. The information allowed investigators to conduct patrols in an attempt to locate the missing item.

    On December 19, officers from the Cumberland Integrated Street Crime Enforcement Unit (CISCEU) located the vehicle on Hwy. 204. When the dirt bike pulled over, officers were able to prevent the vehicle from continuing on and arrested the driver for Possession of Property Obtained by Crime.

    During a search incidental to arrest, the officers found that the man, who was identified as 32-year-old Jesse Parlee from Moncton, New Brunswick, was also in possession of multiple stolen drivers licences and cheques, a variety of drugs believed to be ready for sale, and a conducted energy weapon which is a prohibited weapon and was possessed contrary to probation conditions. Parlee also had a warrant for arrest from New Brunswick.

    “The information that we received helped officers do targeted, proactive patrols, and lead to locating more than just the missing dirt bike,” says Sgt. Jarret MacDonald, Cumberland County District RCMP. “We appreciate receiving tips that support our investigations because what may seem like a small detail can lead to an outcome that is more significant than anticipated, like in this investigation.”

    Parlee has been charged with Resist Arrest, four counts of Possession of Property Obtained by Crime, four counts of Possession of Weapon Contrary to Order, six counts under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act of Possession for the Purposes of Trafficking, in addition to his previous warrants.

    He was held in custody and will have first court appearance on December 20, 2024.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Jacksonville Technology Architect Sentenced To More Than 12 Years For Attempting To Entice And Meet An 11-Year-Old To Engage In Sexual Activity

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Jacksonville, Florida – Senior United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Amol Chandrashekhar Khedkar (59, Jacksonville) to 12 years and 6 months in federal prison for using his cellphone and the internet to attempt to entice an 11-year-old child to engage in sexual activity. Khedkar was also ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender. Khedkar was working as an information technology architect for a financial institution when he was arrested on November 29, 2023, in St. Johns County. He has been detained since that time. Khedkar pleaded guilty on August 13, 2024.

    According to court documents and evidence discussed in open court, on November 28, 2023, an undercover FBI agent (UC) in the Jacksonville area was conducting an online undercover operation to identify adults seeking to meet and engage in sexual activity with children. Posing as the parent of an 11-year-old child, the UC posted a notice in a public chat room of a particular online social messaging application (app). Minutes later, an individual using the app name “drbrownee,” who was subsequently identified as Khedkar, contacted the UC online by private message on the app. After being advised of the “child’s” age, Khedkar confirmed that he would “love to see [the ‘child’].” He asked the UC specific questions about access to the “child” and the “child’s” sexual experience, including “[d]oes she suck,” “[d]o you allow fondling?,” and “[w]hat do you charge?” Khedkar and the UC discussed meeting in person the next day at the “child’s” residence. Khedkar stated, “I’ll show up, … [t]hen you can invite me inside.”

    On November 29, 2023, Khedkar and the UC exchanged text messages and arranged to meet at a location in St. Johns County. When Khedkar arrived at the location, he was arrested by FBI agents. During an interview with agents, Khedkar stated that his username was “drbrownee,” that he used his online account to communicate with the UC, and he had asked the UC about sexually abusing the “child.” Khedkar’s cellphone was seized incident to his arrest and a search of its contents revealed at least 25 online conversations between Khedkar and other individuals on the app discussing the sexual exploitation of children, as well as several photos depicting young children being sexually abused.       

    This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

    It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue child victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Dentist Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Stealing Drugs from Patients and Performing Surgery Without Proper Pain Management

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A Rochester, Illinois, dentist, Phillip M. Jensen, 64, was sentenced on December 18, 2024, to 15 years in prison for stealing fentanyl from his patients, injecting them with adulterated drugs, and performing surgery without proper pain management. Jenson also was ordered to pay a $200,000 fine.

    Jensen previously pleaded guilty to two counts of drug diversion, two counts of acquiring a controlled substance by fraud, one count of tampering with consumer products resulting in serious bodily injury, and two counts of false statements relating to health care matters in August 2024.

    Jensen, who prior to having his license suspended in 2022 had specialized in oral and maxillofacial surgery, started stealing fentanyl form his patients as early as December 2019. This conduct first came to light when his staff began noticing patients who were moving, moaning, and otherwise showing signs of pain and distress during surgery.

    Jensen admitted that he had stolen at least half of the fentanyl in every vial in the practice. He acknowledged removing the safety caps, withdrawing at least half of the fentanyl in the single-use vials, refilling the vials with saline, and gluing the caps back on to the vials. In a further effort to hide what he had done, Jensen made false entries into his surgical records claiming that he had given quantities of full-strength and unadulterated fentanyl to his patients to control their pain. He further billed both public and private insurance for these surgeries utilizing these same falsified records. In all, Jensen stole more than 40 grams of fentanyl for his personal use through his fraud.

    At the sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Colleen R. Lawless, the government presented evidence of Jensen’s lengthy history with addiction, his previous efforts at treatment, and his ultimate decision to prey upon his patients by stealing the drugs that were meant to provide them with comfort during their surgeries. The government presented evidence of the elaborate steps Jensen took to disguise his theft and how his theft of this necessary pain medication impacted his patients. 

    During the hearing, Judge Lawless also heard from several of the more than 99 identified victims of Jensen’s fraud, including the statement of a mother who discussed looking into the face of their child immediately following the surgery as the child cried and stated that they had “felt everything.” The government also presented the statement of a patient that awoke during her surgery. When Jensen realized she was awake, he struck the patient in the head with an instrument and completed the surgery, which involved the extraction of multiple teeth as well as the shaping and smoothing of the bones in her jaw, while she was conscious and lacking pain management.

    At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Lawless rejected Jensen’s argument that he was less culpable than an average drug dealer. She noted that Jensen profited from his crimes. She also stated that while a dealer provides drugs to knowing and willing participants, Jensen provided diluted drugs without the consent or knowledge of his victims. She noted that Jensen was a physician who used his position of trust to hurt others. Judge Lawless concluded by asking, “If you cannot trust your doctor, who can you trust?”

    A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Jensen in February 2022 charging him with twenty felony counts. He was originally released on bond, but a warrant was issued in July 2024 for violation of the terms and conditions of bond after he stalked and harassed a potential witness in the case. Jensen was detained at that time, and he has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service.

    Judge Lawless, in imposing the fifteen-year sentence, rejected Jensen’s arguments for a lower drug weight and noted the egregious nature of his conduct. In addition to the $200,000 fine imposed, Judge Lawless also ordered Jensen to repay the government for the costs of the expert witness it had to hire. Jensen also lost his medical license as a result of his conduct.

    “This case represents the commitment of the Department of Justice, both in the Central District of Illinois and beyond, to protect and defend the public from those that would prey upon them,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris. “People are never as vulnerable as when they place their faith in a health care provider to not only treat their condition but to administer anesthesia and pain medicine during that treatment. Jensen abused that faith and hurt others in the process. Because of this prosecution, Jensen will not be permitted to practice medicine again and will be prevented from hurting members of our community in the future.”

    “Health care professionals who tamper with patient medications create a risk of harm to patients, and also put at risk the trust that U.S. consumers have in those who provide their medical care,” said Ronne Malham, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations Chicago Field Office. “We will continue to investigate and bring to justice health care professionals who take advantage of their unique medical positions and tamper with patients’ medications.”

    “Medical professionals who violate their oaths to ‘do no harm’ must be held accountable,” said Sheila Lyons, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration – Chicago Division. “The DEA will continue working to keep Illinois families safe from medical professionals who illegally divert opioid painkillers from legitimate medical supplies.”

