NewzIntel.com

Category: Department of Justice

  • MIL-OSI Security: Mexican national sentenced to 70 months for possession of sexually explicit images and videos of children

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 47-year-old Mexican man has been sentenced for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

    Felix Raymundo Mora-Gonzalez pleaded guilty Feb. 20.

    U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera has now sentenced Mora-Gonzalez to 70 months in federal prison. He was further ordered to pay $13,000 in restitution to the known victims and will serve 25 years on supervised release following the completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Mora-Gonzalez will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

    Mora-Gonzalez was arrested Feb. 21, 2023, in connection with his involvement in an alien smuggling investigation. Mora-Gonzalez was originally arrested for harboring illegal aliens. However, the investigation uncovered a cell phone at the stash house that belonged him. A forensic examination of the cell phone revealed Mora-Gonzalez knowingly possessed 29 videos and nine images of CSAM.

    He also pleaded guilty to the alien smuggling charges and was previously sentenced to 15 months.

    Mora-Gonzalez will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

    Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations and Border Patrol conducted the investigation.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ana C. Cano, Israel Cano and Joe Esquivel prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lankford Continues Push to Safeguard Conscience Rights of Health Care Workers

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Lankford

    WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) introduced the Conscience Protection Act to protect health care providers and insurance plans from government discrimination if they decline to participate in abortions. The Conscience Protection Act provides enforcement for existing conscience laws by providing a private right of action for victims of conscience discrimination. 

    “When conscience protections aren’t enforced, health care workers are forced to decide if they should lose their job or violate their beliefs by performing an abortion. Many health care professionals went into their careers to protect life, not take life. Doctors and nurses should never have to make the choice between their career and their conscience. The Conscience Protection Act defends health care workers and empowers them to stand by convictions as they care for their community,” said Lankford.

    Lankford first introduced the Conscience Protection Act in 2019 and again in 2021 and 2024.  He spoke on the Senate floor after Democrats blocked his bill to protect all Americans’ conscience rights.

    Lankford is joined on the bill by Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Jim Risch (R-ID), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Ted Budd (R-NC), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Todd Young (R-IN), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Mike Lee (R-UT), Jim Banks (R-IN), and Mike Crapo (R-ID). Representative August Plfuger (R-TX) is leading the legislation in the House of Representatives.

    This legislation is also supported by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Students for Life, American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists Action, Alliance Defending Freedom, Eagle Forum, National Right to Life Committee, First Liberty Institute, CatholicVote, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, and March for Life.

    Background

    Congress has enacted more than 25 laws to protect conscience rights for individuals who have a religious or moral objection to performing certain medical procedures, including abortion. Yet, courts have consistently declined to find that these laws provide a “private right of action” for an individual to commence litigation to defend their right of conscience—thereby leaving victims of conscience discrimination unable to defend their rights in court. Currently, if a health care worker refuses to provide abortions, the only recourse available is to file a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR). 

    In 2014, California required that health plans must cover abortions, which forced religious employers to offer plans that violate their religious beliefs. In December 2014, under the Obama Administration, HHS opened an investigation. Despite the then-current laws protecting conscience rights, in June 2016, HHS declared that California could force all its health plans to cover elective abortions, which President Biden’s nominee for HHS Secretary has advocated for and enforced as Attorney General of California.

    During the first Trump Administration, several landmark actions were taken to enforce current law and protect conscience: (1) created the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, (2) partnered with the Department of Justice to notice and enforce conscience violations in Vermont and California, resulting in the disallowance of $200 million per quarter from the state due to former Attorney General Becerra’s refusal to comply with the law, and (3) issued the final rule “Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights In Health Care” to enforce existing statutory protections, which Lankford supported. Unfortunately, a federal court vacated the conscience rule in November 2019. Litigation on the final rule continued at the Second Circuit in New York v. HHS, and seventy-eight Members of Congress filed an amicus brief led by Senator Lankford in the case.

    In response to the Biden Administration’s proposed rule that would insufficiently enforce conscience protections for medical professionals, Lankford led his colleagues in filing a public comment letter demanding greater implementation and enforcement of all of the statutory conscience protections enacted by Congress, as reflected in the previous rule issued under the Trump Administration. 

    This week, President Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it is initiating a compliance review under the Church Amendments, which is central to the legislation. This key development pairs perfectly with the Conscience Protection Act and underscores the need for further action to protect conscience rights.

    You can read the exclusive in the Daily Signal HERE, and can read the full text of the Conscience Protection Act HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin Calls Out Republicans’ As Trump Administration Slashed Funding For Mental Health Grants, Gun Violence Prevention Efforts That Had Bipartisan Support

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
    May 14, 2025
    “The next time the President or any of his friends go to Fox News and try to start scapegoating Democrats for the gun violence in Chicago, they should remember that the President and his billionaire cronies eliminated these successful, bipartisan grants,” Durbin said on the Senate floor
    WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke out against the Trump Administration’s cuts to critical mental health programs and gun violence prevention efforts.  Despite strong bipartisan support for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022, congressional Republicans have remained silent about these disastrous funding cuts that erode efforts to mitigate gun violence.
    “Currently, the number one cause of death for American kids and teenagers is gun violence.  Not automobile accidents, not cancer.  We need to treat this crisis like the national emergency that it is,” Durbin began his remarks.  “Common-sense gun safety measures are overwhelmingly popular with the American people, even with gun owners, including banning high-capacity assault weapons meant for the battlefield, as well as universal background checks and requiring safe storage of guns.”
    “But we also know that making communities safer requires addressing the root causes of violence,” Durbin said.
    Durbin continued his remarks, reflecting on the third anniversary of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that resulted in the death of 19 innocent children and two teachers.
    “On what should have been an ordinary school day, 19 innocent children and two teachers were gunned down in their classrooms by a man armed with an AR-15.  After that horrific day, Congress came together on a bipartisan basis, a rare bipartisan basis, to pass the most significant gun safety reform in generations,” Durbin said.  “We recognized that too many parents were losing children, and too many communities have been irreparably scarred.”
    Durbin spoke about key components in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, including provisions that invested in breaking the cycle of violence by addressing mental health.
    “When Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, we agreed we must do more to prevent gun violence from happening in the first place.  One of the most prominent provisions of that legislation was Congress’ decision to invest in using trained neighborhood leaders to break the cycle of violence,” Durbin said.  “With $250 million in funding, we supported community violence interrupters from the South Side of Chicago to… Houston, Texas.”
    Yet, previous bipartisan support did not stop the Trump Administration and unelected billionaire Elon Musk from axing federal funding for these critical programs.  As a result of these cuts, organizations like Metropolitan Family Services in Chicago lost $3.7 million in federal funding.  Prior to being slashed, these funds provided mental health training and job skills to hundreds of individuals who are most likely to perpetrate or be victims of violence.  Because of these initiatives, homicides in the City of Chicago have decreased by 50 percent since 2021.
    “Unfortunately, DOGE had a different idea when it came to preventing violence.  Last month, the Department of Justice cancelled more than $800 million in violence prevention, public safety, and victim service grants.  That includes millions of dollars in community violence intervention funding that was senselessly cut,” Durbin continued.
    “Does Attorney General Bondi really think that eliminating these grants will stop the violence?  Ignoring reality won’t stop the bloodshed that will occur without these funds,” Durbin said.  “Does President Trump really think that cutting this funding makes America safer?”
    “The next time the President or any of his friends go to Fox News and try to start scapegoating Democrats for the gun violence in Chicago, they should remember that the President and his billionaire cronies eliminated these successful, bipartisan grants,” Durbin said.
    Further destroying the gun violence prevention efforts in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the Trump Administration has also rescinded $1 billion in mental health grants from schools that were included in the bill. 
    “After any mass shooting, many are quick to explain away the tragedy as just a ‘mental health’ issue, not the result of the fact that America has far too many deadly weapons,” Durbin said.  “Yet barely 100 days into this Administration, they have dropped any pretense about mental health in dealing with gun violence.  Apparently, preventing gun violence by providing treatment to children is just too much for them to take.”
    Durbin concluded his remarks by pointing to an initiative in Illinois losing its federal funding without a clear justification from the Trump Administration.
    “An initiative in Lake County, Illinois, received nearly $6 million in federal funds to recruit and train mental health providers to work in the schools,” Durbin said.  “In an outrageous and unsubstantiated justification, the Department of Education claimed that these funds ‘violated the letter of purpose or Federal civil rights law’ or ‘undermined the well-being of students these programs are intended to help.’  There is no evidence of that.”
    “Where is the outrage from those who joined in this bipartisan response several years ago?  We took great pride in it.  Democrats and Republicans finally agreed on something.  Mental health counseling of children who are most vulnerable is a way to reduce gun violence.  I still believe that to this day. But the Trump Administration says ‘no, we’re not going to invest in that.’
    “You know what’s going to happen? There will be more gun violence… Innocent kids will die. Innocent people will die.  People will say, ‘well, we just need more mental health counseling.’  Keep in mind, this Administration just eliminated the funds for it. What are they thinking?” Durbin said.
    “Where is the outrage from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle?” Durbin asked.  “That silence is shameful.”
    Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
    Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
    Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Florida Financial Advisor Sentenced for Promoting Illegal Tax Shelter and Stealing Client Funds

    Source: United States Department of Justice

    A Florida financial advisor was sentenced today to eight years in prison for orchestrating a nearly decade-long scheme to promote an illegal tax shelter and to steal client funds.

