Category: Intelligence

MIL-OSI USA: Former Military Contractor Pleads Guilty for Deleting Text Messages in Antitrust Division Investigation

Source: US State of North Dakota

Today, a Federal Judge accepted a guilty plea to destruction of records in a federal investigation from a former employee of a contractor that provided operation and maintenance services to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for U.S. military installations in South Korea.

According to the information filed in the Western District of Texas, in or about July 2021, David Cruz, 37, deleted text messages with Hyuk Jin Kwon and Hyun Ki Shin. Kwon and Shin were separately charged ‌for fraud and conspiring to rig bids and fix prices on millions of dollars in maintenance and repair subcontracting work provided to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in South Korea and remain fugitives. At Kwon’s suggestion, Cruz deleted text messages after receiving a litigation hold notice from his employer requiring him not to destroy or delete communications. Cruz then covered up the deletion of those text messages after being specifically advised by his employer that there was an ongoing federal investigation.

In the deleted text messages, Cruz discussed with Kwon and Shin the need to get additional bids from their competitor to satisfy the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s competitive bidding requirements for subcontract work. Kwon had previously told Cruz that Cruz should contact him instead of requesting bids directly from Kwon’s competitors.

“The Procurement Collusion Strike Force’s commitment to safeguard taxpayer dollars from collusion and fraud is unwavering,” said Director Daniel Glad of the Justice Department’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF). “The Antitrust Division will not hesitate to prosecute individuals who unlawfully impede our investigations by destroying or covering up evidence.”

“Bid rigging and other acts of fraud against the U.S. Army not only undermine the integrity of critical procurement efforts but also put our Soldiers at risk by providing them capabilities and services which do not meet the high standards necessary to maintain peak lethality,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael DeFamio of the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division (Army CID), Far East Field Office. “Army CID is grateful for the collaborative efforts of our federal partners at the FBI and the Department of Justice, and we will continue to identify, investigate, and hold accountable those who attempts to defraud the U.S. Government, regardless of where they are in the world.”

“The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) is steadfast in its mission to protect taxpayer funds from fraud and collusion,” said Special Agent in Charge Stanley Newell of DCIS’ Transnational Field Office. “We are equally committed to relentlessly pursuing those who attempt to obstruct our investigations through the destruction or concealment of evidence.”

“Mr. Cruz knowingly destroyed records that were part of an ongoing criminal investigation and has now acknowledged his crime” said Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI is committed to holding accountable military contractors who flout the bidding process and intentionally destroy evidence of their guilt.”

Destruction of records in a federal investigation carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other relevant factors.

The Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal Section, Army CID, DCIS, and the FBI investigated the case.

Assistant Chief Daniel E. Lipton and Trial Attorney Daniel P. Chung of the Antitrust Division prosecuted the case with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew B. Devlin for the Western District of Texas.

In November 2019, the Justice Department created the PCSF, a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government — federal, state and local. To learn more about the PCSF, or to report information on bid rigging, price fixing, market allocation and other anticompetitive conduct related to government spending, go to www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force. Anyone with information in connection with this investigation can contact the PCSF at the link listed above.

MIL OSI USA News –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Orange, Texas man sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for fatal fentanyl overdose

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

BEAUMONT, Texas – An Orange, Texas man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for his role in a fatal fentanyl overdose in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.

Lawrence Duguett Hardin, Jr., 39, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on April 1, 2025.

According to information presented in court, on August 17, 2023, law enforcement officers responded to an overdose death in Humble, Texas. Autopsy results determined the victim died due to the toxic effects of fentanyl. An investigation determined Hardin to be responsible for supplying the fentanyl that led to the individual’s death. A search warrant was executed at Hardin’s residence in Orange and a substance containing fentanyl and weighing 365.2 grams was discovered.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has issued a Public Safety Alert warning Americans of the alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. The Public Safety Alert coincides with the launch of DEA’s One Pill Can Kill Public Awareness Campaign to educate the public of the dangers of counterfeit pills and urges all Americans to take only medications prescribed by a medical professional and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist. The campaign aims to raise public awareness of a significant nationwide surge in fake pills that are mass-produced by criminal drug networks in labs, deceptively marketed as legitimate prescription pills, and are killing unsuspecting Americans at an unprecedented rate. For more information, please visit https://www.dea.gov/onepill.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; Orange Police Department; Houston Police Department; West Orange Police Department; Bridge City Police Department; Harris County Constable’s Office Precinct 4; Jefferson County Crime Laboratory; and Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Lee and Rachel Grove.

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April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Bemidji Man Sentenced to 21 Years in Prison for Advertising, Distributing Images of Child Sexual Abuse Over the Dark Web

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Craig James Myran, a Bemidji man, was sentenced today to 262 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for his involvement with a site on the dark web dedicated to the advertisement and distribution of images and videos depicting child sexual abuse and his possession of similar material in his apartment.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Craig James Myran, 47, of Bemidji, Minnesota, was an active participant on a site on the dark web that was dedicated to discussing and trafficking in child sexual abuse material. For years, he used an account with a unique username to make over a thousand posts in which he shared images of child sexual abuse on the site. In at least one post, Myran requested specific files of known child sexual abuse material from other users. And in another post, he advertised over 100 images depicting the sadomasochistic sexual abuse of two prepubescent minors. FBI special agents executed a search warrant on Myran’s apartment in Bemidji on Dec. 8, 2022, where they found numerous hard drives and a cell phone. Forensic analysis of these devices uncovered evidence establishing that Myran was the user of this unique account on the dark web site — including files of the child sexual abuse material that he shared and requested on the website, as well as a message directed to his unique alias — and thousands of other images of child sexual abuse material.

According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, Myran’s sexual exploitation of minors was not limited to his activity on this particular dark-web site. He was simultaneously an active participant on multiple other dark-web sites dedicated to trafficking in child sexual abuse material and reported that he previously produced his own child sexual abuse material by screen-recording minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct during online webcam interactions.
On Nov. 20, 2024, a federal jury convicted Myran for advertising, distributing, and possessing material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge Eric C. Tostrud. In handing down the sentence, Judge Tostrud remarked, “The defendant’s crimes reflected disregard for the victims’ humanity. He treated society’s most vulnerable victims, young children, as sex objects and nothing more.” Judge Tostrud added that Myran’s “crimes were far from impulsive. He did not stumble onto the dark web by accident. He used it in an effort to conceal his activities, because he knew what he was doing was very wrong.” Judge Tostrud concluded that Myran’s “depraved mind” and his “refusal to accept any responsibility” for his crimes created a “serious need to protect the public.”

“Crimes involving the sexual abuse of children are incalculably serious,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick. “For decades, believing he was protected by the dark web’s cloak of anonymity, Myran proudly trafficked in child sexual abuse material. He was deeply enmeshed in dark-web communities —sprawling criminal enterprises and flourishing online communities where offenders from around the world gather to normalize and encourage their sexual interest in children. This depraved behavior is sick, it is wrong, and it is not acceptable in Minnesota.”

The case is the result of an investigation by the FBI Minneapolis Field Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. It was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Green for the District of Minnesota and Trial Attorney William G. Clayman of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) prosecuted the case.

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April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Possessing Methamphetamine and Firearms

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Mexican National, residing in Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court today to illegally possessing more than a kilogram of methamphetamine and firearms.

Roberto Rosales Gonzales, 24, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays, to one count of possession with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

On Thursday, March 21, 2024, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Gonzales’s residence. During the search of the residence, officers found 59 firearms of various calibers, including two suspected machine guns, assorted ammunition, a firearm silencer, and an inert hand grenade. Officers also found approximately 114.1 grams of suspected fentanyl pills, approximately 1.3 kilograms of methamphetamine, approximately 31.4 grams of suspected heroin, and more than $22,000 in cash.

Under federal statutes, Gonzales is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad K. Kavanaugh. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

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.

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April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Laredo man admits to robbing bank which led to dangerous pursuit

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

LAREDO, Texas – A 42-year-old resident of Laredo has pleaded guilty to robbing Falcon International Bank, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

On June 10, 2024, Adrian Hernandez entered the location at 212 Bob Bullock Loop in Laredo. He approached the counter and passed a note to the bank teller which read – “this is a bank robbery, give me all the money.”

Hernandez had a gray shirt wrapped around his hand to conceal, or appear to conceal, a weapon. The teller activated the silent alarm and placed the money that was in her teller drawer, including bait money, into a brown paper bag and handed it to Hernandez. He then left the bank, got into his car and sped away.

