NewzIntel.com

Category: Federal Bureau of Investigation

  • MIL-OSI Security: New Orleans Man Guilty of Drug Trafficking and Possessing Two Machineguns

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – TIERON PRICE (“PRICE”), age 22, pled guilty on February 4, 2025 before U.S. District Judge Darrel J. Papillion, to two counts of possessing a machinegun, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(o) and 924(a)(2); possession with intent to distribute tapentadol, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C); and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i).

    According to court documents, on May 22, 2023, PRICE was driving a stolen vehicle in New Orleans. When Louisiana State Police troopers attempted to pull him over, PRICE accelerated and led troopers on a dangerous, and potentially life threatening, car chase. The chase ended when PRICE struck a vehicle stopped at a red light.  PRICE, and two other occupants, fled but were caught.  Inside a backpack carried by one of the other occupants was a Glock Model 17, nine-millimeter caliber pistol, equipped with a Glock auto-sear, making the firearm a fully-automatic machinegun.  The machinegun had a bullet in the chamber and was loaded with an extended magazine containing 23 rounds of ammunition. 

    PRICE was arrested after the car chase but subsequently released on bond.  On January 19, 2024,  New Orleans Police Department detectives executed a search warrant at PRICE’s residence.  During the search, officers found a Glock Model 19, nine-millimeter caliber pistol, a black Glock auto-sear hidden in a baby bassinet, and a drum magazine loaded with 49 rounds.  PRICE was seen the day  before the search with the same gun equipped with the auto-sear and the drum magazine.  During the search, officers also found over $6,000 in cash, and 95 tapentadol pills that PRICE intended to distribute.

    As to each of his convictions for possession of a machinegun, PRICE faces up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine.  As to his drug trafficking conviction, he faces up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release, and up to a $1,000,000 fine.  As to his conviction for possessing a firearm in furtherance of that drug trafficking crime, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to life in prison, which must run consecutively to any other sentence, and up to five years of supervised release.  Each count also carries a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.

    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 Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Louisiana State Police, and the New Orleans Police Department.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crime Unit.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Houston Man Indicted for Coercing, Enticing Minors and Sexually Exploiting a Minor to Produce Child Sexual Abuse Material

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Dazhon Darien, 32, of Houston, Texas, with five counts of sexual exploitation of a child, two counts of coercion and enticement of a child, one count of receipt of child sexual abuse material, and four counts of possession of child sexual abuse material.

    Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the charges with Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office, and Chief Robert McCullough, Baltimore County Police Department.

    According to the indictment, between July 2023 and July 2024, the defendant persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced a minor male to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing and transmitting child sexual abuse material.  Additionally, the indictment alleges that the defendant enticed two minor males to engage in prohibited sexual conduct and Darien possessed child sexual abuse material in internet-based accounts and on one digital device.

    If convicted, Darien faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each of the five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor; a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for each of the two counts of coercion and enticement of a child; a mandatory minimum of five years and up to a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for the single count of receipt of child sexual abuse material, and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for each of the four counts of possession of child sexual abuse material.

    Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  Individuals charged by indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty at a later criminal proceeding.

    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 Attorney’s 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, visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.

    U.S. Attorney Barron commended the Baltimore FBI Field Office and the Baltimore County Police Department, for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine O. Goo and Paul E. Budlow who are prosecuting the federal case.

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

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  • MIL-OSI USA: Louisiana Doctor Sentenced for Illegally Distributing Over 1.8M Doses of Opioids in $5.4M Health Care Fraud Scheme

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    A Louisiana physician was sentenced yesterday to 87 months in prison for conspiring to illegally distribute over 1.8 million doses of Schedule II controlled substances, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine, and for defrauding health care benefit programs of more than $5.4 million.

    According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Adrian Dexter Talbot M.D., 59, of Slidell, owned and operated Medex Clinical Consultants (Medex), located in Slidell. Medex was a medical clinic that accepted cash payments from individuals seeking prescriptions for Schedule II controlled substances. Talbot routinely ignored signs that individuals frequenting Medex were drug-seeking or abusing the drugs prescribed. In 2015, Talbot took a full-time job in Pineville, Louisiana, and although he was no longer physically present at the Slidell clinic, he pre-signed prescriptions, including for opioids and other controlled substances, to be distributed to individuals there whom he did not see or examine. In 2016, Talbot hired another practitioner who, at Talbot’s direction, also pre-signed prescriptions to be distributed to individuals in exchange for cash deposited into a Medex bank account. The evidence also demonstrated that Talbot falsified patient records to cover up the scheme and to make it appear as though he was routinely examining the patients. With Talbot’s knowledge, these individuals filled their prescriptions using their insurance benefits, thereby causing health care benefit programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, to be fraudulently billed for controlled substances that were prescribed without an appropriate patient examination or determination of medical necessity.

    On July 22, 2024, Talbot was convicted by a jury in the Eastern District of Louisiana of one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances, four counts of unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

    Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Special Agent in Charge Jason E. Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Special Agent in Charge Kris Raper of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG)’s South Central Field Office, Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen A. Cyrus of the FBI New Orleans Field Office, and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill made the announcement.

    HHS-OIG, VA-OIG, FBI, and the Louisiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case.

    Trial Attorneys Sara E. Porter and Gary A. Crosby II, Assistant Chief Justin Woodard, and Deputy Chief Kate Payerle of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

    The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Louisiana Doctor Sentenced for Illegally Distributing Over 1.8M Doses of Opioids in $5.4M Health Care Fraud Scheme

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    A Louisiana physician was sentenced yesterday to 87 months in prison for conspiring to illegally distribute over 1.8 million doses of Schedule II controlled substances, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine, and for defrauding health care benefit programs of more than $5.4 million.

    According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Adrian Dexter Talbot M.D., 59, of Slidell, owned and operated Medex Clinical Consultants (Medex), located in Slidell. Medex was a medical clinic that accepted cash payments from individuals seeking prescriptions for Schedule II controlled substances. Talbot routinely ignored signs that individuals frequenting Medex were drug-seeking or abusing the drugs prescribed. In 2015, Talbot took a full-time job in Pineville, Louisiana, and although he was no longer physically present at the Slidell clinic, he pre-signed prescriptions, including for opioids and other controlled substances, to be distributed to individuals there whom he did not see or examine. In 2016, Talbot hired another practitioner who, at Talbot’s direction, also pre-signed prescriptions to be distributed to individuals in exchange for cash deposited into a Medex bank account. The evidence also demonstrated that Talbot falsified patient records to cover up the scheme and to make it appear as though he was routinely examining the patients. With Talbot’s knowledge, these individuals filled their prescriptions using their insurance benefits, thereby causing health care benefit programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, to be fraudulently billed for controlled substances that were prescribed without an appropriate patient examination or determination of medical necessity.

    On July 22, 2024, Talbot was convicted by a jury in the Eastern District of Louisiana of one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances, four counts of unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

    Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Special Agent in Charge Jason E. Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Special Agent in Charge Kris Raper of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG)’s South Central Field Office, Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen A. Cyrus of the FBI New Orleans Field Office, and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill made the announcement.

    HHS-OIG, VA-OIG, FBI, and the Louisiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case.

    Trial Attorneys Sara E. Porter and Gary A. Crosby II, Assistant Chief Justin Woodard, and Deputy Chief Kate Payerle of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

    The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Federal Inmate Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Breaking Fellow Inmate’s Jaw

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

    PEORIA, Ill. – Travis Jay Nyhoff, 42, who is currently incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Pekin, Illinois (FCI-Pekin), was sentenced on January 10, 2025 to 33 months’ imprisonment for aggravated battery. The sentence will run consecutive to the term of imprisonment Nyhoff is presently serving for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

    At the sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Joe B. McDade, the court considered the following uncontested information regarding the assault. On December 8, 2023, Nyhoff had approached another inmate from behind as the inmate was watching television in the common area, yanked his chair out from beneath him, and proceeded to strike the inmate across the face with the chair and then hurl the chair at the wall. The unprovoked attack was documented by security footage. The inmate sustained a broken lower jawbone, a laceration to his face that penetrated his oral cavity, and several dislodged teeth. He later underwent surgery to repair his jawbone.

