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Category: Department of Justice

  • MIL-OSI Security: Yellville Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Online Sexual Enticement of a Minor

    Source: US FBI

    Fayetteville – Isaac James Melder, age 42, of Yellville was sentenced on February 13, 2024, to 360 months in prison without the possibility of parole after being found guilty of communicating with a minor through the internet to entice the minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.  The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.

    According to court documents, in May of 2022, a fourteen-year-old female was reported missing after failing to get on the afternoon school bus.  An extensive search involving multiple law enforcement agencies began, during which officers discovered that Melder and the victim had communicated via the internet using an Xbox.  The messages revealed the two had planned to run away and live in a cave in the Marion County wilderness. The investigation further revealed that Melder had groomed both the victim and her family by providing groceries, money, alcohol, and marijuana and referred to the victim as his wife.

    On June 22, 2022, an informant led law enforcement to the cave where Melder and the victim had lived since their May disappearance.  Melder was immediately taken into state custody.

    Melder was indicted by a Grand Jury in the Western District in April of 2023 and entered a plea of guilty in July 2023.

    U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

    Mountain Home Police Department, Baxter County Sheriff’s Office, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Arkansas State Police, Flippin Police Department, Arkansas Department of Correction, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Harrison Police Department, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Arkansas State Parks, the 14th Judicial District Drug Task Force, investigated or assisted in the search in the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Devon Still prosecuted the case for the United States.

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

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Arizona Man Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation Offenses in Connection with Catfishing Scheme That Targeted Young Boys

    Source: US FBI

    PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Donald Michael, aka “Baseball Fun,” 47, of Queen Creek, Arizona, entered a plea of guilty before United States District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney yesterday to multiple child pornography offenses.

    Michael was charged by indictment in July of last year with one count of conspiracy to manufacture child pornography, one count of conspiracy to receive and distribute child pornography, one count of distribution and attempted distribution of child pornography, and two counts of receipt of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to all the charges against him.

    The defendant, who served as a baseball coach of minor boys for more than 20 years, engaged in an online child exploitation catfishing scheme for more than 18 months with co-conspirators Andrew Wolf, a former teacher at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (SCH), and Kray Strange, of Carthage, New York, both of whom were previously convicted and sentenced.

    Michael conspired with Wolf and Strange to target minor boys who were Wolf’s current and former students at SCH and to coerce and induce them to produce sexually explicit images and send them to the defendant and his co-conspirators over the internet. They did so by creating multiple fake online profiles where they pretended to be teenaged girls, engaging each of their victims in sexually explicit and graphic chats, and distributing child pornography to the minor boys, in an effort to get them to reciprocate with their own images.

    When the boys refused to continue to engage, Michael and his co-conspirators used blackmail and extortion to manipulate them into continuing to produce images. After Wolf and Strange were arrested and incarcerated, this defendant continued his catfishing scheme by targeting and victimizing minor boys who were Little League World Series players.

    The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on August 14 and faces a mandatory minimum term of 15 years’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release, and a maximum possible term of 110 years’ imprisonment and lifetime supervised release. He will also be required to register as a child sex offender under both state and federal law. 

    “Donald Michael and his co-conspirators strategized at length about how to ‘bait’ young boys into taking and sending explicit images of themselves,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “They reveled in the anonymity that the internet provided them to target and catfish their young victims. Unmasking these predators is a priority for my office and the FBI, as we work to protect children everywhere from sexual exploitation.”

    “The sexual exploitation of children remains one of the most devious crimes the men and women of the FBI investigate,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “This serves as a reminder how seriously the FBI and our partners take the online victimization of minors. We will continue to work tirelessly to protect children from abuse and exploitation, and that ensure that those who harm them will be held accountable.”

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ 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 projectsafechildhood.gov.

    The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kelly Harrell and Michelle Rotella.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Video: FBI Search Targets Darknet Drug Networks

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (video statements)

    An FBI-led search in Los Angeles in April was related to Operation RapTor, a global effort to disrupt fentanyl and opioid trafficking on the darknet. The operation–part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE)–included operations by law enforcement partners in Europe, South America, Asia, and the United States.

    More at: www.fbi.gov/news/stories/global-operation-targets-darknet-drug-trafficking
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    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICE, Europol, law enforcement partners, dismantle major illicit drug networks in global Darknet crackdown

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    WASHINGTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in collaboration with Europol, the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement Team, and various national and international partners, announced the results of Operation RapTOR May 22. This historic takedown, led by Europol, resulted in the highest number of seizures in JCODE’s history.

    The seizures, to which ICE Homeland Security Investigations significantly contributed, include more than $200 million in currency and digital assets, over two metric tons of drugs, comprised of 144 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced narcotics, and over 180 firearms. In addition, the United States and international law enforcement partners made 270 arrests of dark web vendors, buyers, and administrators in Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.

    Led by Europol’s European Cyber Crime Centre Operation RapTOR united the FBI-led JCODE team — comprised of ICE HSI and law enforcement partners from the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia — to disrupt fentanyl and opioid trafficking, as well as sale of other illicit goods and services on the Darknet. Building on the successes of prior years’ operations, Operation RapTOR furthered global efforts to dismantle darknet marketplaces, resulting in the seizure of darknet infrastructure from Nemesis, Tor2Door, Bohemia, and Kingdom Markets. These actions provided investigators across the globe with invaluable leads and evidence, strengthening the ongoing fight against cybercrime and illicit activities on the darknet.

    “This record-breaking operation sends a clear message to every trafficker hiding behind a screen — your anonymity ends where our global reach begins,” said ICE acting Director Todd Lyons. “Thanks to the unwavering efforts by ICE HSI, Europol and our international partners, we’re cracking the code of the so-called ‘safe spaces’ for cybercriminals — they are in our sights and we’re not backing down.”

    The Head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, Edvardas Šileris, commented: “Operation RapTor shows that the dark web is not beyond the reach of law enforcement. Through close cooperation and intelligence sharing, officers across three continents identified and arrested suspects, sending a clear message to those who think they can hide in the shadows. Europol will continue working with our partners to make the internet safer for everyone.”

    In furtherance of Operation RapTOR and in their first action as a JCODE member agency, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) additionally sanctioned Behrouz Parsarad, an Iranian national, for his role as the founder and operator of Nemesis Market following seizure of the market.

    “This historic international seizure of firearms, deadly drugs, and illegal funds will save lives,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Criminals cannot hide behind computer screens or seek refuge on the dark web — this Justice Department will identify and eliminate threats to the American people regardless of where they originate.”

    “By cowardly hiding online, these traffickers have wreaked havoc across our country and directly fueled the fentanyl crisis and gun violence impacting our American communities and neighborhoods. But the ease and accessibility of their crimes ends today,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The FBI could not do this work without our partners both at home and abroad, and the staggering success of this year’s record-breaking amount of fentanyl, guns, and drugs seized prove that our efforts are working. Anyone looking to anonymously harm our citizens through illicit darknet trafficking: your days of recklessness are numbered.”

    “These predators who peddled poison on the dark web might have thought they are untouchable — hiding behind screens, pushing fentanyl, fueling overdoses, and cashing in on misery. However, Operation RapTor just proved them wrong,” said DEA acting Administrator Robert Murphy. “DEA and our global partners reached across borders, across platforms, and across currencies to rip their networks apart. Let this stand as a warning: no mask, no marketplace, and no digital wallet can hide you from facing justice.”

    “This unprecedented operation is a testament to the power of global partnership and the unwavering dedication of our team,” said Chief Guy Ficco of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). “Working through the JCODE initiative, IRS Criminal Investigation and our international partners led the largest and most impactful takedown to date — seizing over $200 million in assets, removing deadly drugs and weapons from circulation, and holding more than 270 individuals accountable. This critical strike against dark web networks fueling the fentanyl crisis marks a proud moment in our ongoing effort to protect communities worldwide.”

    “Operation RapTor shows what’s possible when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and our partners around the world stand united. No matter where criminals hide, we will find them, dismantle their operations, and bring them to justice. This operation was about protecting innocent people from predatory criminals who profit from violence, addiction, and fear. Our commitment is unwavering,” said Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale, United States Postal Inspection Service.

    “The FDA is committed to continuing its work to disrupt and dismantle the illegal sales of drugs on the dark web, where such sales far too often have tragic consequences,” said Chad Menster, Deputy Director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA OCI). “We will continue to monitor, investigate and bring to justice those who misuse the internet in a quest for profits with reckless disregard for the risk to public health and safety.”  

    The impact of Operation RapTOR builds on years-long legacy of dark web enforcement and the tireless work of HSI and our U.S. and international law enforcement partners, as seen in the following cases:

    • “Incognito Market” Owner Pleads Guilty For Operating One Of The Largest Illegal Narcotics Marketplaces On The Internet
      • Incognito Market sold more than $100 million of narcotics — including hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine as well as heroin, cocaine, LSD, MDMA, oxycodone, methamphetamine, ketamine, and alprazolam, and misbranded prescription medication. Incognito Market was available globally to anyone with internet access and was designed to foster seamless narcotics transactions across the world. It incorporated many features of legitimate e-commerce sites such as branding, advertising, and customer service. While concealing their identities users were able to search thousands of listings for narcotics of their choice. Prescription medication was also listed that was advertised as being authentic but was not, as seen in November 2023, when an undercover federal agent purchased and received several tablets that purported to be oxycodone, but were in fact, fentanyl pills.
    • Central District of California | Two Southern California Men Who Supplied Fentanyl Sold to Darknet Customers in All 50 States Sentenced to Federal Prison | United States Department of Justice
      • Ruiz of Orange County was sentenced to over 17 years in federal prison, and Omar Navia of South Los Angeles was separately sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in January 2025 for supplying fentanyl-laced pills to a drug trafficking ring that sold these drugs to more than 1,000 customers nationwide via the Darknet Navia and Ruiz admitted that at least August 2021 to December 2022, they supplied fentanyl-laced pills to Michael Ta, 26, of Westminster, and Rajiv Srinivasan, 38, of Houston, who used the Darknet and encrypted messaging applications to sell more than 120,000 fentanyl-laced pills, 20 pounds of methamphetamine, and other drugs directly to more than 1,000 customers in all 50 states, causing several fatal overdoses in the process.
    • In February 2024, the Eastern District of Virginia issued a criminal complaint charging Joshua Vasquez, Joseph Vasquez, and Rafael Roman with conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.
      • Joshua Vasquez, Joseph Vasquez, and Rafael Roman conspired to sell counterfeit Adderall containing methamphetamine on darknet markets such as Bohemia and Tor2Door. The defendants allegedly sold drugs on darknet marketplaces in exchange for cryptocurrency. Collectively, these prolific darknet vendors were responsible fulfilling over 13 thousand drug orders shipped throughout the United States, ranging in size from user quantities, e.g., 5 pills, to “reseller” quantities, e.g., 10 thousand pills. While executing search warrants in New Jersey and New York, Federal Law Enforcement officers seized more than $330 thousand, close to 80 thousand counterfeit Adderall pills, one firearm, and two industrial pill press machines. FBI, FDA, and USPIS investigated this matter with significant contributions from HSI and our law enforcement partners.
    • Van Nuys Man Sentenced to More Than 20 Years in Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl and Cocaine via Darknet Marketplaces and Possessing Guns
      • A San Fernando Valley man was sentenced to 20 plus years in federal prison for using darknet marketplaces to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of fentanyl-laced pills and cocaine to buyers nationwide. He admitted in court documents to causing one fatal fentanyl overdose. From at least April 2021 to May 2023, McDonald and others conspired to sell fentanyl and cocaine via multiple darknet marketplaces. Specifically, McDonald purchased bulk quantities of fentanyl and cocaine and then directed the activities of other coconspirators to carry out hundreds of drug sales involving the distribution of large quantities of both fentanyl and cocaine, including hundreds of thousands of fentanyl-laced pills. The FBI and the DEA investigated this matter as part of JCODE.

    “Cybercriminals think the Darknet makes them untouchable — we just proved they’re dead wrong,” said ICE HSI acting Executive Associate Director Robert Hammer. “HSI is on the front lines of a digital battlefield, deploying cutting-edge tech, relentless enforcement, and global coordination to hunt down these predators. Cybercrime is a global threat, and that’s why we’re committed to working hand-in-hand with our partners at Europol and across the world to dismantle these networks together. If you profit from pain online, we’re looking for you — and you’ll soon learn that no corner of the internet is beyond our reach.”

    Operation RapTOR includes law enforcement actions taken by JCODE member agencies, to include ICE HSI; the DEA; FBI; FDA-OCI; IRS-CI; and USPIS; in addition to foreign partners listed below. Credible reporting from the referenced agencies, in addition to contributions from ATF; Army CID; CBP; Department of Treasury’s FinCEN and Office of Foreign Assets Control; and NCIS enabled domestic law enforcement actions in support of Operation RapTOR. Local, state, and other federal agencies also contributed to investigations through task force participation and regional partnerships. The investigations leading to Operation RapTOR were significantly aided by support and coordination from the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section and Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, with additional support from the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces; multi-agency Special Operations Division; Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section’s Digital Currency Initiative, and Fraud Section; the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs; Europol and its Dark Web team; and international partners.

    The international partners include Europol; Eurojust; Austria’s Criminal Intelligence Service with various Provincial Criminal Police Departments (Bundeskriminalamt und Landeskriminalämter); Brazil’s Civil Police of the State of Pará (Polícia Civil do Estado do Pará) and Civil Police of the State of São Paulo (Polícia Civil do Estado do São Paulo); France’s French Customs (Douane), National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale); Germany‘s Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt), Prosecutor’s Office in Cologne – Central Cybercrime Contact Point (Staatsanwaltschaft Köln, Zentral- und Ansprechstelle Cybercrime), Central Criminal Investigation in Oldenburg (Zentrale Kriminalinspektion Oldenburg) various police departments (Dienststellen der Länderpolizeien), German Customs Investigation (Zollfahndungsämter); The Netherlands’s National Police (Politie), Post Interventie Team; Spain’s National Police (Policía Nacional); South Korea’s Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office – Darknet Investigations Unit; Switzerland’s Zurich Cantonal Police (Kantonspolizei Zürich) and Public Prosecutor’s Office II of the Canton of Zurich (Staatsanwaltschaft II); and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, National Police Chiefs’ Council.