    The United States Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Unit, Springfield Resident Office, which focuses on cases involving pharmaceutical controlled substances diverted from the legal chain of commerce to the illegal drug market, investigated this case in conjunction with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Food and Drug Administration, and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas F. McMeyer and Sierra Senor-Moore represented the government in the prosecution.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Nine Quad Cities Men Sentenced to Federal Prison in Violent RICO Conspiracy

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    DAVENPORT, Iowa – Nine Quad Cities men, Don Christopher White, Jr., Raheem Jacques Houston, Deaguise Ramont Hall, Michael Linn Cross, Devell Carl Lewis, Lashawn D James Hensley, Simmeon Terrell Hall, Devante Atwell French, and Cortez Deangelo Cooper, Jr., were sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a racketeering conspiracy, which engaged in a years-long pattern of violence, including murder, attempted murder, and drug trafficking.

    According to public court documents and evidence presented at trials and sentencings, these Fifth Street gang members, also known as the “Arsenal Courts Posse,” “Zone Fifth,” “Fifth Street Mafia,” “Rock Town Money Getters (RTMG),” and “Money Team,” were members and associates of a coordinated violent criminal enterprise based out of Rock Island, Illinois, but engaged in racketeering activity in Davenport and Rock Island, whose purpose was to distribute controlled substances, obtain money and shoot at rival gang members, specifically the 12th Street, Savage Life, and Boom Gang street gangs. Evidence at trial demonstrated the criminal enterprise was connected to dozens of shooting investigations and at least seven homicides over the course of two decades. Some of the activity connected to this enterprise included the following incidents:

    • On August 6, 2006, Andrell Hearn was shot and killed in Rock Island.
    • On August 19, 2006, White and other Fifth Street associates drove by an outdoor family gathering in Davenport where 12th Street members were present and discharged firearms into the group resulting in the death of Vincelina Howard.
    • On August 6, 2011, a shooting outside the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds involving Fifth Street members and members of a rival Davenport group.
    • On September 5, 2012, French and another Fifth Street associate fired shots at a rival gang member in Davenport.
    • On March 31, 2013, several members of a rival Davenport gang were standing in front of the Chorus Line when Fifth Street member Demarko Williams walked into the parking lot and fired multiple shots at the group. In January 2014, Demarko Williams was sentenced to a 100-month federal prison sentence for possessing a firearm as a felon.
    • On September 2, 2015, Fifth Street associate Juwan Johnson shot and killed Lewis Woodson, a rival gang member, in Davenport.
    • On January 3, 2020, officers responded to a shots-fired incident in or near the Davenport parking lot of the Quad City Times building and seized a large number of casings that were later matched to firearms used by Fifth Street members.
    • On May 23, 2020, a dispute over a dice game at a family gathering in Rock Island led to a shootout between Fifth Street associates and others, resulting in the death of Timon Mayfield.
    • Between May 24 and 31, 2020, multiple shootings in the same Rock Island neighborhood where Mayfield was killed left seized casings that were later matched to firearms used by Fifth Street associates.
    • On June 1, 2020, while the City of Davenport was experiencing civil unrest, this criminal enterprise participated in two shootings in Davenport in which they fired in excess of 60 shots and seriously injured two men.
    • Specifically, on June 1, 2020, White, Lewis, Deaguise Hall, Cross, Hensley, and Cooper were present at Necker’s Jewelers to commit a burglary. While there, the group saw a man they had mistaken for a rival gang member. Cooper and others fired 33 rounds from four guns seriously injuring the victim.
    • Just a few hours later, White, Houston, Deaguise Hall, Cross, Hensley, Lewis, and others were in a Davenport alley when a truck occupied by three Davenport police officers entered the alley. Immediately, four Fifth Street associates fired more than 30 rounds at the truck occupied by the officers. Evidence at trial showed Fifth Street members thought the truck was occupied by a rival group. One police officer was struck and injured by the gunfire. One of the officers returned fire. As a result of this exchange, Marquis Tousant died. White, Houston, Deaguise Hall, Cross, Hensley, and Lewis fled the alley shooting in a high-speed car chase through Davenport. They were eventually apprehended. Officers located seven firearms, a large amount of ammunition, large-capacity magazines, including a 50-round drum magazine, face masks, and gloves inside the vehicle. Three of these firearms were later matched to fired casings in the Davenport alley.
    • On December 4, 2021, White and another Fifth Street associate shot at a victim in a vehicle on Middle Road in Davenport.
    • On December 8, 2021, White and another Fifth Street associate were involved in a shooting near the Centennial Bride and River Drive in Davenport. They mistook two men in a vehicle for rivals.
    • On February 25, 2022, White shot a man during a dispute in Moline, Illinois.
    • On March 27, 2022, French shot a victim near the rear door of his residence on Locust Street in Davenport.
    • On April 19, 2022, French shot a victim in the yard of a residence in retaliation for a prior shooting of a Fifth Street associate.

    SENTENCES

    On Wednesday, December 18, 2024, the following defendants were sentenced:

    • Don Christopher White, Jr., 39, was sentenced to 40 years of imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy, and two charges for felon in possession of a firearm, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. White was also ordered to pay $22,784.20 in restitution.
    • Raheem Jacques Houston, 32, was sentenced to 30 years of imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy and felon in possession of a firearm, followed by a three -year term of supervised release. Houston was also ordered to pay $16,012.52 in restitution.
    • Deaguise Ramont Hall, 35, was sentenced to 33 years of imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy and for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Hall was also ordered to pay $16,012.52 in restitution.
    • Michael Linn Cross, 32, was sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Cross was also ordered to pay $16,012.52 in restitution.
    • LaShawn D. James Hensley, 32, was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Hensley was also ordered to pay $16,012.52 in restitution.

    * * *

    The following defendants were sentenced on December 19, 2024:

    • Devante Atwell French, 31, was sentenced to 30 years of imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy and felon in possession of ammunition, followed by a three-year term of supervised release.
    • Simmeon Terrell Hall, 36, was sentenced to 30 years of imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, followed by a three-year term of supervised release.
    • Devell Carl Lewis, 37, was sentenced to 18 1/2 years of imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Lewis was also ordered to pay $16,012.52 in restitution.
    • Cortez Deangelo Cooper, Jr., 31, was sentenced to 13 1/2 years of imprisonment for racketeering conspiracy and felon in possession of ammunition, followed by a three-year term of supervised release.

    * * *

    Previously, on July 11, 2024, Brandon Deshane Branigan, 34, was sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment for the same racketeering conspiracy, followed by a three-year term of supervised release.

    There is no parole in the federal system.

    * * *

    “Violent crime against our community and attacks on law enforcement will not be tolerated,” said Davenport Police Chief Jeffery Bladel. “These individuals demonstrated a blatant disregard for the safety of our Quad City community; especially in the case of the 2020 ambush and attempted murder of three of our officers. I’m proud of our department’s unwavering dedication to holding criminals accountable and protecting those who serve. My sincere thanks to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their steadfast commitment to justice.”

    * * *

    Two defendants have pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing:

    Ricky Lee Childs, Jr., 40, is scheduled to be sentenced on January 23, 2025, for racketeering conspiracy. As part of this investigation, he was also charged with felon in possession of a firearm and sentenced to 110 months of imprisonment in case number 3:22-cr-021. Childs faces a maximum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment.

    Timothy Justin Beaver, 30, is scheduled to be sentenced on February 13, 2025, for racketeering conspiracy and for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Beaver faces a maximum sentence of 40 years of imprisonment.

    A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the United States sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

    * * *

    Two defendants are awaiting trial. Kylea Dapri Cartwright, Jr., 28, is charged with racketeering conspiracy and felon in possession of ammunition. One of the racketeering acts alleges that on July 5, 2020, Cartwright shot a victim. Rasheem Damonte Bogan, 33, is charged with racketeering conspiracy and felon in possession of a firearm. One of the racketeering acts alleges that on June 1, 2020, Bogan shot a victim. Both are scheduled for a jury trial beginning Monday, February 10, 2025. They each face a maximum of 30 years of imprisonment.