    A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Nyhoff with assault in April 2024, and he entered a guilty plea in August 2024.

    The statutory penalties for aggravated battery are two to five years’ imprisonment, to be followed by up to three years of supervised release.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons Special Investigative Services investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa P. Ortiz represented the government in the prosecution.
     

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Beloit Man Sentenced to 22½ Years for Producing Child Pornography

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

    MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Misael Dominguez Adorno, 25, Beloit, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 22 ½ years in federal prison for producing child pornography. The prison term will be followed by 25 years of supervised release.  Dominquez Adorno pleaded guilty to this charge on October 9, 2024.

    In November 2022, Beloit Police received a CyberTip indicating that someone at Dominguez Adorno’s residence uploaded sexually explicit images onto the internet.  Based on the tip, officers obtained and executed a search warrant for the home, where they seized numerous cell phones, iPads, computers, and flash drives.

    Officers analyzed the devices and found videos of Dominguez Adorno engaged in sexually explicit conduct with five minors, whom officers were able to identify.  Officers also found that Dominguez Adorno had received sexually explicit images from a 6th minor victim.

    Judge Conley expressed concern that Dominguez Adorno only cared about getting what he wanted from each of his young victims, manipulating them to his advantage. Judge Conley also noted that Dominguez Adorno did not seem to realize that he had stolen part of each victim’s youth with his actions.

    The charge against Dominquez Adorno was the result of an investigation conducted by the Beloit Police Department, the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman prosecuted this case.

    This investigation was a part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Former University Employee Charged with Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor

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

    COLUMBIA, S.C. — Mohammad Ebrahim Torki Harchegani, 38, has been charged with attempted enticement of a minor for sexual activity.

    During a contested bond hearing, an FBI special agent testified that on Dec. 3-4, 2024, multiple agencies participated in an online chat operation targeting child sex offenders where an officer posed as a 14-year-old female. Torki, a legal permanent resident of the United States and Iranian citizen, engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the alleged 14-year-old girl. Torki ultimately traveled to the residence where he believed the girl was home alone to engage in sexual activities with her. He was arrested thereafter.

    Testimony was also presented that Torki was a researcher at the University of South Carolina at the time of the chat. Upon his arrest, his employment was suspended and his contract with the university was not renewed.

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

    Torki was ordered detained at the hearing. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

    The FBI Columbia Field Office, the South Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department participated in the online chat operation and investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elle E. Klein and Winston Holliday are prosecuting the case.

    All charges in the indictment are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Henryetta Resident Pleads Guilty to Burglary and Assault

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

    MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Cody Lynn Lusk, age 34, of Henryetta, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Burglary in the First Degree in Indian Country, and one count of Assault of a Spouse, Intimate Partner, or Dating Partner by Strangling, Suffocating, and Attempting to Strangle and Suffocate in Indian Country.

    The Indictment alleged that on March 22, 2024, Lusk broke into the dwelling house of an individual and entered, intending to commit a crime within.  The Indictment further alleged that Lusk then strangled and suffocated a dating partner.

    The crimes occurred in Muskogee County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

    The charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, and the Muskogee Police Department.

    The Honorable D. Edward Snow, U.S. 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.  Lusk will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caila M. Cleary and Morgan Muzljakovich represented the United States.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Truck Driver Who Dumped 25-Year-Old’s Body Convicted Of Kidnapping Resulting in Death

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    A truck driver who kidnapped a 25-year-old woman and dumped her dead body in the woods has been convicted at trial, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham. 

    Naasson Hazzard, 28, of Austin, was charged via criminal complaint in August and indicted in October. After nine days of trial and approximately an hour of deliberation, a jury on Tuesday convicted him of kidnapping resulting in death.

    “A young woman’s life was cut tragically short, her last moments likely spent in terror,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham. “But those final moments do not define her life. She mattered, her life had worth, and we are proud to put her kidnapper behind bars.”

    “Just a few months ago, this violent criminal not only kidnapped an unsuspecting victim, but also took her life. From that time, our commitment has been to seek justice,” said Travis Pickard, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Dallas. “With this guilty verdict, we are one step closer to achieving justice. HSI remains steadfast in using every method at our disposal to apprehend those who commit heinous acts in our communities.”

    According to evidence presented at trial, surveillance video caught Hazzard’s victim, a young sex worker, entering his semi-truck in Dallas at 9:27 p.m. on Aug. 15.

    Eight days later, her decomposing body was found in a wooded area off Texas Highway 11 in Pittsburg, Texas with a black plastic bag tied around her head. 

    Cell phone records showed that on the evening of Aug. 15, Mr. Hazzard traveled from the pickup location to a nearby parking lot, where he remained for approximately 17 minutes. He then drove over three hours to a wooded area off Highway 11 in Pittsburg, Texas, where he texted his boss that he would be out sick the following day and remained for almost an hour before completing a load for work.

    The next day, he and his wife returned to the scene before going to dinner in Tyler, Texas.

    In the days that followed, Mr. Hazzard switched cell phones and deleted his Google and Life360 location sharing accounts. He also cleaned the truck with bleach and searched “how many years for first second and third degree murders.” Meanwhile, his wife searched for “Pittsburg Texas news.”

    On Aug. 23, the same day the victim’s body was recovered, agents found her cell phone shattered on the side of the road along Mr. Hazzard’s route the night she was killed.  

    Mr. Hazzard now faces an automatic life sentence. 

    The North Texas Trafficking Task Force conducted the investigation with the assistance of the following agencies: the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, the Dallas Police Department, the Midlothian Police Department, the Texas Rangers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, the Titus County Sheriff’s Office, the Buda Police Department, the Austin Police Department, the Hayes County Sheriff’s Office, and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Homeland Security Investigation’s Dallas Field Office leads the Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandie Wade and Renee Hunter prosecuted the case with the help of appellate liaison Jonathan Bradshaw.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Caledonia Man Pleads Guilty To Three Counts Of Sexually Exploiting A Minor

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

              GRAND RAPIDS – Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Andrew Birge today announced that Scott Michael Elam, 41, of Caledonia, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Elam faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 90 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 29.

              Elam was arrested and indicted in November 2024 on seven counts of sexually exploiting four different minors. According to court documents, Elam recorded himself having sex with one of the minors on two different occasions and directed the other victims to take explicit photos and videos of themselves and then send them to him. He supplied alcohol, marijuana, vapes, and other contraband to the minors. Elam charged money for each and offered to reduce the price for minors who created and provided sexually explicit videos of themselves or had sex with him.

              “Today’s plea by Scott Elam highlights the FBI’s unwavering commitment to holding sexual predators accountable and safeguarding our most vulnerable citizens,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “Mr. Elam’s abhorrent criminal acts against minors are utterly indefensible, and such behavior is not acceptable. I am deeply grateful for the relentless dedication and tireless efforts of the men and women of the FBI in Michigan, including the West Michigan-based Child Exploitation Task Force (WEBCHEX), our partners at the Kent County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the successful prosecution in the Western District of Michigan. The FBI in Michigan remains committed to working alongside our law enforcement partners to investigate, disrupt, and bring to justice any individuals who prey on our children.”

              “The Kent County Sheriff’s Office is committed to pursuing justice for victims of child exploitation and ensuring that offenders are held accountable. This case highlights the critical importance of parents and guardians having open conversations with their children about the dangers of social media. Our dedicated staff and partnerships with federal agencies allow us to continue protecting our community from those who seek to harm children,” the department said in a statement.

              The Kent County Sheriff’s Office and FBI are investigating this case, and Assistant United States Attorney Olivia Ghiselli is prosecuting it.