    The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: Stephen T. Mellinger III, of Delray Beach, was a financial advisor, insurance salesman, and securities broker operating in Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, and elsewhere. Beginning in late 2013, Mellinger conspired with others to promote an illegal tax shelter whereby clients would claim false tax deductions for so-called “royalty payments” to fraudulently reduce their taxes. In reality, the “royalty payments” were merely a circular flow of money designed to give the appearance of genuine business expenses. Typically, a client would send money to bank accounts controlled by Mellinger and his co-conspirators, who then sent the money, minus a fee, to a different bank account that the client controlled. Tax shelter participants retained control of the money they transferred, while falsely deducting the transfers as business expenses on their tax returns.

    In total, Mellinger and his co-conspirators helped clients prepare tax returns that claimed over $106 million in false tax deductions, which caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $37 million. Mellinger and a co-conspirator, who was a relative, collectively earned approximately $3 million in fees from the scheme.

    In January 2016, Mellinger learned that several of his clients were under investigation and that the United States had started seizing their funds. Mellinger and the relative subsequently stole more than $2.1 million from some of the clients, a portion of which Mellinger used to buy a home in Delray Beach.

    In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett for the Southern District of Mississippi ordered Mellinger to serve three years of supervised release and to pay approximately $37 million in restitution to the United States.

    Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick Lemon for the Southern District of Mississippi, Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Atlanta Field Office, and Deputy Inspector General for Investigations and Director of DCIS Kelly P. Mayo made the announcement.

    IRS Criminal Investigation and the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) are investigating the case.

    Trial Attorneys Richard J. Hagerman, William Montague and Matthew Hicks of the Tax Division, Trial Attorneys Emily Cohen and Jasmin Salehi Fashami of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles W. Kirkham for the Southern District of Mississippi are prosecuting the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Judicial appointments increase Albertans access to court

    Albertans deserve to have access to a fair, accessible and transparent justice system. To increase capacity in the courts and improve access to justice for those involved in civil, criminal and family matters, Alberta’s government has made five new judicial appointments to the Alberta Court of Justice.

    “Continuing to fill judicial appointments directly strengthens the capacity of our courts, helping ensure Albertans have timely access to justice. Those newly appointed will serve Albertans well in their respective divisions and I congratulate them on their new roles.”

    Mickey Amery, Minister of Justice and Attorney General

    Alberta’s government has appointed the following individuals to the Alberta Court of Justice:

    • Tracey Bailey, KC, Edmonton Family and Youth Division, effective June 23.
    • Sheri Epp, Calgary Criminal Division and Calgary Region, effective June 2.
    • Karen McGowan, Edmonton Family and Youth Division, effective June 2.
    • Alicia Wendel, Edmonton Region, effective June 2.
    • Colin Wetter, part-time justice of the peace in Edmonton, effective May 14.

    “The Alberta Court of Justice is pleased to welcome and congratulate these new appointments. Access to justice is a fundamental value of our society, ensuring that every individual has the opportunity to be heard, receive fair treatment, and obtain timely, meaningful resolution to their legal challenges. I am confident that their backgrounds and experience will serve Albertans well in achieving these goals.”

    James Hunter, chief justice, Alberta Court of Justice

    Since June 2023, Alberta’s government has made 30 judicial appointments.

    Tracey M. Bailey, KC, received her bachelor of laws degree from the University of Alberta in 1991. She started her career as an articling student, continuing as a lawyer at Milner Fenerty. Following academia, she practiced law at Alberta’s Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General before returning to private practice in 2020 as associate counsel at Miller Thomson, LLP, where Ms. Bailey was made partner in 2025.

    Sheri Epp received her bachelor of laws degree from the University of Alberta in 1997. She began her career as an articling student, and then as a litigation associate at Code Hunter Wittmann/Gowlings. She then gained litigation experience at Code Hunter LLP, Scott Hall LLP, McCarthy Tetrault LLP, and Talisman Energy Inc. Most recently, Ms. Epp was senior counsel, then became assistant vice-president and associate chief counsel of Individual Insurance and Affinity at Manulife.

    Karen McGowan received her bachelor of laws degree from the University of Alberta in 1998. Her focus has always been criminal law, beginning as an articling student at Beresh, Depoe, Cunningham. Since being called to the bar in 1999, she has practiced law for Legal Aid Alberta in the Youth Criminal Defence Office, then as a senior advisory counsel, and finally, in the Criminal Trial Group.

    Alicia Wendel received her bachelor of laws degree from Dalhousie University in 1999. She started her career as an articling student at McAllister and Sinclair, then as a barrister at Fix and Smith. From 2001 to present, she has been a Crown prosecutor in rural jurisdictions, practicing in regional courts with the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service. Currently, Ms. Wendel is a member of the Alberta Justice Restorative Justice Working Group, the Alberta Justice Sexual Violence Working Group, and the Gladue Systemic Change Project Committee.

    Colin Wetter received his bachelor of laws degree from the University of Alberta in 1986. He began his career as an articling student at Howard Mackie in Calgary, then practiced law in the private sector until 1992. He then joined the federal Department of Justice as legal counsel, and –with ever-increasing roles of responsibility – in 2012 became regional director of the Aboriginal Law Services Section (Alberta). Mr. Wetter was regional director of the Tax Law Services Section (Prairie Region) from 2019 to 2022.

    Quick facts

    • Lawyers with at least 10 years at the bar can apply to become a justice with the Alberta Court of Justice. 
    • Lawyers with at least five years at the bar can apply to become a justice of the peace. Justice of the peace appointments are for 10 years.
    • Applications are reviewed by the Alberta Judicial Council and Alberta Judicial Nominating Committee, and then recommended to the minister of justice and cabinet for appointment.

    Related information

    • Alberta’s government is actively recruiting justices and justices of the peace and encourages qualified lawyers to apply. Qualified lawyers who wish to be considered for appointment can access the application form online.

     Related news

    • Ensuring access to justice for Albertans (May 7, 2025)
    • Judicial appointments increase Albertans access to justice (April 9, 2025)
    • Increasing court capacity (Jan. 15, 2025)
    • Strengthening Alberta’s courts (Dec. 4, 2024)

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tuberville Joins Colleagues in Effort to Protect Americans Against Chinese-Infiltrated Equipment

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and other members of Congress in sending a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick urging the department to prohibit TP-Link equipment sales. This state-sponsored networking equipment company has deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party and poses a clear present danger to American national security.
    “TP-Link’s pricing practices have triggered a Department of Justice criminal antitrust probe. TP-Link’s predatory pricing, coupled with its circumvention of tariffs, imminently threatens U.S. competition in a market critical to our national security. TP-Link has rapidly captured nearly 60 percent of the U.S. retail router and Wi-Fi system market while expanding the CCP’s cyber arsenal. The CCP uses SOHO equipment for ongoing espionage and targeting of critical infrastructure to pre-position itself for destructive attacks on Americans and communication channels with our allies,” wrote the members of Congress. 
    Joining Sens. Tuberville and Cotton are U.S. Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY), Ted Budd (R-NC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Jim Justice (R-WV), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), and Rick Scott (R-FL). Four U.S. Representatives also joined the letter.
    Full text of the letter can be read below or here. 
    “Dear Secretary Lutnick,
    We write in support of the Commerce Department’s investigation of TP-Link, a state-sponsored networking equipment company, and urge you to take swift action to prohibit further sales of TP-Link networking products in the United States. TP-Link’s deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), use of predatory pricing to eliminate trusted U.S. alternatives, and role in embedding foreign surveillance and destructive capabilities into our networks render it a clear and present danger.
    Chinese state actors have exploited TP-Link small and home office (SOHO) networking devices — including Wi-Fi routers, cellular gateways, and mobile hotspots — to wage cyber-attacks in the United States.CCP agents commonly exploit SOHO routers because those systems have ideal bandwidth and computing power for sustained cyber activities but lack additional layers of security common in enterprise networks. TP-Link is also subject to China’s National Security Law, giving the CCP access to U.S. systems before American authorities know a vulnerability exists. In fact, TP-Link is the only router company that refuses to engage in industry efforts to remediate Chinese state-sponsored botnets. 
    TP-Link’s pricing practices have triggered a Department of Justice criminal antitrust probe. TP-Link’s predatory pricing, coupled with its circumvention of tariffs, imminently threatens U.S. competition in a market critical to our national security. TP-Link has rapidly captured nearly 60 percent of the U.S. retail router and Wi-Fi system market while expanding the CCP’s cyber arsenal. The CCP uses SOHO equipment for ongoing espionage and targeting of critical infrastructure to pre-position itself for destructive attacks on Americans and communication channels with our allies.  
    For these reasons, Commerce should immediately prohibit future sales of TP-Link SOHO networking equipment in the United States. Each day we fail to act, the CCP wins while American competitors suffer, and American security remains at risk.
    We thank you for your ongoing work to secure and safeguard America’s Information and Communications Technology and Services supply chain. This work is critical to our national security, and we commend President Trump’s Executive Order 13873 to allow the Commerce Department to prohibit transactions in our country that pose unacceptable risk to American national security.     
    Sincerely,”
    Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Ecuadorian National Convicted of Illegal Reentry and Failure to Notify of a Change of Address

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    MINNEAPOLIS – Sebastian Saquinga-Topanta, an Ecuadorian national, pleaded guilty to Illegal Reentry into the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326, and Failure to Notify of a Change of Address, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1306(b), announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.