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

    * * *

    United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Davenport Police Department and the Rock Island Police Department, with assistance from the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Department of Public Safety-Division of Criminal Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Drug Enforcement Administration.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Nain — Arrest warrant issued for Sonny Merkuratsuk

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    An arrest warrant has been issued for 37-year-old Sonny Merkuratsuk who is actively evading police.

    Merkuratsuk is wanted by Nain RCMP in relation to the following charges:

    • Sexual Assault
    • Break and enter
    • Uttering threats
    • Failure to comply with a release order

    Anyone having information on the current location of Sonny Merkuratsuk is asked to contact Nain RCMP at 709-922-2862 or, to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers: #SayItHere 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visit www.nlcrimestoppers.com or use the P3Tips app.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Florida Man Sentenced for Health Care Fraud Violations

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BOSTON – A Florida man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for a scheme to defraud insurance providers for physical therapy services that were not provided to patients.

    Jeffrey MacEachron, 60, a retired Air Force Colonel and former Inspector General at Hanscom Air Force Base, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to three months in prison, to be followed by 27 months of supervised release subject to home confinement. MacEachron was also ordered to pay $335,098 in restitution and a $5,500 fine. In July 2024, MacEachron pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with one count of health care fraud; aiding and abetting.

    MacEachron owned and managed PT4U, Inc., a business that operated physical therapy clinics in Bedford and Lexington, Mass. According to the charging documents, from 2013 through 2021, MacEachron caused insurance companies and TRICARE to reimburse PT4U for physical therapy services that were not actually performed. Specifically, MacEachron edited claim forms to add units of service beyond those actually performed and then submitted them to insurance companies and TRICARE for payment.

    United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Chris Averill, Special Agent in Charge of the Air Force, Office of Special Investigations; Brian J. Solecki, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Anthony DiPaolo, Chief of Investigations of the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James D. Herbert and Christopher Looney prosecuted the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Text adopted – 11th year of the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by the Russian Federation and the deteriorating human rights situation in occupied Crimea, notably the cases of Iryna Danylovych, Tofik Abdulhaziiev and Amet Suleymanov – P10_TA(2024)0072 – Thursday, 19 December 2024 – Strasbourg

    Source: European Parliament

    The European Parliament,

    –  having regard to Rule 150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

    A.  whereas since February 2014, Crimea has been temporarily occupied by Russia, which illegally annexed it, following an unlawful and internationally unrecognised referendum;

    B.  whereas Crimeans continue to experience severe human rights violations, unlawful conscription to the Russian army, forced passportisation and Russification, arbitrary detentions, often on trumped-up terrorism charges, enforced disappearances, torture, extrajudicial killings, the absence of freedom of opinion, assembly, association and religion;

    C.  whereas the Russian occupying authorities are particularly targeting Crimean Tatars, ethnic Ukrainians and ethnic minorities, and have resettled up to 800 000 Russians, forcibly altering the demographic composition of Crimea along ethnic lines in a neo-colonial manner, which constitutes a war crime under international law;

    D.  whereas there are over 200 Crimean political prisoners in Russian detention facilities, including 133 Crimean Tatars and 67 political prisoners with severe health problems that require assistance;

    E.  whereas Crimean journalist and human rights defender Iryna Danylovych was abducted in 2022, accused of possessing explosives and sentenced to 6 years and 11 months of imprisonment; whereas NGO activist Tofik Abdulhaziiev was arrested in 2019 and sentenced to 12 years in a maximum security prison on trumped-up charges, and since 2023 is being held in a prison some 2 700 km away from Crimea; whereas citizen journalist Amet Suleymanov was sentenced to 12 years of prison in 2021;

    F.  whereas many Crimeans continue to be persecuted, including: Emil Kurbedinov, Server Mustafayev, Emir-Usein Kuku, Lutfiye Zudiyeva, Kulamet Ibraimov, Abdureshit Dzhepparov, Edem Semedlyaev, Rustem Kyamilev, Oleksandr Sizikov, Halyna Dovhopola, Ruslan Abdurakhmanov, Rustem Huhuryk and Lilia Hemedzhy;

    1.  Reiterates its condemnation of the illegal occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by Russia;

    2.  Condemns Russia’s continuous targeting of ethnic Ukrainians and systematic persecution of indigenous Crimean Tatars, which aims to erase their identity, heritage and culture, echoing, for the Crimean Tatars, the genocidal deportations of 1944; considers that Crimea’s future is tied to its recognition as the Crimean Tatars’ historic homeland;

    3.  Condemns the persecution of journalists, civil society activists and human rights defenders and the deportation of civilians including political prisoners from Crimea to penitentiary institutions across Russia, contrary to international law;

    4.  Demands the immediate and unconditional release of Iryna Danylovych, Tofik Abdulhaziiev and Amet Suleymanov and other political prisoners; calls for immediate medical care to be provided; denounces the upholding of verdicts against seriously ill individuals, which constitutes a blatant violation of international human rights standards; calls on the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN to establish the whereabouts of civilian detainees from Crimea;

    5.  Calls on the international community to continue its policy of non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea; supports efforts for its de-occupation, such as the Crimean Platform; calls for the strengthening of sanctions against individuals and legal entities involved in the illegal annexation;

    6.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the VP/HR, the relevant EU institutions and the Russian and Ukrainian authorities.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Text adopted – Appointment of the Chair of the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) – P10_TA(2024)0067 – Wednesday, 18 December 2024 – Strasbourg

    Source: European Parliament

    (Approval)

    The European Parliament,

    –  having regard to the proposal of the Commission of 4 December 2024 (C10-0210/2024),

    –  having regard to Article 68(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2024 establishing the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and amending Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010, (EU) No 1094/2010 and (EU) No 1095/2010(1),

    –  having regard to its Rules of Procedure,

    –  having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A10-0032/2024),

    A.  whereas Article 68(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 provides that the Chair of the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism shall be selected on the basis of merit, skills, knowledge, integrity, recognised standing and experience in the area of AML/CFT and other relevant qualifications;

    B.  whereas Parliament is committed to ensuring gender balance in executive positions in Union institutions, bodies and agencies; whereas all Union and national institutions and bodies should implement concrete measures to ensure gender balance;

    C.  whereas in accordance with Article 68(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620, on 9 October 2024 the Commission adopted a shortlist of candidates for the position of Chair of the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs held hearings with those shortlisted candidates on 25 November 2024;

    D.  whereas in accordance with Article 68(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620, the Commission provided the shortlist to Parliament on 9 October 2024;

    E.  whereas on 4 December 2024, the Commission adopted a proposal to appoint Bruna Szego as Chair of the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and transmitted that proposal to Parliament;

    F.  whereas the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs then proceeded to evaluate the credentials of the proposed candidate for the position of Chair of the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism, in particular in view of the requirements laid down in Article 68 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620;

    G.  whereas on 16 December 2024, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs held a hearing with Bruna Szego, at which she made an opening statement and then answered questions put by members of the Committees;

    1.  Approves the proposal for the appointment of Bruna Szego as Chair of the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism;

    2.  Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council, the Commission, the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and the governments of the Member States.

    (1) OJ L, 2024/1620, 19.6.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1620/oj.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Florida Woman Convicted of Civil Rights Conspiracy Targeting Pregnancy Resource Centers

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    Gabriella Oropesa, of Cooper City, Florida, was convicted yesterday for her role in a conspiracy to injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate employees of pro-life pregnancy help centers in the free exercise of the right to provide and seek to provide reproductive health services. The defendant and her co-conspirators selected reproductive health facilities that provided and counseled alternatives to abortion and vandalized those facilities with threatening messages. Caleb Freestone, Amber Stewart-Smith and Annarella Rivera previously pleaded guilty for their participation in the conspiracy.