              This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, county prosecutor’s offices, the Internet Crimes Against Children task force (ICAC), federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement are working closely together to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children. The partners in Project Safe Childhood work to educate local communities about the dangers of online child exploitation, and to teach children how to protect themselves. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. Individuals with information or concerns about possible child exploitation should contact local law enforcement officials.

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  • MIL-OSI Economics: Steven Maijoor: Cyber resilience in an age of geopolitical tensions

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    On December 12th 2023, Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest telecom provider, suffered a cyberattack that disrupted services for millions of users. The attack, attributed to the Russian state-sponsored group Sandworm, was one of the biggest cyber incidents in Ukraine since the onset of the Russian invasion. The hackers had infiltrated Kyivstar’s infrastructure months earlier. They deployed malware that erased thousands of virtual servers and personal computers, crippling the company’s network for managing communication services.

    The attack had several immediate effects. First of all, approximately half of Kyivstar’s network was disabled, leaving millions without mobile and internet connection. But the damage wasn’t limited to the telecom sector. The attack also disrupted banking operations, payment processing, and online banking services. Some ATMs and point-of-sale terminals didn’t work. Financial transactions were in disarray across the country.

    Amazingly, the Ukrainians were quickly able to restore services. Over the past three years they have become quite proficient in dealing with large-scale disruption. Many critical processes in Ukraine are equipped with redundancy measures. Many people even have two sim cards in their phones. That enabled the other Ukrainian telecom providers to circumvent the outage. Services at Kyivstar were gradually reinstated, with almost full restoration achieved eight days after the attack.

    This episode raises some inconvenient questions. What if this would happen to us? What if a large scale Russian or Chinese cyberattack is launched on the telecoms sector of an EU member state? Would it be possible? How much damage could such an attack cause? Would it affect financial services? And would we be able to recover as quickly as the Ukrainians did?

    A few years ago, most people would have found these questions to be rather hypothetical, but today, unfortunately, they have become quite urgent. Geopolitical tensions have been rising for more than a decade, but over the past few years they have accelerated. Countries are re-arming, they are protecting their strategic economic infrastructures, they are imposing trade restrictions and sanctions on each other, and they are weaponising access to international financial infrastructures and services. Needless to say this is bad news for the world economy and the financial sector. But perhaps in no area is the geopolitical threat so real and acute as in the digital domain.

    Apart from the Kyivstar case, there are many other examples to back this up. In late 2023, a Russian hacker breached Microsoft’s corporate network by exploiting a legacy account. As a result, the security and confidentiality of the email accounts of many organisations around the world were potentially compromised. Last year, the FBI discovered a dormant network of Chinese hackers in the United States that had compromised hundreds of routers and that was on standby to launch an attack if called on. And recently, Russian and Chinese vessels were suspected of damaging subsea data cables. Since state-sponsored cyberattacks are often very well concealed, we do not have reliable numbers on how often they occur. But anecdotal information from intelligence agencies, like the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service, suggest their number is increasing.

    Traditionally, the financial sector has been an attractive target for cyber criminals with financial motives. But with the changing geopolitical climate, nation-state cyberattacks have become a very real possibility. Their main aim is to cause disruption and to steal sensitive information. Nation-state actors possess more resources, sophistication, and endurance than other hackers. And many sectors of the economy have become more vulnerable to large-scale disruption due to increased complexity and digitalisation. This is certainly true of financial services, with their long outsourcing chains and interconnectedness. And many financial firms depend on the same third-party service providers, so if one of these suppliers is attacked, large chunks of the financial sector may experience the knock-on effects. As we showed in our latest Financial Stability overview, a quarter of all reported global cyberattacks can potentially affect the financial sector through a vital process run by a third party on which the financial system depends.

    So, to answer the questions I posed at the start: yes, I think a major state-sponsored cyberattack on the financial sector or one of its supporting sectors could happen. And frankly, I hope we would be able to recover as quickly as the Ukrainians did.

    That is not because financial institutions haven’t prepared. Many financial institutions have taken big steps in recent years to boost their cyber resilience. I think it is fair to say the financial industry is one of the better digitally defended sectors in the economy. As it should be. But given the size and urgency of the threat, we need to do even more to keep financial services safe. This is why cyber resilience will absolutely be a key focus area in our supervision of the financial industry in the coming years. This goes both for De Nederlandsche Bank, and for the European Central Bank.

    Our aim is to make financial services safer against cyber threats. Not only by increasing the resilience of the financial sector itself, but also by stepping up the robustness of the entire chain of ICT service providers. DORA, the European Digital Operational Resilience Act, that came into effect at the beginning of this year, gives us additional tools to accomplish this aim.

    To start with, under DORA, threat-led penetration tests are mandatory for the largest financial institutions in Europe. In the Netherlands we have been conducting these kinds of tests voluntarily for over eight years with good results, and we are very pleased that it is now becoming the norm at the European level.

    But DORA also imposes stricter requirements for managing cyber risks in outsourcing chains. For example, financial firms face stricter rules for conducting due diligence on potential ICT providers. As a result, Fintechs may also experience more stringent due diligence from financial sector customers. And very importantly, under DORA, European supervisors can conduct inspections of critical third-party ICT service providers in tandem with national supervisory authorities. We expect bigtechs like Google and Microsoft to be placed under EU-wide supervision. And, just as with the banks, we are going to test their readiness to detect and withstand cyberattacks.

    Despite all efforts, there is no such thing as perfect cyber security. It is therefore vital that financial institutions take measures to recover quickly after cyber incidents. This is crucial to ensure that services can continue and people don’t lose trust in financial firms or the financial sector as a whole.

    The results of the ECB’s 2024 cyber stress test show that there is room for improvement on the recovery front. So it’s a very good thing that DORA also imposes new requirements on institutions’ continuity plans and backup policies. They need to develop a culture where cyber incidents are quickly detected and reported, they need to have their playbooks in place and they need to have clearly defined management roles and responsibilities. These are key ingredients for an effective response after a cyberattack.

    An important principle of our supervision has always been that financial institutions are responsible for putting their own house in order. And that is also the case with cybersecurity. But if we only focus on individual institutions, we miss something. As I mentioned, on a digital level the financial sector is so interconnected, and connected to other vital sectors of the economy as well, that some degree of overall coordination and cooperation is necessary to arrive at an optimal level of resilience. Notably, recent assessments, derived from nationwide contingency exercises in the Netherlands, reveal various weaknesses. These weaknesses relate to the exchange of information between critical infrastructure providers, the distribution of roles and responsibilities, and the mobilisation of scarce cyber security knowledge and expertise in the event of major cyber incidents.

    So the message here is: we need to work together. Governments should take the lead to improve cross-sectoral cooperation and coordination. They must continue to conduct large-scale cyber-drills and practice activating crisis plans. The insights gained should be used to enhance resilience.

    But there is also a role for financial supervisors like DNB. Under the new legislation, we do not only need to check whether financial firms are compliant, but we also have an obligation ourselves to look over the fence and cooperate closely with other sectors. DNB is putting this into practice by working with vital sectors that are most critical to the financial sector, such as energy and telecommunications. Within our mandate, we support these sectors with information, cooperation and ethical hacking experience.

    To sum up, the threat of major disruptions to our financial system from nation-state cyberattacks has become more urgent. Financial firms, and the entire outsourcing chain on which they depend, therefore need to do whatever they can to further boost their cyber resilience. Both in terms of detection and recovery. Cyber resilience is a top priority for European financial supervisors and there are new European laws in place. And we are going to use these laws to make sure that financial institutions under our supervision are as secure and well defended as possible. Enhancing resilience also means we need to work together. Governments, financial firms, supervisors, telecom, energy and other vital players in the outsourcing chain. Because in cyberspace, we are all linked together. And after all, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Violent Felon Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Firearm Possession

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    DEL RIO, Texas – An Eagle Pass man was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio today to 120 months in prison and a $2,000 fine for one count of felon in possession of firearm ammunition.

