NewzIntel.com

Category: FBI

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hageman Files Amicus Brief in Support of Fourth Amendment Rights

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Wyoming Congresswoman Harriet Hageman

    Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Harriet Hageman, joined by Senators Cynthia Lummis, R-WY, Rand Paul, R-KY, and Ron Wyden, D-OR, and Representatives Dan Bishop, R-NC, Thomas Massie, R-KY, and Nikema Williams, D-GA, filed an amicus brief in the case of Martin v United States, a Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) challenge against the U.S. due to a wrongful raid conducted by the FBI. 

    Representative Hageman stated, “When the government infringes upon a citizen’s Constitutional rights there must be methods of redress for those who were wronged. The FBI clearly violated the Fourth Amendment rights of Ms. Martin and her family, and it is critically important that they have legal redress. Congress has provided Americans with an avenue to protect their individual natural, including those and victims of wrongful federal law enforcement raids. Courts have no right to ignore those protections in order to arbitrarily grant immunity to the FBI, and in doing so in this case the appellate judges have blatantly subverted the laws enacted by Congress. The FBI must be held accountable for the physical and emotional damages it inflicted by wrongfully raiding Curtrina Martin’s home.”

    Background: 

    • In 2017, as part of an anti-gang operation, FBI agents executed a warrant for a specific gang member, raiding the wrong home of Curtrina Martin. Martin, her child, and boyfriend were awoken when agents detonated a flash grenade and ripped the door off its hinges. Her boyfriend was handcuffed, and Martin held at gunpoint. After the FBI noticed it was at the wrong address, the agents ended the raid without explanation. 
    • Congress enacted the FTCA in 1946 to allow U.S. persons to sue the federal government for torts, including harms that result in legal liability, committed by persons acting on behalf of the government. Congress expanded this accountability measure in the 1970s to address federal law enforcement actions in response to a series of wrongful drug raids on innocent persons.  
    • Ms. Martin filed for redress against the United States under the FTCA, alleging violation of Fourth Amendment rights. The 11th circuit dismissed her claims on a faulty application of the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. If allowed to stand, this decision would effectively gut the FTCA, and the accountability it provides, for not just Curtrina Martin, but all Americans, and would deal a serious blow to the separation of powers that underpins our Constitutional republic. 

    ###

    Contact: Chris Berardi, Sr. Advisor/Communications Director

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two sent to prison for roles in cartel-linked human smuggling scheme

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    LAREDO, Texas – Two individuals have been sentenced to prison for their roles in an extensive human smuggling conspiracy involving Cartel del Noreste (CDN), announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. 

    Laredo resident Francisco Suarez, 20, and Luis Daniel Segura Guzman, 26, a Mexican citizen residing in Laredo. Suarez pleaded guilty Dec. 20, 2023, and Jan. 18, respectively.    

    U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña has now imposed a 33-month term of imprisonment for Suarez, while Segura received 30 months. Both must serve three years of supervised release following their sentences. Not a U.S. citizen, Guzman is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that Suarez and Segura were a part of Los Fantasmas, a gang and alien smuggling organization who works hand-in-hand with Mexican cartels. Judge Saldaña imposed sentencing enhancements that held each responsible for smuggling at least 100 aliens or more. The court commented that both were “committed to this lifestyle” and noted the importance of imposing a sentence that would deter them from becoming involved in this conduct in the future.  

    Another co-conspirator Bernardo Aniceto Garza, 27, Laredo, also pleaded guilty and is set for sentencing Nov. 4.  

    “Cartel del Noreste, a Mexican cartel, is known for engaging in ruthless acts of violence and extortion to support its drug trafficking operations, and in recent years it has added human smuggling to its list of illicit money-making operations, with Facebook and social media becoming invaluable tools to facilitate its new venture,” said Hamdani. “CDN uses these platforms to recruit, coordinate and expand its criminal operations, reaching broader audiences, while putting countless lives at risk. For years, Suarez and Guzman used Facebook to exploit and profit from vulnerable individuals while also evading detection, but thanks to the efforts of my office, those days are now over.”

    On Aug. 23, 2023, authorities discovered a Facebook post that appeared to be advertising transportation services for undocumented aliens via sleeper cabs of tractor trailers. The investigation revealed Segura coordinated the transportation of three undocumented aliens for approximately $8,000 and arranged for a Garza to make the pickup in Laredo that afternoon.

    Authorities were able to apprehend Garza and found two women and a 15-year-old minor inside a parked tractor. All were citizens of Mexico and El Salvador and illegally present in the United States. Law enforcement also discovered a firearm inside the vehicle Garza was driving.   

    On Sept. 16, 2023, authorities encountered Segura in Laredo. He admitted the CDN had recruited him in Mexico to smuggle aliens and that he worked with Suarez to do so. Law enforcement located a cell phone in Segura’s possession that was still logged into the Facebook account used to advertise and coordinate the August smuggling event.  

    Suarez was acting as a scout in a separate smuggling attempt Sept. 19, 2023, when law enforcement arrested him. He admitted he worked for Garza and had provided him with the three migrants authorities caught Garza transporting. The investigation also identified Suarez as a stash house operator responsible for harboring undocumented individuals. 

    An analysis of Segura’s phone revealed his involvement in the smuggling of at least 133 undocumented individuals. Historical data and messages traced Segura’s smuggling activities back to May 2020. The phone also contained detailed information, including photographs and identifying information of suspected migrants, screenshots of smuggling routes and deposit receipts for payments tied to smuggling services. 

    Authorities found similar information on Suarez’s cell phone which included photos of approximately 300 unique individuals illegally smuggled across the border, including children, dating back to September 2022. 

    The men will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. 

    Homeland Security Investigations, Laredo Police Department and Border Patrol conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation with the assistance of Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations and the Texas Department of Public Safety. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage. 

    This sentencing is also the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). Attorney General Merrick B. Garland established JTFA in June 2021 to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Department of Justice, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to combat the rise in prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The initiative was expanded to Colombia and Panama to combat human smuggling in the Darién in June 2024. JTFA comprises detailees from U.S. attorneys’ offices along the southwest border including the Southern District of California, districts of Arizona and New Mexico and the Western and Southern Districts of Texas. 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 Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training; Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section; Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section; Office of Enforcement Operations; Office of International Affairs; and the Violent Crime and Racketeering Section. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, Drug Enforcement Adminstration and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in over 325 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers and significant facilitators of human smuggling, more than 270 U.S. convictions, more than 210 significant jail sentences imposed and forfeitures of substantial assets.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney and JTFA detailee Jennifer Day prosecuted this case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: KC Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Fentanyl Conspiracy

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

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, which resulted in the deaths of three persons.

    Luis Manuel Morales, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 15 years in federal prison without parole.

    On May 8, 2024, Morales pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

    Morales admitted that he was a source of supply of fentanyl pills for co-defendant Tiger Dean Draggoo, 24, of Kansas City, Mo. On occasion, Draggoo also served as a source of supply of fentanyl pills for Morales. Morales also introduced Draggoo to additional sources of fentanyl pills.

    Morales sold at least 1,764 pills to Draggoo over 15 separate transactions from Jan. 17 to Oct. 29, 2022, for which he was paid $2,320 through Cash App and an additional amount in cash. Morales also purchased at least 100 fentanyl pills from Draggoo during this time period, for which he paid $750. In total, those 1,864 pills contained approximately 205 grams of fentanyl.

    Morales and Draggoo conspired to conceal and disguise the nature of the transfer of funds through Cash App by referring to the payments as “rent,” “food clothes,” “clothes,” “food and beer,” “food,” “apt rent,” “reimbursement for mechanic,” and “reimbursement car payment.”

    Morales was on probation at the time that he was supplying Dragoo with fentanyl pills, following his guilty plea in state court to attempted armed robbery after he and another person robbed a victim at gunpoint.

    Morales is the first defendant in this case to be sentenced. On Oct. 16, 2024, Draggoo pleaded guilty to his role in the fentanyl conspiracy and to three counts of distributing fentanyl resulting in death. Five additional defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brad K. Kavanaugh and Robert Smith. It was investigated by the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Belton, Mo., Police Department, the Raymore, Mo., Police Department, the Cass County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, and the FBI.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Broken Bow Resident Sentenced To Four Years For Child Abuse

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Kaira Leigh Wilson, age 35, of Broken Bow, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 48 months in prison for one count of Child Abuse in Indian Country.

    The charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Idabel Police Department.