Authorities later observed a car matching the description of Hernandez’s vehicle parked at a motel. They attempted a felony stop but Hernandez evaded, and a chase ensued. Eventually, Hernandez collided with a chain link fence in the vicinity of Salinas Avenue.

At the time of his arrest, he was wearing the same clothing as viewed in the security footage from the Falcon International Bank.

Law enforcement also found a large amount of cash in the car as well as a yellow note and blue marker.

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo will impose sentencing at a later date. At that time, Hernandez faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. He will remain in custody pending that hearing.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Makens is prosecuting the case.

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April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Former Military Contractor Pleads Guilty for Deleting Text Messages in Antitrust Division Investigation

Source: United States Attorneys General 11

Today, a Federal Judge accepted a guilty plea to destruction of records in a federal investigation from a former employee of a contractor that provided operation and maintenance services to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for U.S. military installations in South Korea.

According to the information filed in the Western District of Texas, in or about July 2021, David Cruz, 37, deleted text messages with Hyuk Jin Kwon and Hyun Ki Shin. Kwon and Shin were separately charged ‌for fraud and conspiring to rig bids and fix prices on millions of dollars in maintenance and repair subcontracting work provided to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in South Korea and remain fugitives. At Kwon’s suggestion, Cruz deleted text messages after receiving a litigation hold notice from his employer requiring him not to destroy or delete communications. Cruz then covered up the deletion of those text messages after being specifically advised by his employer that there was an ongoing federal investigation.

In the deleted text messages, Cruz discussed with Kwon and Shin the need to get additional bids from their competitor to satisfy the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s competitive bidding requirements for subcontract work. Kwon had previously told Cruz that Cruz should contact him instead of requesting bids directly from Kwon’s competitors.

“The Procurement Collusion Strike Force’s commitment to safeguard taxpayer dollars from collusion and fraud is unwavering,” said Director Daniel Glad of the Justice Department’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF). “The Antitrust Division will not hesitate to prosecute individuals who unlawfully impede our investigations by destroying or covering up evidence.”

“Bid rigging and other acts of fraud against the U.S. Army not only undermine the integrity of critical procurement efforts but also put our Soldiers at risk by providing them capabilities and services which do not meet the high standards necessary to maintain peak lethality,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael DeFamio of the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division (Army CID), Far East Field Office. “Army CID is grateful for the collaborative efforts of our federal partners at the FBI and the Department of Justice, and we will continue to identify, investigate, and hold accountable those who attempts to defraud the U.S. Government, regardless of where they are in the world.”

“The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) is steadfast in its mission to protect taxpayer funds from fraud and collusion,” said Special Agent in Charge Stanley Newell of DCIS’ Transnational Field Office. “We are equally committed to relentlessly pursuing those who attempt to obstruct our investigations through the destruction or concealment of evidence.”

“Mr. Cruz knowingly destroyed records that were part of an ongoing criminal investigation and has now acknowledged his crime” said Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI is committed to holding accountable military contractors who flout the bidding process and intentionally destroy evidence of their guilt.”

Destruction of records in a federal investigation carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other relevant factors.

The Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal Section, Army CID, DCIS, and the FBI investigated the case.

Assistant Chief Daniel E. Lipton and Trial Attorney Daniel P. Chung of the Antitrust Division prosecuted the case with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew B. Devlin for the Western District of Texas.

In November 2019, the Justice Department created the PCSF, a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government — federal, state and local. To learn more about the PCSF, or to report information on bid rigging, price fixing, market allocation and other anticompetitive conduct related to government spending, go to www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force. Anyone with information in connection with this investigation can contact the PCSF at the link listed above.

MIL Security OSI –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Video: Myanmar, Haiti & other topics – Daily Press Briefing (1 April 2025) | United Nations

Source: United Nations (Video News)

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
– Myanmar/ Humanitarian
– Myanmar / Special Envoy
– Central Asia
– Haiti
– Deputy Secretary-General/Trip Announcement
– Lebanon/Israel
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Syria
– South Sudan
– Sudan
– Democratic Republic of the Congo
– Central African Republic
– Ukraine
– Briefing

MYANMAR/ HUMANITARIAN
The Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator ad interim for Myanmar, Marcoluigi Corsi, today called on the world to step up support for the people of Myanmar.
Mr. Corsi returned yesterday from a two-day visit to Nay Pyi Taw territory, where he witnessed the widespread destruction of infrastructure, including buildings, roads, and bridges.
He said the most urgent needs are drinking water, hygiene, shelter, food, and medicine.
The UN and its partners, many of whom were in Myanmar already, are actively delivering supplies while conducting assessments to determine the full scale of the needs. Some of these supplies include food, drinking water, shelter and medicine.
The UN Refugee Agency have also rushed emergency supplies from Yangon to some 25,000 earthquake survivors in the Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw areas and are mobilizing more relief items from their existing stocks in Myanmar.
UNICEF and its partners have begun delivering emergency water, sanitation and hygiene kits, medical kits and nutrition supplies – all from its pre-positioned stocks.
The agency is also mobilizing an additional 80 metric tonnes of critical supplies from its global hubs. But, they say this is not enough given the scale of the disaster people of Myanmar are facing.
Telecommunications disruptions, damaged roads and debris continue to hinder the response. Severe shortages of medical supplies, including trauma kits, blood bags, anesthetics, assistive devices, essential medicines and tents for health workers.
Search-and-rescue operations continue and responders work tirelessly to save those trapped under collapsed buildings. Currently, 25 urban search-and-rescue teams from 13 countries are operating in the country.
The UN remains deeply committed to reaching people in Myanmar who need aid and we must act swiftly to provide relief before the upcoming monsoon season, which risks worsening the crisis.
Even before this disaster, Myanmar faced an overwhelming humanitarian crisis, with nearly 20 million people in need due to conflict and climate-induced disasters, including recent severe flooding.
Yet, the humanitarian response remains critically underfunded, with $56 million received so far, which is just 5 per cent of the $1.1 billion required.

MYANMAR / SPECIAL ENVOY
The Special Envoy on Myanmar, Julie Bishop, said she stands in solidarity with the people of Myanmar as the devastating earthquake has worsened an already dire situation. Many victims still cannot be reached due to severe damage, she said, adding that the earthquake has laid bare the deeper vulnerabilities facing Myanmar’s people and underscored the need for sustained international attention to the broader crisis.
She called for all sides to urgently allow space for humanitarian relief and ensure that aid workers can operate in safety.
Continuing military operations in disaster-affected areas risk further loss of life, Ms. Bishop said, as she called on all parties to the conflict to immediately cease hostilities and focus their efforts on the protection of civilians, including aid workers, and the delivery of life-saving assistance.
A number of countries including Myanmar’s neighbors and ASEAN mechanisms have provided immediate support. The Special Envoy appeals to Member States and other donors to swiftly provide flexible funding to scale up the response.

CENTRAL ASIA
The Secretary-General welcomes the trilateral summit of the leaders of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan, which took place on 31 March in Khujand, Tajikistan.
The summit saw the signing of a trilateral agreement defining the Junction Point of the State Borders of the three countries. It follows the earlier signing of the Treaty on the State Border between the Kyrgyz Republic and Republic of Tajikistan on 13 March. 
The Secretary-General welcomes and encourages further steps to strengthen the spirit of mutual trust, good-neighbourly relations and cooperation in Central Asia. 

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=01%20April%202025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3dFvgGypjA

MIL OSI Video –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: SEC Charges Three Arizona Individuals with Defrauding Investors in $284 Million Municipal Bond Offering That Financed Sports Complex

Source: Securities and Exchange Commission

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Randall “Randy” Miller, Chad Miller, and Jeffrey De Laveaga with creating false documents that were provided to investors in two municipal bond offerings that raised $284 million to build one of the largest sports venues of its kind in the United States.

As alleged in the SEC’s complaint, in August 2020 and June 2021, Randy Miller’s nonprofit company, Legacy Cares, issued approximately $284 million in municipal bonds through an Arizona state entity to finance the construction of a multi-sports park and family entertainment center in Mesa, Arizona. Investors were to be paid from revenue from the sports complex, and investors were given financial projections for revenue that were multiple times the amount needed to cover payments to investors, according to the complaint. However, the complaint alleges that the defendants fabricated or altered documents forming the basis for those revenue projections, including letters of intent and contracts with sports clubs, leagues, and other entities to use the sports complex. The sports complex opened in January 2022 with far fewer events and much lower attendance and generated tens of millions less in revenue than expected under the false projections, and the bonds defaulted in October 2022, according to the complaint.