    According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between May 2022 and July 2022, Oropesa, Freestone, Smith-Stewart and Rivera engaged in a series of targeted attacks on pro-life pregnancy help centers in Florida. The defendants, in the dark of night and while wearing masks and dark clothing to obscure their identities, spray painted the facilities with threatening messages, including “If abortions aren’t safe than niether [sic] are you,” “YOUR TIME IS UP!!,” “WE’RE COMING for U” and “We are everywhere.”

    “The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act is clear: no one should have to face threats and intimidation just for doing their job,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to ensure access to the full spectrum of reproductive health services afforded to the public, whether those services include abortion or counseling on alternatives to abortion.”

    “Federal law protects providers who render reproductive health care and those who seek their services,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Threats of violence against pregnancy resource centers or those exercising their rights to care will not be tolerated.”

    A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 19, 2025. Oropesa faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the conspiracy charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The FBI Tampa Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and Winter Haven, Hialeah and Hollywood Police Departments.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney Derry for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Laura-Kate Bernstein of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

    Anyone who has information about incidents of violence, threats and obstruction that target a patient or provider of reproductive health services, or damage and destruction of reproductive health care facilities, should report that information to the FBI at www.tips.fbi.gov. For more information about clinic violence, and the Justice Department’s efforts to enforce Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act violations, please visit www.justice.gov/crt/national-task-force-violence-against-reproductive-health-care-providers.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Delivers Remarks at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    Remarks as Delivered

    Thanks, Nat.

    I am very grateful to be here and have the opportunity to talk to all of our federal, state, and local law enforcement here.

    All of you are the partners that make everything work. You represent people who take risks every single day to keep the people of Oregon safe. I can’t thank you enough, and I very much look forward to hearing your perspectives and ideas for me to take back.

    I am also grateful to have the chance to recognize the extraordinary work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

    For people of this state, this office is the face of the Justice Department. The attorneys and staff here understand that responsibility. And like all of our partners gathered around this table, you do outstanding work on behalf of those you serve.

    Three and a half years ago, the Justice Department launched an ambitious strategy to fight the sharp spike in violent crime that took place during the pandemic.

    We focused our efforts on the most powerful tools we have, which are reflected right here: our partnerships with federal, state, Tribal and local law enforcement.

    We fortified those partnerships with substantial funding from our grantmaking components to help police departments hire more officers, to support our law enforcement task forces, and to invest resources in initiatives aimed at preventing and disrupting violence before it occurs.

    And we brought to bear our unique prosecutorial authorities and new technologies that enable us to zero in on those individuals and gangs that are responsible for the most violence.

    Today, we know that work is starting to pay off.

    Data from the Major Cities Chiefs Association shows a nearly 8% drop in violent crime here in Portland between 2022 and 2023. And recent data shows an additional 4% decline in violent crime in Portland in the first nine months of this year compared to the same time period last year.

    But, of course, there is no acceptable level of violent crime.

    That’s why the Justice Department continues to work with our partners here to fight violent crime, disrupt illegal drug and firearms trafficking, and keep people safe.

    In May, working with the FBI and the Portland Police Bureau, this U.S. Attorney’s Office secured a 14-year sentence for a leader of Portland’s 18th Street Gang. The gang leader conspired to traffic large quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine into the Portland area for redistribution and sale.

    In August, working with the Westside Interagency Narcotics Team and the Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program, this office obtained a sentence of more than 10 years for a man who sold deadly Oxycodone pills to a 20-year-old woman who died from acute fentanyl poisoning.

    In September, working with the FBI and the Medford Police Department, this office secured sentences of three men for distributing counterfeit, fentanyl-laced pills that resulted in the death of a teenage girl.

    In October, working with DEA, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, IRS, and the Oregon State Police, and other state and local law enforcement, this office obtained a 57-month sentence for a chief money launderer for a drug trafficking organization operating in the Pacific Northwest and California.

    The defendant laundered more than $4.6 million in drug proceeds and used laundered funds to purchase eight properties. Those properties were forfeited to the government and will ultimately be sold, with proceeds going to support crime victims and law enforcement.

    That same month, in partnership with the FBI, the Klamath Falls Police Department, the Oregon State Police, and half a dozen other law enforcement partners, this office obtained the conviction of a man who brutally victimized two women. The man kidnapped and sexually assaulted both women and held one of them in a cell that he constructed for the purpose in his garage.

    Thanks to the bravery and collaboration of our law enforcement partners, that man is being held accountable for his crimes.

    Just a couple of weeks ago, this office secured a five-year sentence for a man who illegally possessed and manufactured more than 100 semi-automatic firearms and silencers.

    During a search of his residence, investigators found methamphetamine, dozens of weapons, firearm manufacturing tools, and a 3D printer with a partially printed part for an AR15. When the defendant was arrested, he was carrying a semiautomatic pistol without an identifiable serial number.

    That investigation and successful prosecution reflected the joint efforts of this office, ATF, and the Lane County Sheriff’s Office.

    In addition to using our investigative and prosecutorial capabilities, we are also committed to using our grantmaking capabilities to invest in public safety.

    So far this year, the Justice Department has awarded more than $64 million in grants to Oregon.

    These funds will help law enforcement agencies in Oregon to hire more officers.

    And they will help agencies and community partners prevent and combat violent crime and drug trafficking and improve services for survivors of domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and other crimes.

    The Department of Justice remains committed to providing our law enforcement and community partners with the resources they need to protect their communities.

    The examples I have just shared are just a snapshot of the extraordinary work that this U.S. Attorney’s Office is doing every day to protect people in Oregon and to fulfill the Justice Department’s mission to ensure the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect civil rights.

    I am extremely proud of the public servants who make up this office and of the extraordinary leader beside me, Natalie Wight. And I am equally proud of the relationships they have developed with the people around this table.

    Your jobs are not easy. They are dangerous, but they are essential. Thanks to you for the many sacrifices you make to keep of this state safe.

    I’m looking forward now to beginning our meeting.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Fatal crash at Swan Reach

    Source: South Australia Police

    A woman has died in a crash at Swan Reach.

    About 10.40pm on Friday 20 December, police and emergency services were called to Anzac Avenue after reports that a black Ford Falcon sedan had left the road and crashed into a tree.

    The driver and sole occupant, a 45-year-old Swan Reach woman died at the scene.

    Major Crash officers attended the scene to investigate the circumstances of the collision.

    The woman’s death is the 83rd life lost on South Australian roads this year.

    Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Dentist Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Stealing Drugs from Patients and Performing Surgery Without Proper Pain Management

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3

    Department of Justice
    U.S. Attorney’s Office
    Central District of Illinois

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Friday, December 20, 2024

    SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A Rochester, Illinois, dentist, Phillip M. Jensen, 64, was sentenced on December 18, 2024, to 15 years in prison for stealing fentanyl from his patients, injecting them with adulterated drugs, and performing surgery without proper pain management. Jenson also was ordered to pay a $200,000 fine.

    Jensen previously pleaded guilty to two counts of drug diversion, two counts of acquiring a controlled substance by fraud, one count of tampering with consumer products resulting in serious bodily injury, and two counts of false statements relating to health care matters in August 2024.

    Jensen, who prior to having his license suspended in 2022 had specialized in oral and maxillofacial surgery, started stealing fentanyl form his patients as early as December 2019. This conduct first came to light when his staff began noticing patients who were moving, moaning, and otherwise showing signs of pain and distress during surgery.