    HSI is a worldwide law enforcement leader in Darknet and other cyber-related criminal investigations. The DHS Cyber Crimes Center (C3) combats cybercrime, online child sexual exploitation, and criminal exploitation of the internet with state-of-the-art forensic technology. The Center investigates large-scale cybercrime threats and provides expertise on cybercrime investigations to the field. It also uses global law enforcement networks, like Europol, to combat cybercrime threats.

    C3 delivers computer and cyber-based technical services in support of HSI cases — including investigations into underground online marketplaces selling illegal drugs, weapons and other contraband; enabling the trade of images of child exploitation materials; and facilitating the theft of intellectual property, trade secrets, and export-controlled technology and data.

    Individuals across the world can report suspicious criminal activity to the ICE Tip Line 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 866-DHS-2-ICE. Highly trained specialists take reports from both the public and law enforcement agencies on more than 400 laws enforced by ICE.

    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 USA: Law Enforcement Seize Record Amounts of Illegal Drugs, Firearms, and Drug Trafficking Proceeds in International Operation Against Darknet Trafficking of Fentanyl and Opioids; 270 Arrested Across Four Continents

    Source: US State Government of Utah

    WASHINGTON — Today, the Attorney General and the Department of Justice’s Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team, and international law enforcement partners announced the results of Operation RapTor, including the arrests of 270 dark web vendors, buyers, and administrators in Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Operation RapTor resulted in the highest number of seizures of any JCODE operation, including more than $200 million in currency and digital assets, over two metric tons of drugs, 144 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced narcotics, and over 180 firearms.

    Operation RapTor was a global, coordinated effort by law enforcement in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia to disrupt fentanyl and opioid trafficking, as well as the sales of other illicit goods and services, on the darknet, or dark web. Operation RapTor builds on the successes of prior years’ operations and takedowns of marketplaces, which resulted in the seizure of darknet infrastructure from Nemesis, Tor2Door, Bohemia, and Kingdom Markets, providing investigators across the world with investigative leads and evidence. JCODE and Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) continue to compile intelligence packages to identify entities of interest. These leads allow U.S. and international law enforcement agencies to identify darknet drug vendors and buyers, resulting in a series of coordinated, but separate, law enforcement investigations, reflected in the statistics announced today. In furtherance of Operation RapTor and in its first action as a JCODE member agency, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) additionally sanctioned Iranian national Behrouz Parsarad for his role as the founder and operator of Nemesis Market following seizure of the market. Parsarad was also indicted by a federal grand jury on drug trafficking charges related to the illegal business he ran on the dark web.

    “This historic international seizure of firearms, deadly drugs, and illegal funds will save lives,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Criminals cannot hide behind computer screens or seek refuge on the dark web – this Justice Department will identify and eliminate threats to the American people regardless of where they originate.”

    “By cowardly hiding online, these traffickers have wreaked havoc across our country and directly fueled the fentanyl crisis and gun violence impacting our American communities and neighborhoods. But the ease and accessibility of their crimes ends today,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The FBI could not do this work without our partners both at home and abroad, and the staggering success of this year’s record-breaking amount of fentanyl, guns, and drugs seized prove that our efforts are working. Anyone looking to anonymously harm our citizens through illicit darknet trafficking: your days of recklessness are numbered.”

    “These predators who peddled poison on the dark web might have thought they are untouchable — hiding behind screens, pushing fentanyl, fueling overdoses, and cashing in on misery. However, Operation RapTor just proved them wrong,” said DEA Acting Administrator Robert Murphy. “DEA and our global partners reached across borders, across platforms, and across currencies to rip their networks apart. Let this stand as a warning: no mask, no marketplace, and no digital wallet can hide you from facing justice.”

    “Operation RapTor shows that the dark web is not beyond the reach of law enforcement,” said Head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, Edvardas Šileris. “Through close cooperation and intelligence sharing, officers across three continents identified and arrested suspects, sending a clear message to those who think they can hide in the shadows. Europol will continue working with our partners to make the internet safer for everyone.”

    “This unprecedented operation is a testament to the power of global partnership and the unwavering dedication of our team,” said Chief Guy Ficco of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). “Working through the JCODE initiative, IRS Criminal Investigation and our international partners led the largest and most impactful takedown to date—seizing over $200 million in assets, removing deadly drugs and weapons from circulation, and holding more than 270 individuals accountable. This critical strike against dark web networks fueling the fentanyl crisis marks a proud moment in our ongoing effort to protect communities worldwide.”

    “This record-breaking operation sends a clear message to every trafficker hiding behind a screen—your anonymity ends where our global reach begins,” said Acting Director Todd Lyons of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “Thanks to the unwavering efforts by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Europol and our international partners, we’re cracking the code of the so-called ‘safe spaces’ for cybercriminals—they are in our sights and we’re not backing down.”

    “Operation RapTor shows what’s possible when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and our partners around the world stand united,” said Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale of the United States Postal Inspection Service. “No matter where criminals hide, we will find them, dismantle their operations, and bring them to justice. This operation was about protecting innocent people from predatory criminals who profit from violence, addiction, and fear. Our commitment is unwavering.”

    “The FDA is committed to continuing its work to disrupt and dismantle the illegal sales of drugs on the dark web, where such sales far too often have tragic consequences,” said Deputy Director Chad Menster of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA OCI). “We will continue to monitor, investigate and bring to justice those who misuse the internet in a quest for profits with reckless disregard for the risk to public health and safety.”  

    The impact of Operation RapTor can be attributed to the tireless work of U.S. and international law enforcement partners. For example:

    On Dec. 16, 2024, Rui-Siang Lin pleaded guilty to charges brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York of narcotics conspiracy, money laundering, and conspiracy to sell adulterated and misbranded medication for owning and operating Incognito Market, one of the largest narcotics marketplaces on the internet.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, Incognito Market was an online narcotics bazaar that started on the dark web in October 2020. Until it shut down in March 2024, Incognito Market sold more than $100 million of narcotics—including hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine. Incognito Market was available globally to anyone with internet access using the Tor web browser on the “dark web” or “darknet.” Incognito Market was designed to facilitate seamless narcotics transactions, incorporating many features of legitimate e-commerce sites such as branding, advertising, and customer service. Upon visiting the site, users were met by a splash page and graphic interface, which is pictured below:

    Figure 1: Incognito Market homepage

    While concealing their identities with a unique username or “moniker,” users were able to search thousands of listings for narcotics of their choice. Incognito Market sold illegal narcotics including heroin, cocaine, LSD, MDMA, oxycodone, methamphetamine, ketamine, and alprazolam, as well as misbranded prescription medication. An example of listings on Incognito market is below:

    Figure 2: Listings for various drugs on the Incognito Market.

    Listings included offerings of prescription medication that was falsely advertised as being authentic. For example, in November 2023, while operating in an undercover capacity on Incognito Market, a law enforcement agent purchased and received several tablets purported to be oxycodone. Testing revealed that these tablets were not oxycodone and were, in fact, fentanyl pills.

    The FBI, HSI, DEA, FDA OCI, and the New York Police Department investigated the case.

    In a second example, in January 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California secured a 17-year sentence for Adan Ruiz, of Orange County, and a 15-year sentence for Omar Navia, of Los Angeles, for supplying fentanyl-laced pills to a drug trafficking ring that sold these drugs to more than 1,000 customers nationwide via the darknet. In imposing the sentences, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter called this case “the most sophisticated fentanyl distribution ring that this court has seen.”

    Navia and Ruiz admitted in their plea agreements that, from at least August 2021 to December 2022, they supplied fentanyl-laced pills to Michael Ta, 26, of Westminster, and Rajiv Srinivasan, 38, of Houston, who used the darknet and encrypted messaging applications to sell more than 120,000 fentanyl-laced pills, 20 pounds of methamphetamine, and other drugs directly to more than 1,000 customers in all 50 states, causing several fatal overdoses.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, Srinivasan and Ta used the “redlightlabs” darknet account to advertise and sell counterfeit M30 oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and other illicit drugs. Srinivasan also used the encrypted messaging application Wickr to communicate with and sell drugs to customers. Srinivasan received virtual currency as payment for the drugs and then routed that virtual currency through cryptocurrency exchanges.

    The court record also shows that Ta communicated with Srinivasan about drug orders, obtained fentanyl-laced pills and methamphetamine from sources of supply, stored those drugs in his residence, and mailed out packages with drugs to customers who had ordered them from Srinivasan on the “redlightlabs” account.

    Ta and Srinivasan admitted in their plea agreements to causing the fentanyl overdose deaths of three victims. Both defendants further admitted to distributing fentanyl-laced pills to two additional victims, both of whom suffered fatal drug overdoses shortly after they received the pills from Ta and Srinivasan. Prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum, “The five victims of defendants’ crimes ranged in age from 19 to 51. They lived across the country, from California to Florida, Colorado to Arkansas. Each of the five victims leaves behind a family that has been forever and fundamentally changed by defendants’ actions. [Ta and Srinivasan] also victimized countless others as part of an epidemic of addiction and despair plaguing our district and our country.”

    The FBI investigated this case, with substantial assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the DEA’s Fayetteville Resident Office, and the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force.

    In a third example, in February 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia charged Joshua Vasquez, Joseph Vasquez, and Rafael Roman by criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Joshua Vasquez, Joseph Vasquez, and Roman conspired to sell counterfeit Adderall containing methamphetamine on darknet markets such as Bohemia and Tor2Door. The defendants allegedly sold drugs on darknet marketplaces in exchange for cryptocurrency under the monikers “NuveoDelux,” “Mrjohnson,” and “AllStateRx.”

    According to court documents and statements made in court, these three prolific darknet vendors were collectively responsible for fulfilling over 13,000 drug orders shipped throughout the United States, ranging in size from user quantities, e.g., 5 pills, to “reseller” quantities, e.g., 10,000 pills. Joshua and Joseph Vasquez collectively ran the NuveoDeluxe and AllStateRx accounts. A fourth co-conspirator, Gregory Castillo-Rosario, who was arrested in October 2024, ran the Mrjohnson account. Roman assisted his co-conspirators by pressing counterfeit Adderall pills, packaging them, and distributing drug orders into the mail using the U.S. Postal Service. The conspiracy also laundered funds associated with darknet drug proceeds.

    While executing search warrants in New Jersey and New York, federal law enforcement officers seized more than $330,000, close to 80,000 counterfeit Adderall pills, one firearm, and two industrial pill press machines. Additionally, two vehicles and several pieces of property were seized during the search warrants. An additional 30 kilograms of suspected counterfeit Adderall pills were seized on May 2, 2024, in New York. Photographs of some of the seized items are below: 

    Figure 3: Counterfeit Adderall pills laced with methamphetamine stored in 5-gallon buckets

    Figure 4: Bags ready to be shipped to customers nationwide.

    Figure 5: Illegal pill press machines used by drug traffickers to make counterfeit pharmaceutical pills.

    Figure 6: Trash bags full of counterfeit Adderall pills laced with methamphetamine.

    Joshua Vasquez pleaded guilty on April 24, 2024, and was sentenced on July 25, 2024, to 12 years in prison. Joseph Vasquez pleaded guilty on April 15, 2024, and was sentenced on Aug. 8, 2024, to 10 years in prison. Roman pleaded guilty on May 30, 2024, and was sentenced on Nov. 14, 2024, to 10 years in prison. They all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to create a counterfeit substance and distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine.

    The FBI, FDA, and USPIS investigated this matter with significant contributions from DEA, HSI, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, the Howell Township Police Department, the Lakewood Township Police Department, the Orlando Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Arlington County Police Department, and the New York Police Department.

    In a fourth example, a San Fernando Valley man, Brian McDonald, 23, was sentenced to more than 20 years in federal prison in the Central District of California for using darknet marketplaces to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of fentanyl-laced pills and cocaine to buyers nationwide. He admitted in court documents to causing one fatal fentanyl overdose.

    From at least April 2021 until May 2023, McDonald and others conspired to sell fentanyl and cocaine via multiple darknet marketplaces. McDonald operated under the monikers “Malachai Johnson,” “SouthSideOxy,” and “JefeDeMichoacan.” McDonald created, monitored, and maintained the darknet vendor profiles, including by updating drug listings and shipment options, tracking drug orders, and offloading Monero cryptocurrency received as drug deal payments into cryptocurrency wallets that McDonald controlled.

    McDonald recruited and hired accomplices to help package and ship the narcotics they sold on the darknet. McDonald directed and helped these accomplices package and ship the narcotics. McDonald purchased bulk quantities of fentanyl and cocaine and then directed others to complete hundreds of drug sales involving large quantities of both fentanyl and cocaine.

    The FBI and DEA investigated this matter.

    Operation RapTor involves law enforcement actions taken by JCODE member agencies, including the DEA, FBI, FDA OCI, HSI, IRS-CI, and USPIS. Credible reporting from the referenced agencies, in addition to contributions from ATF, Army Criminal Investigation Division, Customs and Border Protection, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and OFAC, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service, enabled domestic law enforcement actions in support of Operation RapTor. State, local, and other federal agencies also contributed to Operation RapTor investigations through task force participation and regional partnerships, as well as the multi-agency Special Operations Division.

    The investigations leading to Operation RapTor were significantly aided by support and coordination from the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section and Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, with valuable assistance from the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Fraud Section, and Office of International Affairs.

    Key international partners include Europol; Eurojust; Austria’s Criminal Intelligence Service with various Provincial Criminal Police Departments (Bundeskriminalamt und Landeskriminalämter); Brazil’s Civil Police of the State of Pará (Polícia Civil do Estado do Pará) and Civil Police of the State of São Paulo (Polícia Civil do Estado do São Paulo); France’s French Customs (Douane), National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale); Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt), Prosecutor’s Office in Cologne – Central Cybercrime Contact Point (Staatsanwaltschaft Köln, Zentral- und Ansprechstelle Cybercrime), Central Criminal Investigation in Oldenburg (Zentrale Kriminalinspektion Oldenburg) various police departments (Dienststellen der Länderpolizeien), and German Customs Investigation (Zollfahndungsämter); the Netherlands’ Team High Tech Crime (National Investigations and Special Operations (NIS) and Post Interventie Team (PIT), National Intelligence, Expertise and Operational Support (NIEO);  Spain’s National Police (Policía Nacional); South Korea’s Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office – Darknet Investigations Unit; Switzerland’s Zurich Cantonal Police (Kantonspolizei Zürich) and Public Prosecutor’s Office II of the Canton of Zurich (Staatsanwaltschaft II); and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA), National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

    Federal investigations spanned the United States, and 26 United States Attorneys’ Offices are prosecuting cases, including the Central District of California, the Northern District of California, the Southern District of California, the District of Colorado, the District of Connecticut, the District of Columbia, the Middle District of Florida, the Southern District of Florida, the Middle District of Georgia, the District of Hawaii, the Northern District of Illinois, the Southern District of Indiana, the Eastern District of Kentucky, the District of Massachusetts, the Eastern District of Michigan, the Western District of Michigan, the Eastern District of Missouri, the District of New Jersey, the Southern District of New York, the District of North Dakota, the Northern District of Ohio, the Southern District of Ohio, the Northern District of Oklahoma, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Eastern District of Virginia, and the Western District of Washington.