“As our complaint alleges, these defendants used fake documents to deceive municipal bond investors into believing a sports complex would generate more than enough revenue to make payments to bondholders,” said Antonia Apps, Acting Deputy Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Maintaining the integrity of the approximately $4 trillion municipal bond market is critical for local governments and investors alike. The SEC will hold accountable individuals who defraud municipal bond investors.”

The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges Randy Miller, Chad Miller, and De Laveaga with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks permanent injunctions, conduct-based injunctions, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York today announced criminal charges for similar conduct.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by William T. Salzmann, Jonathan Grant, Joseph Chimienti, and Creighton Papier and supervised by David Zhou and Rebecca Olsen of the Public Finance Abuse Unit. They were assisted by Steven Varholik of the San Francisco Regional Office. The litigation will be led by Jason Bussey of the San Francisco Regional Office, Mr. Salzmann, and Mr. Grant. The SEC’s investigation is ongoing. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI.

MIL OSI USA News –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Iranian Company and Two Iranian Nationals Charged with Conspiring to Provide Material Support to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and for Scheme to Procure U.S. Technology for Iranian Attack Drones

Source: US State of California

Concurrent Action with Department of the Treasury Targets Illicit Iranian Weapons Procurement Network

A criminal complaint was unsealed today charging Hossein Akbari, 63, and Reza Amidi, 62, both of Iran, and an Iranian company, Rah Roshd Company (Rah Roshd), with conspiring to procure U.S. parts for Iranian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, also known as drones), conspiring to provide material support to the IRGC – a designated foreign terrorist organization – and conspiring to commit money laundering.

Akbari is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rah Roshd. Amidi is the company’s commercial manager and was previously the commercial manager of Qods Aviation Industries (QAI), an Iranian state-owned aerospace company. They are both citizens of Iran and remain at large.

“Today’s charges lay bare how U.S.-made technology ended up in the hands of the Iranian military to build attack drones,” said Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will continue to put maximum pressure on the Iranian regime. We will relentlessly dismantle illicit supply chains funneling American technology into the hands of Iran’s military and terrorist organizations and pursue those complicit in operations that threaten our country.”

“As alleged in the complaint, the defendants conspired to obtain U.S.-origin parts needed to manufacture drones for military use in Iran and send those parts to Iran in violation of export control laws,” said U.S. Attorney John J. Durham for the Eastern District of New York. “The charges filed today demonstrate the commitment by my office and our law enforcement partners to dismantle illicit supply chains and prosecute those who unlawfully procure U.S. technology in support of a foreign terrorist organization. The IRGC and QAI have been core players in the Iranian military regime’s production of drones, which threaten the lives of civilians, U.S. personnel and our country’s allies. These charges should serve as a warning to those who violate U.S. export control laws and who unlawfully seek to aid Iran’s drone program.”

“The allegations in this case demonstrate the lengths Iranian companies take to evade U.S. sanctions, victimize U.S. businesses, and support the IRGC’s production of drones,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “The FBI and our partners will use all authorities to stop those who seek to evade sanctions and engage in money laundering schemes that support terrorist activities and threaten the lives and interests of Americans and our allies.”

According to court documents, Akbari and Amidi operate Rah Roshd which procures and supplies advanced electronic, electro-optical and security systems to the Government of Iran and designs, builds, and manufactures ground support systems for UAVs. Rah Roshd’s clients include the IRGC and several Iranian state-owned aerospace companies and drone manufacturers, including QAI, Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center (SAIRC) and Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group (SBIG).

Between January 2020 and the present, Amidi and Akbari used Rah Roshd in furtherance of a scheme to evade U.S. sanctions and procure U.S.-origin parts for use in Iranian-manufactured UAVs, including the Mohajer-6 UAV. At least one of those parts was manufactured by a Brooklyn, New York-based company (Company-1). In September 2022, the Ukranian Air Force shot down an Iranian-made Mohajer-6 drone used by the Russian military in Ukraine. The drone recovered by the Ukrainian Air Force contained parts made by several U.S. companies, including Company-1)

To facilitate their scheme, Amidi and Akbari falsely purported to represent companies other than Rah Roshd, including a company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (Company-2) and a company based in Belgium (Company-3). The defendants used a “spoofed” email address, containing a misspelled version of Company-2’s name, to communicate regarding the procurement of parts, including parts manufactured by U.S. companies. The defendants also used various “front” or “shell” companies to pay for UAV parts and to obfuscate the true end destination and the true identities of the sanctioned end users, including QAI and the IRGC, which were acquiring U.S.-made parts through Rah Roshd. Amidi and Akbari also used aliases to obfuscate their true identities in furtherance of the scheme.

Additionally, the defendants conspired to provide material support to the IRGC by providing goods and services, including constructing military shelters, providing cameras and drone field hangers and conspiring to procure drone parts as well as parts to operate drones, including servo motors, pneumatic masts, and engines, for the benefit of the IRGC’s military campaign. The investigation uncovered correspondence from the IRGC, signed by the head of the UAV Command for the IRGC’s Aerospace Force, thanking Rah Roshd for its work on behalf of the IRGC and praising Rah Roshd’s achievements in designing and manufacturing “servo motors” for defense equipment. The letter also included a quote from the Supreme Leader of Iran regarding the importance of self-sufficiency and domestic production to strengthen Iran’s economy and “disappoint the enemies of the Islamic Republic.” The letter also noted continued efforts of Rah Roshd “in strengthening the defensive capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Both Amidi and Akbari possessed documents indicating that they had purchased servo motors for delivery to Iran, including a servo motor contained in the Mohajer-6 drone. Akbari also emailed supplier companies located in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and noted that he was purchasing parts for drones to be shipped to Iran.

Finally, Amidi and Akbari conspired to commit money laundering. They used at least three shell companies, which were all based in the UAE, to pay a PRC-based company that sent invoices to Rah Roshd for the sale of motors. Those payments were processed through U.S.-based correspondent bank accounts. The defendants also used two of these shell companies to pay a separate PRC-based company for the sale of pneumatic masts, which are a component of the operation of the Mohajer-6 drone.

Concurrent with today’s criminal complaint, the Department of Treasury announced sanctions targeting a network of six entities and two individuals based in Iran, the UAE, and the PRC responsible for the procurement of UAV components on behalf of QAI — a leading manufacturer for Iran’s UAV program. According to the Treasury, this network has also facilitated procurement for other entities in Iran’s military-industrial complex, including Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA) and SBIG. Today’s action marks the second round of sanctions targeting Iranian weapons proliferators since the President issued National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 on Feb. 4, ordering a campaign of maximum pressure on Iran.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nina C. Gupta and Lindsey R. Oken for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Rebecca Roth, Trial Attorney Scott Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and Trial Attorney Charles Kovats of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Today’s actions were coordinated through the Justice and Commerce Departments’ Disruptive Technology Strike Force. The Disruptive Technology Strike Force is an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation states.

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

MIL OSI USA News –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Justice Department to Surge Resources to Indian Country to Investigate Unresolved Violent Crimes

Source: US State of California

Operation Not Forgotten Will Surge 60 FBI Personnel to 10 FBI Field Offices to Support Investigations of Indian Country Violent Crimes

The Justice Department today announced that it will surge FBI assets across the country to address unresolved violent crimes in Indian Country, including crimes relating to missing and murdered indigenous persons.

FBI will send 60 personnel, rotating in 90-day temporary duty assignments over a six-month period. This operation is the longest and most intense national deployment of FBI resources to address Indian Country crime to date. FBI personnel will support field offices in Albuquerque; Denver; Detroit; Jackson, Miss.; Minneapolis; Oklahoma City; Phoenix; Portland, Oreg.; Seattle; and Salt Lake City. The FBI will work in partnership with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal law enforcement agencies across jurisdictions.

FBI personnel will be assisted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit, and they will use the latest forensic evidence processing tools to solve cases and hold perpetrators accountable. U.S. Attorney’s Offices will aggressively prosecute case referrals.

“Crime rates in American Indian and Alaska Native communities are unacceptably high,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “By surging FBI resources and collaborating closely with U.S. Attorneys and Tribal law enforcement to prosecute cases, the Department of Justice will help deliver the accountability that these communities deserve.”