    On January 11, 2024, Wilson, was found guilty by a federal jury at trial of the charge.  According to investigators, on March 12, 2020, law enforcement responding to a 911 call at an Idabel residence discovered an unresponsive 6-month-old infant.  EMS responders began life-saving measures and rushed the infant to the hospital for acute respiratory failure.  Medical professionals successfully resuscitated and stabilized the infant.  Medical scans revealed fresh injuries consistent with non-accidental trauma, including a subdural hematoma and extensive retinal hemorrhages.  The infant also sustained vision loss in one eye.  A subsequent investigation revealed that prior to the 911 call, a witness in the residence observed Wilson throw the infant against a wall.

    The crime occurred in McCurtain County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation of Oklahoma, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

    “I commend the work of the first responders and medical staff in diagnosing and treating the defenseless victim and want to thank the investigators for tirelessly working to determine how the injuries were inflicted,” said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson.  “I also applaud the Assistant United States Attorneys who effectively presented the case at trial and compassionately advocated for the victim and the victim’s family at the sentencing hearing.  We recognize the discretion of the Court in sentencing and respect the decision.”

    The Honorable John C. Coughenour, Senior U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, sitting by assignment, presided over the hearing in Muskogee.  Wilson will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Morgan Muzljakovich and Sarah McAmis represented the United States.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Winston County man sentenced to over 15 years for possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute

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

    GREENVILLE, Miss. – Dennis Vernandale Phillips, 42, was sentenced today to over 15 years in prison for his possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute the controlled substance.

    The investigation began when law enforcement purchased over 30 grams of methamphetamine from Phillips using a confidential informant. During a subsequent search of Phillips’ residence in Preston, Mississippi, officers located methamphetamine, two firearms, and other narcotics. In total, Phillips’ conduct involved over a kilogram of methamphetamine that impacted the Choctaw Indian Reservation in Winston, Kemper, and Neshoba counties.

    On October 30, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Debra M. Brown sentenced Phillips to 188 months imprisonment followed by a 48-month term of supervised release for possessing the methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

    “Meth indiscriminately kills children, men and women and it ravages our communities, including the Choctaw Indian Reservation,” said U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. “This prosecution and sentence are the result of outstanding cooperation between our federal law enforcement partners and the tribal police to achieve a straightforward goal – to reduce the supply of illicit drugs while seeing to it that those who poison communities with narcotics are held to account.”

    Phillips’ drug distribution was a threat to the community,” said Whitney Woodruff, Regional Agent in Charge of the Southeast Region for the Division of Drug Enforcement with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. “He was poisoning Indian Country for his personal gain and now he will pay the price.  I am proud of our partnerships with the other law enforcement agencies involved.” 

    The Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated the case in partnership with the Choctaw Police Criminal Investigations Division, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Howell Addison prosecuted the case.

    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.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Farrell Resident Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Firearm Crimes

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

    PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Farrell, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to committing firearm and drug trafficking crimes, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

    Tylon Cousin, 38, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge William S. Stickman IV to possessing with intent to distribute cocaine on February 3, 2023, and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of that drug trafficking crime.

    Judge Stickman scheduled sentencing for February 26, 2025. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than five years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $2,250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history of the defendant.

    Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.

    The Mercer County Drug Task Force, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Cousin.

    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 of Justice 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.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: El Centro Man Admits to Threatening a DEA Agent

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SAN DIEGO – Jacob Enriquez of El Centro, California pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he sent a threatening email directed at a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent and his family.

    Enriquez was charged on June 6, 2024. He pleaded guilty to Interstate Threatening Communication for sending a threatening and disturbing email directed at a DEA Agent. The profanity-laden email, which was sent to an email account belonging to Emergency Medical Services Agency in Imperial County, threatened to torture and kill the DEA agent and the agent’s children and made it clear that Enriquez knew where the agent lived.

    Enriquez admitted that he sent this email knowing that it would be viewed as threats of violence against the DEA agent and his family.

    Enriquez also admitted to sending threatening emails to the El Centro Police Chief and a doctor’s office in El Centro.

    “Words have consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “And the consequences of threatening others with violence is a felony conviction.”

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Sherwood and Joseph Orabona.

    The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on January 31, 2025.

    DEFENDANT                                   Case Number 24cr1330-CAB                                   

    Jacob Enriquez                                   Age: 43                                   El Centro, CA

    SUMMARY OF CHARGES

    Interstate Threatening Communication – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 875(c)

    Maximum penalty: Five years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine

    INVESTIGATING AGENCY

    Federal Bureau of Investigation

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: PRESS RELEASE BY UNITED STATES ATTORNEY RELATING TO NOVEMBER 2024 GENERAL ELECTION

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Hagatña, Guam – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands announced today the assignment of Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSA) who will lead the efforts of his Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 5, 2024, general election.  AUSA Marivic P. David will serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the District of Guam and AUSA Eric S. O’Malley will serve as the DEO for the District of the Northern Mariana Islands. They are responsible for overseeing each district’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington DC.

    United States Attorney Anderson said, “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election.  Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence.  The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”

    The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud.  The Department will address these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.

    Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.  It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice.  The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English). 

    United States Attorney Anderson stated that: “The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy.  We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, DEOs will be on duty in this District while the polls are open.  Ms. David can be reached by the public at (671) 479-4120. Mr. O’Malley can be contacted at (670) 236-2986.”

    In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day.  The public can contact the FBI at the following numbers:

    • Honolulu Field Office 24/7 (808) 566-4300
    • Guam Office (671) 472-7465
    • Northern Mariana Islands Office (670) 322-6934

    Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ or by phone at 800-253-3931.

    United States Attorney Anderson said, “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate.  It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.”

    Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. Local police has primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always has faster reaction capacity in an emergency.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Justice Department Releases Information on Efforts to Protect the Right to Vote, Prosecute Election Fraud, and Secure Elections

    Source: US State of California

    Consistent with longstanding Justice Department practices and procedures, the department today is providing information about its efforts, through the Civil Rights Division, Criminal Division, National Security Division (NSD), and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country, to ensure that all qualified voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots and have their votes counted free of discrimination, intimidation, or criminal activity in the election process, and to ensure that our elections are secure and free from foreign malign influence and interference.

    Civil Rights Division

    The department’s Civil Rights Division is responsible for ensuring compliance with the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote and with the criminal provisions of federal statutes prohibiting discriminatory interference with that right. This work is often performed in partnership with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.

    The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of a wide range of federal statutes that protect the right to vote including: the Voting Rights Act; National Voter Registration Act; Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act; Help America Vote Act; and Civil Rights Acts. Among other things, collectively, these laws:

    • Prohibit election practices that have either a discriminatory purpose or a discriminatory result on account of race, color, or language minority status;
    • Prohibit intimidation of voters;
    • Allow voters who need assistance in voting because of disability or inability to read or write to receive assistance from a person of their choice (other than agents of their employer or union);
    • Require minority language election materials and assistance in certain jurisdictions;
    • Require accessible voting systems for voters with disabilities;
    • Require that provisional ballots be offered to voters who assert they are registered and eligible to vote in the jurisdiction, but whose names do not appear on poll books;
    • Require states to provide for absentee voting for uniformed service members serving away from home, their family members also away from home due to that service, and U.S. citizens living abroad; and
    • Require covered states to offer the opportunity to register to vote through offices that provide driver licenses, public assistance, and disability services, as well as through the mail, and to take steps regarding maintaining voter registration lists.

    The Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Section enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination in voting based on disability. The ADA applies to all aspects of voting, including voter registration, selection and accessibility of voting facilities, and the casting of ballots on Election Day or during early voting, whether in-person or absentee.

    The Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section enforces federal criminal statutes that prohibit voter intimidation and voter interference based on race, color, national origin, or religion.

    • Throughout the election cycle, Civil Rights Division attorneys in the Voting, Disability Rights, and Criminal Sections in Washington, D.C., will be ready to receive complaints of potential violations of any of the statutes the Civil Rights Division enforces. The Civil Rights Division will work closely with counterparts at U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and other department components to review and take appropriate action concerning these complaints.
    • Individuals with complaints related to possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can call the Justice Department’s toll-free telephone line at 800-253-3931, and can also submit complaints at www.civilrights.justice.gov.
    • Individuals with questions or complaints related to the ADA may call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 or 833-610-1264 (TTY) or submit a complaint through a link on the department’s ADA website at www.ada.gov.

    Complaints related to violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at a polling place should always be reported immediately to local authorities by calling 911. They should also be reported to the department after local authorities are contacted.

    Criminal Division and the Department’s 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices

    The department’s Criminal Division oversees the enforcement of federal laws that criminalize certain forms of election fraud and vindicate the integrity of the federal election process.