    The Justice Department established the FBI-led JCODE team to lead and coordinate government efforts to detect, disrupt, and dismantle major criminal enterprises reliant on the darknet for trafficking opioids and other illicit narcotics, along with identifying and dismantling their supply chains.

    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: Law Enforcement Seize Record Amounts of Illegal Drugs, Firearms, and Drug Trafficking Proceeds in International Operation Against Darknet Trafficking of Fentanyl and Opioids; 270 Arrested Across Four Continents

    Source: United States Attorneys General 13

    WASHINGTON — Today, the Attorney General and the Department of Justice’s Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team, and international law enforcement partners announced the results of Operation RapTor, including the arrests of 270 dark web vendors, buyers, and administrators in Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Operation RapTor resulted in the highest number of seizures of any JCODE operation, including more than $200 million in currency and digital assets, over two metric tons of drugs, 144 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced narcotics, and over 180 firearms.

    Operation RapTor was a global, coordinated effort by law enforcement in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia to disrupt fentanyl and opioid trafficking, as well as the sales of other illicit goods and services, on the darknet, or dark web. Operation RapTor builds on the successes of prior years’ operations and takedowns of marketplaces, which resulted in the seizure of darknet infrastructure from Nemesis, Tor2Door, Bohemia, and Kingdom Markets, providing investigators across the world with investigative leads and evidence. JCODE and Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) continue to compile intelligence packages to identify entities of interest. These leads allow U.S. and international law enforcement agencies to identify darknet drug vendors and buyers, resulting in a series of coordinated, but separate, law enforcement investigations, reflected in the statistics announced today. In furtherance of Operation RapTor and in its first action as a JCODE member agency, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) additionally sanctioned Iranian national Behrouz Parsarad for his role as the founder and operator of Nemesis Market following seizure of the market. Parsarad was also indicted by a federal grand jury on drug trafficking charges related to the illegal business he ran on the dark web.

    “This historic international seizure of firearms, deadly drugs, and illegal funds will save lives,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Criminals cannot hide behind computer screens or seek refuge on the dark web – this Justice Department will identify and eliminate threats to the American people regardless of where they originate.”

    “By cowardly hiding online, these traffickers have wreaked havoc across our country and directly fueled the fentanyl crisis and gun violence impacting our American communities and neighborhoods. But the ease and accessibility of their crimes ends today,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The FBI could not do this work without our partners both at home and abroad, and the staggering success of this year’s record-breaking amount of fentanyl, guns, and drugs seized prove that our efforts are working. Anyone looking to anonymously harm our citizens through illicit darknet trafficking: your days of recklessness are numbered.”

    “These predators who peddled poison on the dark web might have thought they are untouchable — hiding behind screens, pushing fentanyl, fueling overdoses, and cashing in on misery. However, Operation RapTor just proved them wrong,” said DEA Acting Administrator Robert Murphy. “DEA and our global partners reached across borders, across platforms, and across currencies to rip their networks apart. Let this stand as a warning: no mask, no marketplace, and no digital wallet can hide you from facing justice.”

    “Operation RapTor shows that the dark web is not beyond the reach of law enforcement,” said Head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, Edvardas Šileris. “Through close cooperation and intelligence sharing, officers across three continents identified and arrested suspects, sending a clear message to those who think they can hide in the shadows. Europol will continue working with our partners to make the internet safer for everyone.”

    “This unprecedented operation is a testament to the power of global partnership and the unwavering dedication of our team,” said Chief Guy Ficco of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). “Working through the JCODE initiative, IRS Criminal Investigation and our international partners led the largest and most impactful takedown to date—seizing over $200 million in assets, removing deadly drugs and weapons from circulation, and holding more than 270 individuals accountable. This critical strike against dark web networks fueling the fentanyl crisis marks a proud moment in our ongoing effort to protect communities worldwide.”

    “This record-breaking operation sends a clear message to every trafficker hiding behind a screen—your anonymity ends where our global reach begins,” said Acting Director Todd Lyons of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “Thanks to the unwavering efforts by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Europol and our international partners, we’re cracking the code of the so-called ‘safe spaces’ for cybercriminals—they are in our sights and we’re not backing down.”

    “Operation RapTor shows what’s possible when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and our partners around the world stand united,” said Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale of the United States Postal Inspection Service. “No matter where criminals hide, we will find them, dismantle their operations, and bring them to justice. This operation was about protecting innocent people from predatory criminals who profit from violence, addiction, and fear. Our commitment is unwavering.”

    “The FDA is committed to continuing its work to disrupt and dismantle the illegal sales of drugs on the dark web, where such sales far too often have tragic consequences,” said Deputy Director Chad Menster of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA OCI). “We will continue to monitor, investigate and bring to justice those who misuse the internet in a quest for profits with reckless disregard for the risk to public health and safety.”  

    The impact of Operation RapTor can be attributed to the tireless work of U.S. and international law enforcement partners. For example:

    On Dec. 16, 2024, Rui-Siang Lin pleaded guilty to charges brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York of narcotics conspiracy, money laundering, and conspiracy to sell adulterated and misbranded medication for owning and operating Incognito Market, one of the largest narcotics marketplaces on the internet.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, Incognito Market was an online narcotics bazaar that started on the dark web in October 2020. Until it shut down in March 2024, Incognito Market sold more than $100 million of narcotics—including hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine. Incognito Market was available globally to anyone with internet access using the Tor web browser on the “dark web” or “darknet.” Incognito Market was designed to facilitate seamless narcotics transactions, incorporating many features of legitimate e-commerce sites such as branding, advertising, and customer service. Upon visiting the site, users were met by a splash page and graphic interface, which is pictured below:

    Figure 1: Incognito Market homepage

    While concealing their identities with a unique username or “moniker,” users were able to search thousands of listings for narcotics of their choice. Incognito Market sold illegal narcotics including heroin, cocaine, LSD, MDMA, oxycodone, methamphetamine, ketamine, and alprazolam, as well as misbranded prescription medication. An example of listings on Incognito market is below:

    Figure 2: Listings for various drugs on the Incognito Market.

    Listings included offerings of prescription medication that was falsely advertised as being authentic. For example, in November 2023, while operating in an undercover capacity on Incognito Market, a law enforcement agent purchased and received several tablets purported to be oxycodone. Testing revealed that these tablets were not oxycodone and were, in fact, fentanyl pills.

    The FBI, HSI, DEA, FDA OCI, and the New York Police Department investigated the case.

    In a second example, in January 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California secured a 17-year sentence for Adan Ruiz, of Orange County, and a 15-year sentence for Omar Navia, of Los Angeles, for supplying fentanyl-laced pills to a drug trafficking ring that sold these drugs to more than 1,000 customers nationwide via the darknet. In imposing the sentences, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter called this case “the most sophisticated fentanyl distribution ring that this court has seen.”

    Navia and Ruiz admitted in their plea agreements that, from at least August 2021 to December 2022, they supplied fentanyl-laced pills to Michael Ta, 26, of Westminster, and Rajiv Srinivasan, 38, of Houston, who used the darknet and encrypted messaging applications to sell more than 120,000 fentanyl-laced pills, 20 pounds of methamphetamine, and other drugs directly to more than 1,000 customers in all 50 states, causing several fatal overdoses.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, Srinivasan and Ta used the “redlightlabs” darknet account to advertise and sell counterfeit M30 oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and other illicit drugs. Srinivasan also used the encrypted messaging application Wickr to communicate with and sell drugs to customers. Srinivasan received virtual currency as payment for the drugs and then routed that virtual currency through cryptocurrency exchanges.

    The court record also shows that Ta communicated with Srinivasan about drug orders, obtained fentanyl-laced pills and methamphetamine from sources of supply, stored those drugs in his residence, and mailed out packages with drugs to customers who had ordered them from Srinivasan on the “redlightlabs” account.

    Ta and Srinivasan admitted in their plea agreements to causing the fentanyl overdose deaths of three victims. Both defendants further admitted to distributing fentanyl-laced pills to two additional victims, both of whom suffered fatal drug overdoses shortly after they received the pills from Ta and Srinivasan. Prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum, “The five victims of defendants’ crimes ranged in age from 19 to 51. They lived across the country, from California to Florida, Colorado to Arkansas. Each of the five victims leaves behind a family that has been forever and fundamentally changed by defendants’ actions. [Ta and Srinivasan] also victimized countless others as part of an epidemic of addiction and despair plaguing our district and our country.”

    The FBI investigated this case, with substantial assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the DEA’s Fayetteville Resident Office, and the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force.

    In a third example, in February 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia charged Joshua Vasquez, Joseph Vasquez, and Rafael Roman by criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Joshua Vasquez, Joseph Vasquez, and Roman conspired to sell counterfeit Adderall containing methamphetamine on darknet markets such as Bohemia and Tor2Door. The defendants allegedly sold drugs on darknet marketplaces in exchange for cryptocurrency under the monikers “NuveoDelux,” “Mrjohnson,” and “AllStateRx.”

    According to court documents and statements made in court, these three prolific darknet vendors were collectively responsible for fulfilling over 13,000 drug orders shipped throughout the United States, ranging in size from user quantities, e.g., 5 pills, to “reseller” quantities, e.g., 10,000 pills. Joshua and Joseph Vasquez collectively ran the NuveoDeluxe and AllStateRx accounts. A fourth co-conspirator, Gregory Castillo-Rosario, who was arrested in October 2024, ran the Mrjohnson account. Roman assisted his co-conspirators by pressing counterfeit Adderall pills, packaging them, and distributing drug orders into the mail using the U.S. Postal Service. The conspiracy also laundered funds associated with darknet drug proceeds.

    While executing search warrants in New Jersey and New York, federal law enforcement officers seized more than $330,000, close to 80,000 counterfeit Adderall pills, one firearm, and two industrial pill press machines. Additionally, two vehicles and several pieces of property were seized during the search warrants. An additional 30 kilograms of suspected counterfeit Adderall pills were seized on May 2, 2024, in New York. Photographs of some of the seized items are below: 

    Figure 3: Counterfeit Adderall pills laced with methamphetamine stored in 5-gallon buckets

    Figure 4: Bags ready to be shipped to customers nationwide.

    Figure 5: Illegal pill press machines used by drug traffickers to make counterfeit pharmaceutical pills.

    Figure 6: Trash bags full of counterfeit Adderall pills laced with methamphetamine.

    Joshua Vasquez pleaded guilty on April 24, 2024, and was sentenced on July 25, 2024, to 12 years in prison. Joseph Vasquez pleaded guilty on April 15, 2024, and was sentenced on Aug. 8, 2024, to 10 years in prison. Roman pleaded guilty on May 30, 2024, and was sentenced on Nov. 14, 2024, to 10 years in prison. They all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to create a counterfeit substance and distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine.

    The FBI, FDA, and USPIS investigated this matter with significant contributions from DEA, HSI, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, the Howell Township Police Department, the Lakewood Township Police Department, the Orlando Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Arlington County Police Department, and the New York Police Department.

    In a fourth example, a San Fernando Valley man, Brian McDonald, 23, was sentenced to more than 20 years in federal prison in the Central District of California for using darknet marketplaces to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of fentanyl-laced pills and cocaine to buyers nationwide. He admitted in court documents to causing one fatal fentanyl overdose.

    From at least April 2021 until May 2023, McDonald and others conspired to sell fentanyl and cocaine via multiple darknet marketplaces. McDonald operated under the monikers “Malachai Johnson,” “SouthSideOxy,” and “JefeDeMichoacan.” McDonald created, monitored, and maintained the darknet vendor profiles, including by updating drug listings and shipment options, tracking drug orders, and offloading Monero cryptocurrency received as drug deal payments into cryptocurrency wallets that McDonald controlled.

    McDonald recruited and hired accomplices to help package and ship the narcotics they sold on the darknet. McDonald directed and helped these accomplices package and ship the narcotics. McDonald purchased bulk quantities of fentanyl and cocaine and then directed others to complete hundreds of drug sales involving large quantities of both fentanyl and cocaine.

    The FBI and DEA investigated this matter.

    Operation RapTor involves law enforcement actions taken by JCODE member agencies, including the DEA, FBI, FDA OCI, HSI, IRS-CI, and USPIS. Credible reporting from the referenced agencies, in addition to contributions from ATF, Army Criminal Investigation Division, Customs and Border Protection, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and OFAC, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service, enabled domestic law enforcement actions in support of Operation RapTor. State, local, and other federal agencies also contributed to Operation RapTor investigations through task force participation and regional partnerships, as well as the multi-agency Special Operations Division.

    The investigations leading to Operation RapTor were significantly aided by support and coordination from the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section and Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, with valuable assistance from the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Fraud Section, and Office of International Affairs.