“The FBI will manhunt violent criminals on all lands – and Operation Not Forgotten ensures a surge in resources to locate violent offenders on tribal lands and find those who have gone missing,” said FBI Director Kash Patel.

Indian Country faces persistent levels of crime and victimization. At the beginning of Fiscal Year 2025, FBI’s Indian Country program had approximately 4,300 open investigations, including over 900 death investigations, 1,000 child abuse investigations, and more than 500 domestic violence and adult sexual abuse investigations.

Operation Not Forgotten renews efforts begun during President Trump’s first term under E.O. 13898, Establishing the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. This is the third deployment under Operation Not Forgotten, which has provided investigative support to over 500 cases in the past two years. Combined, these operations resulted in the recovery of 10 child victims, 52 arrests, and 25 indictments or judicial complaints.

Operation Not Forgotten also expands upon the resources deployed in recent years to address cases of missing and murdered indigenous people. The effort will be supported by the Department’s MMIP Regional Outreach Program, which places attorneys and coordinators in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the United States to help prevent and respond to cases of missing or murdered indigenous people.

MIL OSI USA News –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Justice Department to Surge Resources to Indian Country to Investigate Unresolved Violent Crimes

Source: United States Attorneys General 2

Operation Not Forgotten Will Surge 60 FBI Personnel to 10 FBI Field Offices to Support Investigations of Indian Country Violent Crimes

The Justice Department today announced that it will surge FBI assets across the country to address unresolved violent crimes in Indian Country, including crimes relating to missing and murdered indigenous persons.

FBI will send 60 personnel, rotating in 90-day temporary duty assignments over a six-month period. This operation is the longest and most intense national deployment of FBI resources to address Indian Country crime to date. FBI personnel will support field offices in Albuquerque; Denver; Detroit; Jackson, Miss.; Minneapolis; Oklahoma City; Phoenix; Portland, Oreg.; Seattle; and Salt Lake City. The FBI will work in partnership with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal law enforcement agencies across jurisdictions.

FBI personnel will be assisted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit, and they will use the latest forensic evidence processing tools to solve cases and hold perpetrators accountable. U.S. Attorney’s Offices will aggressively prosecute case referrals.

“Crime rates in American Indian and Alaska Native communities are unacceptably high,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “By surging FBI resources and collaborating closely with U.S. Attorneys and Tribal law enforcement to prosecute cases, the Department of Justice will help deliver the accountability that these communities deserve.”

“The FBI will manhunt violent criminals on all lands – and Operation Not Forgotten ensures a surge in resources to locate violent offenders on tribal lands and find those who have gone missing,” said FBI Director Kash Patel.

Indian Country faces persistent levels of crime and victimization. At the beginning of Fiscal Year 2025, FBI’s Indian Country program had approximately 4,300 open investigations, including over 900 death investigations, 1,000 child abuse investigations, and more than 500 domestic violence and adult sexual abuse investigations.

Operation Not Forgotten renews efforts begun during President Trump’s first term under E.O. 13898, Establishing the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. This is the third deployment under Operation Not Forgotten, which has provided investigative support to over 500 cases in the past two years. Combined, these operations resulted in the recovery of 10 child victims, 52 arrests, and 25 indictments or judicial complaints.

Operation Not Forgotten also expands upon the resources deployed in recent years to address cases of missing and murdered indigenous people. The effort will be supported by the Department’s MMIP Regional Outreach Program, which places attorneys and coordinators in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the United States to help prevent and respond to cases of missing or murdered indigenous people.

MIL Security OSI –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Iranian Company and Two Iranian Nationals Charged with Conspiring to Provide Material Support to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and for Scheme to Procure U.S. Technology for Iranian Attack Drones

Source: United States Attorneys General 7

Concurrent Action with Department of the Treasury Targets Illicit Iranian Weapons Procurement Network

A criminal complaint was unsealed today charging Hossein Akbari, 63, and Reza Amidi, 62, both of Iran, and an Iranian company, Rah Roshd Company (Rah Roshd), with conspiring to procure U.S. parts for Iranian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, also known as drones), conspiring to provide material support to the IRGC – a designated foreign terrorist organization – and conspiring to commit money laundering.

Akbari is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rah Roshd. Amidi is the company’s commercial manager and was previously the commercial manager of Qods Aviation Industries (QAI), an Iranian state-owned aerospace company. They are both citizens of Iran and remain at large.

“Today’s charges lay bare how U.S.-made technology ended up in the hands of the Iranian military to build attack drones,” said Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will continue to put maximum pressure on the Iranian regime. We will relentlessly dismantle illicit supply chains funneling American technology into the hands of Iran’s military and terrorist organizations and pursue those complicit in operations that threaten our country.”

“As alleged in the complaint, the defendants conspired to obtain U.S.-origin parts needed to manufacture drones for military use in Iran and send those parts to Iran in violation of export control laws,” said U.S. Attorney John J. Durham for the Eastern District of New York. “The charges filed today demonstrate the commitment by my office and our law enforcement partners to dismantle illicit supply chains and prosecute those who unlawfully procure U.S. technology in support of a foreign terrorist organization. The IRGC and QAI have been core players in the Iranian military regime’s production of drones, which threaten the lives of civilians, U.S. personnel and our country’s allies. These charges should serve as a warning to those who violate U.S. export control laws and who unlawfully seek to aid Iran’s drone program.”

“The allegations in this case demonstrate the lengths Iranian companies take to evade U.S. sanctions, victimize U.S. businesses, and support the IRGC’s production of drones,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “The FBI and our partners will use all authorities to stop those who seek to evade sanctions and engage in money laundering schemes that support terrorist activities and threaten the lives and interests of Americans and our allies.”

According to court documents, Akbari and Amidi operate Rah Roshd which procures and supplies advanced electronic, electro-optical and security systems to the Government of Iran and designs, builds, and manufactures ground support systems for UAVs. Rah Roshd’s clients include the IRGC and several Iranian state-owned aerospace companies and drone manufacturers, including QAI, Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center (SAIRC) and Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group (SBIG).

Between January 2020 and the present, Amidi and Akbari used Rah Roshd in furtherance of a scheme to evade U.S. sanctions and procure U.S.-origin parts for use in Iranian-manufactured UAVs, including the Mohajer-6 UAV. At least one of those parts was manufactured by a Brooklyn, New York-based company (Company-1). In September 2022, the Ukranian Air Force shot down an Iranian-made Mohajer-6 drone used by the Russian military in Ukraine. The drone recovered by the Ukrainian Air Force contained parts made by several U.S. companies, including Company-1)

To facilitate their scheme, Amidi and Akbari falsely purported to represent companies other than Rah Roshd, including a company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (Company-2) and a company based in Belgium (Company-3). The defendants used a “spoofed” email address, containing a misspelled version of Company-2’s name, to communicate regarding the procurement of parts, including parts manufactured by U.S. companies. The defendants also used various “front” or “shell” companies to pay for UAV parts and to obfuscate the true end destination and the true identities of the sanctioned end users, including QAI and the IRGC, which were acquiring U.S.-made parts through Rah Roshd. Amidi and Akbari also used aliases to obfuscate their true identities in furtherance of the scheme.

Additionally, the defendants conspired to provide material support to the IRGC by providing goods and services, including constructing military shelters, providing cameras and drone field hangers and conspiring to procure drone parts as well as parts to operate drones, including servo motors, pneumatic masts, and engines, for the benefit of the IRGC’s military campaign. The investigation uncovered correspondence from the IRGC, signed by the head of the UAV Command for the IRGC’s Aerospace Force, thanking Rah Roshd for its work on behalf of the IRGC and praising Rah Roshd’s achievements in designing and manufacturing “servo motors” for defense equipment. The letter also included a quote from the Supreme Leader of Iran regarding the importance of self-sufficiency and domestic production to strengthen Iran’s economy and “disappoint the enemies of the Islamic Republic.” The letter also noted continued efforts of Rah Roshd “in strengthening the defensive capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Both Amidi and Akbari possessed documents indicating that they had purchased servo motors for delivery to Iran, including a servo motor contained in the Mohajer-6 drone. Akbari also emailed supplier companies located in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and noted that he was purchasing parts for drones to be shipped to Iran.