    According to court documents, Mark Ivy, 38, was arrested by San Antonio Police officers in San Antonio Dec. 20, 2019 for an outstanding warrant. Ivy was sitting in the front passenger seat of a vehicle in retail parking lot with a loaded 9mm ghost gun. Ivy had been previously convicted in Del Rio on May 13, 2010 for conspiracy to interfere with commerce by threats or violence and interstate communications with intent to extort. He was then sentenced to 48 months imprisonment and therefore unable to lawfully possess firearms or ammunition.

    Following his 2019 arrest, Ivy was transferred into federal custody Oct. 9, 2020. He pleaded guilty to the charge in the indictment on Oct. 25, 2021.

    “My office takes felons in possession of firearms and ammunition very seriously, and when the felon has a violent criminal history like that of this defendant, we argue for a sentence which reflects the seriousness of the conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “I appreciate the investigative skill and expertise of our local, state and federal law enforcement partners, all of which provide immense value in these cases.”

    “The FBI is dedicated to ensuring our citizens are safe in their communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tapp for the FBI’s San Antonio Field Office. “Ivy was aware that he was not allowed to own a firearm or ammunition due to his past actions, but he made the choice to keep a gun on his person while fleeing from the scene of a violent homicide. We want to thank our partners at San Antonio Police Department, who continue to work with us to make our community safer.”

    The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with the San Antonio Police Department, Maverick County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Department of Public Safety.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Holly Pavlinski and Rex Beasley prosecuted the case.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Texas man arrested for possessing child pornography while working as school bus driver in Fairbanks

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    The FBI is seeking additional information.

    FAIRBANKS, Alaska – A Texas man was arrested early this week on criminal charges related to his alleged possession of child pornography while temporarily working in Fairbanks.

    According to court documents, in December 2024, the Fairbanks Police Department (FPD) received information that a USB drive found in the business center of a Fairbanks hotel allegedly contained child sexual abuse materials (CSAM).

    FPD provided the USB drive to the FBI Anchorage Field Office to process for forensic review. On Jan. 30, 2025, federal agents successfully imaged and extracted the USB drive and found information linking it to Scott O’Toole, 60, of Joshua, Texas. Agents also found images on the drive allegedly depicting child sexual abuse. Within 24 hours of the FBI’s review of the USB drive, law enforcement identified and located O’Toole in Texas, and arrested him shortly thereafter.

    Court documents further allege that federal agents learned O’Toole was on Temporary Duty Assignment (TDY) to Fairbanks as a school bus driver between November and December 2024, and that he stayed at the hotel where the USB drive was found. Shortly after the USB drive was discovered, O’Toole returned to Texas.

    O’Toole is currently charged with one count of possession of child pornography in the District of Alaska. If convicted, O’Toole faces up to 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Vogel of the District of Alaska and Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office made the announcement.

    The FBI Anchorage Field Office is investigating the case, with assistance from FPD and the Texas State Troopers. If anyone has information concerning O’Toole’s alleged actions in Alaska, please contact the FBI Anchorage Field Office at (907) 276-4441 or anonymously at tips.fbi.gov.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Alexander is prosecuting the case. The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska thanks their colleagues in the Eastern District of Texas for their coordination on this case.

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

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

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Grassley Joins Fox News to Discuss Bondi, Patel and the Need to End FBI Political Weaponization

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
    WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today joined Fox News’ “America Reports” to discuss eliminating political weaponization at the FBI, expectations for Pam Bondi in her role as U.S. Attorney General and Kash Patel’s road to confirmation as FBI Director.
    Audio and excerpts of Grassley’s remarks follow.
    [embedded content]
    VIDEO
    On the Justice Department’s recent memo to FBI employees:
    “People that are at [a] lower level, not at the supervisory level, have to take orders from their bosses, and if they were told to work on a case, even if they disagreed with the case, they [had] to work on it. And I think that there ought to be some consideration to that.
    “…I’m not going to write to the White House now to get information, I’m going to wait until we get [Kash] Patel in place as head of the FBI and ask him the very same questions that we’re talking about here, because those that use the FBI for political weaponization…that’s not the role of the FBI.
    “…I’ve made very clear that the FBI shouldn’t be used for political weaponization. Their job is law enforcement, and anything beyond that has to be cleaned up. And I think Kash Patel is a person that can do that.”
    On the Grassley-Johnson release of FBI “Arctic Frost” emails:
    “My emails show – and also the regulations of the FBI show – that [FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge] Thibault was not in a position to [open the investigation into Trump]…
    “But see…the culture on the seventh floor of the FBI building is that it’s okay for FBI agents to promote challenges and positions against a former President of the United States because he’s a political threat. Well, the voters of Iowa [and] the voters of the United States on November the fifth did away with that and proved that [Trump] was wrongly condemned. The voters didn’t buy it.”
    On Attorney General Pam Bondi:
    “[Bondi] is totally a prosecutor by profession and she’s going to be the chief prosecutor of our government. She made very clear that she’s going to follow the Constitution and follow the laws and follow the evidence…
    “…[O]n the second day of [her] hearing…we had people in who knew her and worked for her, and we even had somebody that has never voted for Trump testify in favor of her, that she was a person who left politics out of the prosecution.”
    On Kash Patel’s road to confirmation:
    “I’ve got the votes to get him out of Committee, and I think that there’s going to be the votes to get him approved in the United States Senate, but I’m going to take it a step at a time.
    “A week from tomorrow, [the Judiciary Committee] will have that vote, and he’ll be on the floor of the United States Senate.”
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: On Senate Floor, Warren Underscores Danger of Budget Director Nominee Russ Vought

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren

    February 05, 2025

    Russ Vought is the architect of Project 2025 and responsible for last week’s government shutdown

    Video of Remarks (YouTube)

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) took to the Senate floor as part of a 30-hour hold by Senate Democrats to delay the confirmation of Mr. Russell Vought, nominee to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Senator Warren called out the serious consequences of Mr. Vought’s leadership, including the impacts of a government shutdown last week, on Massachusetts communities and families. Senator Warren also underscored the dangers of hundreds of executive orders President Trump has signed in his first few weeks. 

    Transcript: Senator Warren’s Floor Speech on the Nomination of Russ Vought
    U.S. Senate Floor
    February 5, 2025
    As Delivered

    Senator Elizabeth Warren: Thank you, Mr. President. I’d like to thank Senator Murray for her extraordinary leadership. She’s been a stalwart in the Senate for many, many years, and now is the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, and knows firsthand the importance of the process by which we make a law in the United States, and that includes that we pass those laws in Congress, we fund them in Congress, it’s signed by the president of the United States, and people across this nation can know, through that process those are what the laws are. And if you don’t like those laws, then elect different people who will come up with different versions of the law. But everyone, Democrat or Republican, sticks to the same version, and that is: a law is a law. 

    The President of the United States, or his Co-President Elon Musk, do not have the right, simply, to go back on the laws and say, “Oh, we pick that one, that one, and that one to enforce, and that one, no, that one, no, and maybe that one half-time.” That is not how the process works. And Senator Murray has been a leading voice in fighting back against this and I just want to say how much I appreciate all that she has done.

    So, I want to talk for just a minute about Project 2025. During the 2024 election, the American people became familiar with this Republican document called Project 2025. The document laid out Republican plans to reshape our country, if they gained control. Now, Americans, a little at a time, got a chance to see the plan. People started to read it, and they were shocked. In no time, people from across the political spectrum, not just Democrats – Democrats, Republicans, independents, made clear how much they hated Project 2025, and that they wanted no part of it. So, what was in Project 2025 that made it so widely hated across the political spectrum? A few things – firing civil servants, weaponizing the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, unleashing force onto protestors, and targeting political opponents, restricting abortion nationwide, ripping retirement and health care benefits from seniors, dismantling public education, and, biggest and best, funding tax cuts for the rich by raising taxes on America’s middle class. And, I want to be clear – it’s a big document. Those are just the top lines. 