    The Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are responsible for enforcing the federal criminal laws that prohibit various forms of election crimes, such as destruction of ballots, vote-buying, multiple voting, submission of fraudulent ballots or registrations, alteration of votes, and malfeasance by postal or election officials and employees. See Justice Manual 9-85.210 (discussing requirements regarding election crime matters); 9-85.300 (discussing approach to ballot fraud); 9-85.400 (discussing application of 18 U.S.C. § 592); 9-85.500 (discussing timing of actions).

    The Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are also responsible for enforcing federal criminal law prohibiting unlawful threats of violence against election workers, and prohibiting voter intimidation and voter suppression for reasons other than race, color, national origin, or religion (as noted above, voter intimidation and voter suppression that has a basis in race, color, national origin, or religion is addressed by the Civil Rights Division often in partnership with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices).

    U.S. Attorneys’ Offices around the country designate Assistant U.S. Attorneys who serve as District Election Officers (DEOs) in their respective districts. DEOs are responsible for overseeing potential election-crime matters in their districts, and for coordinating with the department’s election-crime experts in Washington, D.C.

    The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices work with specially trained FBI personnel in each district to ensure that complaints from the public involving possible election crimes are handled appropriately. Specifically:

    • In consultation with federal prosecutors at the Public Integrity Section in Washington, D.C., the DEOs in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, FBI officials at headquarters in Washington, D.C., and FBI special agents serving as Election Crime Coordinators in the FBI’s 56 field offices will be on duty while polls are open to receive complaints from the public.
    • Election-crime complaints should be directed to the local U.S. Attorney’s Office or the local FBI field office. A list of U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and their telephone numbers can be found at www.justice.gov/usao/districts. A list of FBI field offices and accompanying telephone numbers can be found at www.fbi.gov/contact-us.
    • Public Integrity Section prosecutors are available to consult and coordinate with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the FBI regarding the handling of election-crime allegations.

    All complaints related to violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at a polling place should be reported first to local police authorities by calling 911. After alerting local law enforcement to such emergencies by calling 911, the public should contact the Justice Department.

    National Security Division

    The department’s National Security Division (NSD) supervises the investigation and prosecution of cases affecting or relating to national security, including any cases involving foreign malign influence and interference in elections or violent extremist threats to elections. In this context:

    • NSD oversees matters involving a range of malign influence activities that foreign governments may attempt.
    • NSD’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section oversees matters involving covert information operations (e.g., to promulgate disinformation through social media); covert efforts to support or denigrate political candidates or organizations; and other covert influence operations that might violate various criminal statutes.
    • NSD’s National Security Cyber Section oversees such matters when they are cyber-enabled (i.e., when online platforms, such as social media and other online services, are central to the commission of the offense), as well as those involving computer hacking of election or campaign infrastructure.
    • NSD’s Counterterrorism Section oversees matters involving international and domestic terrorism and supports law enforcement in preventing any acts of terrorism that impact Americans, including any violent extremism that might threaten election security.

    As in past elections, the National Security Division will work closely with counterparts at the FBI and our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to protect our nation’s elections from any national security threats. Attorneys from National Security Division sections will be partnered with FBI Headquarters components to provide support to U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and FBI field offices to counter any such threats. The Department of Homeland Security also plays its own important role in safeguarding critical election infrastructure from cyber and other threats.

    Complaints related to violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at a polling place should always be reported immediately to local authorities by calling 911 and, after local authorities are contacted, then should be reported also to the department.

    Protecting the right to vote, prosecuting election crimes, and securing our elections are all essential to maintaining the confidence of all Americans in our democratic system of government. The department encourages anyone with information regarding concerns in these subject areas to contact the appropriate authorities.

    For more information about the department’s work to ensure compliance with federal civil and criminal laws related to voting, please visit www.justice.gov/voting and www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-pin/election-crimes-branch.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Lawrence Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution Fentanyl

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BOSTON – A Lawrence man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to distributing fentanyl.

    George Jimenez, 31, pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Feb. 5, 2025. Jimenez was initially charged by criminal complaint in October 2023.

    On Sept. 27, 2022, Jimenez sold 99 grams of fentanyl to a cooperating witness in Methuen which was captured on video by a recording device.

    The charge of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

    Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip C. Cheng of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit prosecuted the case.

    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 gun violence and other violent crime, 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.  For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN..

    This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Felon in Possession Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison Following Shooting at the Palm Beach Gardens Mall

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

    MIAMI – A felon in possession of a firearm was sentenced to 144 months in prison, following a shooting at the Palm Beach Gardens Mall (The Gardens Mall) on Valentine’s Day.

    Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon imposed an upward variance in sentencing Devon Jamal Graham, 29, to 144 months in prison. Graham previously pled guilty to possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance containing fentanyl and cocaine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

    Kamarcio Mitchell, 29, a second man who was arrested following the shooting at The Gardens Mall, is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 21 at 9:30 a.m. before Judge Cannon in Fort Pierce, Fla. Mitchell previously pled guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

    On Feb. 14, both Mitchell and Graham were at The Gardens Mall, both separately in possession of a firearm. Mitchell was on the second level of The Gardens Mall near a retail store. Mitchell followed Graham onto the escalator and was manipulating an object under his shirt. Mitchell was then fired upon by Graham and shot. Mitchell fled the mall to the parking lot, leaving a trail of blood. A loaded firearm that had been disassembled was found in the parking lot by police, near the blood trail. Mitchell was later treated for his injury at a local hospital. Upon his later arrest on a federal warrant, authorities discovered Mitchell in possession of a distribution quantity of fentanyl after he unsuccessfully tried to toss the drugs.

    Two firearms were recovered from the vehicle Graham used to travel to the mall, along with a bag containing 35 capsules with a mixture containing fentanyl and a pill bottle with approximately 16 grams of cocaine.

    The recovered firearms had previously travelled in interstate commerce.

    U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, U.S. Marshal Gadyaces S. Serralta of the U.S. Marshals Service, Chief Dominick Pape of the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department, and Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office announced the sentencing.

    The Office of State Attorney Dave Aronberg for the 15th Judicial Circuit – Palm Beach County provided invaluable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John McMillan and Shannon O’Shea Darsch are prosecuting the case.

    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 gun violence and other violent crime, 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.  For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

    Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 24-cr-80022.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Florida Company Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Sell Misbranded N95 Masks to Hospital in Early Months of COVID-19 Pandemic

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3

    Department of Justice
    U.S. Attorney’s Office
    District of Massachusetts 

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Wednesday, October 30, 2024

    Two individuals also pleaded guilty to misbranding N95 masks and conspiracy to commit price gouging

    BOSTON – A Florida company, and two individuals associated with the company, have pleaded guilty to charges associated with shipping facemasks that were misbranded as N95 respirators, and price gouging hospitals, during the earliest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

    JDM Supply LLC (JDM) pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to introduce misbranded devices into interstate commerce with intent to defraud or mislead, in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Daniel Motha, 40, of Miami, Fla., and Jeffrey Motha, 36, of Norfolk, Mass., also pleaded guilty to one count of introduction of misbranded devices into interstate commerce and one count of conspiracy to commit price gouging in violation of the Defense Production Act. U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun scheduled sentencing for Daniel Motha and Jeffrey Motha on March 4, 2025 and JDM on March 25, 2025. In August 2023, a third individual, Jason Colantuoni of Norfolk, Mass, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit price gouging in connection with this investigation.  

    In the spring of 2020, during the earliest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, JDM and a company identified as “Company 1” conspired to ship facemasks that were misbranded as National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved, N95 respirators. One hospital accepted and paid for hundreds of thousands of purported N95 masks that were manufactured by Company 1 and sold by JDM. Ultimately, the hospital did not use the masks, which were eventually returned to Company 1. JDM misled the hospital into believing that the Company 1 masks were NIOSH-approved N95s, when in fact they were not.

    In August 2020, a NIOSH lab tested a sample of the Company 1 masks that had been shipped to the hospital. The masks tested between 83.94% and 93.24% filtration efficiency, thus falling below the 95% minimum level of filtration efficiency required for N95 respirators.  

    Daniel Motha and Jeff Motha conspired to use JDM to exploit and profit off of the critical need of hospitals and healthcare workers for scarce N95 masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. They accumulated N95 masks from various sources and then sold the N95 masks through JDM to hospitals in Massachusetts, and elsewhere, at prices in excess of the prevailing market price.

    The charge of conspiracy to introduce or deliver for introduction into interstate commerce a misbranded device with intent to defraud or mislead, brought against JDM, provides for a fine of $500,000 or twice the pecuniary gain or loss of the offense, whichever is greater and up to five years of probation. The charge of introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce a misbranded device provides for a sentence of up to one year in prison; up to one year of supervised release; and a fine of $100,000. The charge of conspiracy to commit price gouging in violation of the Defense Production Act provides for a sentence of up to one year in prison; up to one year of supervised release; and a fine of up to $10,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

    Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; Fernando McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Michael J. Krol, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bill Brady and Howard Locker of the Health Care Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.