Finally, Amidi and Akbari conspired to commit money laundering. They used at least three shell companies, which were all based in the UAE, to pay a PRC-based company that sent invoices to Rah Roshd for the sale of motors. Those payments were processed through U.S.-based correspondent bank accounts. The defendants also used two of these shell companies to pay a separate PRC-based company for the sale of pneumatic masts, which are a component of the operation of the Mohajer-6 drone.

Concurrent with today’s criminal complaint, the Department of Treasury announced sanctions targeting a network of six entities and two individuals based in Iran, the UAE, and the PRC responsible for the procurement of UAV components on behalf of QAI — a leading manufacturer for Iran’s UAV program. According to the Treasury, this network has also facilitated procurement for other entities in Iran’s military-industrial complex, including Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA) and SBIG. Today’s action marks the second round of sanctions targeting Iranian weapons proliferators since the President issued National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 on Feb. 4, ordering a campaign of maximum pressure on Iran.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nina C. Gupta and Lindsey R. Oken for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Rebecca Roth, Trial Attorney Scott Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and Trial Attorney Charles Kovats of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Today’s actions were coordinated through the Justice and Commerce Departments’ Disruptive Technology Strike Force. The Disruptive Technology Strike Force is an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation states.

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

MIL Security OSI –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Fort Collins Resident Charged in Connection With Incident at Tesla Service Center in Loveland

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Cooper Jo Frederick, of Fort Collins, Colorado, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of Malicious Destruction and Attempted Destruction of Property by Fire, and one count of Possession of an Unregistered Destructive Device. The indictment was brought in connection with a fire at a Tesla Service Center in Loveland, CO, which investigators determined had been caused by an incendiary device. Frederick was arrested Friday, March 27, 2025, in Frisco, Texas.

The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation is being handled by the Denver Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Loveland Police Department, with assistance from the Dallas Field Office of the ATF, the FBI Dallas Field Office, and the Frisco, Texas Police Department. The prosecution is being handled by the Violent Crimes and Immigration Enforcement Section of the United States Attorney’s Office.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

Case Number: 25-cr-00105-NYW

MIL Security OSI –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: KC Area Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Machine Guns

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today for possessing and transferring three machine gun conversion devices.

Demetrius Harris, also known as “Meech,” 24, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill A. Morris, to one count of illegally possessing machine guns – an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 multi-caliber firearm with an AR-type machine gun conversion device and two AR-type machine gun conversion devices.

On Jan. 24, 2024, Harris sold an AR-style firearm containing an auto sear, two additional auto sears, and ammunition to an undercover agent for $1,060.

Machine gun conversion devices, also known as “switches” or “auto sears,” are used to convert semi-automatic weapons into machine guns that fire multiple shots automatically through a single pull of the trigger, enabling more rapid and often less accurate gunfire. Whether or not they are attached to a firearm, these devices constitute machine guns under federal law. It is therefore illegal to possess, sell, or use machine gun conversion devices.

Under federal statutes, Harris is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad K. Kavanaugh. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

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 –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Former Official of St. Louis County Charity Admits Stealing Nearly $700,000

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

ST. LOUIS – A former official of a charity that houses adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities on Tuesday admitted embezzling about $690,000 over more than a decade.

Joelle Fouse, 57, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of wire fraud in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. Fouse was the manager / director of finance and human resources for the charity and was responsible for payroll, expense reimbursement and maintaining the charity’s books and records. She admitted stealing from the charity in multiple ways.

Fouse caused 181 unauthorized expense payments totaling $407,186 to be transferred into bank accounts she controlled by providing false expense reimbursement information to a third-party payroll processing company. She provided false payroll information that triggered 71 other unauthorized payments totaling $139,810. Her theft, and the unauthorized payments, caused the charity to overpay payroll taxes by approximately $10,694. Fouse also used her company credit card to make 184 unauthorized purchases totaling $133,210. She attempted to cover up her crimes by falsifying financial and accounting records.

Fouse admitted using the money to pay for personal expenses for herself and relatives including travel, clothing, entertainment, restaurants and rent payments. Fouse’s fraud limited the charity’s ability to provide services to the disabled adults it served.

Fouse worked for the charity from October 2012 through December 2023, when she was terminated and her employer contacted federal authorities.

Fouse is scheduled to be sentenced on July 10. Each wire fraud charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith is prosecuting the case.

MIL Security OSI –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Law Enforcement Arrests Man for Making Death Threats Toward Federal Official and MPD Officer

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

WASHINGTON – Robert Andrew Cooper, 68, of Washington D.C., was arrested today and charged in a two-count federal indictment with repeatedly making threatening phone calls, in December 2024, during which he allegedly said he intended to kill a federal official and an officer of the Metropolitan Police Department.

The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

Cooper is charged with two counts of interstate communications with a threat to kidnap or injure. He will make an initial appearance at 1:30 p.m. today.

The case is being investigated by the FBI. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan Horan.

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

MIL Security OSI –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: FBI Boston Warns Quit Claim Deed Fraud is on the Rise
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)

Landowners and Real Estate Agents Urged to Take Action to Protect Themselves
The Boston Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning property owners and real estate agents about a steady increase in reports of quit claim deed fraud it has received—scams that have resulted in devastating consequences for unsuspecting owners who had no idea their land was sold, or was in the process of being sold, right out from under them.

Known as quit claim deed fraud or home title theft, the schemes involve fraudsters who forge documents to record a phony transfer of property ownership. Criminals can then sell either the vacant land or home, take out a mortgage on it, or even rent it out to make a profit, forcing the real owners to head to court to reclaim their property.

Deed fraud often involves identity theft where criminals will use personal information gleaned from the internet or elsewhere to assume your identity or claim to represent you to steal your property.

“Folks across the region are having their roots literally pulled out from under them and are being left with no place to call home. They’re suffering deeply personal losses that have inflicted a significant financial and emotional toll, including shock, anger, and even embarrassment,” said Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division. “We are urging the public to heed this warning and to take proactive steps to avoid losing your property. Anyone who is a victim of this type of fraud should report it to us.”

Law enforcement and the FBI have been alerted to the fraud at all points in the process and have received reports involving a variety of fraudulent scenarios, including:
- Scammers who comb through public records to find vacant parcels of land and properties that don’t have a mortgage or other lien and then impersonate the landowner, asking a real estate agent to list the property. Homeowners whose properties have been listed for sale don’t know it until they’re alerted, sometimes after the sales have gone through.
- Family members, often the elderly, targeted by their own relatives and close associates who convince them to transfer the property into their name for their own financial gain.
- Fraudsters known as “title pirates” who use fraudulent or forged deeds and other documents to convey title to a property. Often these scams go undetected until after the money has been wired to the scammer in the fraudulent sale and the sale has been recorded.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which provides the public with a means of reporting internet-facilitated crimes, does not have specific statistics solely for quit claim deed fraud, but it does fall into the real estate crime category. Nationwide, from 2019 through 2023, 58,141 victims reported $1.3 billion in losses relating to real estate fraud. Here in the Boston Division—which includes all of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island—during the same period, 2,301 victims reported losing more than $61.5 million.
- 262 victims in Maine lost $6,253,008.
- 1,576 victims in Massachusetts lost $46,269,818.
- 239 victims in New Hampshire lost $4,144,467.
- 224 victims in Rhode Island lost $4,852,220.
The reported losses are most likely much higher due to that fact that many don’t know where to report it, are embarrassed, or haven’t yet realized they have been scammed.

FBI Boston is working with property owners, realtors, county registers, title companies, and insurance companies to thwart the fraud schemes but it’s no easy task. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way business was and continues to be conducted. More and more people have grown accustomed to conducting real estate transactions through email and over the phone. The remote nature of these sales is a benefit to bad actors.

Tips for Landowners:
- Continually monitor online property records and set up title alerts with the county clerk’s office (if possible).
- Set up online search alerts for your property.
- Drive by the property or have a management company periodically check it.
- Ask your neighbors to notify you if they see anything suspicious.
- Beware of anyone using encrypted applications to conduct real estate transactions.
- Take action if you stop receiving your water or property tax bills, or if utility bills on vacant properties suddenly increase.
The FBI can work with our partners to try to stop wire transfers and recover the funds within the first 72 hours. We urge folks to report fraud and suspected fraud to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

MIL Security OSI –
April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Centralia man sentenced to 10+ years’ imprisonment for possessing firearms as a felon

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A district judge sentenced a Centralia man to 125 months in federal prison for possessing three firearms as a convicted felon in three separate incidents with police.