    Jensen admitted that he had stolen at least half of the fentanyl in every vial in the practice. He acknowledged removing the safety caps, withdrawing at least half of the fentanyl in the single-use vials, refilling the vials with saline, and gluing the caps back on to the vials. In a further effort to hide what he had done, Jensen made false entries into his surgical records claiming that he had given quantities of full-strength and unadulterated fentanyl to his patients to control their pain. He further billed both public and private insurance for these surgeries utilizing these same falsified records. In all, Jensen stole more than 40 grams of fentanyl for his personal use through his fraud.

    At the sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Colleen R. Lawless, the government presented evidence of Jensen’s lengthy history with addiction, his previous efforts at treatment, and his ultimate decision to prey upon his patients by stealing the drugs that were meant to provide them with comfort during their surgeries. The government presented evidence of the elaborate steps Jensen took to disguise his theft and how his theft of this necessary pain medication impacted his patients.

    During the hearing, Judge Lawless also heard from several of the more than 99 identified victims of Jensen’s fraud, including the statement of a mother who discussed looking into the face of their child immediately following the surgery as the child cried and stated that they had “felt everything.” The government also presented the statement of a patient that awoke during her surgery. When Jensen realized she was awake, he struck the patient in the head with an instrument and completed the surgery, which involved the extraction of multiple teeth as well as the shaping and smoothing of the bones in her jaw, while she was conscious and lacking pain management.

    At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Lawless rejected Jensen’s argument that he was less culpable than an average drug dealer. She noted that Jensen profited from his crimes. She also stated that while a dealer provides drugs to knowing and willing participants, Jensen provided diluted drugs without the consent or knowledge of his victims. She noted that Jensen was a physician who used his position of trust to hurt others. Judge Lawless concluded by asking, “If you cannot trust your doctor, who can you trust?”

    A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Jensen in February 2022 charging him with twenty felony counts. He was originally released on bond, but a warrant was issued in July 2024 for violation of the terms and conditions of bond after he stalked and harassed a potential witness in the case. Jensen was detained at that time, and he has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service.

    Judge Lawless, in imposing the fifteen-year sentence, rejected Jensen’s arguments for a lower drug weight and noted the egregious nature of his conduct. In addition to the $200,000 fine imposed, Judge Lawless also ordered Jensen to repay the government for the costs of the expert witness it had to hire. Jensen also lost his medical license as a result of his conduct.

    “This case represents the commitment of the Department of Justice, both in the Central District of Illinois and beyond, to protect and defend the public from those that would prey upon them,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris. “People are never as vulnerable as when they place their faith in a health care provider to not only treat their condition but to administer anesthesia and pain medicine during that treatment. Jensen abused that faith and hurt others in the process. Because of this prosecution, Jensen will not be permitted to practice medicine again and will be prevented from hurting members of our community in the future.”

    “Health care professionals who tamper with patient medications create a risk of harm to patients, and also put at risk the trust that U.S. consumers have in those who provide their medical care,” said Ronne Malham, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations Chicago Field Office. “We will continue to investigate and bring to justice health care professionals who take advantage of their unique medical positions and tamper with patients’ medications.”

    “Medical professionals who violate their oaths to ‘do no harm’ must be held accountable,” said Sheila Lyons, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration – Chicago Division. “The DEA will continue working to keep Illinois families safe from medical professionals who illegally divert opioid painkillers from legitimate medical supplies.”

    The United States Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Unit, Springfield Resident Office, which focuses on cases involving pharmaceutical controlled substances diverted from the legal chain of commerce to the illegal drug market, investigated this case in conjunction with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Food and Drug Administration, and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas F. McMeyer and Sierra Senor-Moore represented the government in the prosecution.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor McKee Shares Information for Protecting Children’s Credit

    Source: US State of Rhode Island

    Published on Friday, December 20, 2024

    PROVIDENCE, RI — Governor Dan McKee has outlined resources available to help parents and families who may be concerned about the security of their children’s credit in light of the recent RIBridges data breach.

    “People need to act fast when it comes to protecting their personal information, and for some, that includes keeping an eye on their child’s credit,” said Governor Dan McKee. “Our State is committed to providing timely updates and resources so that Rhode Islanders and their families can take action to secure their credit and data.”

    Step-by-step guidance is available through the three major credit reporting agencies:

    • Are My Children at Risk Of Identity Theft? (Equifax)
    • Requesting a Minor’s Credit Report, Fraud Alert or Security Freeze (Experian)
    • Child Identity Theft (TransUnion)

    Most minors will not yet have a credit file, as minors can only take out loans or credit cards if their parents or their guardians cosign. The state cybersecurity advisor suggests that concerned guardians apply for free credit monitoring for their children based on their children’s social security numbers. The monitoring feature will alert a parent or guardian if an attempt to access their child’s credit is made.

    For more details and updates regarding the data breach, please visit cyberalert.ri.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: First Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee to Serve as Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ABINGDON, Va. – First Assistant United States Attorney Zachery T. Lee will serve as the Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, effective December 21, 2024, at 12:00 a.m. He is assuming the office under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, 5 U.S.C § 3345, upon the departure of United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh, who announced his resignation earlier this year.

    “For two decades, Zach Lee has served the Western District of Virginia with honor, distinction, and dedication as an Assistant United States Attorney, Criminal Chief, and most recently as First Assistant United States Attorney,” United States Attorney Kavanaugh said today. “There is nobody more qualified to serve in this role, and I look forward to watching the United States Attorney’s Office continue to thrive and serve the citizens of the Western District of Virginia under his leadership.”

    “In my role as the First Assistant United States Attorney, I’ve had the privilege to work side-by-side with Chris Kavanaugh on our district’s most pressing matters,” Mr. Lee said today. “We are sad to see Chris leave the Western District after more than a decade of service, but I promise to keep the men and women who work here focused on the priorities he’s put in place: Keeping our District safe, ensuring civil rights, reducing gun violence, and leading complex white collar investigations and prosecutions.”

    Mr. Lee, 48, has served the Department of Justice since joining the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia in 2005 as a Special Assistant United States Attorney, transitioning to an Assistant United States Attorney in 2007. During his tenure, Mr. Lee has prosecuted complex narcotics, public corruption, firearms, and other criminal matters. He also served in the district’s leadership team as Criminal Chief and First Assistant United States Attorney.

    Prior to his employment with the Department of Justice, Mr. Lee served as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Bristol, Virginia, and as a law clerk to the Honorable James P. Jones, United States District Judge for the Western District of Virginia.

    He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Wyoming College of Law, Laramie, Wyoming, and a Bachelor of Arts from Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two California Men Charged in Largest NFT Scheme Prosecuted to Date

    Source: United States Attorneys General 7

    Note: View the indictment here. 

    A six-count indictment was unsealed today in Los Angeles charging two California men with defrauding investors of more than $22 million in cryptocurrency through a series of digital asset project “rug pulls,” a type of fraud scheme in which the creator of a nonfungible token (NFT) or other digital asset project solicits funds from investors for the project and then abruptly abandons the project and fraudulently retains investors’ funds. Both men were arrested yesterday by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Los Angeles.

    According to court documents, from May 2021 to May 2024, Gabriel Hay, 23, of Beverly Hills, and Gavin Mayo, 23, of Thousand Oaks, sponsored several NFT and other digital asset projects and undertook promotional activities in support of those projects. Hay and Mayo allegedly made or caused others to make materially false and misleading statements regarding the digital asset projects being launched and provided false and misleading project “roadmaps” detailing plans for the NFTs or other digital asset projects after their launch that the sponsors never intended to fulfill. For example, the indictment alleges that in promoting the Vault of Gems NFT project, Hay and Mayo falsely claimed that the project would be the “first NFT project to be pegged to a hard asset.” However, instead of pursuing the Vault of Gems project or others as they had represented they would, Hay and Mayo allegedly abandoned the projects after collecting millions in funds from investors.