    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 augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus and https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus/combatingfraud. 
        
    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 Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.
     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Indictment Charges Waterbury Women with Fraud Offenses

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned a 17-count indictment charging MARLENIN VITO, 45, of Waterbury, with fraud offenses.

    The indictment was returned on October 22, 2024.  Vito appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven, pleaded not guilty, and was released on a $25,000 bond.

    As alleged in the indictment, from approximately 2018 to May 2021, Vito was employed as Medicaid Coordinator at an assisted living facility located in Stamford, referred to in the indictment as “Company A.”  Vito’s responsibilities included assisting the residents in applying for nursing home level Medicaid reimbursements, monitoring the residents’ patient trust accounts, and ensuring compliance with Medicaid regulations.  She was also responsible for keeping journal entries for the residents’ trust accounts and to credit their accounts when funds were received, and for debiting patient accounts when payments were made on behalf of the residents or when cash was given to residents for incidental expenses.

    It is alleged that, between approximately December 2019 and May 2021, Vito defrauded Company A and its residents by generating checks from Company A’s system, forging a fellow employee’s signature on the checks, negotiating the fraudulent checks purportedly to give the cash proceeds to certain residents, and keeping the cash for her own use.  Vito then made false entries into Company A’s accounting ledger by debiting the fraudulently obtained cash from the residents’ respective trust accounts.  Many of the residents were not healthy enough or mentally capable of tracking their own expenses or monitoring the balances of their own trust accounts.

    It is further alleged, in certain instances, Vito cancelled residents’ supplemental health insurance coverage, but continued to deduct funds from the trust accounts and took the funds for herself.  Also, when certain residents’ trust accounts were credited with Economic Impact Payments (“COVID-19 stimulus payments”), Vito took the funds for herself and then debited the residents’ accounts at a rate of approximately $60 a day until the stimulus funds were depleted.

    It is alleged that during the scheme, Vito fraudulently negotiated approximately 500 checks.  When she was confronted by family members of certain residents, Vito created and provided to those family members false account statements that misrepresented the balances in the residents’ trust accounts.

    The indictment also alleges that, between approximately May and July 2023, Vito was employed as a bookkeeper at a law firm in Hartford, referred to in the indictment as “Company B.”  Vito took fraudulently generated checks drawn on Company B’s bank account and issued as “Pay to the Order of ‘Petty Cash, ’” forged the signature of an authorized employee on the checks, cashed the checks, and kept the funds for herself.  She then recorded the fraudulently negotiated checks in Company B’s books and records as “Petty Cash.”

    It is alleged that Vito stole a total of more than $200,000 through these schemes.

    The indictment charges Vito with five counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count, and 12 counts of bank fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years on each count.

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

    This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Stamford Police Department and Hartford Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. McGarry.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney’s Office Highlights Efforts to Protect the Right to Vote, Prosecute Election Fraud, and Secure Elections

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. – Consistent with longstanding Justice Department practices, U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe is highlighting the office’s efforts to ensure all qualified voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots free of discrimination, intimidation, or criminal activity in the election process, and to ensure elections are secure against foreign malign interference.

    “The Justice Department prioritizes ensuring fair elections, and our success will depend on the assistance we receive from the American electorate,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “It’s critical for those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud to make that information available to the Department of Justice.”

    U.S. Attorney Crowe designated Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Reed to lead the efforts in southern Illinois for the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming Nov. 5 general election.

    AUSA Reed serves as the District Election Officer for the Southern District of Illinois, and in that capacity, is responsible for overseeing the handling of election day complaints for voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.

    The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.

    Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted due to a disability or inability to read or write in English.  

    AUSA Reed will be on duty while the polls are open and will be responsible for responding to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud and directing them to the appropriate authorities. He can be reached by calling (618) 977-3332.

    In addition, the FBI has agents available throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. You can reach the FBI online at www.tips.fbi.gov or dialing 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).

    Concerns for violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ or by phone at 800-253-3931.

    Report crimes of violence or intimidation by calling 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Cybercriminals Are Stealing Cookies to Bypass Multifactor Authentication

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

    The FBI Atlanta Division is warning the public that cybercriminals are gaining access to email accounts by stealing cookies from a victim’s computer. A “cookie” is a small piece of data that a website sends to your computer, allowing the website to remember information about your session, such as login details, preferences, or items in your shopping cart. “Remember-Me cookies” are tied specifically to a user’s login and often last for 30 days before expiring. This type of cookie helps a user login without having to keep putting in their username, password, or their multifactor authentication (MFA). Typically, this type of cookie is generated when a user clicks the “Remember this device” checkbox when logging in to a website:

    If a cybercriminal obtains the Remember-Me cookie from a user’s recent login to their web email, they can use that cookie to sign-in as the user without needing their username, password, or multifactor authentication (MFA). For these reasons, cybercriminals are increasingly focused on stealing Remember-Me cookies and using them as their preferred way of accessing a victim’s email. Victims unknowingly provide their cookies to cybercriminals when they visit suspicious websites or click on phishing links that download malicious software onto their computer

    Here are tips to protect yourself from putting yourself at risk:

    • Regularly clear your cookies from your Internet browser.
    • Recognize the risks of clicking the “Remember Me” checkbox when logging into a website.
    • Do not click on suspicious links or websites. Only visit sites with a secure connection (HTTPS) to protect your data from being intercepted during transmission.
    • Periodically monitor the recent device login history from your account settings.

    Anyone who is a victim of an account takeover or Internet scam should report it to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at www.ic3.gov.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: 10.29.2024 Sen. Cruz, Rep. Roy Demand Answers from Biden-Harris Administration on Growing Presence of Tren de Aragua Gang in Texas, U.S.