    According to court documents, Sebastian Saquinga-Topanta, 31, did not have a lawful immigration status to enter the United States.  On September 1, 2022, Saquinga-Topanta was discovered by the U.S. Border Patrol and was removed from the United States as an undocumented alien.  He was returned to Ecuador but, soon after, the defendant knowingly, voluntarily, and unlawfully returned to the United States in December 2022.

    According to court documents, Saquinga-Topanta was previously apprehended for driving while intoxicated in June 2023.  The defendant was arrested twice on warrants in December 2023 and January 2024 for the DUI case.  Saquinga-Topanta was questioned about his residence following his arrest.  Law enforcement went to the purported address but discovered that the defendant no longer lived there.  During a period from January to May of 2024, the defendant failed to register his change of address with the Attorney General.  In addition, he was not approved by the Attorney General or the Security of Homeland Security to re-apply and remain in the United States.

    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.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Melinda A. Williams prosecuted the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Pediatric Physician Sentenced to 25 Years for Producing Child Pornography

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Overland Park, Ks., pediatric physician was sentenced in federal court today for producing child pornography and possession of child pornography.

    Brian Aalbers, 51, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Brian C. Wimes to 25 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Aalbers to serve supervised release for Life following his incarceration.

    Aalbers, a pediatric neurologist at Overland Park Regional Hospital in Overland Park, Ks., had pleaded guilty to using concealed video cameras to secretly record 13 child victims for the purpose of producing child pornography over a three-year period.  Aalbers also had admitted that he was in possession of child pornography.

    Concerns were received by both the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office regarding the potential victimization of patients of Aalbers’s pediatric practice. During the investigation, it was determined there was no evidence to indicate any current or former patients were victimized by Aalbers. To protect and maintain the privacy of Aalbers’s victims, no additional information regarding the victims will be released.

    According to the plea agreement, Kansas City, Mo., police officers investigated a report regarding concealed video cameras that had been found on Oct. 28, 2023. A witness later contacted officers to report that Aalbers was sending suicidal text messages. Lenexa, Ks., police officers located Aalbers and transported him to a local hospital to obtain voluntary mental health treatment. The hospital took possession of two laptop computers, two iPad tablets, and a cell phone that were inside a backpack Aalbers brought with him when he entered the facility.

    Investigators obtained search warrants for those devices, as well as other cameras and electronic devices owned by Aalbers. Investigators found more than 50,000 video files associated with the hidden video cameras used by Aalbers, including more than 1,000 videos that contained pornographic depictions of the 13 child victims.

    Investigators also obtained a search warrant for Aalbers’s iCloud account, which contained 1,000 additional images and 163 additional videos of child pornography, which included videos of the identified child victims that had been produced by Aalbers.

    This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen A. Brackett. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, and Lenexa, Kansas Police Department.

    Project Safe Childhood

    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 individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: May 9th, 2025 Heinrich, Luján, Vasquez Call on Trump Administration to Crack Down on U.S. Firearms Flowing to Latin American Drug Cartels

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
    WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the core bipartisan group of senators who negotiated and passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), joined U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) to urge the Trump Administration to use its recent designation of Latin American cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) to take aggressive action to stop the illegal trafficking of American firearms across the Southern Border.
    In a letter addressed to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Attorney General Pam Bondi, the lawmakers called for a coordinated federal response to stem the flow of hundreds of thousands of American firearms that arm violent drug cartels, fuel lawlessness along the Southern Border, and bring drugs into communities across the United States.
    “We were pleased that President Trump agreed to address the outflow of hundreds of thousands of American-made firearms across the southern border when he initially postponed the implementation of tariffs on our ally Mexico. Accordingly, we urge you to utilize the FTO designation to take aggressive action to stem the flow of American guns to the cartels,” the lawmakers wrote.
    Anywhere between 200,000 and 500,000 American firearms are smuggled across U.S. borders into Mexico every year, arming Latin American criminal organizations that have used them to undermine domestic law enforcement and assert control over fentanyl and human trafficking operations back into the United States. 
    “The new FTO designation for these cartels provides additional legal tools to bolster interagency coordination, disrupt their financial networks, and impose stricter penalties on those who provide material support to these criminal enterprises. Specifically, under current statute, it is unlawful to knowingly provide material support or resources to a Foreign Terrorist Organization and those who do so can be fined or imprisoned for up to 20 years,” the lawmakers continued.
    The members urged the administration to effectively and strategically employ the full suite of legal options this new designation enables and offered their assistance to empower it to specifically address the “Iron River” of American firearms that are fueling violence and destruction in communities across the United States and Mexico. 
    “We hope that you move swiftly and use these new legal authorities to combat southbound arms trafficking. We stand ready to assist in this effort in any way we can, including through legislation that expands your programmatic authorities to address this critical issue,” the lawmakers concluded.
    The letter was led by Luján and U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) in the Senate and U.S. Representatives Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) and Rob Menendez (D-N.J.) in the House. Alongside Heinrich and Vasquez, the letter was signed by U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and U.S. Representatives Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), J. Luis Correa (D-Calif.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), Timothy Kennedy (D-N.Y.), and Nellie Pou (D-N.J.).
    The full text of the letter is here. 
    Background on Heinrich-Led Gun Trafficking and Straw Purchase Provisions:
    Heinrich-led provisions in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act increased criminal penalties for straw purchasers and made it a crime, for the first time ever, to traffic firearms out of the United States. Straw purchasers are people who buy guns for those who cannot buy them directly themselves due to their age, felony criminal convictions, or other limitations. By increasing penalties for straw purchasing, Heinrich’s provision is helping to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and those who would use them against our communities. By making it illegal to traffic firearms out of the country, Heinrich’s provision gave law enforcement the tools needed to prosecute and disrupt the flow of firearms to Mexico and the Northern Triangle, fueling the violence that has driven so many to flee their home countries.  
    To date, the Department of Justice has charged more than 600 defendants using BSCA’s gun trafficking and straw purchasing laws, removing hundreds of firearms off the streets in the process. These cases are significant, often preventing and prosecuting highly dangerous activity, such as crimes linked to organized trafficking rings and transnational criminal organizations.  
    For example, in March 2024, the Justice Department charged several defendants with trafficking and straw purchasing over 100 firearms, including many military-grade weapons, that were allegedly intended to be smuggled to a Mexican drug cartel. In April 2024, a defendant was sentenced to 276 months in prison for firearms trafficking and straw purchasing, as well as distribution of fentanyl, where the evidence showed that two of the trafficked firearms had been used in gang-related shootings. In 2o23, a defendant was sentenced to two years in prison for running an illegal gun trafficking enterprise, repeatedly taking money to lie on firearm purchase forms and obtain weapons for convicted felons. 
    In New Mexico, the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico has charged 11 defendants with BSCA violations. 
    Heinrich’s Longtime Leadership to Tackle Gun Violence:
    A gun owner and father, Heinrich has long worked to advance and pass bipartisan policies that save lives, protect public safety, and reduce gun violence.
    Heinrich recently co-sponsored the Preventing Illegal Weapons Trafficking Act, legislation to protect communities from gun violence by requiring federal law enforcement to coordinate efforts to prevent the importation and trafficking of machinegun conversion devices including ‘auto-sears’ — illegal gun modification devices that can convert semi-automatic weapons into fully-automatic weapons — and seize all profits that come from the illegal trafficking of these devices.
    Last month, Heinrich introduced his Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion (GOSAFE) Act and bipartisan Banning Unlawful Machinegun Parts (BUMP) Act, commonsense legislation designed to protect communities from gun violence, while safeguarding Americans’ constitutional right to own a firearm for legitimate self-defense, hunting, and sporting purposes.
    Heinrich also convened a press conference in Albuquerque with New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence, Everytown, community leaders, and students to announce the introduction of his GOSAFE Act. For photos and videos of that event, click here.
    In October 2024, Heinrich secured critical funding for New Mexico law enforcement to purchase four new NIBIN machines for Las Cruces, Farmington, Gallup, and Roswell. This allows law enforcement to trace firearms used in crimes and hold criminals accountable, all while saving officers valuable time and resources.
    In July 2023, Heinrich cosponsored the bicameral Ghost Guns and Untraceable Firearms Act, legislation to require online and other sellers of gun-making kits to comply with federal firearm safety regulations.     
    In 2017, Heinrich cosponsored the bipartisan Fix NICS Act, which now requires federal and state authorities to produce background check implementation plans and holds federal agencies accountable for reporting relevant criminal records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Heinrich also led the successful call to repeal the Dickey Amendment, which had previously prevented the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from funding research on gun violence and its effects on public health.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Richmond Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Child Pornography

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

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Richmond, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for receiving child pornography, after having a prior state conviction for possession of child pornography.