    “Gabriel Hay and Gavin Mayo allegedly defrauded investors in digital asset projects of tens of millions of dollars and threatened an individual who attempted to expose their roles in these fraudulent schemes,” said Principal Deputy Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Fraudsters take advantage of new technologies and financial products to steal investors’ hard-earned money. The department is committed to protecting investors and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out fraud involving cryptocurrency and other digital assets and bring offenders to justice.”

    “For three years, Hay and Mayo apparently lied to their investors in order to defraud them out of millions of dollars,” said HSI Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger. “Such technological fraud schemes cost investors millions of dollars every year. Just because such crimes aren’t violent does not mean they are victimless. HSI will continue to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle such cryptocurrency fraud networks.”

    “Whenever a new investment trend occurs, scammers are sure to follow,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “My office and our law enforcement partners will continue our efforts to protect consumers and punish wrongdoers involved in crypto fraud.”

    Hay, Mayo, and others allegedly used these tactics with a variety of digital asset projects, including Vault of Gems, Faceless, Sinful Souls, Clout Coin, Dirty Dogs, Uncovered, MoonPortal, Squiggles, and Roost Coin. Hay and Mayo also allegedly used a variety of means to conceal their involvement in the fraudulent projects by falsely identifying other individuals or causing other individuals to be falsely identified as owners of the projects. When one project manager on the Faceless NFT project exposed Hay and Mayo as being behind that project, Hay and Mayo allegedly embarked on a harassment campaign against the project manager, sending or causing the sending of messages to the project manager and his parents for the purpose of intimidating him and his family and causing them great emotional distress.

    Hay and Mayo are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of stalking. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the conspiracy and wire fraud counts and a maximum penalty of five years on the stalking count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    HSI Baltimore is investigating the case.

    Trial Attorneys Tian Huang and Tamara Livshiz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, both members of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maxwell Coll for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case.

    The NCET was established to combat the growing illicit use of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Within the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the NCET conducts and supports investigations into individuals and entities that are enabling the use of digital assets to commit and facilitate a variety of crimes, with a particular focus on virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and infrastructure providers. The NCET also works to set strategic priorities regarding digital asset technologies, identify areas for increased investigative and prosecutorial focus, and lead the department’s efforts to collaborate with domestic and foreign government agencies as well as the private sector to aggressively investigate and prosecute crimes involving cryptocurrency and digital assets.

    If you believe that you are a victim of any of the scams listed above or other scams involving the defendants, please email rugpullvictims@hsi.dhs.gov.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: If the EU won’t stop Israel’s genocide in Gaza, member states must go it alone

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Ursula von der Leyen knows that the EU’s reputation as a credible actor for human rights and international law is in tatters over the horrors in Gaza.

    EU leaders and officials have gone from privately condemning the EU’s double standards behind closed doors to publicly lamenting them. Instead of tackling these double standards however, the European Commission President rebranded them as “anti-EU narratives” and tasked the new Commissioner for the Mediterranean and foreign policy chief to elaborate a communications strategy to highlight the EU’s contribution to the region. But there are issues that even the canniest communications strategy cannot bury.

    After the atrocities committed by Hamas and other armed groups on 7 October 2023, Israel’s military campaign has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, 60% of whom are children, women and older people. The Israeli offensive has left the occupied Gaza Strip a wasteland, inflicting shocking and unprecedented levels of death, suffering and destruction. Amnesty International investigated Israel’s offensive on Gaza, examining a variety of unlawful acts constituting a pattern of conduct, the harmful and destructive impact of its policies and actions, and Israeli government and military officials’ racist, dehumanizing and genocidal rhetoric.

    The conclusion is clear: Israel is committing these acts with the intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza. Israel is committing genocide. We also found that not only is the genocide in Gaza the most documented in history, but the EU and many of its member states are failing to prevent it. Moreover, some member states risk becoming complicit in Israel’s genocide by continuing to transfer arms to the country.

    ‘All signs of genocide are flashing red’

    Amnesty International’s report ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza is the culmination of nine months of meticulous research and spans 296 pages. During our investigation, we interviewed 212 people, conducted extensive fieldwork and analyzed a wide range of visual and digital evidence, including satellite imagery. Crucially, we also analyzed evidence of Israel’s intent, before concluding that Israel has committed — and is continuing to commit — genocide in Gaza.

    In 15 airstrikes we found that Israel killed 334 civilians, including 141 children, and wounded hundreds of others in direct attacks against civilians and without effective warnings. These airstrikes represent a subset of a wider pattern of deliberately indiscriminate attacks. We also documented how Israel has deliberately imposed conditions of life on Palestinians in Gaza calculated to bring about their physical destruction. Within the context of Israel’s long-standing apartheid and unlawful occupation, the inescapable conclusion is that Israel committed these acts with the intent of destroying the Palestinians in Gaza.

    Unsurprisingly, the world has been reluctant to recognize the situation in Gaza as genocide. After all, if what we have been witnessing every day for 14 months was indeed genocide, what would that say about the international community?

    The International Court of Justice (ICJ) recognized that a risk exists that genocide could be committed against Palestinians in Gaza, ordering multiple binding measures to prevent it. The International Criminal Court (ICC) further issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and former minister of defense for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

    As ICJ judge Abdulqawi Yousef put it: “All signs of genocide are flashing red.”

    Not everyone agreed with our findings. Yet  many states have reached the same conclusion before us. While others may refuse to acknowledge the reality, the EU and its member states are faced with two primary responsibilities under international law: the obligation not to aid or assist genocide and the obligation to prevent it.

    In the absence of unity, EU member states must go it alone

    As European leaders gather in Brussels for the European Council, the new HR/VP Kaja Kallas faces the daunting challenge of convincing all 27 member states to uphold these two fundamental obligations under international law.

    However, in the absence of united action at EU level, individual member states have a duty to act on their own to uphold their obligations to prevent genocide and avoid being complicit in it. In practical terms, this entails five concrete actions.

    The remaining EU member states that continue to export or allow the transfer of arms to Israel must follow the lead of those who have rightly suspended arms exports and transshipments to Israel.

    States must exert diplomatic pressure on Israel, including by publicly recognizing that Israel is committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, among other violations of international law.

    States must support justice mechanisms, including by safeguarding the ICC from reprisals, supporting the court financially and politically, and publicly committing to enforcing arrest warrants issued by the ICC. Additionally, states have a responsibility to investigate and prosecute international crimes committed in Gaza under universal jurisdiction, or when suspected perpetrators or victims are dual nationals.

    For its part, the EU must not allow Israel to decimate the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees, which remains the only lifeline for millions of Palestinians. This requires both financial and political support for the UNRWA, as well as supporting Norway’s efforts at the UN General Assembly to challenge Israel’s attempt to dismantle it.

    Finally, regardless of EU leaders’ discourse on the ‘day after’ and long-term prospects for peace, as long as Israeli settlement expansion and unlawful occupation and apartheid persist, this will remain empty rhetoric. The EU must start by implementing their legal obligations, as clarified by the ICJ, to ban trade and investments that contribute to maintaining Israel’s illegal occupation.

    In the pages of history, two groups of politicians will be remembered: those who remained silent in the face of Gaza’s genocide — and those who rose up to stop it.

    *This article was originally published on 19 December in EUobserver.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Florida Woman Convicted of Civil Rights Conspiracy Targeting Pregnancy Resource Centers

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Gabriella Oropesa, of Cooper City, Florida, was convicted yesterday for her role in a conspiracy to injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate employees of pro-life pregnancy help centers in the free exercise of the right to provide and seek to provide reproductive health services. The defendant and her co-conspirators selected reproductive health facilities that provided and counseled alternatives to abortion and vandalized those facilities with threatening messages. Caleb Freestone, Amber Stewart-Smith and Annarella Rivera previously pleaded guilty for their participation in the conspiracy.