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Texas Ted Cruz
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas-21) sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding answers about the growing presence of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Argua (TdA) in Texas and across America.
    In the letter, the Texas lawmakers wrote, “Alleged TdA affiliates have committed heinous crimes against Americans. The two Venezuelan illegal aliens charged with raping and murdering 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray before tossing her dismembered body into a Houston bayou, both of whom were released under your tenure after they unlawfully crossed into Texas earlier this year, are believed to have ties to TdA. Further, on October 4, 2024, authorities announced the arrest of three additional Venezuelan illegal aliens in Northwest Dallas in September for their alleged involvement in a robbery of a woman who was tied-up and told that her fingers would be cut off if she did not comply during the crime.
    “Additionally, TdA has subjected illegal aliens smuggled into the U.S. to sex trafficking. The South American ring is forcing illegal alien women into prostitution in eight states, including Texas, to pay off their smuggling debts, rendering them vulnerable to all forms of abuse.
    …
    “Our law enforcement community and the Texans they serve deserve answers on the scope of infiltration of TCOs under this administration”
    Read the full letter here or below:
    Dear Secretary Mayorkas:
    The Biden-Harris administration has imported Venezuelan illegal aliens at an alarming rate, allowing criminals – including the gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) – to gain a foothold in Texas and communities throughout the United States. Texans and the American people deserve better.
    The massive increase in crime committed by Venezuelan illegal aliens is a direct result of this administration’s purposeful policies. Since October 2022, 117,000 Venezuelans have been paroled into the U.S. via the fraud-ridden Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) program. Further, since January 2021, nearly 750,000 Venezuelans have been encountered at the southern border– many of whom have been released into the U.S. interior.
    As you know, on October 5, 2024, law enforcement executed “Operation Aurora,” a sting targeted at TdA members occupying a San Antonio apartment complex that had been forcefully taken over by the violent gang, similar to the situation recently seen in Aurora, Colorado. Authorities arrested 19 Venezuelan illegal aliens , four of whom are confirmed TdA members, after receiving numerous complaints of TdA seizing vacant apartment units for drug-related crimes and human trafficking, and threats to apartment employees. One of the arrested suspects was reportedly a TdA gang leader. Moreover, 15 of the 19 detained individuals had immigration detainers placed on them by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for likely for removal from the U.S.
    Thankfully, the raid concluded without incident. The task force, comprised of law enforcement officials from the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Border Patrol, and HSI, should be commended for their efforts. While the apprehension of TdA members and other foreign criminals is a welcome development, this dangerous incident, and similar incidents, may have been avoided if DHS took appropriate action to secure the border and stop the mass release of illegal aliens into our communities.
    Indeed, this is not the first incident involving TdA in Texas. On September 26, 2024, reports revealed DPS arrested over 20 suspected TdA members at an El Paso hotel for human smuggling, prostitution, and narcotics possession, among other crimes. On September 19, 2024, HSI and SAPD reportedly arrested two individuals linked to TdA for their involvement in a firearms smuggling operation. In March 2024, more than 100 suspected TdA members were arrested for their involvement in charging at National Guardsmen and DPS troopers at the El Paso border in March 2024.
    Alleged TdA affiliates have committed heinous crimes against Americans. The two Venezuelan illegal aliens charged with raping and murdering 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray before tossing her dismembered body into a Houston bayou, both of whom were released under your tenure after they unlawfully crossed into Texas earlier this year, are believed to have ties to TdA. Further, on October 4, 2024, authorities announced the arrest of three additional Venezuelan illegal aliens in Northwest Dallas in September for their alleged involvement in a robbery of a woman who was tied-up and told that her fingers would be cut off if she did not comply during the crime.
    Additionally, TdA has subjected illegal aliens smuggled into the U.S. to sex trafficking. The South American ring is forcing illegal alien women into prostitution in eight states, including Texas, to pay off their smuggling debts, rendering them vulnerable to all forms of abuse.
    TdA members have also demonstrated brazen indifference to public safety officials. On July 30, 2024, Border Patrol issued a bulletin warning that TdA gave the “green light” to its over 1,000 members to fire on and attack law enforcement. In response to the gang’s proliferation and threat to the public, the state of Texas has heightened its security measures amid the federal government’s failure to secure the border from foreign crime syndicates.
    Our law enforcement community and the Texans they serve deserve answers on the scope of infiltration of TCOs under this administration. As such, we request you respond to the following questions by October 31, 2024:
    Please provide a full accounting of the number of Venezuelans released into the country via CHNV, other forms of parole, release after apprehension at the border, or otherwise, including:
    The last known whereabouts of each Venezuelan, broken down by state.
    The number of Venezuelans released into the United States without identification documents and their last known whereabouts, broken down by state.
    The number of released Venezuelans that have committed a crime in the United States, and their last known whereabouts, broken down by state.
    The number of released Venezuelans with known or suspected gang affiliations and their last known whereabouts, broken down by state.
    The number of released Venezuelans that are known or suspected members of TdA.
    The number of Venezuelans paroled into the United States that have since been removed, and the reason for their removal.
    The number of Venezuelans released from the southern border that received a Notice to Appear.
    The number of Venezuelans released from the southern border that received a Notice to Report.
    How many criminal aliens has DHS arrested in the United States as of January 2021? Please include the following information:
    Date of arrest, location of arrest, date of the alien crossing the border, date of release from the border, gang affiliation (if applicable), criminal charges received, previous criminal history, country of origin, and current status (is the alien detained at an ICE facility, on the non-detained docket, or was removed from the U.S.).
    How many of these criminal aliens have charges and/or convictions for human trafficking, child exploitation, or forced labor at the federal or local level?
    Of all criminal aliens arrested in Texas, how many have a detainer placed by ICE?
    What future operations does DHS and/or ICE plan to conduct to mitigate TdA’s presence in Texas?
    What other transnational criminal organizations are present in Texas that DHS has detected?
    What policies or action has DHS implemented to recruit the cooperation of sanctuary jurisdictions in Texas that limit or refuse to cooperate with federal immigration detainers and/or authorities?
    Sincerely,
    /X/

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: FBI Chicago, Illinois Attorney General’s Office Seeking Information about Multiple Suspects in Jewelry Store Armed Robberies in Bridgeview

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

    Douglas S. DePodesta, special agent in charge of the Chicago Division of the FBI, and Kwame Raoul, attorney general for the State of Illinois, are seeking information about four masked suspects involved in armed robberies taking place at four jewelry stores across three states between July 13, 2023, and September 14, 2024. Authorities are urging anyone with information to contact the FBI.

    The robberies in question have taken place at jewelry stores in Bridgeview, Illinois, as well as in Michigan and Missouri. According to law enforcement, suspects alternately carried an AR-style rifle, handgun, and hammer, and wore costume face masks. The FBI on October 30 released surveillance video footage of robberies that took place at stores in Bridgeview, Illinois, and Dearborn, Michigan. The video and images of the costume masks are available at fbi.gov/wanted/seeking-information.

    “The perpetrators of these crimes showed a blatant disregard for public safety and the rule of law during the commission of these brazen robberies,” DePodesta said. “Their actions will haunt these victims for a lifetime, and we’re asking for the public’s help to bring them to justice before someone is killed. We encourage the public to take a good look at the images we’ve released today and contact us with tips before these violent individuals strike again.”

    JEWELRY STORE ROBBERIES

    Unknown Suspects Bridgeview, Illinois; Dearborn, Michigan; and Winchester, Missouri  July 13, 2023; January 9, 2024; August 7, 2024; and September 14, 2024

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Bank Robber Sentenced to Three-and-a-Half Years in Prison

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PHOENIX, Ariz. – Justin Eric Lindsay, 29, of Phoenix, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge David G. Campbell to 42 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release. On June 27, 2024, Lindsay pleaded guilty to two counts of Bank Robbery.

    Between August 2023 and January 2024, Lindsay robbed six banks before he was arrested by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. During two of the robberies, Lindsay falsely claimed he had a firearm.

    This case was 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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of Tempe Police Department, Mesa Police Department, and Task Force Officers from the Peoria Police Department and the Phoenix Police Department conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
     

    CASE NUMBER:                   CR-24-00147-PHX-DGC
    RELEASE NUMBER:           2024-148_Lindsay

    # # #

    For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
    Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Officer Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More than $30,000 from DC Department of Corrections Union

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

               WASHINGTON – Andra Parker, 65, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud for embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from a D.C. Department of Corrections Labor Union.

               The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Special Agent in Charge Troy W. Springer of the National Capital Region, U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG).

               Parker, a former D.C. Corrections officer, served as Chairman of the Labor Committee, an organization that represents all members of the D.C. Department of Corrections, from June 2018 through approximately April 2019. As Chairman, Parker had full access to the Labor Committee’s bank accounts to carry out his official duties and was issued a debit card.

               As part of his guilty plea, Parker admitted that he misappropriated more than $30,000 of union funds to pay for unofficial travel, lodging, and entertainment for him and his friends. For example, he spent more than $7,000 on a trip to New York city for his friends and him, including $4,000 on rooms and expenses at a Times Square hotel, more than $370 on tickets to a New York Knicks game, and an additional $616 on tickets to Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. He also spent more than $2,000 in union funds to purchase four tickets to a Diana Ross concert in North Bethesda, Maryland.

               The Honorable Rudolph Contreras, who accepted Parker’s guilty plea, scheduled sentencing for March 6, 2025. 

               This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the DOL-OIG. Assistance was also provided by the DOL – Office of Labor-Management Standards.

               This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Gold and Kondi Kleinman of the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Sonalika Chaturvedi.

    23cr0186

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Independence Man Sentenced for Child Pornography

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Independence, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today after being identified in two separate federal investigations sharing videos and images of child pornography online.

    Joseph L. Schutz, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 13 years and four months in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Schutz to 10 years of supervised release following incarceration. Schutz will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout his life.

    On Oct. 24, 2023, Schutz pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography over the internet and one count of possessing child pornography.

    An FBI task force officer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, posing undercover as an adult female, was conducting an investigation utilizing the Kik Messenger application in May 2020. The undercover officer joined multiple private groups dedicated to individuals interested in child pornography and whose members openly shared such material within the group. Schutz admitted that he received multiple videos and images of child pornography within one of these Kik groups, and also shared multiple videos and images of child pornography within the group.

    On May 14, 2020, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Schutz’s residence. Investigators found 18 images of child erotica and eight images of child pornography on Schutz’s cell phone.

    In July and August 2022, an FBI investigator in Texas communicated online with Schutz while conducting an undercover investigation. The undercover investigator posed as a 13-year-old female. Between July 28 and Aug. 1, 2022, Schutz invited the undercover investigator into a Kik group dedicated to the exchange of child pornography. During that time, Schutz admitted, he shared multiple videos of child pornography within the group.

    This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Luna. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, and the Independence, Mo., 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: New Orleans Man Guilty of Being Felon in Possession of Ammunition

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on October 19, 2024,  AVERY JULIEN (“JULIEN”), age 28, a resident of New Orleans, pled guilty to being a felon in possession of ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2).  JULIEN faces up to 15 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00, up to 3 years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00.

    According to court records, on September 14, 2022, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies and New Orleans Police Department officers executed a search warrant at JULIEN’s New Orleans residence after learning that JULIEN may have committed a carjacking in Jefferson Parish.  During the search of his residence, two firearms, a Sig Sauer Model P229, .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and a Sig Sauer Model P250, .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, were located in JULIEN’s bedroom.