Lamar R. Bennett, 33, pleaded guilty in July to three counts of felon in possession of a firearm.

“Three brushes with the law by one defiant felon—this sentence of more than a decade in federal prison sends a strong message that repeat offenders who defy the law can expect to face certain justice in the federal system,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft.

According to court documents, Bennett was convicted as a felon in possession of a firearm in Marion County Circuit Court in 2020, further barring him from legally possessing firearms.

Bennett was the driver of a vehicle in a single-car crash in Washington County on April 21, 2023. Following the accident, Bennett placed a Smith and Wesson 9-millimeter pistol behind a concrete barrier on the side of the highway. Law enforcement recovered the firearm.

On Oct. 14, 2023, emergency personnel and law enforcement responded to Bennett’s residence in Jefferson County. Officers observed a Glock 43X pistol in his sweatshirt and recovered the firearm.

On November 23, 2023, law enforcement tried to conduct a traffic stop on Bennett’s vehicle in Marion County, but he fled. Ultimately, Bennett was apprehended and law enforcement recovered one Ruger SR9C pistol from him.

“This investigation and sentencing are a direct result of FBI Springfield Field Office’s dedication to disrupting and dismantling violent threats in our territory,” said FBI Springfield Special Agent in Charge Christopher Johnson. “This sentencing is a direct warning to those who continue criminal activity in our area.”

Following imprisonment, Bennett will serve three years of supervised release.

The FBI Springfield Field Office, Centralia Police Department and Washington County Sheriff’s Office contributed to the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Hudson prosecuted the case.

MIL Security OSI –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Nigerian National Pleads Guilty to Laundering Millions in Criminal Proceeds Linked to Romance Scams and Business Email Compromise Schemes

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

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Olumide Olorunfunmi, 39, a Nigerian national, appeared in federal court in Charlotte today and pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy for laundering millions in criminal proceeds linked to romance scams and business email compromise schemes, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. According to documents filed with the court and today’s plea hearing, the scheme caused more than 125 victims to transfer over $4.5 million of proceeds stemming from illegal activities.

Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in North Carolina, joins U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement.

Two of Olorunfunmi’s co-conspirators, both Nigerian nationals, have also pleaded guilty to federal charges and are awaiting sentencing. Specifically, Samson Amos, 53, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Emmanuel Unuigbe, 42, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.

As Olorunfunmi admitted in court today, from 2020 through 2023, Olorunfunmi conspired with Amos, Unuigbe, and others to launder the criminal proceeds of various illegal activities, including romance scams that typically targeted elderly victims, and business email compromise schemes (BECs). Court records show that the victims of the schemes were directed to transfer funds into domestic and international bank accounts controlled by Olorunfunmi and his co-conspirators. Upon receiving the fraud proceeds, Olorunfunmi and his co-conspirators transferred the funds to other bank accounts, in the U.S. and overseas.

Olorunfunmi, Amos and Unuigbe profited by keeping a portion of the criminal proceeds obtained through the schemes. They also profited by agreeing to “pay” for the domestic deposits received by others by transferring Nigerian Naira from accounts the co-conspirators controlled in Nigeria to other accounts in Nigeria, based upon a “black market” exchange rate for United States Dollars to Naira.

The charge of money laundering conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. A sentencing date has not been set.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the FBI for the investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Ryan with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is in charge of the prosecution.

Business Email Compromise Schemes

BEC schemes, also referred to as “cyber-enabled financial fraud,” are sophisticated scams that often target individuals, employees, or businesses involved in financial transactions or that regularly perform wire transfer payments. Fraudsters are usually part of larger criminal networks

operating in the United States and abroad. There are many variations of BEC schemes. Generally, the schemes involve perpetrators gaining unauthorized access to legitimate email accounts or creating email accounts that closely resemble those of individuals or employees associated with the targeted businesses or involved in business transactions with the victim businesses. The scammers then use the compromised or fake email accounts to send false wiring instructions to the targeted businesses or individuals, to dupe the victims into sending money to bank accounts controlled by perpetrators of the scheme. Generally, the money is quickly transferred to other accounts in the United States or overseas. More information on BEC schemes can be found here.

Romance Scams

In romance scams, fraudsters use a fake online identity to gain a victim’s affection and trust. The fraudsters then use the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and/or steal from the victim. The fraudsters want to establish a relationship as quickly as possible, endear themselves to the victim, and gain trust. Fraudsters may propose marriage and make plans to meet in person, but that will never happen. Eventually, they will ask for money. The fraudsters who carry out romance scams are experts at what they do and will seem genuine, caring, and believable, and are present on most dating and social media sites. They also claim to be in the building or construction industry and/or are engaged in projects outside the U.S. That makes it easier to avoid meeting in person and more plausible when they ask for money for a medical emergency or unexpected legal fees. More information on romance scams can be found here.

If you have been the victim of an online scam or know someone who has been victimized, it is important to report it to law enforcement. Please visit ic3.gov, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), to file a complaint.

MIL Security OSI –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Copley Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for Distribution and Possession of Child Pornography

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

AKRON, Ohio – Brandon E. Crawford, 24, of Copley, Ohio, was sentenced March 11, 2025, by U.S. District Judge David Ruiz to 13 years in prison after he admitted to committing child sexual abuse related offenses (CSAM), also known as child pornography. He pleaded guilty to receipt and distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and possession of child pornography. He was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release after imprisonment and register as a sex offender, per the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.

According to court documents, Crawford admitted to receiving and distributing CSAM files from about November 2022 to January 2024. During a search warrant execution, federal investigators seized a cellphone that contained sexually explicit content of children. During the investigation, they found that Crawford used social media applications on his cellphone to trade CSAM with others, including at least one image that involved a minor under the age of 12.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI-Akron Field Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter E. Daly for the Northern District of Ohio.

To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.org, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

MIL Security OSI –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI: FS Bancorp, Inc. and 1st Security Bank Announce the Promotion of Phillip Whittington to Chief Financial Officer

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, Wash., April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FS Bancorp, Inc. (“Company”) (NASDAQ: FSBW), the holding company for 1st Security Bank of Washington (“1st Security Bank” or “Bank”) announced today that it has named Phillip Whittington as Chief Financial Officer of both the Bank and the Company effective May 1, 2025. Matthew D. Mullet, who previously served as Chief Financial Officer and President will continue to serve as the President for both the Company and the Bank.

“We are delighted to announce Phil’s promotion to Chief Financial Officer,” said Joe Adams the Bank’s CEO. “I am confident his knowledge of the Bank’s accounting, treasury management and financial reporting requirements makes him the ideal person for this position.”

Phillip Whittington has served as the Controller of the Bank since January 2020. Prior to joining 1st Security Bank, he was as a manager at the accounting firm of Elliott Davis located in Columbia, South Carolina. Mr. Whittington, a Certified Public Accountant, received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the College of Charleston and his Master of Accountancy from the University of South Carolina.

About 1st Security Bank of Washington

1st Security Bank offers a range of loan and deposit services primarily to small- and middle-market businesses and individuals in Washington and Oregon. It operates through twenty-seven Bank branches, and one headquarters office that provide loan and deposit services, and loan production offices in various suburban communities in the greater Puget Sound area, the Kennewick-Pasco-Richland metropolitan area of Washington, also known as the Tri-Cities, and in Vancouver, Washington. Additionally, the Bank services home mortgage customers throughout the Northwest predominantly in Washington State including Puget Sound, Tri-Cities and Vancouver.

Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which can be identified by words such as “may,” “expected,” “anticipate”, “continue,” or other comparable words. In addition, all statements other than statements of historical facts that address activities that 1st Security expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Readers are encouraged to read the Securities and Exchange Commission reports of FS Bancorp, particularly its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, for meaningful cautionary language discussing why actual results may vary materially from those anticipated by management.