    Derek Shain, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 25 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Shain to serve supervised release for Life following his incarceration.

    On January 16, 2025, Shain pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography, after having a prior state conviction for possession of child pornography. According to court documents, Shain communicated with a 15-year-old minor female on a social media platform.  He requested and received an image of child pornography from the minor female.  A background investigation of Shain confirmed that Shain was a registered sex offender at the time of this offense. Shain also has prior state convictions for attempted child molestation in the first degree and age misrepresentation with intent to solicit a minor.

    This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maureen A. Brackett. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sugar Creek, Missouri Police Department.

    Project Safe Childhood

    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 individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Baltimore Man Pleads Guilty in Federal Court to Fentanyl, Firearm, and Unemployment Insurance Fraud Charges

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Greenbelt, Maryland – Today, Vincent Ford, 22, of Baltimore, Maryland, pled guilty in federal court to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and oxycodone; possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon; and wire fraud, in connection with fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.

    Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the plea with Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); Special Agent in Charge Troy W. Springer, National Capital Region, U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG); and Chief Malik Aziz, Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD).

    According to the guilty plea, on February 17, 2023, PGPD officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle with heavily tinted windows.  During the traffic stop, officers detected the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. The driver acknowledged there was marijuana in the car. 

    Ford was the passenger in the vehicle and officers noticed that he was wearing an unzipped gray satchel.  After searching the vehicle, officers found a loaded Taurus G3C semi-automatic firearm under the passenger seat where Ford had been sitting. It was loaded with 13 rounds of 9mm ammunition in the magazine and one round of 9mm ammunition in the chamber ready to be fired.  The firearm was previously reported stolen from a vehicle in Baltimore County.

    Law enforcement also searched Ford’s satchel and person, recovering 46 30mg blue pills that contained fentanyl, a 20mg white pill that contained oxycodone, three 15mg green pills that contained oxycodone, and more than $1,000 in cash.

    Ford admitted to possessing the fentanyl and oxycodone pills with the intent to distribute them.  He also acknowledged that he possessed the loaded Taurus firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking. Due to a previous felony conviction, Ford is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.

    Additionally, a subsequent investigation revealed that Ford also engaged in COVID-19 UI fraud.  According to the plea, between at least June 13, 2020, and November 19, 2020, Ford participated in a scheme to defraud the Maryland Department of Labor of at least $17,000 in UI benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.  In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, several federal programs expanded UI eligibility and increased UI benefits to provide emergency assistance to struggling Americans.  Ford fraudulently took advantage of that program and filed at least six false UI claims, using stolen identities of real persons.  Two of the fraudulent claims resulted in the disbursement of $17,000 in funds in the names of two of the identity theft victims.  He obtained $2,580 of that amount from a bank card in the name of one of the victims.

    Ford faces a maximum sentence of 15 years for the felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition charge; a maximum of 20 years for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and oxycodone; and a maximum of 20 years for wire fraud in connection with his fraudulent COVID-19 unemployment insurance scheme.  Judge Deborah L. Boardman scheduled sentencing for Monday, November 3, at 2 p.m.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    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, visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

    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.

    U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the ATF, DOL-OIG, and PGPD for their work in the investigation.  Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick D. Kibbe and Nicholas F. Potter who are prosecuting the case.

    For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Foreign Nationals Plead Guilty to Illegal Entry into the United States

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that on May 9, 2025, Adrian Santos-Miranda, 31, and Yanela Guerra-Matamoros, 36, citizens of Cuba, pleaded guilty to a criminal complaint charging them with illegally entering the United States at a time or place other than designated for entering the country by immigration authorities.

    According to court records, on May 8, 2025, at approximately 3:40 p.m., U.S. Border Patrol received an image of two individuals, later identified as the defendants, walking south from the Canadian Border in the area of Mud Creek, approximately two miles east of the village of North Troy, VT. Border Patrol agents responded to the area, followed foot signs through the woods and mud, and at approximately 7:00 p.m., located the two defendants, who fled further into the woods when approached. The agents apprehended the two defendants, who appeared to be the same individuals in the image they had received. The agents then conducted an immigration inspection. Neither defendant was able to provide Border Patrol with the necessary documents that would allow them to stay or remain in the U.S. legally. Both defendants were placed under arrest. Border Patrol conducted further record checks, which identified the defendants as citizens of Cuba with no current legal status in the United States.

    Santos-Miranda and Guerra-Matamoros had their initial court appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle on May 9, 2025, where they pleaded guilty and received a time-served sentence. Santos-Miranda and Guerra-Matamoros had faced up to 6 months’ imprisonment.

    Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher commended the investigatory efforts of the United States Border Patrol.

    The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Andrew C. Gilman. Santos-Miranda is represented by Mark D. Oettinger, Esq. and Guerra-Matamoros is represented by Jason J. Sawyer, Esq.

    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 USA: Cotton to Lutnick: Chinese Networking Equipment Risks National Security

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Arkansas Tom Cotton
     
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Caroline Tabler or Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353May 14, 2025
    Cotton to Lutnick: Chinese Networking Equipment Risks National Security
    Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick urging the department to prohibit TP-Link equipment sales. This state-sponsored networking equipment company has deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party and poses a clear present danger to American national security.
    Additional signers of the bicameral letter are Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Ted Budd (R-North Carolina), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Jim Justice (R-West Virginia), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska), James Risch (R-Idaho), Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri), Rick Scott (R-Florida), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama). In the House, the letter was led by Congressman Riley Moore (West Virginia-02) and the signatories are Congressmen Gus Bilirakis (Florida-12), Abraham Hamadeh (Arizona-08), and John Rose (Tennessee-06).
    In part, Senator Cotton wrote: 
    “TP-Link’s pricing practices have triggered a Department of Justice criminal antitrust probe. TP-Link’s predatory pricing, coupled with its circumvention of tariffs, imminently threatens U.S. competition in a market critical to our national security. TP-Link has rapidly captured nearly 60 percent of the U.S. retail router and Wi-Fi system market while expanding the CCP’s cyber arsenal. The CCP uses SOHO equipment for ongoing espionage and targeting of critical infrastructure to pre-position itself for destructive attacks on Americans and communication channels with our allies.  
    For these reasons, Commerce should immediately prohibit future sales of TP-Link SOHO networking equipment in the United States. Each day we fail to act, the CCP wins while American competitors suffer, and American security remains at risk.”Full text of the letter may be found here and below. 
    The Honorable Howard LutnickSecretaryDepartment of Commerce1401 Constitution Avenue, NWWashington, D.C. 20230
    Dear Secretary Lutnick,
    We write in support of the Commerce Department’s investigation of TP-Link, a state-sponsored networking equipment company, and urge you to take swift action to prohibit further sales of TP-Link networking products in the United States. TP-Link’s deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), use of predatory pricing to eliminate trusted U.S. alternatives, and role in embedding foreign surveillance and destructive capabilities into our networks render it a clear and present danger.
    Chinese state actors have exploited TP-Link small and home office (SOHO) networking devices — including Wi-Fi routers, cellular gateways, and mobile hotspots — to wage cyber-attacks in the United States. CCP agents commonly exploit SOHO routers because those systems have ideal bandwidth and computing power for sustained cyber activities but lack additional layers of security common in enterprise networks. TP-Link is also subject to China’s National Security Law, giving the CCP access to U.S. systems before American authorities know a vulnerability exists. In fact, TP-Link is the only router company that refuses to engage in industry efforts to remediate Chinese state-sponsored botnets. 
    TP-Link’s pricing practices have triggered a Department of Justice criminal antitrust probe. TP-Link’s predatory pricing, coupled with its circumvention of tariffs, imminently threatens U.S. competition in a market critical to our national security. TP-Link has rapidly captured nearly 60 percent of the U.S. retail router and Wi-Fi system market while expanding the CCP’s cyber arsenal. The CCP uses SOHO equipment for ongoing espionage and targeting of critical infrastructure to pre-position itself for destructive attacks on Americans and communication channels with our allies.  
    For these reasons, Commerce should immediately prohibit future sales of TP-Link SOHO networking equipment in the United States. Each day we fail to act, the CCP wins while American competitors suffer, and American security remains at risk.
    We thank you for your ongoing work to secure and safeguard America’s Information and Communications Technology and Services supply chain. This work is critical to our national security, and we commend President Trump’s Executive Order 13873 to allow the Commerce Department to prohibit transactions in our country that pose unacceptable risk to American national security.     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senate passes Kennedy-backed National Police Week resolution