    So Donald Trump’s response was to swear over and over and over again that he had nothing to do with those plans. Didn’t know about them, didn’t endorse them, didn’t want anything to do with them. Here are some of the things that Donald Trump said about Project 2025 back in 2024: “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have nothing to do with Project 2025. I disagree with some of the things they’re saying, and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.” And, my personal favorite, “They’ve been told, officially, legally, in every way, that we have nothing to do with Project 2025.” 

    So, think about that. During the 2024 election, Donald Trump claimed he didn’t know anything about Project 2025, but he lied. Shortly after the election, he nominated one of the chief architects of Project 2025 in a key role with the government. Now, Donald Trump has named the lead architect of Project 2025, Russ Vought, to oversee the federal government’s entire budget office. That’s right, listen to this one, he is putting the head writer of the plans that you had only read about in nightmares in a key government position. Russ Vought wrote Project 2025, and now Donald Trump is rewarding him by inviting him into the government in order to carry out the Republican blueprint to make our government force people to live in the image that Russ Vought and other extremist Republicans approve of. And he plans to rework our economy to benefit the wealthiest among us and make everybody else pay for it. 

    Here are just a few of the things that Russ Vought has called for –- Russ Vought has called on Congress to outlaw medication abortion nationwide, restricting women’s reproductive rights even in states that protect abortion. Russ Vought has encouraged discrimination against transgender people in the workplace and in health care. In his first stint as OMB Director, Russ Vought decried the use of federal funding for diversity and equity training in a letter to federal agencies. The Project 2025 playbook calls for eliminating almost every civil rights office in the federal government. And Russ Vought has said he intends to put federal workers “in trauma” and destroy the merit-based system for civil servants so that he can fill the government with right wing extremists. 

    I’m going to pause here for a minute to see if Senator Gillibrand wants to speak. 

    Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: Thank you, Senator Warren, for your unbelievable tenacity and clear-eyed and thoughtful remarks. I yield the balance of my post-cloture debate time on the vote nomination to Senator Schumer. 

    Presiding Officer: Duly noted. 

    Senator Gillibrand: Thank you again, Senator Warren. 

    Senator Warren: Let’s keep in mind, Russ Vought has called for outlawing abortion, medication abortion nationwide. Doesn’t matter whether or not you live in the state that says, “No, we’re going to protect abortion,” Russ Vought wants to find a way to make sure it’s shut down everywhere. He wants to encourage discrimination against transgender people. He thinks getting rid of civil rights is the way to go for the American government. And he says he wants to put federal workers “in trauma” and destroy the merit-based system for civil servants so he can fill up our government with right wing extremists. 

    Now, we are already seeing firsthand the devastating effects of Russ Vought’s plan for America. Russ Vought was the puppet master behind the funding shutdown that threw this country into chaos last week. I saw this in Massachusetts. Parents didn’t know if their toddlers’ day care would be open. Seniors didn’t know if the hot meal that they were expecting from Meals on Wheels would grind to a halt. No one knew if the nursing homes funded by Medicaid would be able to pay their workers. And that was just the tip of the iceberg for Russ Vought. 

    If he is confirmed, you can absolutely bet on Russ Vought pulling out the rug from working people over and over and over again. And, quite frankly, we don’t know where he will stop. This is where they started – three weeks in and this is where they’ve started. 

    So will Russ Vought, Elon Musk, and Donald Trump stop when they’ve ripped abortion rights away from every single woman in America? Will he stop when he’s abolished the Department of Education and fired 180,000 teachers from their jobs? Will he stop when he has privatized Medicare and when seniors can’t afford to go see the doctor? Will he stop when he’s done stealing from middle-class families in order to fund tax breaks for the wealthiest households? Yep, by the way, that is in his blueprint, too. Tax hikes for the middle class, tax breaks for the rich. Or will he stop when he crashes the economy? And take it from me, with these kinds of plans, crashing the economy is no longer a stretch. 

    Russ Vought’s Project 2025 proposals will lead to higher inflation, higher interest rates, and weaker economic growth. Project 2025 would seriously threaten another recession. Look, already families all across this country are feeling the pressure from high grocery prices while Donald Trump and his administration just turn their backs on working families. American families cannot afford for Russ Vought to be in charge. We don’t know how far Russ Vought’s extremism will go, but we can’t afford to wait and find out. 

    Americans voted for each and every one of us right here in the United States Senate to fight for them, and they do not expect us to roll over and play dead. It is our sworn duty to stop dangerous people like Russ Vought before he destroys our freedom, our economy, and the stability of every working family in this nation. And so I urge every senator to vote no on his nomination. 

    Video of Senator Warren’s full remarks can be found here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Embezzling from Employer

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BOSTON – The former finance director of a Florida-based company pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $5.7 million from his employer.

    Paul Schnitzer, 51, of Clermont, Fla., pleaded guilty to wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for May 6, 2025. Schnitzer was first charged in May 2024, indicted by a grand jury in June 2024, and detained in October 2024 after violating his conditions of pretrial release.

    Between January 2022 and May 2024, Schnitzer made more than 100 transfers out of his employer’s operating bank account into an investment account he controlled, disguised as “equity distributions.” To hide these transfers, Schnitzer falsified financial reports to the Massachusetts-based investment firm that owned the company. Schnitzer also secretly used a line of credit to replenish the balance in the company’s operating account after he had stolen from it.

    The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the loss to the victim. 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.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Holcomb of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Provo Man Accused of Attempting to Receive Carfentanil for Distribution in Utah is Detained

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A Utah County man was ordered to detention in federal court today after he was indicted by a federal grand jury last week and charged with a federal drug crime for allegedly attempting to have carfentanil shipped to Utah for distribution.

    Carfentanil is most commonly used as a tranquilizing agent for elephants and other large mammals. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, carfentanil is 10,000 times more potent than morphine, and 100 times more potent than fentanyl, which itself is 50 times more potent than heroin.

    According to court documents, Clint James Pendleton, 29, of Provo, Utah, attempted to receive a package containing approximately 20 grams of carfentanil on January 22, 2025. The package was destined for an address in Payson, Utah, but was intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Los Angeles International Airport in California. The package was opened and the suspected carfentanil was tested and presumptively identified as carfentanil and weighed approximately 20 grams. Subsequently, the package was tracked to Pendleton who had signed up to receive tracking updates on the package. Additionally, law enforcement discovered Pendleton allegedly had a history of his criminal activity written in a notebook that included amounts of controlled substances purchased, prices, and tracking numbers, including for carfentanil. The DEA has identified carfentanil as “crazy dangerous” and a serious growing concern as it is becoming more prevalent in our communities.

    Pendleton is charged with attempted possession of carfentanil with intent to distribute. His initial appearance on the indictment was February 5, 2025, before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

    United States Attorney Trina A. Higgins for the District of Utah made the announcement.

    The case is being investigated by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office and the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force (UCMC).

    Special Assistant United States Attorney Pete Reichman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is 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.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Four sentenced in conspiracy using victim’s Social Security numbers to steal funds

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    CORPUS CHRISTI – A 41-year-old Newark man has been ordered to federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identify theft, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

    Cory Scott Becker pleaded guilty Oct. 24, 2024.

    U.S. District Judge David S. Morales has now imposed a 36-month-term of imprisonment for Becker. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence of his and others’ roles and the scheme to steal funds. 

    Christopher Carr, 37, Corpus Christi, previously received 12 months and a day in prison, while Joseph Aguilar, 37, Corpus Christi, and Emmett Jimenez, 45, Yoakum, received 12 and 18 months, respectively.

    The investigation began after a complainant reported $30,000 was taken out of her account at a credit union in Corpus Christi. The bank’s risk management team discovered that from Feb. 16, 2022, until approximately March 8, 2022, 44 unauthorized transactions occurred from approximately 18 accounts. 