    According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between May 2022 and July 2022, Oropesa, Freestone, Smith-Stewart and Rivera engaged in a series of targeted attacks on pro-life pregnancy help centers in Florida. The defendants, in the dark of night and while wearing masks and dark clothing to obscure their identities, spray painted the facilities with threatening messages, including “If abortions aren’t safe than niether [sic] are you,” “YOUR TIME IS UP!!,” “WE’RE COMING for U” and “We are everywhere.”

    “The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act is clear: no one should have to face threats and intimidation just for doing their job,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to ensure access to the full spectrum of reproductive health services afforded to the public, whether those services include abortion or counseling on alternatives to abortion.”

    “Federal law protects providers who render reproductive health care and those who seek their services,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Threats of violence against pregnancy resource centers or those exercising their rights to care will not be tolerated.”

    A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 19, 2025. Oropesa faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the conspiracy charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The FBI Tampa Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and Winter Haven, Hialeah and Hollywood Police Departments.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney Derry for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Laura-Kate Bernstein of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

    Anyone who has information about incidents of violence, threats and obstruction that target a patient or provider of reproductive health services, or damage and destruction of reproductive health care facilities, should report that information to the FBI at www.tips.fbi.gov. For more information about clinic violence, and the Justice Department’s efforts to enforce Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act violations, please visit www.justice.gov/crt/national-task-force-violence-against-reproductive-health-care-providers.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Two California Men Charged in Largest NFT Scheme Prosecuted to Date

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Note: View the indictment here. 

    A six-count indictment was unsealed today in Los Angeles charging two California men with defrauding investors of more than $22 million in cryptocurrency through a series of digital asset project “rug pulls,” a type of fraud scheme in which the creator of a nonfungible token (NFT) or other digital asset project solicits funds from investors for the project and then abruptly abandons the project and fraudulently retains investors’ funds. Both men were arrested yesterday by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Los Angeles.

    According to court documents, from May 2021 to May 2024, Gabriel Hay, 23, of Beverly Hills, and Gavin Mayo, 23, of Thousand Oaks, sponsored several NFT and other digital asset projects and undertook promotional activities in support of those projects. Hay and Mayo allegedly made or caused others to make materially false and misleading statements regarding the digital asset projects being launched and provided false and misleading project “roadmaps” detailing plans for the NFTs or other digital asset projects after their launch that the sponsors never intended to fulfill. For example, the indictment alleges that in promoting the Vault of Gems NFT project, Hay and Mayo falsely claimed that the project would be the “first NFT project to be pegged to a hard asset.” However, instead of pursuing the Vault of Gems project or others as they had represented they would, Hay and Mayo allegedly abandoned the projects after collecting millions in funds from investors.

    “Gabriel Hay and Gavin Mayo allegedly defrauded investors in digital asset projects of tens of millions of dollars and threatened an individual who attempted to expose their roles in these fraudulent schemes,” said Principal Deputy Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Fraudsters take advantage of new technologies and financial products to steal investors’ hard-earned money. The department is committed to protecting investors and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out fraud involving cryptocurrency and other digital assets and bring offenders to justice.”

    “For three years, Hay and Mayo apparently lied to their investors in order to defraud them out of millions of dollars,” said HSI Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger. “Such technological fraud schemes cost investors millions of dollars every year. Just because such crimes aren’t violent does not mean they are victimless. HSI will continue to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle such cryptocurrency fraud networks.”

    “Whenever a new investment trend occurs, scammers are sure to follow,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “My office and our law enforcement partners will continue our efforts to protect consumers and punish wrongdoers involved in crypto fraud.”

    Hay, Mayo, and others allegedly used these tactics with a variety of digital asset projects, including Vault of Gems, Faceless, Sinful Souls, Clout Coin, Dirty Dogs, Uncovered, MoonPortal, Squiggles, and Roost Coin. Hay and Mayo also allegedly used a variety of means to conceal their involvement in the fraudulent projects by falsely identifying other individuals or causing other individuals to be falsely identified as owners of the projects. When one project manager on the Faceless NFT project exposed Hay and Mayo as being behind that project, Hay and Mayo allegedly embarked on a harassment campaign against the project manager, sending or causing the sending of messages to the project manager and his parents for the purpose of intimidating him and his family and causing them great emotional distress.

    Hay and Mayo are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of stalking. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the conspiracy and wire fraud counts and a maximum penalty of five years on the stalking count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    HSI Baltimore is investigating the case.

    Trial Attorneys Tian Huang and Tamara Livshiz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, both members of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maxwell Coll for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case.

    The NCET was established to combat the growing illicit use of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Within the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the NCET conducts and supports investigations into individuals and entities that are enabling the use of digital assets to commit and facilitate a variety of crimes, with a particular focus on virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and infrastructure providers. The NCET also works to set strategic priorities regarding digital asset technologies, identify areas for increased investigative and prosecutorial focus, and lead the department’s efforts to collaborate with domestic and foreign government agencies as well as the private sector to aggressively investigate and prosecute crimes involving cryptocurrency and digital assets.

    If you believe that you are a victim of any of the scams listed above or other scams involving the defendants, please email rugpullvictims@hsi.dhs.gov.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Doctor and Her Wife Sentenced for Fraud and Other Crimes

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

    HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A former family practice doctor in Huntsville was sentenced today for drug crimes, health care fraud, and COVID-19 disaster relief fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, FBI Special Agent in Charge Carlton Peeples, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Steven L. Hofer, and Special Agent in Charge Tamela Miles of the Department of Health and Human Service Office of the Inspector General Atlanta Region. The doctor’s wife, who owned the medical practice, was also sentenced.

    Judge Liles C. Burke sentenced Francene Aretha Gayle, 50, to 87 months in prison on four opioid prescribing charges, one count of health care fraud, and one count of wire fraud. Judge Burke sentenced Schara Monique Davis, 48, to 42 months in prison for one count of health care fraud and one count of wire fraud. Each defendant was also ordered to pay $2.2 million in restitution, forfeit $226,815, and pay a fine.

    According to the defendants’ plea agreements, between about 2014 and early 2020, Gayle was a doctor who operated a multi-clinic practice in Huntsville, Athens, and Killen. Davis owned the practice and served as business manager. In 2019, the Killen clinic shut down. In March 2020, the Alabama Medical Licensure Commission revoked Gayle’s license, and the other two clinics closed shortly after that.

    Gayle admitted that she had unlawfully distributed drugs, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone.

    Gayle and Davis both admitted to having conspired to commit health care fraud for several years by billing insurers for office visits under Gayle’s name even when she did not see the patients, was not in the same building, and sometimes was not in the same town. The defendants knew that the billing scheme was fraudulent. In 2015, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama audited the practice and discovered that Gayle was absent, other staff were seeing patients, and yet all office visits were being billed under Gayle’s name. Blue Cross flagged the issue, and Gayle promised it would stop. Instead, the practice continued fraudulently billing insurers for office visits for the next four years. In total, between 2015 and 2020, Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross paid more than $2.3 million for office visits billed under Gayle’s name.

    Gayle and Davis both also admitted to having conspired to commit wire fraud. In March 2020, based on concerns about her prescribing and billing practices, Gayle’s Alabama medical license was revoked.  Months later, Gayle and Davis applied for and obtained more than $450,000 in COVID-19 disaster relief funds through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Those funds were designed to stabilize businesses struggling because of the pandemic. In their funding applications, Gayle and Davis certified that their medical practice needed the money because of economic uncertainty or injury caused by the pandemic. In reality, Gayle and Davis’s practice had closed, and they used COVID-19 funds they received on other things. 