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana)
    WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and 78 bipartisan senators in introducing a resolution to designate the week of May 11 through May 17, 2025, as National Police Week. The Senate unanimously adopted the resolution.
    “One of the toughest jobs in the world is being a police officer, especially when so many officers don’t get the recognition they deserve. I can’t thank Louisiana’s law enforcement community enough for the good work they do to keep our communities strong, safe and free, and I am proud of the Senate for honoring our heroes,” said Kennedy. 
    “Law enforcement officers in Iowa and across the nation work tirelessly to protect and serve our communities. This week, and every week, we should give our thanks to the brave men and women in blue, who have sacrificed so much to ensure our safety. As always, I’m proud to back the blue and will continue my efforts in Congress to protect and support our courageous officers,” said Grassley.
    “Every day, our country’s law enforcement officers put their lives at risk to keep us safe. Officers and their families make great sacrifices in the name of service, including the tragic cases of those who have lost their lives in the line of duty. We’re grateful for their heroism, and we must make sure that officers serving with dignity and integrity have the support and resources they need to do their jobs,” said Durbin.
    The resolution:
    Designates the week of May 11 through May 17, 2025, as “National Police Week.”
    Honors the 234 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2024 and the 18 officers reportedly killed in the line of duty so far in 2025.
    Expresses unwavering support for law enforcement officers across the U.S. in the pursuit of preserving safe and secure communities.
    Recognizes the need to ensure that law enforcement officers have the equipment, training and resources they need to protect the health and safety of the officers while they protect the public. 
    Encourages the American people to observe National Police Week by honoring law enforcement personnel and promoting awareness of the essential mission they undertake in service to their communities and the U.S.
    Background: 
    In Aug. 2023, the Senate passed the Kennedy-backed Recruit and Retain Act to address the nation-wide shortage of law enforcement officers, increase recruitment and address workforce challenges.
    In Feb. 2024, Kennedy helped introduce the Violent Incident Clearance and Technological Investigative Methods (VICTIM) Act to establish a grant program at the Department of Justice to help state, tribal and local law enforcement agencies solve more crimes and improve clearance rates for homicides and firearm related violent crimes.
    In Jan. 2025, Kennedy joined Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and colleagues in introducing the Thin Blue Line Act to make the targeting, killing or attempted killing of a law enforcement officer, firefighter or other first responder an aggravating factor when determining whether capital punishment is appropriate.
    In Feb. 2025, Kennedy reintroduced the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act Reform Act to expand the concealed-carry rights of qualified law enforcement officers.
    Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Angus King (I-Maine), Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Thomas Tillis (R-N.C.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Margaret Hassan (D-N.H.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Jon Husted (R-Ohio), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) joined Kennedy, Grassley and Durbin in introducing the resolution.
    Full text of the resolution is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Honduran National Guilty of Re-Entry of Removed Alien

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – EDGARDO AMADOR-RODRIGUEZ (“AMADOR-RODRIGUEZ”) , age 29, a native of Honduras, pled guilty on May 13, 2025, to an indictment charging him  with re-entry of a removed alien, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a), announced Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson.  His sentencing is set for June 17, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Brandon S. Long.

    According to court documents, AMADOR-RODRIGUEZ re-entered the United States after being previously deported on June 8, 2018.  On December 22, 2024,  AMADOR-RODRIGUEZ, was booked into the Orleans Justice Center after being arrested for several state charges.  Thereafter, on March 5, 2023, The Pacific Enforcement Response Center issued a detainer for AMADOR-RODRIGUEZ, after he was arrested in Jefferson Parish on municipal and traffic attachments.  Enforcement and Removal Operations New Orleans picked up AMADOR-RODRIGUEZ, on March 7, 2025, after his release from local custody and turned him over to immigration authorities.

    EDGARDO AMADOR-RODRIGUEZ faces up to two years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, up to one year of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00.

    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).

    Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Carter K.D. Guice, Jr. of the General Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Stanislaus County Man Sentenced to over 15 Years in Prison for Transportation of a Minor with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Cristian Ceja, 28, of Turlock, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge John A. Mendez to 15 years and eight months in prison for transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

    According to court documents, between Aug. 27, 2023, and Jan. 3, 2024, Ceja transported a minor victim from the Eastern District of California to Idaho with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Ceja met the minor victim when Ceja was working as a delivery driver and delivered food to the minor’s house. Ceja thereafter used the minor victim’s phone number to track her down on social media and communicate with her. Ceja began a lengthy sexual relationship with the minor victim who, at that time, was 15. During the course of their sexual relationship, Ceja would sneak into the minor victim’s bedroom to have sex with her without being detected by her parents. On at least two occasions, Ceja video recorded himself engaging in sexual contact with the minor victim. Ceja kept used condoms and used feminine hygiene products in his storage unit as souvenirs of his relationship with the minor victim.

    On Aug. 26, 2023, the minor victim’s mother contacted law enforcement because she found provocative photographs of the minor victim in her bedroom and was concerned her daughter was having a sexual relationship with an adult. In the early morning hours of Aug. 27, 2023, Ceja took the minor victim and fled to avoid detection and to continue the sexual relationship. While on the run, Ceja attempted to evade detection by placing stolen license plates on his vehicle, obliterating the VIN from his vehicle’s dashboard, spray painting the vehicle a different color, and adopting a false name. In order to avoid detection, Ceja discarded his cellphone while in flight and used a “burner” phone.

    Ceja first took the minor victim to Nevada where they lived in his vehicle for approximately one week. Ceja then took the minor victim to a rural part of Idaho where they lived for several months in a small camper trailer without running water or heat. Law enforcement found the minor victim after she contacted a family member via social media to let her family know that she wanted to come home but could not leave on her own. On Jan. 3, 2024, law enforcement officers arrived at the camper trailer, rescued the minor victim, and arrested Ceja

    This case was the product of an investigation by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shea J. Kenny prosecuted the case.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the 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. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Dominican National Indicted for Illegally Reentering the United States

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PROVIDENCE – A Dominican national convicted for drug trafficking and deported has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Rhode Island for illegally reentering the United States, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

    Kelvin Roberto Feliz, 54, who has been detained at the Adult Correctional Institution in an unrelated matter since June 2024, was ordered deported from the United States in September 2014, following a conviction for trafficking heroin. He was removed from the United States on July 7, 2015.

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

    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 is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul F. Daly, Jr. The matter was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICE, FBI investigation reveals illegal alien from Guatemala fraudulently sponsored unaccompanied alien children

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    WASHINGTON — An illegal alien from Guatemala was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of New Jersey for allegedly submitting sponsorship applications with false statements to the U.S. government to gain custody of two unaccompanied alien children after they entered the United States illegally, following a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, FBI investigation.

    “Attempting to exploit the sponsorship system to gain custody of unaccompanied alien children puts those minors at serious risk,” said ICE acting Director Todd Lyons. “ICE works alongside our law enforcement partners to prevent trafficking and exploitation by individuals falsely claiming to be family. ICE remains firmly committed to detecting deception, upholding the integrity of the immigration process, and, above all, protecting these at-risk children.”

    According to the criminal complaint, Luciano Tinuar Quino, also known as “Luciano Tinuar Guino,” 57, who illegally entered the United States in 2016 and previously resided in the area of Orange, New Jersey, submitted multiple applications to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement under penalties of perjury to sponsor and obtain custody of two UACs.

    “Protecting children means holding individuals accountable when they use deception to exploit our systems. ORR acted swiftly to identify the fraud and share with our law enforcement counterparts who located the children and ensured justice was served,” said ORR acting Director Angie M. Salazar.

    As alleged in the complaint, after a 15-year-old Guatemalan male (UAC-1) illegally entered the United States in April 2022, Tinuar Quino submitted applications to sponsor this UAC that falsely: (1) claimed to be his father; (2) claimed his own name was “A.S.T.” as listed on a Guatemala national identification card he submitted; and (3) provided his date of birth. To prove his relationship with UAC-1, Tinuar Quino submitted a photoshopped image, which he asserted was a photo of himself with UAC-1’s mother. As a result, the boy was transported from Texas to New Jersey to live with Tinuar Quino.

    “The prior administration’s border policies created chaos and allowed bad actors to prey upon the most vulnerable among us,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This Department of Justice will always seek strong legal penalties to protect children from those who would do them harm.”

    “This prosecution is an example of my office’s dedication to keeping children safe,” said U.S. Attorney Alina Habba for the District New Jersey. “We will continue to bring to justice those who take advantage of our country’s Unaccompanied Alien Children program and threaten the safety of our community.”

    “This was a clear attempt from an individual unlawfully in the United States seeking to undermine our laws and target children, and the FBI will not tolerate it,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “We remain laser-focused on ensuring people who come into the United States intending to wreak havoc and intentionally violate our rule of law will face serious consequences.”

    Tinuar Quino is also charged with submitting false information in an attempt to obtain custody of another UAC. Specifically, the complaint charges that in June 2022, Tinuar Quino submitted an application to sponsor a 17-year-old Guatemalan male (UAC-2) who had entered the United States illegally. As alleged, Tinuar Quino falsely: (1) claimed to be UAC-2’s father; (2) stated that his name was “J.R.M.” as listed on a Guatemala national identification card he submitted; and (3) provided his date of birth. ORR did not approve this application.   

    Tinuar Quino is charged with two counts of making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    These charges are the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha. JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, has been elevated and expanded by the Attorney General with a mandate to target cartels and other transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia that impact public safety and the security of our borders. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the Office of Enforcement Operations, and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, DEA, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 365 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 334 U.S. convictions; more than 281 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.