    Key international partners include Europol; Eurojust; Austria’s Criminal Intelligence Service with various Provincial Criminal Police Departments (Bundeskriminalamt und Landeskriminalämter); Brazil’s Civil Police of the State of Pará (Polícia Civil do Estado do Pará) and Civil Police of the State of São Paulo (Polícia Civil do Estado do São Paulo); France’s French Customs (Douane), National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale); Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt), Prosecutor’s Office in Cologne – Central Cybercrime Contact Point (Staatsanwaltschaft Köln, Zentral- und Ansprechstelle Cybercrime), Central Criminal Investigation in Oldenburg (Zentrale Kriminalinspektion Oldenburg) various police departments (Dienststellen der Länderpolizeien), and German Customs Investigation (Zollfahndungsämter); the Netherlands’ Team High Tech Crime (National Investigations and Special Operations (NIS) and Post Interventie Team (PIT), National Intelligence, Expertise and Operational Support (NIEO);  Spain’s National Police (Policía Nacional); South Korea’s Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office – Darknet Investigations Unit; Switzerland’s Zurich Cantonal Police (Kantonspolizei Zürich) and Public Prosecutor’s Office II of the Canton of Zurich (Staatsanwaltschaft II); and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA), National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

    Federal investigations spanned the United States, and 26 United States Attorneys’ Offices are prosecuting cases, including the Central District of California, the Northern District of California, the Southern District of California, the District of Colorado, the District of Connecticut, the District of Columbia, the Middle District of Florida, the Southern District of Florida, the Middle District of Georgia, the District of Hawaii, the Northern District of Illinois, the Southern District of Indiana, the Eastern District of Kentucky, the District of Massachusetts, the Eastern District of Michigan, the Western District of Michigan, the Eastern District of Missouri, the District of New Jersey, the Southern District of New York, the District of North Dakota, the Northern District of Ohio, the Southern District of Ohio, the Northern District of Oklahoma, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Eastern District of Virginia, and the Western District of Washington.

    The Justice Department established the FBI-led JCODE team to lead and coordinate government efforts to detect, disrupt, and dismantle major criminal enterprises reliant on the darknet for trafficking opioids and other illicit narcotics, along with identifying and dismantling their supply chains.

    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 Security: Eight Defendants Charged with Federal Immigration Crimes

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

    HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A federal grand jury in Huntsville has charged eight individuals with immigration crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona.

    The following defendants were indicted for illegally reentering the United States after having previously been deported:

    • Raul Alvarez-Lopez, 28, a citizen of Mexico;
    • Jose Faustino-Climaco, 29, a citizen of Mexico;
    • Nazario Vargas-Peres, 27, a citizen of Guatemala;
    • Eberardo Yovany Peralta-Cazales, 33, a citizen of Mexico;
    • Amilcar Pablo-Cinto, 35, a citizen of Guatemala;

    Stanley Amalemba Ambeyi, 38, a citizen of Kenya, was charged with being an alien in possession of a firearm.

    Pedro Pedro-Mateo, 30, a citizen of Guatemala, was charged with fraud and misuse of a visa, permits, and other documents, and for failure to maintain personal possession of alien registration.

    Efren Gimenez-Gimenez, 44, a citizen of Mexico, was charged with illegally reentering the United States after having previously been deported and for failure to register.

    These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). Operation Take Back America partners Homeland Security Investigations – Atlanta and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Nashville Field Division investigated these cases.  

    An indictment contains only charges.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Booker, Schumer, Padilla, Schiff, Raskin, Swalwell, and Johnson Introduce Bicameral Bill to Move US Marshals Service to Judicial Branch

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced legislation that would address the potential for weaponization of the U.S. Marshals Service (“Marshals” or “USMS”) by President Trump and the executive branch. The Maintaining Authority and Restoring Security to Halt the Abuse of Law Act (MARSHALS Act) would move the Marshals from the operation and direction of the executive branch to the judiciary, ensuring that USMS can perform its primary mission of protecting federal judges and to obeying, executing, and enforcing federal court orders without political interference. U.S. Representatives Eric Swalwell (D-CA-14), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), and House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts Ranking Member Hank Johnson (D-GA-04) introduced companion legislation in the House.

    President Trump and members of his Administration are systematically undermining judicial independence and the rule of law: the President himself called for impeachment of a federal judge who ruled against him, the Vice President has suggested that the executive branch does not need to follow court orders, and a federal judge has found that the Trump Administration demonstrated a “willful disregard” for its court order. Against the backdrop of Trump’s attacks on the rule of law, serious threats of violence against federal judges and their families have risen to alarming levels. Hundreds of unsolicited pizza deliveries have been sent to the homes of federal judges and their relatives across seven states in an apparent attempt to intimidate the judiciary. Many of the deliveries have been sent to judges who ruled against the Trump Administration and some have been placed in the name of Daniel Anderl, the son of New Jersey District Judge Esther Salas, who was fatally shot by an attorney who appeared in her courtroom.

    The USMS, the nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency, risks being ensnared in Trump’s efforts to upend our constitutional order. While the USMS’s “primary role and mission” is to protect the federal judiciary and obey and enforce its court orders, the USMS is under the control of the executive branch, specifically the U.S. Attorney General who in turn answers to the President. The potential conflict looming between the USMS’s duty to provide security for and carry out the orders of the federal judiciary and the Attorney General’s control of the Marshals will put our democracy to the test if the Administration directs the USMS to ignore a court order or otherwise prevents the USMS from carrying out its duties. For example, at a recent meeting of the Judicial Conference of the United States, a federal judge expressed concern that the President could order the USMS to stop protecting judges.

    “President Trump has made it abundantly clear through his words and actions that he does not respect the law, court orders, the safety of our judges, or our institutions,” said Senator Booker. “Since 1789, the U.S. Marshals have valiantly protected our nation’s judges and enforced court orders. But their dual accountability to the executive branch and the judicial branch paves the way toward a constitutional crisis. To ensure these necessary functions are carried out, Congress must act to move the bureau into the judicial branch. Our U.S. Marshals are critical to protecting the rule of law, and they must be able to do their jobs without political interference.”

    “Trump’s tenure has been marked by corruption, chaos, and abuse, with his administration waging a war against the rule of law,” said Leader Schumer. “We will not allow Trump and Pam Bondi to interfere with the marshals as they enforce court orders, or weaponize them to intimidate government employees or American citizens. This legislation would protect the U.S. Marshals Service from abuse by the executive branch and ensure that law enforcement officers perform their essential duties.”

    “The Trump Administration has repeatedly undermined judicial independence and misused the U.S. Marshals Service for political gain,” said Senator Padilla. “They’ve politicized the Marshals Service by intimidating the former pardon attorney, threatening USAID officials, and potentially risking the security of federal judges. Our bill restores the Marshals Service’s independence by placing it within the judicial branch so it can fulfill its core mission of protecting judges and enforcing court orders without political interference.” 

    “We’ve seen threats against judges escalate as the president has threatened impeachment of those who rule against him. We have also seen the administration pull security from former officials who are still at risk because the president views them as enemies. And we have also seen the president ignore court orders he doesn’t like. The U.S. Marshals are central to preserving our democracy and upholding the rule of law. Marshals must be able to protect all judges, enforce all court orders and have the independence necessary to do their jobs,” said Senator Schiff.

    “We’re seeing a rise in outrageous attacks on federal judges simply for doing their jobs. Congress must act to make sure that our courts have reliable personal, physical and electronic security to count on, and that means security not subject to the discretionary whims of a president who may disrespect judicial independence and the rule of law. This legislation is necessary to fortify the independence of the judicial branch which is essential to the survival of strong democracy. Our legislation will ensure that the U.S. Marshals can perform their duties without political interference or coercive pressure from the president or anyone else in the executive branch,” said Ranking Member Raskin.

    “Judges should be in charge of their own security. Today, they’re not. And they’re facing more death threats than ever in the history of the judiciary. Today, independent judges must rely upon the executive branch, whose cases are often in front of them, for personal security. We’re in a constitutional crisis that necessitates a structural change to protect judges from political violence and intimidation,” said Congressman Swalwell. “I have seen how threats of violence to members of Congress pressure them into staying silent or influence their votes on the House floor. We cannot allow the same calculations to creep into the deliberations of independent judges. That is why I’m proud to introduce the MARSHALS Act to prevent political interference in the courts. In a time when we face a lawless president, giving the defendant command and control over the security of their judges is indefensible. That’s why my colleagues and I are moving forward to realign the U.S. Marshals Service under the judicial branch—the very institution they are sworn to protect.”

    “The independence of the judicial branch and the rule of law itself are under assault by Donald Trump and his MAGA cronies,” said Representative Johnson, ranking member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet. “Putting control of the U.S. Marshals Service squarely within the judiciary goes a long way towards protecting the judicial branch from continued abuse by the Trump Administration.”

    Specifically, the MARSHALS Act would: 

    1. Create a U.S. Marshals Board modeled on the Board of the U.S. Capitol Police, the federal law enforcement agency that protects Congress. The Board would consist of the Chief Justice of the United States and the Judicial Conference of the United States.
    2. Authorize the Chief Justice, in consultation with the Board, to select a Director of the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Marshals in each judicial district of the United States and its territories.
    3. Allow the Marshals to continue their existing work of protecting judges and enforcing judicial subpoenas and court orders without political interference and preserve their other law enforcement functions (pursuing fugitives, seeking missing children, etc.) at the request of the Attorney General and with the consent of the Director of the Marshals

    The MARSHALS Act is endorsed by the following organizations: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Court Accountability, Demand Justice, Fix the Court, People for the American Way, and Public Citizen.

    “As a co-equal branch of government the judiciary should be responsible for the security of judges and should not have to rely on the benevolence of the executive branch to enforce court decisions,” said Debra Perlin, Vice President for Policy at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “But under our current system the courts rely almost exclusively on the executive branch for judicial security with the Attorney General overseeing the U.S. Marshals Service, the Department of Justice bureau responsible for protecting judges and enforcing court orders. With threats against judges both from litigants and public officials reaching historic highs, it is past time for this to change. We thank the lead sponsors for introducing the MARSHALS Act and encourage all senators to work together to ensure that the judiciary can fulfill its constitutional and statutory functions safely and without fear of political interference.”

    “This legislation is a critical bolster for checks and balances at a time when the Trump administration is defying court orders and leveling threats against judges simply for doing their jobs. If we want fair-minded judges to be able to defend the rule of law, it’s essential that we empower the judiciary to ensure compliance with its orders and protect judges from a dangerous surge in violent threats,” said Alex Aronson, co-founder and executive director, Court Accountability.

    “Trump has shown us that virtually nothing is out-of-bounds when it comes to eliminating checks on his dangerous, unpopular agenda. The Marshals must be able to carry out their duties without political interference and judges deserve to have protection regardless of how they rule on cases. This has been made even clearer by Trump and his allies’ threats and intimidation tactics against federal judges and others they view as their political enemies. We applaud the bill sponsors for introducing this bill and taking this important first step,” said Maggie Jo Buchanan, Interim Executive Director of Demand Justice.

    “Presidents supervise more than a dozen law enforcement agencies, but the fact that the primary mission of one of them is to protect members of another branch has never made a whole lot of structural sense. I applaud the bill’s sponsors for crafting a bill to move that agency, the U.S. Marshals Service, from Article II to Article III, thereby ensuring that judges’ safety isn’t subject to interbranch politics or other distractions — all the more important today, as both Democratic and Republican appointees face unprecedented threats,” Fix the Court executive director Gabe Roth said.

    “The US Marshals Service plays an essential role in enforcing federal court orders and protecting federal judges. Now, with a president who is undermining the rule of law and challenging courts’ authority,  coupled with a rising tide of threats against federal judges, the integrity of the Marshals Service is more important than ever. Without fair and independent courts, our freedom to speak our minds and challenge those in power will come to an end. Judges must be able to freely and fairly interpret the law and the constitution without fear for theirs and their families’ safety. We cannot wait until it’s too late to protect our courts. We congratulate Senator Booker, Leader Schumer, Senator Schiff, and Senator Padilla on introducing this important legislation and lifting up the need for robust protections for the safety and sanctity of our federal courts,” said People For the American Way, President Svante Myrick.

    “This commonsense legislation from Leader Schumer, Senator Booker, Senator Schiff, and Senator Padilla will simply ensure that the judiciary’s decisions are followed. In this era of executive branch court defiance, a repositioning of the marshals within the judiciary branch is a sensible move to protect the prerogatives of our coequal branches of government. Public Citizen applauds this smart policy,” said Lisa Gilbert, Public Citizen, Co-President.

    To read the full text of the bill, click here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Casten, Smith Demand DOJ Investigation Into Trump Crypto Dinner

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Sean Casten (IL-06)

    May 22, 2025

    Washington, D.C. — U.S. Congressmen Sean Casten (IL-06) and Adam Smith (WA-09) led 35 House Democrats in a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Public Integrity Section demanding DOJ immediately launch an investigation into whether President Donald Trump’s offer for top investors in his cryptocurrency token, $TRUMP, to join him at a private dinner violates federal bribery laws or the foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution.

    “We write to request an immediate investigation into President Trump’s offer for the top investors in his $TRUMP memecoin to attend a private dinner with him on May 22, 2025,” the lawmakers wrote. “This invites foreign influence over U.S. policy decisions and raises potential corruption and emoluments clause violations. It is just the latest example of President Trump disregarding ethics norms, introducing further conflicts of interest, and using his office for self-enrichment.”

    Days before the start of his second term, President Trump launched the $TRUMP memecoin. Its price quickly peaked at $75, before crashing and causing $2 billion in investor losses. In April, President Trump announced plans to invite $TRUMP’s top 220 investors to a private dinner, resulting in a 60% surge in price as investors rushed to accumulate enough value to qualify for a seat at the dinner. 

    The Trump family and its partners have earned more than $320 million in trading fees since $TRUMP was launched in January, including at least $1.35 million following the dinner announcement. Multiple investors have explicitly stated that they hoped to purchase influence with the president. 

    In addition, a Bloomberg investigation found that the majority of the top 25 memecoin holders are likely foreign nationals. The top spot is held by Justin Sun, a Chinese crypto entrepreneur who faced an SEC lawsuit alleging fraudulent market manipulation on his blockchain platform. The Trump Administration notably paused the legal action after Sun invested $30 million in one of President Trump’s other cryptocurrency ventures, the World Liberty Project. 

    “U.S. law prohibits foreign persons from contributing to U.S. political campaigns,” the lawmakers continued. “However, the $TRUMP memecoin, including the promotion of a dinner promising exclusive access to the President, opens the door for foreign governments to buy influence with the President, all without disclosing their identities.”

    The Foreign Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 9, Clause 8) prohibits any federal government official, including the President, from accepting any benefit from a foreign government without the consent of Congress. It is critical that the DOJ conducts a nonpartisan investigation of President Trump’s private dinner.