    Law enforcement interviewed account owners and verified the unauthorized withdrawals. The investigation revealed they were made through an interactive teller machine which allows fund withdrawals using a holder’s Social Security and bank account numbers.

    Authorities subsequently discovered Becker, Carr, Aguilar and Jimenez conspired to use the numbers and accounts to illegally withdraw funds from credit union account holders. 

    Becker was permitted to remain on bond pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

    The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Corpus Christi Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Liesel Roscher prosecuted the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: New York Man Sentenced To 84 Months In Prison For Conspiring To Engage In Multimillion Dollar Wire Fraud Scheme

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NEWARK, N.J. – A New York man was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced. 

    Terrell Fuller, 34, of Baldwin, New York, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to an information charging him with conspiring to commit wire fraud.

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

    Fuller and his co-conspirators submitted a fraudulent application to the Small Business Administration, which caused the SBA to provide them with approximately $1,200,000. In addition, Fuller and his co-conspirators opened bank accounts in the names of various entities and individuals, deposited illegally obtained or fraudulent checks into those accounts, and then withdrew and attempted to withdraw money from the accounts. Further, Fuller, using stolen personal identifying information, fraudulently rented locations to live in New York and failed to pay more than $400,000 in rent and fees for those locations. Through the conspiracy, Fuller and his co-conspirators obtained more than $2,000,000 in money and property through their fraudulent actions.

    In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced Fuller to 3 years of supervised release and $2,289,816.06 in restitution.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Khanna credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Franklin Township Resident Agency, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly, and special agents of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan in Newark.

    The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of the Cybercrime Unit in Newark.

                                         ###

    Defense counsel: Scott Leemon, New York City, New York

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Mehtab Syed Named Special Agent in Charge of the Salt Lake City Field Office

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

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation has named Mehtab Syed as the special agent in charge of the Salt Lake City Field Office. Ms. Syed most recently served as special agent in charge of Cyber and Counterintelligence Division in the Los Angeles Field Office.

    Ms. Syed entered on duty as an FBI special agent in August 2005. She was assigned to the New York Field Office, where she worked counterterrorism investigations and was a member of the crisis negotiation team and the rapid deployment team. 

    In 2008, Ms. Syed deployed to Islamabad, Pakistan, and served as acting assistant legal attaché. She was responsible for conducting extensive coordination between law enforcement, intelligence, and security services of multiple governments. She then returned to the New York Field Office until 2012.

    Ms. Syed was assigned to an 18-month temporary duty assignment (TDY) at the Counterterrorism Division at FBI Headquarters in 2012. She worked as the program manager for extraterritorial counterterrorism cases in the Pakistan/Afghanistan region. 

    In April 2015, Ms. Syed reported to LEGAT Amman as the assistant legal attaché. Ms. Syed returned to the New York Field Office as a supervisor for the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force (NY JTTF) in 2017. Ms. Syed was promoted to acting assistant special agent in charge of the NY JTTF’s Extraterritorial Branch in 2020.

    In November 2020, Ms. Syed was selected as the assistant special agent in charge of the cyber and counterintelligence branch of the Newark Field Office. In 2022, Ms. Syed was promoted to section chief of China Operations II Branch of the Counterintelligence Division at FBI Headquarters. In April of 2023, Ms. Syed served as special agent in charge of Cyber and Counterintelligence Division in the Los Angeles Field Office

    Prior to her career as a special agent for the FBI, Ms. Syed served at the Bureau as a contract linguist from 2004-2005. She has also worked as a financial analyst at the corporate office of Cosi, a restaurant chain with locations throughout the U.S. Ms. Syed received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Adelphi University in 2001. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Sorrento Man Indicted For Circle K Robberies In Lake And Orange Counties

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Ocala, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Jose Flores Avila (33, Sorrento) with two counts of interference with commerce by robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Each robbery offense carries a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment. The firearm offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 7 years, up to life, in federal prison, which must be served after any prison term imposed for the robberies.

    According to the indictment, Avila robbed a Circle K store in Zellwood, Florida, on May 23, 2024. During the robbery, Avila brandished a firearm and took currency and cigarettes from an employee of the business. Two days later, on May 25, 2024, Avila robbed a second Circle K store in Sorrento, Florida. In that robbery, he again took currency and cigarettes from a store employee.

    An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

    This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Belkis H. Callaos.

    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: Three Individuals Sentenced for Harboring Aliens Arriving in Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The last of three defendants was sentenced today to prison for harboring aliens that arrived in Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic.

    Together, defendants Katia Janette Nieves, Junior Melo, and Iris J. Nieves-Ríos coordinated the pickup in August 2023 of at least 50 individuals arriving unlawfully via boat on the west side of Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic. Despite knowing that these individuals were aliens not lawfully in the United States, the defendants transported them to a residence in San Juan, Puerto Rico, harbored them, and demanded money from family members in order to release the individuals.

    Junior Melo was sentenced on December 16, 2024, to 72 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Katia Janette Nieves was sentenced on January 15, 2025, to 72 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Iris J. Nieves-Ríos was sentenced today to 24 months in prison and five years of supervised release.

    U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow of the District of Puerto Rico; and Joseph González, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Juan Field Office made the announcement.

    The FBI and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau investigated the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Daynelle Álvarez-Lora and Assistant U.S. Attorney Linet Suárez prosecuted the case.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Mt. Pleasant Business Owner Sentenced to 1.5 Years in Federal Prison

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — Jonathan Ramaci, 60, of Mt. Pleasant, was sentenced to one and a half years in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and filing a false income tax return.

    Evidence presented to the court showed that Ramaci defrauded the Small Business Association in his application and receipt of approximately $214,000 of fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) loans that were authorized pursuant to the CARES Act. Evidence showed that Ramaci submitted fraudulent tax documentation to the SBA and its approved third-party lenders, that were relied on to fund a PPP loan Ramaci received. For the fraudulent EIDL loans, Ramaci falsely represented to the SBA revenue and costs of goods sold for the businesses he was applying for. 

    As for Ramaci’s tax offense, evidence submitted to the court showed that from 2017 to 2021, Ramaci either failed to file and/or filed false income tax returns and owes the IRS $289,531. Specifically, Ramaci was paying for personal expenses from a business he owned and operated, Elements of Genius, headquartered in Charleston. He was also not reporting his income.

    “This defendant’s actions revealed corrupt business practices that cost the taxpayer and the government hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Adair Ford Boroughs for the District of South Carolina. “His deceptive financial scheme warrants this prison sentence and sends the message that such practices will not be tolerated.”

    “IRS Criminal Investigation, along with our law enforcement partners, will vigorously pursue business owners who victimize their investors and violate the public trust,” said Special Agent in Charge Donald “Trey” Eakins, Charlotte Field Office, IRS-CI. “The defendant used his position of power to defraud not just his own company, but the honest, hardworking Americans who pay their tax obligations.”

    United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel sentenced Ramaci to 18 months imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system. As part of the judgement, the court ordered Ramaci to pay $538,178.88 in restitution for the offenses of conviction.  The court also ordered Ramaci to pay restitution in the amount of $1,009,684.00 to victims of offenses that the defendant did not plead guilty to, which was agreed to by the parties in the plea agreement.

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

    This case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office and IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Bower is prosecuting the case.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Stamford Man Sentenced to More Than 6 Years in Federal Prison for Robbing 3 Banks in 2020

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that FRANCESCO PENSIERO, also known as Frank Pensiero, 52, of Stamford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 78 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for robbing three Connecticut banks in 2020.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, on October 13, 2020, Pensiero and an associate robbed the Chase Bank located at 2855 Main Street in Stratford.  During the robbery, Pensiero’s associate displayed a handgun on the teller counter and presented the teller with a note that read “this is a robbery give me all your money.”  The teller provided Pensiero’s associate with approximately $1,000 and Pensiero and his associate exited the bank.