    The ICE Homeland Security Investigations and FBI Newark field offices are jointly investigating with assistance from the FBI’s Legal Attaché team in Guatemala. Additionally, the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking in Washington, D.C. and ORR have provided valuable assistance.

    Senior Trial Attorney Christian Levesque of HRSP, JTFA Trial Attorney Spencer M. Perry of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Sussman of the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case, with assistance from HRSP Analyst/Latin America Specialist Joanna Crandall.

    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 other transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods.

    As a federal criminal investigatory agency, ICE HSI’s role is to take swift action to investigate any criminal activity for which HSI has jurisdiction related to UAC. This includes investigating the exploitive smuggling networks that bring UAC to the United States as well as any criminals who may exploit these at-risk youths here in the United States.

    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.

    A complaint 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: ICE, SLCPD investigation sends woman to prison for 25 years for producing child exploitation material involving toddler

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    ST. LOUIS — U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel on Tuesday sentenced a woman from St. Louis County, Missouri to 25 years in prison for producing child sexual abuse material involving a two-year-old, following a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, St. Louis County Police Department investigation.

    Judge Sippel also ordered Raven Ainesis Pointer, 27, to pay $15,000 in restitution. After her release from prison, Pointer will be on supervised release for life.

    Pointer pleaded guilty in October in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of production of child pornography. Pointer admitted coercing the victim in 2022 into engaging in sexual conduct and using her phone to produce videos containing child sexual abuse material.

    On six occasions, Pointer recorded the sexual abuse of the toddler and shared it with others for their “perverse sexual” entertainment, a sentencing memo filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Becker says. In jail, Pointer continued to try and contact the child and berated the child’s father for seeking restitution, the memo says.

    “The production and sharing of child sexual abuse material is an appalling betrayal of human decency. This defendant targeted an innocent toddler – someone who should have been protected, not exploited – and did so for her own twisted purposes and the gratification of others who feed on this sickness. Crimes like this are not only horrific, but they are also unforgivable,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Mark Zito. “We will use every tool we have to find predators like this, to stop them, and make sure they spend as many years as possible behind bars. There is zero tolerance for those who harm children.”

    The investigation began in August of 2023 in Montgomery, Alabama, where ICE HSI special agents learned that a man who had been distributing child sexual abuse material had received videos involving a two-year-old victim from Pointer. Investigators then tracked down Pointer in St. Louis. 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.

    If you suspect a child may be a victim of online CSEA, call the Know2Protect Tipline at 1-833-591-KNOW (5669) or visit the NCMEC CyberTipline™. If you believe a child has been abducted or is in immediate danger, contact local law enforcement and the NCMEC Tipline at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

    Know2Protect is a national public awareness campaign from the Department of Homeland Security. K2P’s aim is to educate and empower children, teens, parents, trusted adults, and policymakers to prevent, combat, and report online child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information, please visit our YouTube playlists at Know2Protect Campaign PSA Playlist and Know2Protect Digital Safety Series Playlist on the DHS main channel. Additional resources are available at know2protect.gov and @Know2Protect on Instagram, Facebook and X.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Somerset Man Charged with Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    TRENTON N.J. – A Somerset man was charged with receipt and possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

    Elliott Souder, 51, was charged by complaint and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rukhsanah L. Singh in Trenton federal court on May 6, 2025.

    According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

    From at least September 20, 2021 through November 16, 2021, Souder, via his home computer, connected to an Internet-based peer-to-peer network and requested three videos depicting child sexual abuse. When members of law enforcement executed a search warrant at Souder’s Somerset residence in March 2022, they found over 1,000 images and videos of child pornography on Souder’s computer’s hard drive, including two of the aforementioned videos previously requested over the peer-to-peer network. Some of the images and videos depicted prepubescent children, toddlers and infants, and sadomasochism on children.

    The charge of receipt of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. The charge of possession of child pornography carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

    U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, specifically the Violent Crimes Against Children Unit, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly, with the investigation. This investigation was conducted under FBI’s Operation Restore Justice. 

    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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/psc.

    The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Agnew of the Criminal Division in Trenton.

    The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

                                                   ###

    Defense counsel: Steven D. Altman, Esq., New Brunswick, NJ

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Macon Mafia Member Sent Back to Prison for Illegally Possessing AR-Style Rifle

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Defendant at Fatal 2024 Gang-Related Shooting in Macon; Deputies Seized Machinegun

    MACON, Ga. – A convicted felon and confirmed member of the Macon Mafia criminal organization who was serving supervised release for a prior federal conviction in West Virginia when a gang-related fatal shooting occurred at a Macon gas station in 2024 was sentenced to federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm.

    Nekoase Antwan Vinson, 41, of Macon, was sentenced to serve a total of 107 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell on May 12. Vinson previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on Feb. 20 in Case No. 5:24-CR-64-001 (sentence of 71 months imprisonment). In addition, Vinson’s supervised release was revoked in Case No. 3:09-CR-99-002 from the Southern District of West Virgina, for which he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base (sentence of 36 months imprisonment). There is no parole in the federal system.

    “A man lost his life as a result of a gang-related shooting where convicted felons illegally possessed rapid-fire guns capable of killing many people,” said Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker. “Our office will use every federal resource available to lawfully hold repeat felons accountable for illegally arming themselves and endangering our community.”

    “This case is a tragic example of the mayhem that results when criminal gang members with illegally possessed firearms try to settle scores in public,” said Bibb County Sheriff David Davis. “We can be grateful that for almost nine years Nekoase Vinson will not be able to spew violence which might harm law abiding citizens.”

    According to court documents and statements made in court, Vinson and Joshua Teone Curry were present at the Marathon gas station on Napier Avenue in Macon on July 20, 2024, when gang-related violence broke out. Video surveillance showed Curry exchanged fire with unknown individuals using a fully automatic pistol, and Vinson brandished an AR-style rifle. Vinson and Curry left together in Vinson’s black Cadillac Escalade. Vinson wore a large “M4L” (Mafia 4 Life) medallion. That night, RaQuavian Smith, an associate of Vinson and Curry’s who was present at the Marathon, died from gunshot wounds sustained in the violence.

    Both firearms seen on video were seized by law enforcement, together with an additional pistol, on August 23, 2024. On August 23, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Roy Street at a location controlled by Vinson and Curry, taking both men into custody. Law enforcement found two firearms beneath a mattress: a Glock, Model 23, .40 caliber pistol with an extended magazine containing 21 rounds of ammunition and a switch plus a Sig Sauer, Model P320, .45 caliber pistol with a magazine containing five rounds of ammunition. Officers recovered various Macon Mafia memorabilia, including t-shirts and hats. Hanging around Vinson’s neck was the M4L chain and medallion he wore during the July 20, 2024, shooting. Inside Curry’s vehicle, officers found a Del-Ton, Model DTI-15, AR-style caliber rifle.

    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 Department of Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.

    Criminal Chief Leah E. McEwen prosecuted the case for the Government.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney’s Office Forfeits $736,040 Associated with DoorDash Scam

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Anish Shukla, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the FBI, and Paul J. Ferencek, State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Stamford/Norwalk today announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has forfeited $736,040 associated with a DoorDash scam.

    As alleged in the forfeiture complaint, on January 5, 2023, Stamford Police responded to a Stamford apartment for a domestic violence incident.  David Smith was taken into custody and a victim was transported to the hospital.  Later that day, investigators searching the apartment for a firearm found a 9mm handgun with an extended magazine, and also found multiple safes containing a total of $736,040 in cash, and 118 credit and debit cards, almost all of which were in the names of other individuals.  The investigation revealed that Smith was operating a scam in which he used multiple phones to place DoorDash orders for delivery.  After the order was picked up, he would contact the drivers using a spoofed number and, using social engineering, convince the drivers to hand over their DoorDash account information.  Using this information, Smith would steal the victim’s delivery money that had been pooled in their account.  The cash that was seized and forfeited represents the proceeds from this scheme.

    Smith, who was being prosecuted by the State of Connecticut, was murdered in New York on January 6, 2025.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a civil forfeiture complaint against the seized money and, on April 30, 2025, the U.S. District Court granted the government’s motion for a Decree of Forfeiture.

    Generally, the U.S. Attorney’s Office first forfeits the money, then returns it to the crime victims, so that the crime victims have clear title to the property without risk of further litigation.

    If you believe that you were a victim of this scheme, please visit this web page or this FBI New Haven Facebook post.  There, victims of this particular scheme will find the instructions to make a petition for remission.  Should the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering Asset Recovery Unit approve your petition for remission, you may recoup some or all of your losses.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David C. Nelson.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: East Point, Georgia Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for CARES Act Unemployment Fraud

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    MONTGOMERY, AL – On May 13, 2025, a federal judge sentenced Brandon Cody Carter, 36, of East Point, Georgia, to 78 months in prison for his role in a scheme to file fraudulent unemployment insurance claims under the expanded Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson and Special Agent in Charge Mathew Broadhurst, of the Southeast Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. Following his six-and-a-half-year term of imprisonment, Carter will serve three years on supervised release. Federal inmates are not eligible for parole.