    In addition to Reps. Casten and Smith, the letter was signed by Reps. Nanette Barragán, Joyce Beatty, Greg Casar, Yvette Clarke, Emanuel Cleaver, Cleo Fields, Bill Foster, Maxwell Frost, John Garamendi, Robert Garcia, Sylvia Garcia, Dan Goldman, Al Green, Jim Himes, Glenn Ivey, Marcy Kaptur, Sam Liccardo, Zoe Lofgren, Stephen Lynch, April McClain Delaney, Betty McCollum, Gregory Meeks, Dave Min, Brittany Pettersen, Brad Sherman, Shri Thanedar, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, Ritchie Torres, Juan Vargas, Nydia Velázquez, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Nikema Williams.

    A copy of the letter can be found here. Text of the letter can be found below.

    Dear Acting Chief Sullivan:

    We write to request an immediate investigation into President Trump’s offer for the top investors in his $TRUMP memecoin to attend a private dinner with him on May 22, 2025. This invites foreign influence over U.S. policy decisions and raises potential corruption and emoluments clause violations. It is just the latest example of President Trump disregarding ethics norms, introducing further conflicts of interest, and using his office for self-enrichment.

    On April 23, 2025, a website connected to the Trump family, gettrumpmemes.com, announced that the top 220 investors in the $TRUMP memecoin would be invited to a gala dinner with President Trump on May 22, 2025, located at his golf course outside of Washington D.C. The top 25 buyers would get face time with the President at “an ultra-exclusive private VIP” reception before the dinner, as well as a “special” V.I.P. tour of the White House. And the top four investors would receive a limited-edition Trump-branded watch.

    President Trump promoted the event on social media as the “most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION in the world,” causing the price of the memecoin to surge more than 60 percent as investors rushed to accumulate enough coins to qualify for a dinner seat. Overall, the Trump family and its partners have earned more than $320 million in trading fees since the memecoin was launched in January, including at least $1.35 million following the dinner announcement, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

    Investors spent more than $145 million on $TRUMP tokens over the duration of this contest, with some stating explicitly that they hoped to purchase influence with President Trump. For example, GD Culture Group, a small technology company that facilitates e-commerce for other businesses and brands on TikTok, recently announced plans to purchase $300 million worth of $TRUMP coins. And in the company’s own words, its Chinese subsidiary may be subject to “[intervention] or influence” by the Chinese government. GD Culture Group’s announcement came just days after President Trump indicated that he’d “be willing” to delay the statutorily required ban on TikTok in the U.S. past its June 19, 2025, deadline. Freight Technologies, a Houston-based company that specializes in U.S.-Mexico-Canada cross-border shipping, was even more direct about why it planned to purchase $20 million worth of President Trump’s memecoin: to help the company “advocate for fair, balanced, and free trade between Mexico and U.S.,” the company’s CEO said in a statement. After the contest closed, at least 34 of the top 220 investors sold most of their memecoin holdings, further confirming that the $TRUMP memecoin is not a worthwhile investment, but rather a vehicle to buy influence with the Trump Administration.

    The $TRUMP memecoin website displays a leaderboard of the winners whose identities remain largely unknown due to the anonymity of digital wallets. However, a Bloomberg analysis found that 19 of the top 25 memecoin holders are likely foreign nationals. Notably, Justin Sun, a Chinese billionaire who has privately touted his ties to the Chinese government and founded a blockchain network often used to finance illicit activities, confirmed that he held the top spot. He owned more than $18 million worth of the memecoin on May 12, 2025, when the contest ended. Since March 2023, Sun has been facing a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), alleging fraudulent market manipulation on his platform. This legal action was notably paused by the Trump administration after he invested $30 million in one of President Trump’s other cryptocurrency ventures. In what appears to be a quid pro quo move, Sun then invested an additional $45 million into President Trump’s World Liberty Project, while simultaneously increasing his holdings of the $TRUMP memecoin.

    Former Republican lawmakers, President Trump’s former aides, and cryptocurrency industry leaders recognize these national security risks and the opportunity for corruption. Charles Dent, the former chairman of the House Ethics Committee, recently stated that “ foreign entities and governments obviously want to curry favor with the president. This is completely out of bounds and raises all sorts of ethical, legal and constitutional issues that must be addressed.” Additionally, Anthony Scaramucci, a former official in the Trump administration, characterized President Trump’s memecoin as representing “Idi Amin level corruption.” Furthermore, Vitalik Buterin, a co-founder of Ethereum, emphasized that politician-backed coins “are vehicles for unlimited political bribery, including from foreign nation states.”

    U.S. law prohibits foreign persons from contributing to U.S. political campaigns. However, the $TRUMP memecoin, including the promotion of a dinner promising exclusive access to the President, opens the door for foreign governments to buy influence with the President, all without disclosing their identities.

    The Public Integrity Section was established in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal and exists to ensure that the Department of Justice conducts fair and thorough investigations into corruption by government officials at all levels, without regard to those officials’ political views or allegiances.

    We therefore urge you to launch an immediate inquiry to determine whether this dinner event violates the federal bribery statute or the foreign emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution. If the Department of Justice concludes that it does, we ask that you set aside political considerations and pursue action to uphold public integrity and the rule of law.

    Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Smith, Casten Demand DOJ Investigation Into Trump Crypto Dinner

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Adam Smith (9th District of Washington)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Congressmen Adam Smith (WA-09) and Sean Casten (IL-06) led 35 House Democrats in a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Public Integrity Section demanding DOJ immediately launch an investigation into whether President Donald Trump’s offer for top investors in his cryptocurrency token, $TRUMP, to join him at a private dinner violates federal bribery laws or the foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution.
     
    “We write to request an immediate investigation into President Trump’s offer for the top investors in his $TRUMP memecoin to attend a private dinner with him on May 22, 2025,” the lawmakers wrote. “This invites foreign influence over U.S. policy decisions and raises potential corruption and emoluments clause violations. It is just the latest example of President Trump disregarding ethics norms, introducing further conflicts of interest, and using his office for self-enrichment.”
     
    Days before the start of his second term, President Trump launched the $TRUMP memecoin. Its price quickly peaked at $75, before crashing and causing $2 billion in investor losses. In April, President Trump announced plans to invite $TRUMP’s top 220 investors to a private dinner, resulting in a 60% surge in price as investors rushed to accumulate enough value to qualify for a seat at the dinner. 
     
    The Trump family and its partners have earned more than $320 million in trading fees since $TRUMP was launched in January, including at least $1.35 million following the dinner announcement. Multiple investors have explicitly stated that they hoped to purchase influence with the president. 
     
    “U.S. law prohibits foreign persons from contributing to U.S. political campaigns,” the lawmakers continued. “However, the $TRUMP memecoin, including the promotion of a dinner promising exclusive access to the President, opens the door for foreign governments to buy influence with the President, all without disclosing their identities.”
     
    In addition, a Bloomberg investigation found that the majority of the top 25 memecoin holders are likely foreign nationals. The top spot is held by Justin Sun, a Chinese crypto entrepreneur who faced an SEC lawsuit alleging fraudulent market manipulation on his blockchain platform. This Trump Administration notably paused the legal action after Sun invested $30 million in one of President Trump’s other cryptocurrency ventures, the World Liberty Project. 
     
    The Foreign Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 9, Clause 8) prohibits any federal government official, including the President, from accepting any benefit from a foreign government without the consent of Congress. It is critical that the DOJ conducts a nonpartisan investigation of President Trump’s private dinner.
     
    A copy of the letter can be found here. Text of the letter can be found below.
     
    Dear Acting Chief Sullivan:
     
    We write to request an immediate investigation into President Trump’s offer for the top investors in his $TRUMP memecoin to attend a private dinner with him on May 22, 2025. This invites foreign influence over U.S. policy decisions and raises potential corruption and emoluments clause violations. It is just the latest example of President Trump disregarding ethics norms, introducing further conflicts of interest, and using his office for self-enrichment.
     
    On April 23, 2025, a website connected to the Trump family, gettrumpmemes.com, announced that the top 220 investors in the $TRUMP memecoin would be invited to a gala dinner with President Trump on May 22, 2025, located at his golf course outside of Washington D.C. The top 25 buyers would get face time with the President at “an ultra-exclusive private VIP” reception before the dinner, as well as a “special” V.I.P. tour of the White House. And the top four investors would receive a limited-edition Trump-branded watch.
     
    President Trump promoted the event on social media as the “most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION in the world,” causing the price of the memecoin to surge more than 60 percent as investors rushed to accumulate enough coins to qualify for a dinner seat. Overall, the Trump family and its partners have earned more than $320 million in trading fees since the memecoin was launched in January, including at least $1.35 million following the dinner announcement, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
     
    Investors spent more than $145 million on $TRUMP tokens over the duration of this contest, with some stating explicitly that they hoped to purchase influence with President Trump. For example, GD Culture Group, a small technology company that facilitates e-commerce for other businesses and brands on TikTok, recently announced plans to purchase $300 million worth of $TRUMP coins. And in the company’s own words, its Chinese subsidiary may be subject to “[intervention] or influence” by the Chinese government. GD Culture Group’s announcement came just days after President Trump indicated that he’d “be willing” to delay the statutorily required ban on TikTok in the U.S. past its June 19, 2025, deadline. Freight Technologies, a Houston-based company that specializes in U.S.-Mexico-Canada cross-border shipping, was even more direct about why it planned to purchase $20 million worth of President Trump’s memecoin: to help the company “advocate for fair, balanced, and free trade between Mexico and U.S.,” the company’s CEO said in a statement. After the contest closed, at least 34 of the top 220 investors sold most of their memecoin holdings, further confirming that the $TRUMP memecoin is not a worthwhile investment, but rather a vehicle to buy influence with the Trump Administration.
     
    The $TRUMP memecoin website displays a leaderboard of the winners whose identities remain largely unknown due to the anonymity of digital wallets. However, a Bloomberg analysis found that 19 of the top 25 memecoin holders are likely foreign nationals. Notably, an account named “Sun” held the top spot and owned more than $18 million worth of the memecoin on May 12, 2025, when the contest ended. Investigations into this account have traced it back to Justin Sun, a Chinese billionaire who has privately touted his ties to the Chinese government and founded a blockchain network often used to finance illicit activities. Since March 2023, Sun has been facing a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), alleging fraudulent market manipulation on his platform. This legal action was notably paused by the Trump administration after he invested $30 million in one of President Trump’s other cryptocurrency ventures. In what appears to be a quid pro quo move, Sun then invested an additional $45 million into President Trump’s World Liberty Project, while simultaneously increasing his holdings of the $TRUMP memecoin.
     
    Former Republican lawmakers, President Trump’s former aides, and cryptocurrency industry leaders recognize these national security risks and the opportunity for corruption. Charles Dent, the former chairman of the House Ethics Committee, recently stated that “ foreign entities and governments obviously want to curry favor with the president. This is completely out of bounds and raises all sorts of ethical, legal and constitutional issues that must be addressed.” Additionally, Anthony Scaramucci, a former official in the Trump administration, characterized President Trump’s memecoin as representing “Idi Amin level corruption.” Furthermore, Vitalik Buterin, a co-founder of Ethereum, emphasized that politician-backed coins “are vehicles for unlimited political bribery, including from foreign nation states.”
     
    U.S. law prohibits foreign persons from contributing to U.S. political campaigns. However, the $TRUMP memecoin, including the promotion of a dinner promising exclusive access to the President, opens the door for foreign governments to buy influence with the President, all without disclosing their identities.
     
    The Public Integrity Section was established in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal and exists to ensure that the Department of Justice conducts fair and thorough investigations into corruption by government officials at all levels, without regard to those officials’ political views or allegiances.
     
    We therefore urge you to launch an immediate inquiry to determine whether this dinner event violates the federal bribery statute or the foreign emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution. If the Department of Justice concludes that it does, we ask that you set aside political considerations and pursue action to uphold public integrity and the rule of law.
     
    Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
     
    Sincerely,
     
    ###
     

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Jefferson County man sentenced for possessing machinegun conversion device

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

    BEAUMONT, Texas – A Beaumont man has been sentenced to federal prison for possessing a machinegun in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.

    Aaron Charles Hill, 22, pleaded guilty to possession of a machinegun and was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on May 21, 2025.

    According to information presented in court, on July 15, 2024, law enforcement was dispatched to an apartment complex on Pinchback Road in Beaumont in reference to a disturbance with a firearm.  The victim reported being chased by multiple armed persons trying to shoot him.  Hill was apprehended attempting to leave the scene with two stolen pistols, one of which was equipped with an extended magazine and a machinegun conversion device, also referred to as a Glock switch.  A Glock switch is a small device that can be attached to the rear of the slide of a handgun, converting a semi-automatic pistol into a fully automatic machinegun. Federal law defines a machinegun as a weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.

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

    This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Beaumont Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Quinn.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta to Congress: Pass Legislation to Help Prevent Youth Substance Use

    Source: US State of California Department of Justice

    OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a bipartisan coalition of 39 attorneys general in urging Congressional leaders to pass the Youth Substance Use Prevention and Awareness Act, a bipartisan bill that would authorize federal grant funding for public service announcement (PSA) campaigns aimed at reducing youth substance use. In addition, the bill would promote innovation by supporting youth-led PSA contests — an approach that not only engages young people directly but also encourages peer-to-peer communication, which is shown to be highly effective. 

    “Youth substance use is a serious problem — one that affects all communities, no matter their politics,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I’m joining a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in supporting the Youth Substance Use Prevention and Awareness Act because it can help to save lives. I urge Congress to pass this bill as quickly as possible.”

    In the letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the attorneys general emphasize that: 

    • They are deeply involved in efforts to address substance use and addiction from every angle — criminal enforcement, civil litigation, consumer protection, public education, and prevention. 
    • The earlier an individual begins using substances, the likelier they are to develop substance use disorders later in life. That is why prevention, particularly among youth, remains an effective tool in addressing this public health and public safety crisis. 
    • By requiring annual reports on the content, reach, and outcomes of the funded campaigns, the legislation will ensure transparency, accountability, and effectiveness. 

    In sending today’s letter, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, South Dakota, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, American Samoa, the District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

    A copy of the letter can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: ‘Machine Gun-Trafficking’ Drug Dealer Sentenced to More Than Fifteen Years in Federal Prison

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

    PROVIDENCE – Jose Marrero, 36, of Woonsocket, describe in court documents as a “violent, machine gun-trafficking, kilogram-level drug dealer” was sentenced today to more than fifteen years in federal prison, having pleaded guilty to charges of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, announced acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

    Court documents illustrate that Jose Marrero, 36, previously convicted twice in Rhode Island state court on drug trafficking charges, freely displayed photographs and videos on social media of himself in possession of drugs and firearms, notably semi-automatic pistols, AR-15 style rifles, and semi-automatic pistols that have been modified with machinegun conversion devices. Marrero displayed himself and others in possession of the weapons in his apartment, while watching TV, playing video games, drinking alcohol, and driving around the streets of Rhode Island. He also made social media posts demonstrating himself and others actively firing the modified fully automatic weapons.