    Federal law prohibits convicted felons, such as JULIEN, from possessing firearms.  In 2018, JULIEN was convicted of felonies in two separate cases in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court.  JULIEN knew he had been convicted of these felonies at the time that he possessed the ammunition.  United States District Judge, Brandon S. Long, will sentence JULIENon February 4, 2025. 

    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.

    The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the New Orleans Police Department.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brittany Reed of the Public Integrity Unit.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Minneapolis Man Sentenced to Prison for Insider Trading Scheme

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and 320 hours of community service for an insider trading conspiracy involving nonpublic negotiations for the acquisition of a medical device company valued at $1.6 billion, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.

    According to evidence presented at trial, beginning in January 2018 through at least August 2020, Doron “Ron” Tavlin, 69, of Minneapolis, and Afshin “Alex” Farahan, 58, of Los Angeles, engaged in an insider trading conspiracy. The conspiracy involved nonpublic information about the acquisition of Mazor Robotics, an Israeli-based company that specialized in robotics for spinal procedures, by Medtronic, Inc., an Ireland-based medical device company that primarily operated from its executive headquarters in Minneapolis. Tavlin, while working as vice president of business development at Mazor Robotics, learned material, nonpublic information about Medtronic’s impending acquisition of his company. In violation of federal law and his duty to his former employer, Mazor Robotics, Tavlin tipped this information about the acquisition to his friend, Farahan, and instructed him to buy shares in the company. Tavlin and Farahan knew that Medtronic’s imminent acquisition of Mazor would likely result in an increase in Mazor’s stock price. Farahan used the nonpublic information tipped by Tavlin to quickly buy more than $1 million of Mazor stock throughout August and September 2018. The morning after the secret acquisition was publicly announced, Farahan immediately sold all the stock he had purchased over the preceding weeks based on Tavlin’s illegal tip, which resulted in a profit of over $246,000. According to evidence presented at trial, after the acquisition occurred, Tavlin learned that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) was investigating certain trades of Mazor securities that occurred prior to the publicly announced acquisition. As part of its inquiry, FINRA asked Tavlin, and other insiders who knew about the secret acquisition negotiations, whether he knew any of the parties who traded in Mazor securities leading up to the public announcement. In January 2019, Tavlin responded to FINRA’s inquiry by falsely denying that he recognized any names on a list of persons and entities that purchased Mazor securities, which included Farahan.

    According to evidence presented at trial, the insider trading conspiracy included an agreement between Tavlin and Farahan that Farahan would pay money to Tavlin in exchange for the material, nonpublic information.

    On February 16, 2024, Tavlin was found guilty on one count of conspiracy to commit insider trading and ten counts of securities fraud and aiding and abetting securities fraud following a nine-day trial. He was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court by Judge Donovan W. Frank.

    Farahan pleaded guilty on August 4, 2022, to one count of conspiracy to engage in insider trading. His sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time.

    This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew S. Ebert, Robert M. Lewis, and William C. Mattessich prosecuted the case. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Eleven Minneapolis Gang Members Charged with RICO Conspiracy, Murder in Aid of Racketeering, and Drug Trafficking Offenses

    Source: United States Attorneys General 4

    A federal grand jury in Minneapolis returned an 18-count indictment yesterday against 11 alleged members of the Lows — a violent Minneapolis street gang — for crimes including Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy involving murder, attempted murder, gun trafficking, and drug trafficking.

    “According to the indictment, these defendants are leaders, organizers, and members of the Lows street gang, a violent gang that allegedly committed multiple murders and attempted murders and trafficked in guns and drugs, including fentanyl,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Violent gangs that engage in bloody street wars and peddle deadly drugs endanger our communities. The Criminal Division, along with our local, state, and federal partners, is committed to holding violent criminals accountable, including by bringing racketeering charges.”

    “The Lows are an exceptionally violent criminal street gang that has terrorized north Minneapolis for nearly 20 years. Through threats and violence — shootings and murders — the Lows have long sought to establish dominion over large swaths of our city,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger for the District of Minnesota. “My office will continue to respond to gang violence by treating it as the organized criminal activity it is. This indictment is an important step in dismantling a violent street gang that has devastated families and communities in north Minneapolis.”

    “More than 100 people lose their lives to gun violence every day in the United States,” said Special Agent in Charge Travis Riddle of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) St. Paul Field Division. “There will never be a time where this will be considered acceptable. Our ATF agents put forth solid investigative work in this case utilizing crime gun intelligence that without a doubt aided the case announced today. ATF is happy to work alongside each of our partners in this investigation, and we are grateful to the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Luger, and the entire team for taking up this challenging RICO case.”

    “The charges in this indictment reflect our unwavering commitment to bringing violent criminals to justice,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of the FBI Minneapolis Field Office. “For too long, the Lows have inflicted pain and spread fear in north Minneapolis. Together with our law enforcement partners, we are determined to remove this threat from our communities and help restore a sense of security to all who call this city home.”

    “Today’s indictment provides a stark reminder that violence and drug trafficking go hand-in-hand,” said Special Agent in Charge Steven T. Bell of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division. “These were not victimless crimes. Communities were hurt. The DEA will continue its unwavering focus to remove threats of violence and hold accountable the individuals responsible for inflicting fear on the streets of Minneapolis.”

    “The individuals named in this indictment allegedly engaged in homicide, and illegal drug and firearms trafficking, which created an atmosphere of terror and disrupted countless lives in this community,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ramsey E. Covington of the IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Chicago Field Office. “These charges represent a pivotal milestone in our commitment to restore safety and uphold justice in the communities we serve. Working with their federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, IRS-CI special agents will continue to follow every financial trail to dismantle the networks fueling these criminal enterprises. We stand united against the violence and fear that street gangs have inflicted upon our communities in Minneapolis and elsewhere.”

    “The Lows, and criminal organizations like them, wreak havoc on our communities, threatening the safety of our communities on a daily basis through their many acts of violence, murder, and narcotics and firearms trafficking,” said Special Agent in Charge Jamie Holt of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) St. Paul. “HSI St. Paul will continue to foster a strong collaboration with our law enforcement partners to bring an end to the chaos these criminal organizations inflict on our local communities.”

    “This multi-count indictment against ranking members of the Lows gang is an excellent example of multiple law enforcement agencies combining their expertise and resources to conduct investigations with the common goal of taking down violent leaders perpetuating street violence involving guns and narcotics,” said Inspector in Charge Bryan Musgrove of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Denver Division. “These RICO charges aim to remove these allegedly violent offenders from our community. U.S. Postal Inspectors are committed to continuing our work to dismantle drug trafficking operations to keep USPS customers and employees safe from greedy drug traffickers who favor profit over human lives.”

    As alleged in this indictment, the defendants were members of the Lows criminal street gang, which has been in existence in Minneapolis since approximately 2004. The Lows are primarily active in the northside of Minneapolis. They allegedly traffic in firearms and narcotics, including fentanyl, and use threats, intimidation, and violence to protect their territory, reputation, illicit proceeds, and power.

    The indictment charges that the defendants engaged in a pattern of racketeering — that is, unlawful acts of violence, gun trafficking, and narcotics trafficking — for the benefit of the Lows enterprise. These acts include seven alleged murders or attempted murders involving a total of ten victims.

    The 11 defendants, all from Minneapolis, have been indicted for the following crimes:

    Ashimiyu Alowonle II, 38, also known as Cash, is charged with RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

    Timothy Callender III, 26, also known as Lil’ Tim, is charged with RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

    Glenn Carter III, 23, also known as G5 and Bossman Carter, is charged with RICO conspiracy; using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death; and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Carter is charged with committing a murder on May 14, 2022, as a racketeering act in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.

    Victor Collins, 22, also known as Vic, is charged with RICO conspiracy; using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death; conspiracy to distribute controlled substances; possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance; and possessing a firearm a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Collins is charged with committing a murder and an attempted murder on Feb. 27 as a racketeering act in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.

    Damari Douglas, 20, also known as Mari, is charged with RICO conspiracy, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of a machine gun. Douglas is charged with committing a murder on Dec. 3, 2023, as a racketeering act in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.

    Deontae Jackson, 35, also known as Leef, is charged with RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

    Shannon Jackson, 32, also known as Shakedown, is charged with RICO conspiracy; using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death; conspiracy to distribute controlled substances; possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance; possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking; and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Jackson is charged with committing a murder on April 27, 2023, as a racketeering act in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.

    Robert Knights Jr., 19, also known as CMB Rob and Lil’ Rob, is charged with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

    Albert Lucas V, 20, also known as Abk Sav, is charged with RICO conspiracy; using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death; and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Lucas is charged with committing multiple murders and an attempted murder on Feb. 27 and May 6, 2021, as a racketeering act in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.