    Beginning in March 2020, the CARES Act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act expanded access to unemployment insurance programs to address the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Alabama, eligible individuals could receive enhanced benefits through the Alabama Department of Labor (ADOL).

    According to court documents and Carter’s plea agreement, between March and September 2020, he conspired with others to submit fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to ADOL. In doing so, Carter falsely claimed Alabama residency and used multiple aliases, submitting fictitious names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, and other fraudulent information. As a result of these false representations, ADOL issued substantial payments to Carter through unemployment insurance debit cards and direct deposits.

    On January 23, 2025, Carter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. During the plea hearing, he admitted his actions led ADOL to disburse $818,304 in fraudulent claims. A restitution amount will be determined at a later date.

    “This sentence reflects the seriousness of defrauding programs intended to help those truly in need during a national crisis,” said Acting United States Attorney Davidson. “Brandon Carter exploited a system designed to provide relief to families facing unprecedented hardship. Our office remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to uncover and prosecute pandemic-related fraud wherever it occurs.”

    “Brandon Carter defrauded the Alabama Department of Labor by filing numerous false claims for unemployment insurance benefits to which he was not entitled. He enriched himself by diverting taxpayer funds from a program that was intended to assist unemployed American workers who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” stated Special Agent in Charge Broadhurst. “We will continue to work closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our other law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of these critical benefit programs.”

    The U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, Alabama Department of Labor, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service, Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, Alabama Department of Transportation, and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency investigated this case, which Assistant United States Attorney Joel Feil prosecuted.

    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 via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cortez Masto Joins Push Urging the Trump Administration to Drop its Anti-Voter Policies that will Disenfranchise Tribal Communities

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and 10 of her Senate colleagues in sounding the alarm on the devastating impacts of President Trump’s anti-voter “election integrity” executive order and the SAVE Act on Native American voting rights.

    “Enactment of new voter registration policies under the Executive Order and the SAVE Act would lead to mass disenfranchisement of eligible Native voters and further depress the Native vote,” wrote the Senators. “Tribal IDs generally lack place of birth information required by the legislation, and the vast majority of these IDs lack the specific U.S. citizenship documentation required by the Executive Order. And the SAVE Act’s in-person requirement would exacerbate existing barriers, such as requiring IDs that list residential mailing addresses, by forcing many Native voters to travel great distances, including costly flights or multi-hour drives, to reach their local elections office or polling place.”

    “As Secretary of the Interior, you have a special moral and legal responsibility to uphold our nation’s trust and treaty obligations,” continued the Senators. “If implemented, the sweeping federal mandates included in the Executive Order and the SAVE Act would disenfranchise eligible Native voters who are following state laws. We encourage your active engagement with the White House and the Department of Justice to ensure that Native communities are able to exercise the franchise fully and have their voices heard at the ballot box.”

    Tribal IDs are currently an acceptable form of documentation to register to vote in nearly every state, but the SAVE Act and Trump executive order require that an ID must show place of birth and citizenship, which the majority of Tribal IDs lack, adding another barrier to the ballot box for many Native American communities. The Senators underscored that if enacted, these provisions would force Tribal voters who live in rural and remote locations to travel significant distances to prove their citizenship in order to register to vote.

    The Senators also emphasized the disproportionate impact the vote-by-mail restrictions would have on Native communities, which often rely more on mail-in voting because of a lack of infrastructure and transportation access. Trump’s executive order penalizes states that accept absentee or mail-in ballots received after Election Day, harming Native voters in states like Nevada, Alaska, North Dakota, Oregon, and California that process ballots as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.

    Only 66 percent of Native Americans eligible to participate in elections are currently registered to vote, leaving more than 1 million eligible voting-age Native Americans unregistered. Creating further obstacles to register to vote would likely reduce these numbers even further.

    Senator Cortez Masto has long been a champion for Tribal communities. Last year, the Senate passed both her legislation to make it easier for Indian Health Services to recruit and retain doctors and her legislation to strengthen Tribal public safety. She repeatedly called on the Biden administration to do more to address the epidemic of violence against Native women and girls, including securing federal funding to protect Native communities, urging the administration to draft a plan to address this issue, and requesting the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigate the federal response to this crisis.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sinaloa cartel leaders charged with narco-terrorism, material support of terrorism and drug trafficking in ICE, FBI investigation

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    SAN DIEGO – An indictment unsealed May 13 is the first in the nation to charge alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel with narco-terrorism and material support of terrorism in connection with trafficking massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin into the United States. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI are investigating this case.

    “These charges highlight the unwavering efforts of transnational criminal organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel to flood our communities with deadly drugs,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations San Diego Special Agent in Charge Shawn Gibson. “HSI and our law enforcement partners will not allow cartel-driven drug trafficking to threaten the safety and stability of our neighborhoods. We are all lasered focused on a unified effort to dismantling these networks and their factions in bringing those responsible to justice.”

    Pedro Inzunza Noriega and his son, Pedro Inzunza Coronel, are charged with narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering as key leaders of the Beltran Leyva Organization, a powerful and violent faction of the Sinaloa Cartel that is believed to be the world’s largest known fentanyl production network. Five other BLO leaders are charged with drug trafficking and money laundering. The indictment is a direct result of President Trump’s Executive Order 14157 which designated the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and the Secretary of State’s subsequent designation of the same on February 20, 2025.

    “The Sinaloa Cartel is a complex, dangerous terrorist organization and dismantling them demands a novel, powerful legal response,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Their days of brutalizing the American people without consequence are over — we will seek life in prison for these terrorists.”

    “Operation Take Back America initiatives reflect the reality that narco-terrorists operate as a cancer within a state,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “They metastasize violence, corruption and fear. If left unchecked, their growth would lead to the death of law and order. This indictment is what justice looks like when the full measure of the Department of Justice along with its law enforcement partners is brought to bear against the Sinaloa Cartel.”

    “BLO, under the leadership of Inzunza Noriega, is allegedly responsible for some of the largest-ever drug seizures of fentanyl and cocaine destined for the United States,” said FBI San Diego Acting Special Agent in Charge Houtan Moshrefi. “Their drugs not only destroy lives and communities, but also threaten our national security. The law enforcement efforts against the Noriegas reaffirms our commitment to dismantling and disrupting this very dangerous narco-terrorist group and combating narco-trafficking.”

    According to court documents, since its inception the Beltran Leyva faction has been considered one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations to operate in Mexico, engaging in shootouts, murders, kidnappings, torture and violent collection of drug debts to sustain its operations. The Beltran Leyva faction controls numerous territories and plazas throughout Mexico – including Tijuana – and operates with violent impunity, trafficking in deadly drugs, threatening communities, and targeting key officials, all while making millions of dollars from their criminal activities.

    Pedro Inzunza Noriega works closely with his son, Pedro Inzunza Coronel, to produce and aggressively traffic fentanyl to the United States, the government has alleged. Court documents indicate that together the father and son lead one of the largest and most sophisticated fentanyl production networks in the world. Over the past several years, they have trafficked tens of thousands of kilograms of fentanyl into the United States. On December 3, 2024, Mexican law enforcement raided multiple locations in Sinaloa that are controlled and managed by the father and son and seized 1,500 kilograms (more than 1.65 tons) of fentanyl – the largest seizure of fentanyl in the world.

    These indictments follow a notable tradition in the Southern District of California for targeting leadership and operations of powerful Mexican cartels – from the dismantling of the Arellano Felix Cartel to major strikes against today’s most dangerous, powerful and violent cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel and now the Beltran Leyva Organization. It is the first indictment from the newly formed Narco-Terrorism Unit which was established upon the swearing in of U.S. Attorney Gordon on April 11, 2025.

    The indictment of Pedro Inzunza Noriega reflects the Southern District of California’s pursuit of the Sinaloa Cartel. Federal drug trafficking indictments are pending against all alleged leaders of its Beltran Leyva faction, including:

    • Fausto Isidro Meza Flores aka “Chapo Isidro,” case number: 19-CR-1272 in the Southern District of California and 12-116BAH in the District of Columbia
    • Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe aka “El Musico,” case number 19-CR-3736 in the Southern District of California; 09-CR-00672 in the Northern District of Illinois; 15-CR-00195 in the District of Columbia, and
    • Pedro Inzunza Noriega aka “Sagitario,” case number 25cr1505.

    The Southern District of California also has indictments pending against other leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, including:

    • Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar aka “El Chapito,” case number 14-cr-00658 in the Southern District of California and 09-CR-383 in the Northern District of Illinois
    • Ismael Zambada Sicairos aka “Mayito Flaco,” case number: 14-cr-00658 in the Southern District of California; and
    • Jose Gil Caro Quintero aka “El Chino,” case number 22-cr-00036 in the District of Columbia

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Mellor and Matthew Sutton.