Contacts:

Joseph C. Adams
Chief Executive Officer

Matthew D. Mullet
President and Chief Financial Officer
(425) 771-5299
www.FSBWA.com

The MIL Network –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Luján, Colleagues Urge AG Bondi to Appoint A Special Counsel to Investigate Trump Administration Signal Chat National Security Breach

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico)
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and 28 Senate Democrats in urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to appoint a Special Counsel to thoroughly and impartially investigate whether any of the government officials involved in the Signal chat security breach violated federal criminal law. On March 24, The Atlantic’s editor in chief reported that President Trump’s National Security Advisor Michael Waltz had included him in a group text chain with several high-ranking national security officials where highly sensitive, classified, or controlled information was shared and discussed over Signal—an unsecure commercial messaging app.
“In addition to the reckless inclusion of a journalist in the chat, we are deeply concerned about this serious breach in the proper handling of such information and deliberations,” the Senators wrote. “Appointment of a Special Counsel is appropriate where the Department may have a conflict of interest or extraordinary circumstances are present, a criminal investigation is warranted, and it is in the public interest to appoint an outside Special Counsel to investigate the matter. Such circumstances are clearly present here.”
The Signal chat group started by Mr. Waltz included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, among at least 18 other high-ranking government officials. In addition to discussing the sensitive foreign policy implications of military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, these officials proceeded to discuss key operational information regarding the precise timing of the planned attacks, the types of military aircraft and munitions to be used, and the targets and results of the strikes as they occurred. An unprecedented security breach of this magnitude involving top senior government officials presents the kind of extraordinary circumstances clearly contemplated by the Special Counsel regulations.
“These officials conducted a highly sensitive discussion, including of clearly classified or controlled information, over the commercial messaging app Signal, including in some instances on personal devices and while traveling in foreign countries, rather than using the secure U.S. government channels and facilities that are designed and required for the sharing of such information. Despite subsequent claims to the contrary by you, President Trump, and several of the officials involved, including in testimony before Congress, some of the information they shared and discussed over Signal would almost certainly be considered classified or, at a minimum, controlled, prior to and in the immediate aftermath of an impending strike,” the Senators wrote.
In the letter, the Senators raised concerns if the Signal chat violated federal law. For example, gross negligence in handling national defense information may violate the Espionage Act. Importantly, other laws, including the Federal Records Act, require the preservation of certain government records. Destruction of government records or property may constitute a violation of various criminal statutes. Subsequent statements to Congress and testimony before the Houseand Senate Intelligence Committees by several of the officials involved raise additional concerns about potential violations of federal criminal laws that prohibit making false statements to Congress, committing perjury in testimony to Congress, inducing another person to commit perjury, or conspiring to commit any of the foregoing actions.
“During your confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, you assured the American people that everyone will be held to ‘an equal, fair system of justice’ if you were confirmed as Attorney General, and that ‘no one is above the law.’ As the individuals most seriously implicated in this incident include senior officials at the highest levels, including several of your fellow cabinet members, appointment of a Special Counsel is necessary to ensure that the investigation and any ensuing prosecutions are fair, impartial, and independent and that no official, regardless of seniority or political affiliation, is above the law. The people of this country deserve the assurance that this matter will be taken seriously and addressed swiftly. To do so, we urge you to appoint a Special Counsel immediately,” the Senators concluded.
The letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Jack Reed (D-RI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Chris Coons (D-DE), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), John Fetterman (D-PA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Patty Murray (D-WA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ed Markey (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Gary Peters (D-MI).
Full text of the letter is available here and below:
Dear Attorney General Bondi:
On March 24, The Atlantic’s editor in chief reported that President Trump’s National Security Advisor Michael Waltz had included him in a group message chain with several high-ranking national security officials where highly sensitive, classified, or controlled information was shared and discussed over Signal—an unsecure commercial messaging app. In addition to the reckless inclusion of a journalist in the chat, we are deeply concerned about this serious breach in the proper handling of such information and deliberations. Given the extraordinary circumstances of this shocking incident and the significant public interests at stake, it is imperative that you immediately appoint a Special Counsel to thoroughly and impartially investigate whether any of the government officials involved violated federal criminal law.
Appointment of a Special Counsel is appropriate where the Department may have a conflict of interest or extraordinary circumstances are present, a criminal investigation is warranted, and it is in the public interest to appoint an outside Special Counsel to investigate the matter. Such circumstances are clearly present here.
The Signal chat group started by Mr. Waltz included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, among at least 18 other high-ranking government officials. In addition to discussing the sensitive foreign policy implications of military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, these officials proceeded to discuss key operational information regarding the precise timing of the planned attacks, the types of military aircraft and munitions to be used, and the targets and results of the strikes as they occurred. An unprecedented security breach of this magnitude involving top senior government officialspresents the kind of extraordinary circumstances clearly contemplated by the Special Counsel regulations.
These officials conducted a highly sensitive discussion, including of clearly classified or controlled information, over the commercial messaging app Signal, including in some instances on personal devices and while traveling in foreign countries, rather than using the secure U.S. government channels and facilities that are designed and required for the sharing of such information. Despite subsequent claims to the contrary by you, President Trump, and several of the officials involved, including in testimony before Congress, some of the information they shared and discussed over Signal would almost certainly be considered classified or, at a minimum, controlled, prior to and in the immediate aftermath of an impending strike.
These shockingly reckless breaches of security protocols for safeguarding sensitive and classified information clearly warrant an investigation into whether any of the government officials involved violated federal laws pertaining to the proper safeguarding and preservation of such information. For example, gross negligence in handling national defense information may violate the Espionage Act. Importantly, other laws, including the Federal Records Act, require the preservation of certain government records. Signal allows users to schedule messages for deletion after certain time periods and Mr. Waltz appears to have set the chat messages to delete initially after one week and then later in the chat changed the setting to delete messages after four weeks. Destruction of government records or property may constitute a violation of various criminal statutes. Subsequent statements to Congress and testimony before the House and Senate Intelligence Committeesby several of the officials involved raise additional concerns about potential violations of federal criminal laws that prohibit making false statements to Congress, committing perjury in testimony to Congress, inducing another person to commit perjury, or conspiring to commit any of the foregoing actions.
Even prior to his first Administration, President Trump campaigned for the need to prosecute and “lock up” individuals who allegedly “bypass government security” or “sent and received classified information on an insecure server.” Further, as an avowedly loyal and zealous advocate for the President, you echoed these same sentiments prior to your confirmation. Given the extraordinary nature of this security breach by senior Trump Administration officials, the likelihood that these actions needlessly endangered American lives and our nation’s security, the importance of putting our nation’s security before partisan political interests, and the range of federal criminal laws that may have been violated, it is imperative that the Department of Justice conduct a thorough investigation to assess the extent of the damage and determine whether any criminal charges are warranted against any of the government officials involved.
During your confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, you assured the American people that everyone will be held to “an equal, fair system of justice” if you were confirmed as Attorney General, and that “no one is above the law.” As the individuals most seriously implicated in this incident include senior officials at the highest levels, including several of your fellow cabinet members, appointment of a Special Counsel is necessary to ensure that the investigation and any ensuing prosecutions are fair, impartial, and independent and that no official, regardless of seniority or political affiliation, is above the law.
The people of this country deserve the assurance that this matter will be taken seriously and addressed swiftly. To do so, we urge you to appoint a Special Counsel immediately.

MIL OSI USA News –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Tren de Aragua Members Arrested on Federal Charges of International Drug Distribution

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

HOUSTON – Two Venezuelan nationals and alleged members of the recently designated foreign terrorist organization known as the Tren de Aragua (TdA) have been arrested on charges filed in the Southern District of Texas (SDTX), announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Jesus Miguel Barreto Lezama, 29, who was residing in Houston, has now appeared in federal court in Houston.

Also in custody is Briley Jesus Ballera Farias aka Derek, 32, who was arrested March 30 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he made his initial appearance.

A federal grand jury returned the indictment Jan. 29.

According to the allegations in the indictment, both men participated in a conspiracy, along with others, to import more than five kilograms of cocaine into the United States from Venezuela and Colombia. Barreto Lezama is also charged with importing nearly five kilograms of cocaine into the United States from Colombia between June 26, 2024, and July 3, 2024.

If convicted, they face a up to life in federal prison and a possible $10 million maximum fine.

The FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Colombian National Police. FBI-Houston’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force made the Houston arrest with the assistance of the Houston Police Department, DEA, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Marshals Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey N. MacDonald and Anibal J. Alaniz are prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney David C. Smith from the Department of Justice’s Joint Task Force Vulcan.

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

This case is also part of JTFV, which was created in 2019 to destroy MS-13 and now expanded to target TdA. It is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including SDTX; Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; Districts of New Jersey, Utah, Massachusetts, Nevada, Alaska; Northern District of Ohio; Eastern District of Texas; Southern District of Florida; Eastern District of Virginia; Southern District of California; and the District of Columbia; as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division. Additionally, the FBI; DEA; Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshals Service; and Federal Bureau of Prisons have been essential law enforcement partners and spearheaded JTFV’s investigations.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

MIL Security OSI –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Foreign Influence Registration Scheme implementation

Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Oral statement to Parliament

Foreign Influence Registration Scheme implementation

Government announces the implementation of regulations of Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, specifying Russia under the enhanced tier.