    Later on October 13, 2020, Pensiero robbed the People’s United Bank located at 1160 Kings Highway Cutoff in Fairfield.  During the robbery, he pulled out a handgun and presented the teller a note that stated “This is a robbery.”  The teller provided Pensiero with $5,458 and Pensiero exited the bank.

    On October 28, 2020, Pensiero and his associate robbed the People’s United Bank located at 95 Main Street in New Canaan.  Pensiero displayed a handgun, provided the teller with a note demanding money, verbally threatened to kill the teller and other employees, and ordered the bank employees to lie on the floor.  Pensiero and his associate stole $9,130 during the robbery, and fled from the bank in a red Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS.  The following day, the car was set on fire on Green Avenue in New Canaan.

    Pensiero was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on January 27, 2023.  On June 3, 2024, he pleaded guilty to bank robbery.

    Pensiero’s criminal history includes convictions for bank robbery and other offenses.

    Pensiero’s associate was convicted of related state offenses stemming from these robberies.

    This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Stratford, Fairfield, and New Canaan Police Departments.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Gordon.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney’s Office Secures 51-Month Sentence in Vehicular Homicide Case

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ALBUQUERQUE – A Sanostee man was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $8,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter for a fatal drunk-driving crash that occurred on the Navajo Nation.

    According to court documents, at approximately 6:30 a.m. on August 12, 2023, Leonardo Robbie Duncan, 33, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was driving while intoxicated on Navajo Route 36 near Upper Fruitland, New Mexico, when he crossed into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a vehicle occupied by Jane and John Doe.

    Duncan fled the scene on foot without checking on or assisting the victims. An off-duty Southern Ute Tribal police officer attempted to stop Duncan from leaving but was unsuccessful. John Doe died at the scene; Jane Doe passed away en route to the hospital. Both victims were enrolled members of the Navajo Nation.

    Duncan turned himself in to Navajo Nation Police six hours after the crash. At the time of surrender, his blood-alcohol content was 0.08. At the time of the incident, Duncan was on state probation for Battery on a Household Member and had recently violated this probation with an open-container offense. He also had a prior State conviction for Driving While Intoxicated from 2018.

    Upon his release from prison, Duncan will be subject to three years of supervised release.

    U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

    The Farmington Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations.

    # # #

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Inmate Sentenced to More than Four Years in Prison on Assault Charge

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal judge sentenced a federal inmate for assaulting a corrections officer, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and FBI Special Agent in Charge Carlton Peeples.

    U.S. District Court Judge R. David Proctor sentenced Christopher McCallum to 51 months in prison based on his September 2024 guilty plea to assault of an officer.

    According to the plea agreement, McCallum was a federal inmate of the Bureau of Prisons at FCI Talladega, serving a sentence for a previous federal conviction.  On February 29, 2024, McCallum became disruptive, walked toward the staff with clinched fists, and ultimately assaulted a female corrections officer.  McCallum punched her in the head and upper torso area. The corrections officer sustained multiple injuries.

    FBI investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Felton prosecuted the case.  

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Lawton Man Sentenced to Serve Life in Federal Prison for Murder After Woman’s Body is Found in Wildlife Refuge in Indian Country

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Co-Defendant Previously Sentenced to Serve 96 Months for Accessory After the Fact to Murder

    OKLAHOMA CITY – TEVIN TERRELL SEMIEN, 30, of Lawton, has been sentenced to serve life in federal prison for second-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm after a previous felony conviction, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.

    According to public record, on May 17, 2023, Karon “Dinkers” Conneywerdy Smith, 68, was found dead in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Investigators searched Smith’s home, which was within Indian Country, and observed blood consistent with a violent struggle. Smith’s vehicle was missing as well. On May 21, 2023, Texas law enforcement observed Smith’s vehicle driving south of Dallas, Texas. Officers attempted to pull the vehicle over, but the vehicle fled at a high speed and eventually crashed into a lake. The two occupants of the vehicle, later identified as Semien and Nicole Leigh Logsdon, attempted to flee on foot but were apprehended.

    On October 17, 2023, a federal grand jury returned a four-count Indictment against Semien and co-defendant Nicole Leigh Logsdon, 25, also of Lawton. The Indictment charged Semien with one count of first-degree premeditated murder, one alternative count of second-degree murder, and one count of illegally possessing a firearm after a previous felony conviction. Logsdon was separately charged with accessory after the fact to murder.

    On April 22, 2024, Semien pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm. As part of his plea, Semien admitted to deliberately and intentionally killing Smith.

    On January 10, 2024, Logsdon pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to murder and admitted to helping Semien in his attempt to avoid arrest and prosecution. On July 15, 2024, Logsdon was sentenced to serve 96 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

    At the sentencing hearing on February 3, 2025, U.S. District Judge Stephen P. Friot sentenced Semien to serve life in federal prison. In announcing his sentence, Judge Friot noted the nature and circumstances of the offense, pointing out that Semien’s choices and conduct amounted to an “unfathomably cruel and depraved murder.” Judge Friot also noted Semien’s criminal history.  Public record further reflects that Semien has previous felony convictions which include burglary in Jefferson County, Texas, and conspiracy to commit second degree burglary in Comanche County District Court case number CF-2022-292.

    This case is in federal court because Smith and Logsdon are enrolled members of the Comanche Nation and the murder occurred within Indian Country.

    This case is a result of an investigation by the FBI Oklahoma City, Dallas, and New Orleans field offices; the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the Comanche Nation Police Department; the Comanche County Sheriff’s Office; the Lawton Police Department; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Rice, Texas Police Department; and the Navarro County, Texas Sheriff’s Office. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaleigh Blackwell and Trial Attorney Mark Stoneman with DOJ’s Criminal Division (former AUSA with the Western District of Oklahoma) prosecuted the case.

    The case furthers the Department of Justice’s Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons efforts to address violence against Native American individuals. More information about this initiative is at https://www.justice.gov/tribal/mmip.

    Reference is made to public filings for more information. 

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Palm Bay Man Sentenced To More Than 11 Years In Federal Prison For Receipt Of Child Sex Abuse Material

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger has sentenced Erik Bjorndal (49, Palm Bay) to 11 years and 4 months in federal prison for receipt of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Bjorndal previously pled guilty on August 21, 2024.

    According to court documents, Bjorndal downloaded multiple videos depicting the violent sexual abuse of children. Some of the videos included sadistic and masochistic conduct and bestiality. Thereafter, the FBI executed a search warrant at Bjorndal’s home and discovered hundreds of CSAM images on his devices. During an interview with FBI agents, Bjorndal admitted to viewing CSAM for “a while,” perhaps since his late 20s.

    This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Noah P. Dorman.

    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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Michigan man sentenced to 20 years in prison for traveling to sexually abuse a minor who he removed from home in Washington and took back to Michigan

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Seattle – A 31-year-old South Haven, Michigan, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 20-years in prison for traveling with intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor and enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Keith Daniel Freerksen was arrested in South Haven Township on January 31, 2024, following an investigation that stretched from western Washington to Michigan.

    At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Tana Lin noted the trauma inflicted on the victim and the victim’s family. For 30 days they searched for the victim, even calling every morgue in Washington State with fear their child was dead. Judge Lin said the victim, “Will continue to suffer trauma and pain.”

    “What happened in this case is every parent’s nightmare – a predator comes into the home via social media and computer screens and manipulates your child to run away,” said U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. “This defendant secreted a child away, leaving a distraught family searching desperately for their loved one. When the victim should have been involved in normal teenage activities, the teen was instead manipulated and ensnared by the defendant.”

    According to records filed in the case, the 14-year-old went missing on January 5, 2024. A local police detective requested help from the FBI. An agent who specializes in Violent Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking investigations occurring in Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom, Island, and San Juan counties quickly assisted.