    Additionally, court documents reveal videos of the defendant in possession of multiple kilos of cocaine and of numerous messages between Marrero and others that “not only convey his leadership but just how active, eager, and dangerous of a drug trafficker he is.”  Text messages illustrate conversations between Marrero and a drug supplier, and how he, Marrero, organized people to move two kilograms of drugs per week. In some of his messages, Marrero discusses having drug runners, complaining about their behavior and demanding higher productivity from them, directing them to locations to provide certain quantities of drugs to customers, and discussing debts owed to him.

    Marrero made it well known, to his drug trafficking counterparts and otherwise, that he possessed numerous firearms. He prominently displayed himself and others with an array of firearms on his social media account. Excerpts from Marrero’s text messages demonstrate that he enlisted his girlfriend and other acquaintances to purchase firearms for him, as he was unable to do so himself due to his past felony convictions; that he accepted firearms as payment for drug sales; and that he solicited an associate to obtain guns for him, notably “any glocks” that he could get his hands on.

    Marrero was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. to 181 months of incarceration to be followed by 5 years of federal supervised release.

    The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christine D. Lowell, Stacey A. Erickson, and Sandra R. Hebert.

    The matter was investigated by ATF, with the assistance of Massachusetts State Police, Woonsocket Police Department, Central Falls Police Department, and West Warwick Police Department.

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

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Marshals at DC District Court Arrest Woman wanted for Assault on Interim U.S. Attorney for DC

    Source: US Marshals Service

    Washington, DC – Deputies from the District Court for the District of Columbia arrested a woman wanted for assault on a federal official following an incident May 8.

    Emily Sommer, 32, is alleged to have spat on Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Edward R. Martin Jr. as he was conducting an interview outside of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington.

    Deputies and analysts with the U.S. Marshals identified Sommer being involved in this incident and a warrant was issued for her arrest. 

    On May 22, members of the U.S. Marshals Judicial Security Unit and Warrant Squad arrested Sommer at a residence in Southwest Washington.

    Acting U.S. Marshal Ronald Carter stated, “The U.S. Marshals Service takes the security of our protected persons and all members of the court family extremely seriously. Any individual who threatens or compromises that security will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

    The U.S. Marshals Service is responsible for investigating threats against the federal judiciary, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Main Department of Justice.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Monroe County District Court Judge Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison

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

          HELENA-WEST HELENA—A man who has served as local judge, prosecutor, and criminal defense attorney was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for making false statements to the FBI. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down on May 19, 2025, by United States District Court Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. There is no parole in the federal system.

          According to court documents and evidence presented at trial Thomas David Carruth, 64, of Clarendon, served as an elected Monroe County district court judge. In that role, Carruth presided over criminal and civil matters. In April 2022, Carruth met with the girlfriend of a defendant in a criminal case pending before him. The girlfriend sought Carruth’s assistance in getting her boyfriend’s case dismissed. During the meeting, which the girlfriend recorded, Carruth solicited sex and a lingerie show from her in exchange for assisting her boyfriend.

          Carruth asked the girlfriend, “How do you feel about sex?” and “The next step back from that is, do you have any nice lingerie? …Do you mind letting me see you in it?” He also asked the girlfriend, “So, if you change your mind about giving me a lingerie show…well, you got a body that can do it and if you have an attitude where you like to wear lingerie, I’d love to look – to see it on you…If you change your mind about seeing what an old man can do, you know…”

          The jury found that, when questioned by the FBI, Carruth lied to agents about the incident, including by falsely stating that he did not “request,” “ask,” “offer”, make “overture[s] about”, “insinuate,” or “even [think] about,” sex with the girlfriend.

          The jury convicted Carruth of one count of making false statements. Carruth was acquitted of charges of bribery, honest services fraud, and violations of the Travel Act.

          “When judges exploit their positions for personal gain, they pervert justice which erodes public trust in the judiciary,” said Ross. “The sentence underscores that no one, including a debauched judge, is above the law.”

          “Officials who violate the public’s trust for their own personal gain have no place in our Arkansas communities,” said Alicia D. Corder, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Little Rock Field Office. “FBI Little Rock will continue to work with members of the ArkTrust Public Corruption Task Force to protect Arkansans from corruption and hold perpetrators accountable for their actions.”

          This case was investigated by the FBI. This case was prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Nicholas W. Cannon and Trial Attorney Madison H. Mumma of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. They received substantial assistance from Assistant United States Attorney Julie Peters.

    # # #

    Additional information about the office of the

    United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

    https://www.justice.gov/edar

    X (formerly known as Twitter):

    @USAO_EDAR 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Secretary McMahon Announces Title IX Special Investigations Team with ED, Department of Justice

    Source: United States of America – Federal Government Departments (video statements)

    From day one, the Trump Administration has prioritized enforcing Title IX to protect female students and athletes.

    The U.S. Department of Education is partnering with the U.S. Department of Justice to form Title IX Special Investigations Team to ensure rapid and consistent investigations.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuqzv9Z0GeA

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hawley Doubles Down on Push for Mifepristone Regulations in Nominations Hearing

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo)

    Wednesday, May 21, 2025

    During today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) urged President Trump’s Associate Attorney General nominee, Stanley Woodward, to work with State Attorneys General and others to bring about the reinstatement of longstanding safety standards for the abortion drug mifepristone, which accounts for 70 percent of abortions in the United States. 
    Senator Hawley highlighted how the Biden Administration rolled back safety protocols for the drug, allowing women to administer their own abortions totally unsupervised. A recent study shows that over 10% of women who are prescribed mifepristone experience a serious adverse health event such as infection, hemorrhaging, sepsis, or another life-threatening event that leads them to go to the emergency room. That is a level of risk 22 times higher than what the FDA label currently admits.
    [embedded content]
    “Any limits on the drug imposed by voters at the state level, consistent with the Dobbs decision, are automatically overridden by what Joe Biden’s FDA decided to do,” Senator Hawley said. 
    “I hope that the Department of Justice will work with these states and will also vindicate the rights of voters to decide these issues and the rights of states to protect their citizens,” he continued. “I just can’t imagine why the Department would want to defend the abortion regulations of Joe Biden, who was the most rabidly pro-abortion president in American history—very different from our current president, who has been the most pro-life president.” 
    Senator Hawley has been a leading voice in reinstating mifepristone regulations. Last week, he secured a commitment from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. that he would review “alarming” new data on the chemical abortion drug mifepristone. RFK Jr. also stated that in light of the new data, the Food and Drug Administration label for mifepristone should change to accurately reflect the adverse effects of the drug. He also sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, urging the Justice Department to reconsider its defense of the Biden Administration’s policy on mifepristone.  
    Missouri is leading the effort to reimpose safeguards on mifepristone nationwide. 
    Watch the full hearing here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Americus Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Possessing Firearms

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Under Investigation for Fentanyl Distribution, Armed Defendant Attempted to Evade Police

    ALBANY, Ga. – An Americus, Georgia, resident who was under investigation for distributing fentanyl in the community was sentenced to federal prison for illegally possessing several firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime as he attempted to evade arrest.

    Juan Antonious Boone, 36, of Americus, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 181 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner on May 21. Boone previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on Oct. 9, 2024. There is no parole in the federal system.

    “Armed repeat felons distributing fentanyl and other dangerous illegal substances will find their cases in federal court,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker. “We are grateful that no one was injured when the defendant recklessly sped away in his car while attempting to evade arrest. I want to thank the teams from the Americus Police Department, GBI and ATF for helping us hold the defendant accountable for his crimes and their tireless efforts to make our communities safer.”

    “Let me be clear—if you’re a convicted felon pushing fentanyl and carrying illegal firearms, the ATF will find you, and you will face the full force of federal prosecution,” said ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka of the Atlanta Field Division.

    “Fentanyl distribution and armed criminal activity pose a grave threat to public safety,” said GBI Director Chris Hosey. “This sentencing sends a clear message: individuals who choose to traffic deadly drugs and illegally possess firearms will be met with the full force of the law. We remain steadfast in our mission to protect Georgia communities through strong partnerships and relentless investigative work.”

    “The Americus Police Department appreciates the teamwork between local, state and federal law enforcement partners that helps to get dangerous criminals like this off our streets. We are all in the fight together against violent offenders who are flooding our streets with fentanyl and other dangerous narcotics,” said Americus Police Chief Mark Scott.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) utilized a confidential informant (CI) between June 13, 2023, and Aug. 7, 2023, to purchase small quantities of narcotics, including fentanyl, from Boone in the Americus area. On Jan. 8, 2024, GBI conducted surveillance of Boone at the Days Inn in Americus as he departed the hotel. Boone, who was wanted on an active probation warrant, was pulled over by Americus Police Department (APD) officers. Rather than exiting the vehicle as instructed, Boone placed the vehicle in drive and drove away at a high speed, almost striking an APD officer. APD officers pursued Boone to a nearby apartment complex; when he got to a dead-end, he got out of the car and ran away. Boone had a firearm in his hand and one in his waistband; he was safely apprehended. Boone, who has several felony convictions, was illegally possessing two stolen 9mm pistols. Inside his car, police found approximately 24 grams of fentanyl, 79.743 grams of methamphetamine, 251 grams of cocaine, a large quantity of marijuana and a 9mm semiautomatic pistol. Boone has several prior felonies, including two convictions for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and a conviction for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

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

    The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and the Americus Police Department (APD).

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Redavid prosecuted the case for the Government.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Santa Barbara County Investment Advisor Sentenced to Over 10 Years in Prison for Stealing Nearly $2.3 Million From Elderly Clients

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

    LOS ANGELES – A Santa Barbara County investment advisor was sentenced today to 121 months in federal prison for stealing approximately $2.25 million from elderly clients of her investment advisory business, including clients that were receiving end-of-life care.

    Julie Anne Darrah, 52, of Santa Maria, was sentenced by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II, who will schedule a restitution hearing at a later date.

    Darrah pleaded guilty on March 4 to one count of wire fraud.

    During the scheme, Darrah stole approximately $2.25 million from her firm’s clients. She did so by obtaining control of her victims’ assets, and then – without the victims’ knowledge or consent – she liquidated their security holdings and transferred the proceeds to accounts she controlled. As part of this, she convinced victims to sign documents making her the trustee of their trusts or a signatory on their bank accounts or giving her power of attorney over their brokerage accounts and allowing her – as their investment advisor – to transfer funds from their accounts to other bank accounts, including to her own accounts.

    Darrah took advantage of trust victims placed in her – often convincing them she would take care of them in their older years like a daughter, and she used this trust to convince them to sign the documents that she then used to steal money from them. In this way, Darrah stole money from victims from approximately November 2016 to July 2023. She used stolen funds to buy properties for herself, pay other personal expenses, buy luxury vehicles, and operate other business ventures. Some victims were left in desperate circumstances, without the money to pay for end-of-life care, when the fraud was discovered.

    Darrah also convinced a company identified in the plea agreement as “Business Victim 1,” a Minnesota-based investment advisor firm, to acquire VFM based on false and misleading statements and the concealment of material facts, including not telling that firm about her theft of individual client funds. After the fraud was discovered, Business Victim 1 incurred approximately $5.4 million in losses.

    In October 2023, the SEC filed a civil complaint against Darrah in connection with this scheme. In December 2024, United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer found Darrah liable to pay $2,416,511, including interest.

    The FBI and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General investigated this matter.

    Assistant United States Attorney Kerry L. Quinn of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case.

    If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. English, Spanish and other languages are available.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Vacaville Man Charged with Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material

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

    A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment today against Michael Keith Rubino, 39, of Vacaville, charging him with producing child sexual abuse material, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

    According to court documents, in October and November of 2024, Rubino engaged in multiple sex acts with a 17-year-old female victim. Rubino exploited his minor victim at a residence in Vacaville where Rubino lived. Rubino recorded numerous instances of his sexual abuse of his minor victim using his iPhone.

    This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Vacaville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Stefanki is prosecuting the case.

    If convicted, Rubino faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the 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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: BD: Illegal acts will not be tolerated

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    With regard to arrests made by the Independent Commission Against Corruption at a construction site at Anderson Road, the Buildings Department (BD) said it has been actively co-operating with the commission’s investigation, and emphasised that illegal or non-compliant behaviours would not be tolerated.

    The arrests relate to the suspected offering and accepting of advantages.

    The BD received a report last August alleging that steel reinforcements in some structural elements of the superstructure works at six blocks of residential buildings under construction had not been installed in accordance with standards under the Buildings Ordinance. It then sent staff to conduct on-site inspections four times in September.

    Having found that the number of steel reinforcements installed at some beams was lower than required by the approved plans, the department ordered the cessation of works at the entire site in October.

    Subsequently, departmental staff carried out further site inspections, conducted interviews and collected project information. This included opening up concrete at various locations and testing the concrete’s strength.

    To date, inspections have revealed major deviations from the approved plans in the installation of steel reinforcements. This includes positional discrepancies, the displacement of reinforcements, discrepancies in the size of reinforcements, and fewer  reinforcements than are shown in the plans.

    The BD said it is consulting the Department of Justice on prosecution against the relevant individuals.

    Elaborating on the situation, it said inspections indicated that the quantity of main steel reinforcements within structural components is, on average, below 10% less than that in the approved plans. Taking into account the overall configuration of the steel reinforcements and the load-bearing design of the adjacent concrete walls, the department considered that no obvious danger is posed to the overall structure.

    It added that it has requested that the project’s registered structural engineer and registered contractor submit an incident report and stipulate remedial measures including localised strengthening of the buildings, demolition of part of the structural elements where necessary, reinstalment of the steel reinforcements, and concrete recasting.

    Separately, the department noted that the main contractor of the Anderson Road project is also the “registered general building contractor” of five other private developments under construction. In view of the Anderson Road incident, the department has stepped up inspections of these five developments. Measures taken include doubling the number of surprise site inspections and audit checks on completed concrete structural elements using non-destructive covermeter testing technology.