    Defendants for Case Number 25cr1505

    Name Age Location
    Pedro Inzunza Noriega | aka “Sagitario,” aka “120,” aka “El De La Silla” 62 Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico
    Pedro Inzunza Coronel | aka “Pichon,” Aka “Pajaro”, aka “Bird” 33 Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico
    David Alejandro Heredia Velazquez | aka “Tano,” aka “Mr. Jordan” 50 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico
    Oscar Rene Gonzalez Menendez | aka “Rubio” 45 Guatemala City, Guatemala
    Elias Alberto Quiros Benavides 53 San Jose, Costa Rica
    Daniel Eduardo Bojorquez | aka “Chopper” 47 Nogales, Sonora, Mexico
    Javier Alonso Vazquez Sanchez | aka “Tito”, aka “Drilo” 31 Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico

    Summary of Charges

    • Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 960a and 841 – Narco-Terrorism
      Maximum penalty: Life in prison, mandatory minimum 20 years in prison; $20 million fine
    • Title 18, U.S.C. Sec. 2339B – Providing Material Support to Terrorism
      Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine
    • Title 21, U.S.C., Sec. 848(a) -Continuing Criminal Enterprise
      Maximum penalty: Life in prison, mandatory minimum 20 years; $10 million fine
    • Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 952, 959, 960, and 963 – International Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances
      Maximum penalty: Life in prison, mandatory minimum 10 years; $10 million fine
    • Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846 – Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances
      Maximum penalty: Life in prison, mandatory minimum 10 years in prison; $10 million fine
    • Title 21, U.S.C., Secs. 952, 960 and 963 – Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substances
      Maximum penalty: Life in prison, mandatory minimum 10 years; $10 million fine
    • Money Laundering Conspiracy – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1956(h)
      Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and a fine of the greater of $500,000 or twice the value of the monetary instrument or funds involved

    The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    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, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.

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

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Jefferson County Man Admits to Role in Drug Trafficking Operation in Eastern Panhandle

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

    MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Matthew David Viands, age 32, of Summit Point, West Virginia, has admitted to his role in a drug trafficking organization that distributed fentanyl and other illicit drugs in the Eastern Panhandle. 

    According to court documents, Viands was a distributor of fentanyl for the organization. Viands also admitted to failing to appear following his pretrial release in the case.

    Viands faces up to 20 years in prison for the drug charge and faces up to 10 years for failing to appear. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Of the 82 defendants, 80 others have been convicted. Fifty-nine defendants have been sentenced. One defendant, Charles Delroy Singletary, age 44, of Baltimore, Maryland, remains a fugitive. More in a recent release here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/six-more-sentenced-eastern-panhandle-fentanyl-drug-trafficking-operation

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lara Omps-Botteicher and Kyle Kane are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.

    U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.

    Investigative agencies include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Pittsburgh Field Division and Baltimore Field Division); the Drug Enforcement Administration; the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations; the United States Postal Inspection Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the United States Marshals Service;  the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the West Virginia State Police; the West Virginia Air National Guard; the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office; the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office; Ranson Police Department; Martinsburg Police Department; Charles Town Police Department; the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office;  Stafford County Sheriff’s Office (Virginia); Frederick County Sheriff’s Office (Maryland); Frederick County Sheriff’s Office (Virginia); Winchester Police Department; and the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office (Virginia).

    This investigation 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).

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Suffolk Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting Minors

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

    NORFOLK, Va. – A Suffolk man was sentenced today to 25 years in prison for sexual exploitation of children.

    According to court documents, Gary Owens Jr., 42, of Suffolk, engaged in a scheme to “catfish” teenage boys. Using images of a real, adult woman, including sexually explicit images, Owens pretended to be a minor female named “Jessica Lincon” on Instagram before enticing boys to Kik to obtain sexually explicit images and videos from them.

    Owens exploited children over at least a five-year period from 2019 to 2023 and amassed a collection of at least 1,800 images and videos of child sexual abuse material and age questionable material. Law enforcement identified at least 35 minor victims in 2022 alone.

    Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Sean Ryan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth W. Hanes. This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. Significant assistance was provided by the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura D. Withers and Rebecca Gantt prosecuted the case.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the 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 www.justice.gov/psc.

    A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-78.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Columbia Sex Offender Charged with Child Pornography Offense

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

    JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Columbia, Mo., man has been indicted in federal court for transportation and possession of child pornography.

    Andrew Charles Nicholls, 38, previously charged by complaint, was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 13, 2025.  The indictment alleges that Nicholls, who has a prior conviction for child molestation in the second degree, transported and possessed child pornography images and videos depicting pre-pubescent children engaging in sexually explicit conduct using TOR, a dark web browser intended to conceal one’s online activities.   

    The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

    Under federal statutes, if convicted, Nicholls faces federal prison sentence of up to 40 years to be served without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Turner. It was investigated by the Boone County Sheriff’s Cyber Crime Task Force with assistance from the FBI.

    Project Safe Childhood

    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 individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Jefferson County men sentenced to federal prison for robbing neighborhood grocery store

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

    BEAUMONT, Texas – Two Beaumont men have been sentenced to federal prison for violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.

    Johnaton Rechard Hite, 22, pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on May 13, 2025.  Cody Lane Wilson, 28, pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison by Judge Crone on May 13th.

    According to court documents, on April 11, 2024, local law enforcement officers responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Kidd Grocery Store, located at 8608 Kidd Road, in Beaumont. Upon arrival, the store clerk reported that a man entered the store armed with an AR-15 style rifle and threatened to shoot him if he did not open the safe. The subject took approximately $1,340 in cash and fled the store.  Deputies reviewed surveillance footage of the robbery and observed the robber was a black male wearing a woman’s brown or black wig, a white hoodie jacket, dark pants, sunglasses, one white shoe and one black shoe.

    While responding to the robbery call, deputies observed a 2004 Honda Accord leaving the grocery store and conducted a traffic stop. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Wilson. Wilson was detained and gave consent to search his vehicle where deputies located wigs, one black shoe, and one white shoe.  Wilson told deputies that he and Hite planned to rob the grocery store with Wilson as the getaway driver while Hite robbed the store. However, Wilson got scared and fled the scene leaving Hite behind.

    While deputies were conducting their investigation with Wilson, dispatch received another call from a concerned citizen near the grocery store reporting someone was knocking on their door.  Deputies responded to the location and located Hite hiding on the porch of the caller’s residence.  Next to where Hite was hiding, deputies found $1,340 in cash.

    This case was sentenced as 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 Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Quinn.

    ###

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Security News: Michigan Man Arrested and Charged with Attempting to Attack Military Base on Behalf of ISIS

    Source: United States Department of Justice 2

    A Melvindale man – and former member of the Michigan Army National Guard – was arrested today after he attempted to carry out a plan to conduct a mass-shooting at a U.S. military base in Warren, Michigan, on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a foreign terrorist organization.

    Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, is charged in a criminal complaint with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device.

    “This defendant is charged with planning a deadly attack on a U.S. military base here at home for ISIS,” said Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Thanks to the tireless efforts of law enforcement, we foiled the attack before lives were lost. We will not hesitate to bring the full force of the Department to find and prosecute those who seek to harm our men and women in the military and to protect all Americans.”

    “ISIS is a brutal terrorist organization which seeks to kill Americans. Helping ISIS or any other terrorist organization prepare or carry out acts of violence is not only a reprehensible crime – it is a threat to our entire nation and way of life,” said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. for the Eastern District of Michigan. “Our office will not tolerate such crimes or threats, and we will use the full weight of the law against anyone who engages in terrorism.”

    “The defendant allegedly tried to carry out an attack on a military facility in support of ISIS, which was disrupted thanks to the good work of the FBI and our partners,” said Assistant Director Donald M. Holstead of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “The FBI is steadfast in our commitment to detect and stop terrorist plans aimed at the American homeland or at U.S. interests overseas.”

    “The arrest of this former soldier is a sobering reminder of the importance of our counterintelligence efforts to identify and disrupt those who would seek to harm our nation,” said Brig. Gen. Rhett R. Cox, the commanding general of Army Counterintelligence Command. “I commend the tireless work of our special agents and FBI partners who worked together to investigate and apprehend this individual. We will continue to collaborate with our partners to prevent similar incidents in the future. We urge all soldiers to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to their chain of command, as the safety and security of our Army and our nation depends on our collective efforts to prevent insider threats.”

    According to the complaint, Said informed two undercover law enforcement officers of a plan he had devised and formulated to conduct a mass-shooting at the U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM) facility at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Michigan. In April 2025, the two undercover officers indicated they intended to carry out Said’s plan at the direction of ISIS. In response, Said provided material assistance to the attack plan, including providing armor-piercing ammunition and magazines for the attack, flying his drone over TACOM to conduct operational reconnaissance, training the undercover employees on firearms and the construction of Molotov cocktails for use during the attack, and planning numerous details of the attack including how to enter TACOM and which building to target.

    On May 13 – the scheduled day of the attack – Said was arrested after he traveled to an area near TACOM and launched his drone in support of the attack plan. He will make his initial court appearance today in the Eastern District of Michigan. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will be asking the court to hold Said in pretrial detention because of his danger to the community and the risk that he will flee.         

    Based on the charges in the complaint, Said faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count if convicted.

    The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Salzenstein for the Eastern District of Michigan and Trial Attorneys John Cella and Charles Kovats of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

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

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