    Kaprice Richards, 23, also known as Kap, is charged with RICO conspiracy and using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death. Richards is charged with committing an attempted murder on May 29, 2022, and a murder on April 27, 2023, as racketeering acts in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.

    Cartrelle Smith, 27, also known as Poo Moe, is charged with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

    If convicted, the defendants face a range of penalties, including up to life in prison for racketeering conspiracy involving acts of murder, using a firearm to commit murder, and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after the consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    ATF, FBI, DEA, IRS-CI, HSI, USPIS, Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and Minnesota Department of Corrections are investigating the case, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service.

    Trial Attorney Jared Engelking of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Garrett S. Fields and David M. Classen for the District of Minnesota are prosecuting the case.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Eleven Minneapolis Gang Members Charged with RICO Conspiracy, Murder in Aid of Racketeering, and Drug Trafficking Offenses

    Source: US State Government of Utah

    A federal grand jury in Minneapolis returned an 18-count indictment yesterday against 11 alleged members of the Lows — a violent Minneapolis street gang — for crimes including Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy involving murder, attempted murder, gun trafficking, and drug trafficking.

    “According to the indictment, these defendants are leaders, organizers, and members of the Lows street gang, a violent gang that allegedly committed multiple murders and attempted murders and trafficked in guns and drugs, including fentanyl,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Violent gangs that engage in bloody street wars and peddle deadly drugs endanger our communities. The Criminal Division, along with our local, state, and federal partners, is committed to holding violent criminals accountable, including by bringing racketeering charges.”

    “The Lows are an exceptionally violent criminal street gang that has terrorized north Minneapolis for nearly 20 years. Through threats and violence — shootings and murders — the Lows have long sought to establish dominion over large swaths of our city,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger for the District of Minnesota. “My office will continue to respond to gang violence by treating it as the organized criminal activity it is. This indictment is an important step in dismantling a violent street gang that has devastated families and communities in north Minneapolis.”

    “More than 100 people lose their lives to gun violence every day in the United States,” said Special Agent in Charge Travis Riddle of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) St. Paul Field Division. “There will never be a time where this will be considered acceptable. Our ATF agents put forth solid investigative work in this case utilizing crime gun intelligence that without a doubt aided the case announced today. ATF is happy to work alongside each of our partners in this investigation, and we are grateful to the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Luger, and the entire team for taking up this challenging RICO case.”

    “The charges in this indictment reflect our unwavering commitment to bringing violent criminals to justice,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of the FBI Minneapolis Field Office. “For too long, the Lows have inflicted pain and spread fear in north Minneapolis. Together with our law enforcement partners, we are determined to remove this threat from our communities and help restore a sense of security to all who call this city home.”

    “Today’s indictment provides a stark reminder that violence and drug trafficking go hand-in-hand,” said Special Agent in Charge Steven T. Bell of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division. “These were not victimless crimes. Communities were hurt. The DEA will continue its unwavering focus to remove threats of violence and hold accountable the individuals responsible for inflicting fear on the streets of Minneapolis.”

    “The individuals named in this indictment allegedly engaged in homicide, and illegal drug and firearms trafficking, which created an atmosphere of terror and disrupted countless lives in this community,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ramsey E. Covington of the IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Chicago Field Office. “These charges represent a pivotal milestone in our commitment to restore safety and uphold justice in the communities we serve. Working with their federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, IRS-CI special agents will continue to follow every financial trail to dismantle the networks fueling these criminal enterprises. We stand united against the violence and fear that street gangs have inflicted upon our communities in Minneapolis and elsewhere.”

    “The Lows, and criminal organizations like them, wreak havoc on our communities, threatening the safety of our communities on a daily basis through their many acts of violence, murder, and narcotics and firearms trafficking,” said Special Agent in Charge Jamie Holt of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) St. Paul. “HSI St. Paul will continue to foster a strong collaboration with our law enforcement partners to bring an end to the chaos these criminal organizations inflict on our local communities.”

    “This multi-count indictment against ranking members of the Lows gang is an excellent example of multiple law enforcement agencies combining their expertise and resources to conduct investigations with the common goal of taking down violent leaders perpetuating street violence involving guns and narcotics,” said Inspector in Charge Bryan Musgrove of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Denver Division. “These RICO charges aim to remove these allegedly violent offenders from our community. U.S. Postal Inspectors are committed to continuing our work to dismantle drug trafficking operations to keep USPS customers and employees safe from greedy drug traffickers who favor profit over human lives.”

    As alleged in this indictment, the defendants were members of the Lows criminal street gang, which has been in existence in Minneapolis since approximately 2004. The Lows are primarily active in the northside of Minneapolis. They allegedly traffic in firearms and narcotics, including fentanyl, and use threats, intimidation, and violence to protect their territory, reputation, illicit proceeds, and power.

    The indictment charges that the defendants engaged in a pattern of racketeering — that is, unlawful acts of violence, gun trafficking, and narcotics trafficking — for the benefit of the Lows enterprise. These acts include seven alleged murders or attempted murders involving a total of ten victims.

    The 11 defendants, all from Minneapolis, have been indicted for the following crimes:

    Ashimiyu Alowonle II, 38, also known as Cash, is charged with RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

    Timothy Callender III, 26, also known as Lil’ Tim, is charged with RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

    Glenn Carter III, 23, also known as G5 and Bossman Carter, is charged with RICO conspiracy; using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death; and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Carter is charged with committing a murder on May 14, 2022, as a racketeering act in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.

    Victor Collins, 22, also known as Vic, is charged with RICO conspiracy; using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death; conspiracy to distribute controlled substances; possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance; and possessing a firearm a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Collins is charged with committing a murder and an attempted murder on Feb. 27 as a racketeering act in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.

    Damari Douglas, 20, also known as Mari, is charged with RICO conspiracy, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of a machine gun. Douglas is charged with committing a murder on Dec. 3, 2023, as a racketeering act in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.

    Deontae Jackson, 35, also known as Leef, is charged with RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

    Shannon Jackson, 32, also known as Shakedown, is charged with RICO conspiracy; using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death; conspiracy to distribute controlled substances; possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance; possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking; and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Jackson is charged with committing a murder on April 27, 2023, as a racketeering act in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.

    Robert Knights Jr., 19, also known as CMB Rob and Lil’ Rob, is charged with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

    Albert Lucas V, 20, also known as Abk Sav, is charged with RICO conspiracy; using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death; and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Lucas is charged with committing multiple murders and an attempted murder on Feb. 27 and May 6, 2021, as a racketeering act in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.

    Kaprice Richards, 23, also known as Kap, is charged with RICO conspiracy and using, carrying, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death. Richards is charged with committing an attempted murder on May 29, 2022, and a murder on April 27, 2023, as racketeering acts in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy.

    Cartrelle Smith, 27, also known as Poo Moe, is charged with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

    If convicted, the defendants face a range of penalties, including up to life in prison for racketeering conspiracy involving acts of murder, using a firearm to commit murder, and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after the consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    ATF, FBI, DEA, IRS-CI, HSI, USPIS, Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and Minnesota Department of Corrections are investigating the case, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service.

    Trial Attorney Jared Engelking of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Garrett S. Fields and David M. Classen for the District of Minnesota are prosecuting the case.

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

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Moolenaar Statement on Chinese National Illegally Voting in Michigan

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Moolenaar (4th District of Michigan)

    Headline: Moolenaar Statement on Chinese National Illegally Voting in Michigan

    Today, the Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, and the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s office announced charges against a Chinese national for election fraud in Michigan. The Chinese national is a student at the University of Michigan, and illegally registered to vote and cast a ballot on Sunday, October 27 in Ann Arbor. 

    “Secretary Jocelyn Benson has hurt the public’s trust in Michigan elections as her department failed to prevent this illegal vote from being cast and will count it in the results next week. The University of Michigan should expel this student for violating our laws and our state’s leaders need to take serious action against the Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to influence our state. Secretary Benson must tell us how she will prevent similar election fraud in the next week, and how she will secure our elections against CCP interference. Governor Whitmer must cancel the state’s $715 million giveaway of taxpayer money to CCP-affiliated Gotion and end its plans to build near Camp Grayling. Finally, U-M President Santa Ono needs to shut down his university’s institute with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which collaborates with China’s military. Until these actions happen, our state’s security, elections, universities, and auto supply chains will remain vulnerable to CCP influence,” said Congressman John Moolenaar.

    According to reporting from the Detroit News, the illegally cast ballot is expected to be counted in the 2024 election results, “because there is no way for election officials to retrieve it once it’s been put through a tabulator.”