    No deviation in the quantity and positioning of steel reinforcements from the approved plans and no obvious structural safety issues have been found, the department stated.

    To ensure building safety, it added that it will write to the developers of the five developments requesting them to carry out a number of measures.

    These include urging their appointed registered structural engineers to conduct a comprehensive review of all supervision records for steel reinforcement installations at the sites concerned; submitting to the BD within two months a review report and a testing proposal for checking the installation of steel reinforcements; engaging an independent accredited laboratory to conduct the tests; and submitting an independent testing report to the BD.

    The BD emphasised that the Anderson Road case is a rare incident, and that the current regulatory system for building works is robust and well-functioning. Nonetheless, it will review the experience from this case and double the number of construction sites subject to audit inspections of steel reinforcements prior to the casting of concrete at sites, from the current annual sampling rate of at least 12% to at least 25% of projects.

    With regard to the configuration of steel reinforcements after the casting of concrete, the BD will, using covermeter technology for sampling tests, also conduct audit checks with an annual sampling rate of 25% of projects as a regularised practice.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cornyn Calls on DOJ to Investigate Biden & Associates for Potentially Misleading Americans on President’s Health

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Texas John Cornyn
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to open an investigation into any potential violations of federal law surrounding the representations made to the American people about the health and well-being of then-President Biden in light of his recently announced cancer diagnosis and reports of his significant mental decline, and concealment of such decline by his inner circle, while in office:
    “I am concerned that during his time in office, President Biden’s associates, including his doctor, made misrepresentations or material omissions about the status of his health and the existence of any medical conditions, mental and physical. In fact, I fear the American people were deliberately misled about President Biden’s health. Instead of providing full transparency, which is the obligation of the Commander in Chief, important information was kept secret,” wrote Sen. Cornyn.
    “I do not have confidence in the former president’s aides and staff, including medical staff, or their ability to be honest and straightforward about President Biden’s cancer diagnosis. For example, we have learned through news reports that while President Biden’s doctor was reporting him ‘fit for duty,’ he was actually only capable of ‘four to six good hours a day.’ These positions are in direct conflict. Similarly, Biden’s staff refused to let him take a cognitive test, despite repeated public instances where the former President demonstrated his memory and capacity were in question,” he continued.
    “These actions potentially impacted the trust the American people have in their government and weakened us on the world stage. While the former president’s staff have stated publicly that his cancer was only recently diagnosed, that same staff publicly declared him fully capable while privately discussing putting him in a wheelchair. I encourage the Department to conduct a full investigation and ensure that no federal laws were violated during the previous administration,” he concluded.
    The full text of the letter is available here and below.
    May 21, 2025
    The Honorable Pamela Jo Bondi
    Attorney General
    United States Department of Justice
    950 Pennsylvania Avenue
    Washington, DC 20530
    Dear Attorney General Bondi,
    I write to encourage the Department of Justice to open an investigation into any potential violations of federal law surrounding the representations made to the American people about the health and wellbeing of then-President Biden.
    On May 18, 2025, former President Biden’s personal office announced that he had been diagnosed with a “more aggressive form” of prostate cancer. The statement additionally noted that the cancer has metastasized to the bone, but provided few other details. This announcement follows the publication of news reports calling into question the former president’s capacity and awareness during his time in office.
    I am concerned that during his time in office, President Biden’s associates, including his doctor, made misrepresentations or material omissions about the status of his health and the existence of any medical conditions, mental and physical. In fact, I fear the American people were deliberately misled about President Biden’s health. Instead of providing full transparency, which is the obligation of the Commander in Chief, important information was kept secret.
    I do not have confidence in the former president’s aides and staff, including medical staff, or their ability to be honest and straightforward about President Biden’s cancer diagnosis. For example, we have learned through news reports that while President Biden’s doctor was reporting him “fit for duty,” he was actually only capable of “four to six good hours a day.” These positions are in direct conflict. Similarly, Biden’s staff refused to let him take a cognitive test, despite repeated public instances where the former President demonstrated his memory and capacity were in question.
    As President, Biden had access to the most sophisticated and robust health care available in the world. Despite this, the American people have been asked to accept coincidence after coincidence. This manipulation and dishonesty was unfair to the public and put the safety of the country in jeopardy. The continuity of government is essential to the core functioning of our republic. Those protocols must be effective and clear, and the executive’s leadership cannot be in doubt. The 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides the basis for any presidential disability, and any effort by the previous administration to circumvent that would have been troubling and inappropriate.
    These actions potentially impacted the trust the American people have in their government and weakened us on the world stage. While the former President’s staff have stated publicly that his cancer was only recently diagnosed, that same staff publicly declared him fully capable while privately discussing putting him in a wheelchair. I encourage the Department to conduct a full investigation and ensure that no federal laws were violated during the previous administration.
    Sincerely,
    Senator John Cornyn
    U.S. Senator

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Booker, Warnock, Alsobrooks, Blunt Rochester Joint Statement on Charges Against Rep. LaMonica McIver

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) issued the following statement:

    “We stand with Representative LaMonica McIver in the face of efforts to intimidate her and silence those who seek to hold this administration accountable. 

    “Under federal law, members of Congress have the legally protected authority to conduct oversight inspections of immigration detention facilities. If Representative McIver had posed such a serious threat, she wouldn’t have been invited back inside the Delaney Hall facility to finish her tour that day. 

    “Just today, a federal judge reprimanded Department of Justice prosecutors in court while dismissing similarly baseless charges brought against Newark’s mayor. 

    “The Department of Justice should drop the case against Representative McIver and direct their resources toward serious matters of public safety. Their focus should be on faithfully following the law, not settling political scores.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Booker Statement on Trump’s Efforts to Undermine Police Accountability

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker
    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement after the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced it is dismissing Biden-era police investigations and proposed consent decrees in Louisville, Minneapolis, and the closing of investigations and retraction of findings in Phoenix, Trenton, Memphis, Mount Vernon, Oklahoma City, and Louisiana: 
    “Today, Donald Trump’s Justice Department dismissed the civil rights cases against the Minneapolis, Louisville, and six other police departments without explanation or justification. In these cases, impartial investigators and people who work within these departments systematically reviewed evidence and documents and concluded that these law enforcement agencies had a pattern and practice of violating the constitutional and civil rights of the very people they swore to protect and serve.
    “Today’s decision to dismiss these charges without justification or evidence that changes have been implemented should be deeply concerning to all of us who prioritize public safety. Public safety is incumbent upon trust between police and the people they protect, and rolling back accountability mechanisms not only undermines this trust but also makes our communities less safe.
    “All of us who prioritize public safety must remain committed to measures that increase transparency, accountability, and professional excellence in our law enforcement agencies.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Padilla, Schiff Urge Justice Department Watchdog to Open Investigation into DOJ’s Role in Unconstitutional Qatar Airplane Scheme

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)

    Padilla, Schiff Urge Justice Department Watchdog to Open Investigation into DOJ’s Role in Unconstitutional Qatar Airplane Scheme

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) joined Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in demanding an independent investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Inspector General into the Attorney General and the Department of Justice’s involvement in President Trump’s unconstitutional acquisition of a $400 million luxury plane from the Qatari government.

    The request for an inquiry cites new reporting that the U.S. government has accepted the plane from Qatar and that President Trump actively solicited the luxury aircraft from Qatar’s government. At Attorney General Pam Bondi’s confirmation hearing, Senator Padilla and his Democratic Judiciary Committee colleagues raised concerns about Bondi’s previous work as a foreign agent for the government of Qatar and how that might influence her work as Attorney General.

    “These reports raise the troubling possibility that the Department, and Attorney General Bondi personally, were integral to this scheme by crafting a legal justification to enable the President to circumvent the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, federal bribery and ethics laws, and Congress in order to acquire one of the largest foreign gifts in our history,” wrote the Senators.

    “Given today’s announcement and the fact that the Department’s leadership has effectively politicized the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which, under normal circumstances, would investigate professional misconduct by Department attorneys, it is imperative that your office undertake an independent and comprehensive investigation,” continued the Senators.

    The request to DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz was sent by Padilla, Schiff, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai’i), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

    Last week, Senator Padilla joined 26 other Senators in cosponsored a resolution condemning President Trump’s acceptance of a luxury airplane gift, valued at $400 million, from the government of Qatar. According to reports, Trump intends to designate the plane as Air Force One while in office and transfer it to a foundation for personal use following the end of his term.

    Full text of the letter is available here and below:  

    Dear Inspector General Horowitz:

    We write to request that you open an inquiry into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Department of Justice’s involvement in facilitating President Trump’s effort to acquire a luxury airplane from Qatar, including the actions of Attorney General Pam Bondi. The Department of Defense confirmed today that it is accepting the plane as a gift from the government of Qatar. Given today’s announcement and the fact that the Department’s leadership has effectively politicized the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which, under normal circumstances, would investigate professional misconduct by Department attorneys, it is imperative that your office undertake an independent and comprehensive investigation.

    New revelations suggest that President Trump or senior administration officials actively solicited this foreign gift by initiating outreach to Qatar regarding the Boeing 747-8 plane in its possession, and, contrary to claims by President Trump and his associates, by proposing to Qatar that the transfer be in the form of a gift or donation, as opposed to a government-to-government sale. The reporting also raises questions as to whether the administration disclosed to the Qatari government that the Department of Defense would ultimately relinquish the plane and transfer it to President Trump after leaving office, potentially through his presidential library.

    Public reports suggest that Attorney General Bondi played a crucial role in providing cover for such a gift by issuing a legal memorandum to White House Counsel David Warrington that “concluded it would be ‘legally permissible’ for the donation of the aircraft to be conditioned on transferring its ownership to Trump’s presidential library before the end of his term.” Under this scheme, the Department of Defense would serve as a clearinghouse to launder the plane on President Trump’s behalf, while bearing the enormous financial cost to retrofit the aircraft to meet necessary security and counterintelligence standards and requirements for Air Force One.

    These reports raise the troubling possibility that the Department, and Attorney General Bondi personally, were integral to this scheme by crafting a legal justification to enable the President to circumvent the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, federal bribery and ethics laws, and Congress in order to acquire one of the largest foreign gifts in our history. We are particularly concerned that elements of the Department, such as the Office of Legal Counsel, were enlisted to develop such a justification and produce one or more memoranda to allow the White House to claim that such a transfer is lawful. Among other concerns, these new revelations raise key questions regarding whether Department lawyers had a full understanding of the facts to render a complete and accurate legal opinion, or were directed to assess the legality of such a transfer based on incomplete, selective, or shaded details.

    Attorney General Bondi’s personal involvement in this scheme requires particular attention. During her confirmation hearing, Attorney General Bondi committed under oath to “consult with the career ethics officials with the Department [of Justice]” to “make the appropriate decision” with respect to matters pertaining to Qatar, given her previous registration as a lobbyist for Qatar under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The aforementioned solicitation of a $400 million gift from the Qatari government presents a plain conflict of interest that undermines the public’s trust in Attorney General Bondi’s ability to provide impartial legal advice.

    Moreover, your office is uniquely positioned to conduct such an inquiry. During Attorney General Bondi’s tenure, the Department has removed senior career ethics officials and kneecapped offices responsible for overseeing ethics and professional misconduct, including the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which was established 50 years ago in response to ethics abuses and serious professional misconduct by senior Department of Justice officials during the Watergate scandal. We have well-founded concerns that OPR is no longer able to fulfill its mandate since the Department’s political leadership removed OPR’s career lead, Jeffrey Ragsdale, who had served in the role since 2020. OPR’s absence as an oversight check on the Department’s senior leadership further reinforces the need for your office to undertake an independent investigation, including into Attorney General Bondi’s actions and whether she consulted career ethics officials as she pledged to do.

    Such an investigation would complement parallel oversight requests by Members of Congress, including a request that the acting Inspector General of the Department of Defense investigate the Department of Defense’s involvement in this scheme, questions to the Secretaries of Defense and the Air Force regarding the cost and operational security of retrofitting such a plane, and letters to Attorney General Bondi regarding her role.

    The Department of Justice has a long and storied history of rooting out and combatting corruption without fear or favor that is now at risk. In this moment, the responsibility of the Office of Inspector General to “detect and deter waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct” in the Department has never been more important. Your office has a solemn obligation to hold the Department to account, especially given the credible concerns that it has been used to justify and enable unconstitutional acts and corruption at the highest levels of government.

    Thank you for your prompt attention to this important request.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney’s Office recovers approximately $450,000 for victims of Missoula fraudster

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BILLINGS  — The U.S. Attorney’s Office recently recovered approximately $450,000 from a Missoula man who defrauded his victims out of almost $1 million by fraudulently inducing them to invest in his transportation and logistics companies, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said today.

    The defendant, Jason L. Matheny, was convicted of wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343 on November 22, 2019. The court sentenced him to five years of probation, subject to several conditions, and ordered him to pay $994,521.16 in restitution to his victims. In late 2024, Matheny sold a commercial property in Missoula and, because of its restitution lien, the government secured $448,965.36 to be paid to his victims.

    “The collection of restitution for victims of fraud is an essential part of the criminal justice system and a priority for the Department of Justice. Collection from convicted felons can be exceedingly difficult because money is often spent, invested, and moved around. Through the dedication and hard work of the Financial Litigation Program, the U.S. Attorney’s Office was able to execute against Mr. Matheny’s business property. This allowed the proceeds of that sale to be routed to Mr. Matheny’s victims rather than to him.” U.S. Attorney Alme said.

    In September 2024, U.S. Probation requested a summons for revocation of Matheny’s term of probation, alleging he had violated the terms of his sentence by failing to provide requested financial information. Matheny admitted the violation in November 2024 and the Court extended his probation for an additional year.

    XXX

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: City of Miami Police Officer Pleads Guilty to COVID-19 Relief Fraud

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    MIAMI – Yesterday, Tramaine Liptrot, 43, a police officer with the City of Miami Police Department (MPD) who has been relieved of duty, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with fraudulent applications for two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling over $200,000. Liptrot entered his guilty plea in Miami before U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom.

    According to the facts admitted at the change of plea hearing, Liptrot, along with being an MPD Police Officer, was the owner and President of Liptrots Tax Services L.L.C (Liptrots Tax). With the assistance of an associate, Liptrot fraudulently obtained two PPP loans in the name of Liptrots Tax.