    The FBI, DEA, and HHS-OIG investigated the case. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Alabama Attorney General’s Office provided exceptional investigative assistance after the Alabama Medicaid Agency’s Program Integrity Division initiated the case and referred it. Assistant U.S. Attorneys J.B. Ward and Ryan Rummage prosecuted the case. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Habitant — Valley Integrated Street Crime Enforcement Unit seizes loaded firearms

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Valley Integrated Street Crime Enforcement Unit (VISCEU) seized loaded firearms and illicit drugs from a residence in Habitant.

    On December 19, VISCEU safely arrested a man at a residence on Hwy. 221 in Habitant then searched the home as part of an ongoing investigation.

    During the search, officers seized two loaded firearms; one in the vehicle and one inside the residence. Officers also seized an unloaded rifle, brass knuckles, pre-packaged cocaine, methamphetamine, and a quantity of cash.

    Dawson Andrew Elliott, 25, of Habitant, has been charged with offences including:

    • Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking (cocaine and methamphetamine)
    • Possession of a Weapon for Dangerous Purpose (4counts)
    • Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm (3counts)
    • Careless Use of a Firearm (3 counts)
    • Possession of Property Obtained by Crime

    Anyone with information about illicit drugs or firearms in their community are encouraged to contact their nearest RCMP detachment or local police to report a crime. 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.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Colorado Man Sentenced To 60 Months In Prison For Assaulting Federal Officer

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    DURANGO – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Daniel Lehi, 44, of Towaoc, Colorado, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to one count of assaulting a federal officer.

    On April 5, 2024, a Bureau of Indian Affairs Officer responded to the Ute Mountain Ute Casino in Towaoc, Colorado, within the exterior boundaries of the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, on a report of an intoxicated person, later identified as Lehi. Lehi lunged at the officer and struck him in the face. When additional security personnel responded to the incident, Lehi continued to fight until officers were able to subdue him.

    United States District Court Judge Gordon P. Gallagher sentenced Lehi after considering numerous sentencing factors, including the defendant’s history of assaults on law enforcement officers.

    “Assault on a law enforcement officer is a serious offense, and this defendant received a serious sentence for his actions,” said Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Matt Kirsch. “I want to acknowledge the BIA officer for deftly handling a challenging situation.”

    “This attack on a federal officer simply doing his job is unacceptable. We fully support the officer who is a victim in this case and are steadfast in our commitment to pursuing justice in cases involving assaults on law enforcement officers,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “Such acts will not go unanswered, and we will work tirelessly to ensure accountability.”

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation Durango Field Office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs handled the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Lisa Franceware handled the prosecution.

    Case Number: 1:24-cr-00182-GPG

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Syracuse Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution and Possession of Child Pornography

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – David Hullihen, age 41, of Syracuse, pled guilty today to ten counts of receipt of child pornography. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) made the announcement.

    As part of his guilty plea, Hullihen admitted that he sent multiple videos depicting child sexual abuse material to another person over the application Wire. Hullihen also possessed child sexual abuse material on his cell phone. Hullihen is a registered sex offender with two previous convictions for child pornography offenses in New York.

    The offenses to which Hullihen pled guilty carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, with a maximum of 40 years imprisonment. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant violated, the United States Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.  However, if Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes accepts the parties’ agreed-upon disposition at sentencing on April 23, 2025, Hullihen will receive an prison term of 235 months. Hullihen’s sentence must also include a post-imprisonment term of supervised release of between five years and life, a fine of up to $250,000.00, restitution to the children whose images he distributed and possessed, and he will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. 

    This case was investigated by the FBI’s Albany Division Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, the Tiffin, Ohio Police Department, the Syracuse, New York Police Department, and the New York State Police. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Tuck prosecuted Hullihen as part of Project Safe Childhood. 

    Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).  Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Beverly Hills and Ventura County Men Indicted for Allegedly Running NFT Crypto Fraud that Conned Investors Out of More Than $22 Million

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    LOS ANGELES – A six-count indictment was unsealed today charging two Southern California men with defrauding investors of more than $22 million in cryptocurrency through a series of digital asset project “rugpulls,” a type of fraud scheme in which the creator of a nonfungible token (NFT) or other digital asset project solicits funds from investors for the project and then abruptly abandons the project and fraudulently retains investors’ funds.

    Gabriel Hay, 23, of Beverly Hills, and Gavin Mayo, 23, of Thousand Oaks, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of stalking.

    Their arraignments are scheduled for this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

    “Whenever a new investment trend occurs, scammers are sure to follow,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “My office and our law enforcement partners will continue our efforts to protect consumers and punish wrongdoers involved in crypto fraud.”

    “Gabriel Hay and Gavin Mayo allegedly defrauded investors in digital asset projects of tens of millions of dollars and threatened an individual who attempted to expose their roles in these fraudulent schemes,” said Principal Deputy Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Fraudsters take advantage of new technologies and financial products to steal investors’ hard-earned money. The department is committed to protecting investors and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out fraud involving cryptocurrency and other digital assets and bring offenders to justice.”

    “For three years, Hay and Mayo allegedly lied to their investors in order to defraud them out of millions of dollars,” said HSI Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger. “Such technological fraud schemes cost investors millions of dollars every year. Just because such crimes aren’t violent does not mean they are victimless. HSI will continue to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle such cryptocurrency fraud networks.”

    According to court documents, from May 2021 to May 2024, Hay and Mayo sponsored several NFT and other digital asset projects and undertook promotional activities in support of those projects. Hay and Mayo allegedly made or caused others to make materially false and misleading statements regarding the digital asset projects being launched and provided false and misleading project “roadmaps” detailing plans for the NFTs or digital asset projects after their launch that the sponsors never intended to fulfill.

    For example, the indictment alleges that in promoting the Vault of Gems NFT project, Hay and Mayo falsely claimed that the project would be the “first NFT project to be pegged to a hard asset.” However, instead of pursuing the Vault of Gems project or others as they had represented they would, Hay and Mayo allegedly abandoned the projects after collecting millions in funds from investors.

    Hay, Mayo, and others allegedly used these tactics with a variety of other digital asset projects, including Vault of Gems, Faceless, Sinful Souls, Clout Coin, Dirty Dogs, Uncovered, MoonPortal, Squiggles, and Roost Coin. Hay and Mayo also allegedly used a variety of means to conceal their involvement in the fraudulent projects by falsely identifying other individuals or causing other individuals to be falsely identified as owners of the projects.

    When one project manager on the Faceless NFT project exposed Hay and Mayo as being behind that project, Hay and Mayo allegedly embarked on a harassment campaign against the project manager, sending or causing the sending of messages to the project manager and his parents for the purpose of intimidating him and his family and causing them great emotional distress.

    “Using NFTs to commit fraud not only exploits emerging technology but also erodes trust in the broader digital ecosystem,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “The alleged actions of Hay and Mayo, who defrauded investors out of millions over several years, highlight the profound harm these schemes cause. These crimes may not involve violence, but they leave countless victims in their wake. HSI remains dedicated to exposing and dismantling cryptocurrency fraud schemes to protect investors and ensure that technological advancements are used to drive progress, not deception.”

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the conspiracy and wire fraud counts and a maximum penalty of five years on the stalking count.

    The HSI Baltimore Field Office is investigating the case.

    Assistant United States Attorney Maxwell K. Coll of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section and Justice Department Trial Attorneys Tian Huang and Tamara Livshiz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, both members of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), are prosecuting this case.

    The NCET was established to combat the growing illicit use of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Within the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the NCET conducts and supports investigations into individuals and entities that are enabling the use of digital assets to commit and facilitate a variety of crimes, with a particular focus on virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and infrastructure providers. The NCET also works to set strategic priorities regarding digital asset technologies, identify areas for increased investigative and prosecutorial focus, and lead the department’s efforts to collaborate with domestic and foreign government agencies as well as the private sector to aggressively investigate and prosecute crimes involving cryptocurrency and digital assets. 

    MIL Security OSI –