    Moolenaar has previously called on the University of Michigan to end its joint research institute with Shanghai Jiao Tong University after five Chinese nationals studying through the  program were charged by the FBI with spying on Camp Grayling. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: McAlester Resident Pleads Guilty To Federal Firearm Crime

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

    MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Leslie Ray Upchurch, age 35, of McAlester, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea one count of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

    The Indictment alleged that on April 28, 2023, Upchurch, having been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, and knowing of such conviction, knowingly possessed one Ruger 9mm Luger caliber semi-automatic pistol and several rounds of assorted 9mm Luger caliber ammunition.

    The charges arose from an investigation by the McAlester Police Department, the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

    The Honorable Jason A. Robertson, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.  Upchurch was remanded into the custody of the United States Marshal Service pending sentencing.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob R. Parker represented the United States.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Miami Resident Charged with Kidnapping Resulting in Death

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

    MIAMI – Today, Miami resident Gustavo Alfonso Castano Restrepo, 55, appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Judge on an indictment charging him with kidnapping resulting in death. 

    According to the unsealed indictment, on or about May 30, 2016, in Miami-Dade County, in the Southern District of Florida, and elsewhere, Restrepo, did willfully and unlawfully seize, confine, inveigle, decoy, kidnap, abduct, and carry away and hold a person, that is, Liliana Moreno, for reward and otherwise, and did use a means, facility, and instrumentality of interstate commerce, that is, a cellular telephone, the internet, a motor vehicle, and the Homestead Extension of Florida’s Turnpike, in the commission and in furtherance of the offense. The kidnapping resulted in the deaths of Liliana Moreno and Daniella Moreno.

    Restrepo is currently being detained, following today’s hearing in Miami. A pre-trial detention hearing in Miami Magistrate Court is scheduled for Nov. 1.

    If Restrepo is convicted of the charged offense, the mandatory minimum sentence is life in prison and the maximum penalty is death.

    U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, Chief Edwin Lopez of the Doral Police Department, and Director Stephanie V. Daniels of the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) made the announcement.

    FBI Miami, the Doral Police Department, MDPD, and FBI’s South Florida Violent Crime/Fugitive Task Force are investigating this matter.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Dwayne Williams is prosecuting the case.

    Anyone with information about this matter or any other federal crime is urged to contact the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or filing a report at tips.fbi.gov.

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

    You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.

    Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 24-cr-20463

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI Announce Charges in Domestic Violence and Firearms Case

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

    ALBUQUERQUE – A Red Valley, Arizona man was charged by indictment with kidnapping, assault and federal firearms offenses stemming from a domestic violence incident in Shiprock, New Mexico.

    Curley Nakai Jr., 23, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, appeared before a federal judge and will remain in custody pending trial.

    According to court records, on August 24, 2024, Nakai allegedly assaulted his girlfriend, Jane Doe, in Shiprock, New Mexico. A witness observed Nakai dragging Jane Doe by her shirt and striking her. Nakai then forced Jane Doe into the backseat of a pickup truck. Concerned for Jane Doe’s safety, the witness followed the pickup and attempted to get identifying information. While following, the witness saw Nakai appear to punch Jane Doe in the vehicle.

    The situation escalated when Nakai and Jane Doe arrived at a supermarket parking lot. As police were contacted by the witness, Nakai exited the pickup and pointed a rifle at her while yelling aggressively. At this point, the witness was approximately thirty feet away with her car window down. After driving past the pickup and parking nearby, the witness observed that Jane Doe managed to exit the vehicle and walk awayy.

    If convicted, Nakai faces up to life in prison.

    U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

    The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is prosecuting the case.

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

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Father and Son from New Jersey Arrested for Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

            WASHINGTON — Two men from New Jersey have been arrested on various felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from their alleged conduct during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. Their alleged actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

            Richard Andrews, 72, of Brick, New Jersey, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with a felony offense of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder. In addition to the felonies, Richard Andrews is charged with misdemeanor offenses of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds and disorderly conduct in a capitol building.

            Also charged is Keith Andrews, 49, of Howell, New Jersey. Keith Andrews is charged with misdemeanor offenses of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in any of the Capitol buildings.

            The FBI arrested the two men on Oct. 29, 2024, in New Jersey, and they will make their initial appearance in the District of New Jersey.

            According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Richard and Keith Andrews attended the “Stop the Steal” rally at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., before proceeding to the restricted Capitol grounds. Richard Andrews wore a black zip-up jacket, blue tee, and gray knit skull cap, while Keith Andrews was dressed in a dark gray hoodie, black tee with white lettering, jeans, dark sneakers, and a camouflage “Trump 2020” hat. Keith also carried a camouflage backpack.

            Upon arriving at the Capitol, the two men ascended the north scaffolding to reach the Upper West Terrace. At approximately 2:49 p.m., it is alleged that Keith Andrews entered the Capitol through a window near the Senate Wing Door as Capitol Police struggled to hold back the crowd. Keith then momentarily exited, encouraging others to enter, and reentered minutes later. While inside, Keith stayed in the Senate Wing hallway for ten minutes, encouraging additional rioters to come in before leaving the building himself temporarily.

            Keith Andrews then reentered the Capitol at about 3:01 p.m., making his way to the Crypt while using his phone. He allegedly remained inside for approximately twelve minutes before exiting at 3:13 p.m. Shortly after, police efforts to secure the Senate Wing intensified, including by closing the shutters on the window Keith had used to enter the building.

            Later, at about 3:16 p.m., it is alleged that Richard Andrews threw a chair through the closed shutters, reopening them and striking an officer in the process.

            Minutes later, Keith allegedly reentered the Capitol a third time, engaging in a brief dispute with officers trying to clear the building before exiting by 3:20 p.m. Later that afternoon, as officers tried to remove rioters from the Upper West Terrace, Richard Andrews shoved a police officer on the head. In response, officers deployed a chemical agent, causing Richard to retreat into the crowd.

            This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Newark and Washington Field Offices. Richard Andrews was identified as BOLO (Be on the Lookout) # 446 on the FBI’s seeking information images. Valuable assistance was provided by the United States Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In the 45 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,532 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 571 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.

            Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

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

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Florida Company Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Sell Misbranded N95 Masks to Hospital in Early Months of COVID-19 Pandemic

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Two individuals also pleaded guilty to misbranding N95 masks and conspiracy to commit price gouging

    BOSTON – A Florida company, and two individuals associated with the company, have pleaded guilty to charges associated with shipping facemasks that were misbranded as N95 respirators, and price gouging hospitals, during the earliest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

    JDM Supply LLC (JDM) pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to introduce misbranded devices into interstate commerce with intent to defraud or mislead, in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Daniel Motha, 40, of Miami, Fla., and Jeffrey Motha, 36, of Norfolk, Mass., also pleaded guilty to one count of introduction of misbranded devices into interstate commerce and one count of conspiracy to commit price gouging in violation of the Defense Production Act. U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun scheduled sentencing for Daniel Motha and Jeffrey Motha on March 4, 2025 and JDM on March 25, 2025. In August 2023, a third individual, Jason Colantuoni of Norfolk, Mass, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit price gouging in connection with this investigation.  

    In the spring of 2020, during the earliest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, JDM and a company identified as “Company 1” conspired to ship facemasks that were misbranded as National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved, N95 respirators. One hospital accepted and paid for hundreds of thousands of purported N95 masks that were manufactured by Company 1 and sold by JDM. Ultimately, the hospital did not use the masks, which were eventually returned to Company 1. JDM misled the hospital into believing that the Company 1 masks were NIOSH-approved N95s, when in fact they were not.

    In August 2020, a NIOSH lab tested a sample of the Company 1 masks that had been shipped to the hospital. The masks tested between 83.94% and 93.24% filtration efficiency, thus falling below the 95% minimum level of filtration efficiency required for N95 respirators.  

    Daniel Motha and Jeff Motha conspired to use JDM to exploit and profit off of the critical need of hospitals and healthcare workers for scarce N95 masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. They accumulated N95 masks from various sources and then sold the N95 masks through JDM to hospitals in Massachusetts, and elsewhere, at prices in excess of the prevailing market price.

    The charge of conspiracy to introduce or deliver for introduction into interstate commerce a misbranded device with intent to defraud or mislead, brought against JDM, provides for a fine of $500,000 or twice the pecuniary gain or loss of the offense, whichever is greater and up to five years of probation. The charge of introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce a misbranded device provides for a sentence of up to one year in prison; up to one year of supervised release; and a fine of $100,000. The charge of conspiracy to commit price gouging in violation of the Defense Production Act provides for a sentence of up to one year in prison; up to one year of supervised release; and a fine of up to $10,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

    Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; Fernando McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Michael J. Krol, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bill Brady and Howard Locker of the Health Care Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.

    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 augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus and https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus/combatingfraud. 
        
    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 Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.
     

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