    On June 22, 2020, working with the associate, Liptrot caused the submission of a false and fraudulent PPP loan application on behalf of Liptrots Tax, falsely claiming that Liptrots Tax had an average monthly payroll of $36,700 for four employees, and a fraudulent IRS Form 944 in support thereof, falsely claiming that Liptrots Tax paid its employees $440,397 during 2019. As a result of this fraudulent PPP application, Liptrots Tax obtained approximately $91,750 in PPP loan proceeds from an SBA approved PPP lender.

    On March 3, 2021, again working with the associate, Liptrot caused the submission of a false and fraudulent second-draw PPP loan application on behalf of Liptrots Tax, falsely claiming that Liptrots Tax had an average monthly payroll of $43,369, and including as part of the application process, a fraudulent IRS Form 944, falsely claiming that Liptrots Tax paid $496,428 in wages and other compensation in 2020. As a result of this fraudulent second-draw PPP application, Liptrots Tax obtained approximately $108,422 in PPP loan proceeds from a different SBA approved PPP lender. 

    Liptrot is scheduled for sentencing on August 6, 2025, at 10:30 a.m., where he faces a possible maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

    U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida, acting Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of FBI Miami and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Eastern Region, announced the guilty plea.

    FBI Miami’s Area Corruption Task Force, which includes task force officers from the City of Miami Police Department’s Internal Affairs Section, and SBA-OIG investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward N. Stamm is prosecuting the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabrielle Raemy Charest-Turken is handling asset forfeiture.

    In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted. It was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other sources of relief, the CARES Act authorized and provided funding to the SBA to provide Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to eligible small businesses, including sole proprietorships and independent contractors, experiencing substantial financial disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic to allow them to meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could otherwise have been met had the disaster not occurred.  EIDL applications were submitted directly to the SBA via the SBA’s on-line application website, and the applications were processed and the loans funded for qualifying applicants directly by the SBA.

    On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

    On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please click here.

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

    Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-cr-20155.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Duckworth, Durbin Demand Answers on Access to Care for Illinoisans After Prime Healthcare Reduces Services Following Acquisitions of Eight Hospitals

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
    May 20, 2025
    In their letter to Prime Healthcare, the Senators demand answers on the justification, process, & impact of Prime’s decision to cut pediatric, trauma, and maternal health care services in several newly-acquired hospitals
    [WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), today sent a letter to the CEO of Prime Healthcare, Dr. Prem Reddy, about the company’s recent acquisition of eight Illinois hospitals that were formerly owned by Ascension.  Since acquiring these hospitals in March 2025, Prime has suspended or terminated pediatric, trauma, and maternal care services at some of the locations, creating even more barriers for Illinoisans to access health care.  These hospitals, now owned by Prime, a for-profit hospital system operating 51 hospitals across 14 states, provide health care to Illinoisans who rely on federal health programs, and several of these locations serve a population in which more than two-thirds of inpatients are covered by Medicaid or Medicare.
    Despite commitments by Prime to “not make any material reductions to, or material changes in, the mix or level of services offered at any Hospital… to meet community needs,” pediatric services have been terminated at St. John’s Medical Center in Joliet; there has been a withdrawal of the Level II trauma designation at Mercy Medical Center in Aurora; and the comprehensive obstetric and maternal care services at St. Mary’s in Kankakee has been terminated.
    “We sincerely urge your health system to immediately reconsider these decisions, as the consequences of these reductions hold the potential to strip patients of critical and specialized care, impose additional barriers to accessing care, and exacerbate the existing health care needs in the communities these hospitals serve,” the Senators wrote.
    Duckworth and Durbin continue their letter, emphasizing that when a hospital measures success by profit margins rather than its ability to provide care, patients and communities suffer.
    “Hospitals often measure their success by the patients they save and the ability to improve health in their surrounding neighborhoods.  However, as the grip of for-profit hospital systems tightens across our nation’s health care networks, profitability has risen as a primary indicator of success for hospital owners,” the lawmakers wrote.
    “When operations are centered around a hospital’s ability to generate as much profit as possible, it often comes at the expense of patients, staff, and the quality and safety of care.  As a result, hospital staffing levels diminish and costs for services increase, adding to the existing strain on hospitals to provide high standards of care,” the Senators continued their letter.
    As Duckworth and Durbin note, Prime has a history of prioritizing profit over patient care, resulting in two major settlements with the Department of Justice to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act relating to Medicare kickbacks and up-coding.
    The lawmakers closed their letter by expressing their concern that Illinoisans are losing access to quality health care.  Because of those concerns, the Senators requested additional information from Prime about operations at each of the hospitals, particularly around decisions to shut down pediatric, trauma, and maternal health care services.
    “Prime Healthcare has only operated these eight Illinois hospitals for two months, and there are already profound concerns about patients losing access to care.  Given the impact these decisions will have on Illinois patients, hospitals, and the health care workforce, we request answers to [our] questions by June 10, 2025,” the lawmakers wrote.
    The eight hospitals acquired by Prime Healthcare are Ascension Holy Family (Des Plaines), Ascension Mercy (Aurora), Ascension Resurrection (Chicago), Ascension Saint Francis (Evanston), Ascension Saint Joseph (Joliet), Ascension Saint Joseph (Elgin), Ascension Saint Mary (Kankakee), and Ascension Saint Mary and Saint Elizabeth (Chicago). 
    A copy of the letter is available here and below:
    May 20, 2025
    Dear Dr. Reddy:
    We write to express our concern regarding recent decisions that may limit access to essential health care services for patients across Illinois.  Earlier this year, your for-profit health system, Prime Healthcare, acquired several former Ascension hospitals in Illinois.  These hospitals provide health care to beneficiaries of federal health programs, with several Prime Healthcare hospitals serving a population in which more than two-thirds of inpatients have Medicare or Medicaid health coverage.
    In March 2025, Prime Healthcare completed the acquisition of Ascension Holy Family (Des Plaines), Ascension Mercy (Aurora), Ascension Resurrection (Chicago), Ascension Saint Francis (Evanston), Ascension Saint Joseph (Joliet), Ascension Saint Joseph (Elgin), Ascension Saint Mary (Kankakee), and Ascension Saint Mary and Saint Elizabeth (Chicago).  As part of Prime’s approval by the Illinois Health Facilities & Review Board for the change in ownership, Prime committed to, among other provisions, “not make any material reductions to, or material changes in, the mix or level of services offered at any Hospital … to meet community needs.”  Prime further stated, “No changes to the scope of services or the levels of care provided at the facility are currently anticipated to occur within 24 months.”  Unfortunately, the decisions that have followed since have led to the discontinuation of several critical health care services.
    We are particularly concerned about the suspension of pediatric services at St. John’s Medical Center in Joliet, the withdrawal of the Level II trauma designation at Mercy Medical Center in Aurora, and the recent termination of comprehensive obstetric and maternal care services at St. Mary’s in Kankakee.  We sincerely urge your health system to immediately reconsider these decisions, as the consequences of these reductions hold the potential to strip patients of critical and specialized care, impose additional barriers to accessing care, and exacerbate the existing health care needs in the communities these hospitals serve.
    Hospitals often measure their success by the patients they save and the ability to improve health in their surrounding neighborhoods.  However, as the grip of for-profit hospital systems tightens across our nation’s health care networks, profitability has risen as a primary indicator of success for hospital owners.  When operations are centered around a hospital’s ability to generate as much profit as possible, it often comes at the expense of patients, staff, and the quality and safety of care.  As a result, hospital staffing levels diminish and costs for services increase, adding to the existing strain on hospitals to provide high standards of care.  Indeed, Prime Healthcare already has been the subject of several federal enforcement actions, including separate settlements in 2018 and 2021 totaling $100 million to resolve alleged False Claims Act violations for Medicare kickbacks and up-coding.
    Prime Healthcare has only operated these eight Illinois hospitals for two months, and there are already profound concerns about patients losing access to care.  Given the impact these decisions will have on Illinois patients, hospitals, and the health care workforce, we request answers to the following questions by June 10, 2025: 
    What considerations were taken prior to eliminating pediatric services at St. John’s Medical Center, as well as shrinking obstetric and maternal care services at St. Mary’s?
    For each hospital’s service line referenced above, what was the average daily census or patient count each week over the past year?
    How far back does the data, pertaining to average daily census or patient counts each week, that Prime has access to go?
    Prior to deciding to eliminate pediatric services, did Prime formally engage with neighboring hospitals or the Illinois Health Facilities & Services Review Board about the adequacy of nearby capacity to serve these patient’s needs?  If so, please describe and share such documentation with the feedback provided by each entity.

    How does Prime Healthcare plan to compensate for the loss of these essential health services and ensure that these communities continue to have access to specialized treatment and maternal care?
    Following the revocation of Mercy Medical Center’s Level II trauma designation, how will the hospital’s emergency readiness be impacted?  How will the hospital address the need for trauma care within the community?
    What projections does Prime have for the impact on ambulance service times for patients now being diverted from Mercy to another hospital?  Have there been any efforts to engage with the Illinois Department of Public Health regarding the potential reversal of this revocation?  If so, please describe in detail.

    You previously made a commitment not to change “the scope of services or the levels of care…within 24 months.”  What circumstances have shifted since the acquisition to justify a different course of action? 
    How many health care providers and personnel have been or will be terminated as a result of these closures?  How will this impact patient wait times and their ability to continue their plan of care with a provider?
    How much does Prime Healthcare anticipate saving financially as a result of these recent closures? 
    Does Prime Healthcare have future plans to shut down or reduce additional health facilities or services in Illinois?  If so, please describe in detail.
    Thank you for your attention to this important matter.  We look forward to your prompt reply.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Capito, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Enhance Reentry Programs, Promote Public Safety

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), along with Representatives Carol Miller (R-W.Va.-1) and Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.-7) introduced the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2025.
    The legislation would reauthorize critical reentry grant programs from the Second Chance Act of 2008, which was most recently reauthorized during the first Trump administration as part of the First Step Act in 2018, including services and supports for housing, career training, and treatment for substance use disorders and/or mental illness. The legislation would also reauthorize critical programs to reduce recidivism, invest in communities, and promote public safety. 
    “Over 95% of incarcerated people will be released at some point,” Senator Capito said. “The Second Chance Reauthorization Act will help people reentering society get the resources they need to become productive and successful members of their communities. Whether it’s helping them find a job, providing therapy and rehabilitation services for those struggling with addiction, providing faith-based programming to help people turn over a new leaf, or many other services, this legislation will help provide resources to a wide range of programs across the country that have been proven to reduce recidivism rates.”
    “Since 2008, the Second Chance Act has supported programs across the country that provide opportunities to those rebuilding their lives after incarceration. This is why this there has always been bipartisan support for funding for second chance programs – we have seen that these programs work in communities everywhere. In fact, they have helped reduce the three-year rate of recidivism in our country by almost a quarter since its passage,” Senator Booker said. “This bipartisan legislation provides the necessary tools and reentry services that formerly incarcerated individuals need to be successful when they leave prison. Empowering these individuals is not just the right thing to do, it makes our communities safer for us all. And Congress should ensure that every community, red or blue, rural or urban, is able to access these critical grant funds.”
    “Since the Second Chance Act passed in 2008, formerly incarcerated West Virginians reentering our communities have received the vital services and support they needed to return home successfully,” Congresswoman Miller said. “We have seen the benefits of the Second Chance Act in West Virginia and across the country. When we put in place strong reentry programming, we are creating safer communities where individuals feel supported and empowered to break the cycle of recidivism.”
    “Second Chance reentry programs and services have reached hundreds of thousands of individuals and families across the country, creating healthier families and safer communities,” Congressman Davis said. “Continuing to invest in these evidenced-based interventions is a commonsense approach to strengthen individuals, re-build families, and grow our economy.”
    The Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2025 would: 
    Reauthorize key grant programs that provide vital services, supports, and resources for people reentering their communities after incarceration;
    Expand allowable uses for supportive and transitional housing services for individuals reentering the community from prison and jail; and
    Enhance addiction treatment services for individuals with substance use disorders, including peer recovery services, case management, and overdose prevention.
    Since its passage 16 years ago, Second Chance has supported states, local governments, tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations in their efforts to reduce recidivism. To date, Second Chance grants have reached more than 442,000 justice-involved individuals who participated in reentry services or parole and probation programs. West Virginia has received more than $5 million in funding through Second Chance grants.
    From 2009 to 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice awarded over 1,300 Second Chance Act grants to states, local, and tribal governments, as well as reentry-focused community organizations. Second Chance grants have been administered to 871 agencies across 49 U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia.
    The Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2024 is endorsed by the following organizations: American Correctional Association, American Jail Association, American Parole and Probation Association, Catholic Charities USA, Correctional Leaders Association, Council of State Governments Justice Center, CPAC, Major County Sheriffs of America, National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Association of Counties, National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, National District Attorneys Association, National League of Cities, Prison Fellowship, Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
    To read the full text of the bill, click here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Charges Two Bay Area Caregivers with Elder Abuse and Fraud

    Source: US State of California Department of Justice

    Wednesday, May 21, 2025

    Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

    SAN JOSE – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the filing of felony charges against two caregivers for fraud and elder abuse. The California Department of Justice received a complaint referral from the California Department of Social Services alleging abuse and neglect of residents at an unlicensed care home located in San Jose. It was alleged that the residents were living in biohazardous conditions and were left with untreated medical issues, all the while the defendants were receiving in-home support service payments from Medi-Cal.

    “Those who care for our elders have a profound responsibility to treat those in their care with the highest level of compassion and dignity,” said Attorney General Bonta. “They support individuals during some of the most challenging moments in their lives. At the California Department of Justice, we are committed to fighting against all types of elder abuse and neglect. We will take prompt action to ensure that anyone who exploits or harms these vulnerable members of our community is held accountable.”

    A felony complaint has been filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court, charging the defendants with two felony counts of elder abuse, one felony count of dependent adult abuse, and one felony count of filing a false claim.

    The California Department of Justice’s Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse (DMFEA) works to protect Californians by investigating and prosecuting those responsible for abuse, neglect, and fraud committed against elderly and dependent adults in the state, and those who perpetrate fraud on the Medi-Cal program.

    The Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $69,244,976 for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2025. The remaining 25 percent is funded by the State of California. FY 2025 is from October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025.
    A copy of the complaint can be found here.  

    It is important to note that criminal charges must be proven in a court of law. Every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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    MIL OSI USA News –