    By analyzing information on Uber rides that had been purchased for the victim by an unknown person, law enforcement was able to identify Freerksen, a registered sex offender in Michigan, as a potential suspect. Using information on Freerksen’s registered vehicle, they were able to trace his movement across the northern tier of states using license plate readers. The readers also captured Freerksen’s return trip through Idaho and Illinois in the days after the teen went missing.

    When the police in South Haven Township served a search warrant at the request of the FBI, they recovered the victim and arrested Freerksen. He was ultimately transported to Western Washington and has been detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac.

    In asking for the 20-year sentence Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson wrote to the court, “It is very alarming that neither of Freerksen’s family members intervened when he returned home with the then fourteen-year-old victim in tow. Freerksen was undeterred by his previous sex offense conviction, corresponding imprisonment, and registration obligation. The rapid recidivism between Freerksen’s release from prison following child pornography offenses and the dedicated months he spent manipulating and enticing (the victim) is evidence he is either unwilling or unable to refrain from sexually abusing minors.”

    The victim’s parents thanked law enforcement for finding and rescuing their child. The victim’s mother said, “I never imagined a predator would travel across the country to steal (my child).”

    The twenty-year sentence will run concurrent with a fifteen-to-seventy-year indeterminate state sentence in Michigan. Freerksen will serve his time in the federal prison system. Judge Lin ordered twenty years of supervised release to follow prison. Freerksen will once again have to register as a sex offender.

    The case was investigated by the Mount Vernon Police Department, FBI Seattle, and the Van Buren County, Michigan Sheriff’s Office and Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

    The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: International Arms Dealer Charged with Exporting U.S. Firearms to Russia

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Defendant Unlawfully Exported Semi-Automatic Rifle-Pistols from U.S. Company Through JFK International Airport

    Earlier today, an indictment was filed in federal court in Brooklyn charging Sergei Zharnovnikov, an arms dealer and citizen of Kyrgyzstan, with conspiring to export firearms from the United States to Russia without the necessary licenses and with illegal smuggling.  Zharnovnikov traveled from Kyrgyzstan to the United States last month and was arrested on January 24, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was attending the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show to meet with U.S. arms dealers.  Zharnovnikov has been detained pending trial and will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York at a later date.

    John J. Durham, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Devin DeBacker, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) and Jonathan Carson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office (BIS-OEE), announced the arrest and charges.

    “As alleged, the defendant operated a sophisticated scheme to circumvent export controls and to export semi-automatic firearms and send them to Russia,” stated United States Attorney Durham.  “Today’s indictment sends a message to the world that we will vigorously enforce statutes that control and restrict the export of items that could be detrimental to the foreign policy or national security of the United States, in this case, preventing U.S.-made firearms from getting into the wrong hands.”

    Mr. Durham thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada for its assistance with the case.

    “Violations of export control laws carry significant consequences for perpetrators in the U.S. and abroad,” said DeBacker, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.  “The Department of Justice is committed to working with our partners to hold accountable those who violate our laws to smuggle firearms to prohibited destinations such as Russia.”

    “Attempting to illegally sell arms to Russia using multiple companies may seem like a method to evade United States sanctions, it is however a definite way to end up under arrest.  Sergei Zharnovnikov is alleged to have knowingly conspired with others to violate the export control laws of the United States to provide U.S made firearms to Russian companies.  The FBI will continue to enforce the export control laws enacted to safeguard our national security.”

    “The Bureau of Industry and Security is committed to aggressively investigating the illegal transshipment of US firearms to adversaries like Russia through third countries,” said BIS-OEE Special Agent in Charge Carson.  “Companies that provide false information to BIS to obtain export authorizations to circumvent our controls will be found out and held accountable.”

    As alleged in the indictment and other court filings, since at least March 2020, the defendant, together with others, conspired to export firearms on the United States DOC Control List from the U.S. to Russia.  The defendant, the General Director and owner of an arms dealer located in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzstan Company-1), entered into a five-year, $900,000 contract with a company located in Chesapeake, Virginia (U.S. Company‑1) to purchase and export U.S. Company-1 firearms to Kyrgyzstan.  DOC issued a license for U.S. Company-1 to export firearms to Kyrgyzstan Company-1, but the license prohibited the export or re-export of the firearms to Russia.  Nevertheless, the defendant exported and re-exported U.S. Company‑1 firearms to Russia via Kyrgyzstan.  These illegally exported firearms included semi‑automatic hybrid rifle-pistols from U.S. Company-1.

    As alleged, after Kyrgyzstan Company-1 entered into a contract with U.S. Company-1, a second arms dealer company in Bishkek associated with the defendant (Kyrgyzstan Company-2) entered a contract with a Russian arms dealer (Russian Company-1) located in Moscow.  The contract between Russian Company-1 and Kyrgyzstan Company-2 provided that Kyrgyzstan Company‑2 would export “Goods” to Russian Company-1 in the amount of $10 million and noted that the “Goods” could be delivered in batches.  In correspondence in 2018, Russian Company-1 described the defendant’s company, Kyrgyzstan Company-1, as its “partner company.” 

    On or about February 3, 2021, U.S. Company-1 received an export license from DOC to export over $800,000 worth of firearms and parts to Kyrgyzstan Company-1.  The license stated that items within the scope of the license “may not be reexported or transferred (in-country),” subject to certain exceptions not applicable here.

    On or about July 2, 2022, the defendant emailed his banker: “Make payment according to the invoice attached to the letter,” and attached a commercial invoice from U.S. Company-1, which listed, among other things, 25 semi-automatic rifle-pistols with 25 unique serial numbers.  Two days later, on or about July 4, 2022, Kyrgyzstan Company‑2, sent $67,000 to Kyrgyzstan Company-1.  The next day, on or about July 5, 2022, Kyrgyzstan Company‑1 paid U.S. Company-1 $65,564—the full amount listed in the invoice from U.S. Company-1.

    According to an Electronic Export Information (EEI) made on July 7, 2022, Company-1 exported semi-automatic rifles from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Kyrgyzstan Company-1 pursuant to its February 3, 2021 export license on or about July 10, 2022. According to the EEI filing, the value of the export from U.S. Company-1 to Kyrgyzstan Company-1 was over $59,000.  The EEI filing’s corresponding license application indicated that the firearms were for “commercial resale in Kyrgyzstan.”

    On or about August 8, 2022, the defendant received a spreadsheet titled “Supply [U.S. Company-1] ([Russian Company-1]) weapon numbers.”  Russian Company-1 is a Russian company, and the DOC license did not authorize the export or re-export of the U.S. Company-1 firearms to Russia.  The spreadsheet listed the same semi-automatic rifle-pistol the defendant purchased from U.S. Company-1 and serial numbers matching the U.S. Company‑1 Invoice.

    On or about November 14, 2022, the General Director of Russian Company‑1 executed a form used by tax authorities of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union, which includes both Kyrgyzstan and Russia.  The form listed the seller as Kyrgyzstan Company‑2 and the buyer as Russian Company-1 with an address in Moscow, Russia, and identified the goods as the same semi‑automatic rifle‑pistols that U.S. Company-1 exported to Kyrgyzstan Company‑1, the defendant’s company.  The defendant did not apply for, obtain or possess a license to export or re-export the semi‑automatic pistol-rifles to Russia.

    The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted of the charges, the defendant faces up to 30 years’ imprisonment.

    The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section.  Assistant United States  Attorney Ellen H. Sise is in charge of the prosecution, along with Trial Attorney Leslie Esbrook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section (CES), with assistance from Litigation Analyst Rebecca Roth and CES Trial Attorney Scott Claffee.

    The case was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions and economic countermeasures that, beginning in 2014, the United States, along with its foreign allies and partners, has imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine.  Announced by the Attorney General on March 2, 2022, and under the leadership of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will continue to leverage all of the Department’s tools and authorities to combat efforts to evade or undermine the collective actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.

    The Defendant:

    SERGEI ZHARNOVNIKOV
    Age:  46
    Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

    E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-45 (ENV)

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