With permission Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement on the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.

The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme – or FIRS – is a fundamental component of the National Security Act, which this House passed in 2023.

The act was a response to the evolving threat of hostile activity from states targeting the UK.

Parts 1 to 3 of the act came into force in December 2023 and have been transformative for our operational partners, with 6 charges already brought against those conducting activity for, or on behalf of, foreign states acting within the UK.

A further 5 individuals involved in these cases have been charged with other offences.

FIRS provides crucial additional powers to protect our democracy, economy and society. It does 3 things:

First, transparency – FIRS provides transparency of foreign state influence in the UK.

Second, disruption – FIRS gives the police and MI5 a critical new disruptive tool, with criminal offences for those who fail to comply with the scheme.

Third, deterrence – FIRS will deter those who seek to harm the UK. They will face a choice – either tell the government about their actions, or face arrest and imprisonment.

Given the benefits of the scheme, I can tell the House today that FIRS will go live on the 1 July.

Political tier

The political influence tier of the scheme, which applies to all states, will allow the UK to be better informed about the nature, scale and extent of foreign influence in the UK’s political system. It will strengthen our resilience against covert foreign influence.

The political tier requires the registration of arrangements to carry out political influence activities in the UK at the direction of any foreign power.

Registrations under this tier will, in most cases, be made available on a public register.

For the first time, members of this House, will now be able to check if anyone seeking to influence them, is doing so at the direction of a foreign power.

A move which I am sure will be welcomed right across this House.

Enhanced tier

The enhanced tier of the scheme has been specifically designed to shed light on activities directed by those foreign powers or entities whose activities pose a threat to the safety and interests of the UK.

It enables the government to specify those foreign powers who pose the greatest threat to our society to ensure transparency of a much broader range of activities than just the political tier.

It will provide an important tool for the detection and disruption of harmful activity against our country.

Last month, I set out our intention to specify Iran under this tier of the scheme.

And I can announce today that we will also specify Russia under the scheme.

Russia presents an acute threat to UK national security. In recent years, its hostile acts have ranged from the use of a deadly nerve agent in Salisbury, espionage, arson and cyber-attacks, including the targeting of UK parliamentarians through spear-phishing campaigns.

And clearly Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has highlighted its intent to undermine European and global security.

To ensure we are responding to the whole of state threat Russia poses, the government intends to specify the head of the state of Russia, their government, agencies and authorities – which will include their armed forces, intelligence services and police forces, parliaments and their judiciaries.

We also intend to specify several political parties which are controlled by Russia, including the United Russia Party.

What this means is that any person – either an individual or an entity such as a company – that is carrying out activity as part of any arrangement with those Russian entities will have to register with FIRS.

Should any of these foreign power-controlled entities – such as political parties – carry out activity in the UK directly, they would also have to register with FIRS.

Madam Deputy Speaker, I hope it will be clear what a powerful tool this is.

Implementing the scheme

Turning to implementation. It is clear that FIRS has the potential to provide greater protection for our security, our democracy and our economy, but we must get implementation right.

In support of the scheme, the government has today laid draft regulations specifying Russia and Iran, introducing new exemptions from the scheme and making provision for the publication of information.

Both this House and the other place will have the opportunity to consider and debate these regulations, under the affirmative procedure. The government has also laid a further set of regulations in relation to the collection and disclosure of information under the scheme.

To support the consideration of the regulations and to assist potential registrants and others to better understand their responsibilities under the scheme, the government has published comprehensive guidance online.

By bringing the scheme into force on the 1 July, the government will be giving sectors 3 months’ notice to help them prepare for the scheme. During that time, the government will work closely with the relevant sectors – including academia and business to ensure they understand their obligations. Taken together, this package will ensure that there is strong compliance with the scheme from day one.

There will also be a 3-month grace period to register existing arrangements.

I know that right honourable and honourable members on both sides of the chamber recognise the challenges posed to the UK by foreign interference.

I hope that all members can support these further steps to keep our country safe.

Of course, as with all national security issues we must stay agile. As I have said, FIRS will be kept under review and any new announcements will be made to the House in the usual away.

Madam Deputy Speaker, it is our duty to defend the safety and interests of the UK.

That is why we are commencing FIRS.

That is why we are introducing greater protections for our democracy.

And that is why we are clamping down on the threat from states that conduct hostile activities in and against the UK.

I commend this statement to the House.

Updates to this page

Published 1 April 2025

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Durbin, Schumer, Democratic Senators Urge AG Bondi To Appoint A Special Counsel To Investigate Trump Administration Signal Chat National Security Breach

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
April 01, 2025
The Senators wrote: “These shockingly reckless breaches of security protocols for safeguarding sensitive and classified information clearly warrant an investigation into whether any of the government officials involved violated federal laws”
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and 29 Senate Democrats sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi urging her to appoint a Special Counsel to thoroughly and impartially investigate whether any of the government officials involved in the Signal chat security breach violated federal criminal law. On March 24, The Atlantic’s editor in chief reported that President Trump’s National Security Advisor Michael Waltz had included him in a group text chain with several high-ranking national security officials where highly sensitive, classified, or controlled information was shared and discussed over Signal—an unsecure commercial messaging app.
“In addition to the reckless inclusion of a journalist in the chat, we are deeply concerned about this serious breach in the proper handling of such information and deliberations,” the Senators wrote.“Appointment of a Special Counsel is appropriate where the Department may have a conflict of interest or extraordinary circumstances are present, a criminal investigation is warranted, and it is in the public interest to appoint an outside Special Counsel to investigate the matter. Such circumstances are clearly present here.”
The Signal chat group started by Mr. Waltz included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, among at least 18 other high-ranking government officials. In addition to discussing the sensitive foreign policy implications of military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, these officials proceeded to discuss key operational information regarding the precise timing of the planned attacks, the types of military aircraft and munitions to be used, and the targets and results of the strikes as they occurred. An unprecedented security breach of this magnitude involving top senior government officials presents the kind of extraordinary circumstances clearly contemplated by the Special Counsel regulations.
“These officials conducted a highly sensitive discussion, including of clearly classified or controlled information, over the commercial messaging app Signal, including in some instances on personal devices and while traveling in foreign countries, rather than using the secure U.S. government channels and facilities that are designed and required for the sharing of such information. Despite subsequent claims to the contrary by you, President Trump, and several of the officials involved, including in testimony before Congress, some of the information they shared and discussed over Signal would almost certainly be considered classified or, at a minimum, controlled, prior to and in the immediate aftermath of an impending strike,” the Senators wrote.
In the letter, the Senators raised concerns if the Signal chat violated federal law. For example, gross negligence in handling national defense information may violate the Espionage Act. Importantly, other laws, including the Federal Records Act, require the preservation of certain government records. Destruction of government records or property may constitute a violation of various criminal statutes. Subsequent statements to Congress and testimony before the House and Senate Intelligence Committees by several of the officials involved raise additional concerns about potential violations of federal criminal laws that prohibit making false statements to Congress, committing perjury in testimony to Congress, inducing another person to commit perjury, or conspiring to commit any of the foregoing actions.
“During your confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, you assured the American people that everyone will be held to ‘an equal, fair system of justice’ if you were confirmed as Attorney General, and that ‘no one is above the law.’ As the individuals most seriously implicated in this incident include senior officials at the highest levels, including several of your fellow cabinet members, appointment of a Special Counsel is necessary to ensure that the investigation and any ensuing prosecutions are fair, impartial, and independent and that no official, regardless of seniority or political affiliation, is above the law. The people of this country deserve the assurance that this matter will be taken seriously and addressed swiftly. To do so, we urge you to appoint a Special Counsel immediately,” the Senators concluded.
Along with Durbin and Schumer, today’s letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Peter Welch (D-VT), Jack Reed (D-RI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Chris Coons (D-DE), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), John Fetterman (D-PA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Patty Murray (D-WA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ed Markey (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Gary Peters (D-MI).
Full text of today’s letter is available here and below:
March 31, 2025
Dear Attorney General Bondi:
On March 24, The Atlantic’s editor in chief reported that President Trump’s National Security Advisor Michael Waltz had included him in a group message chain with several high-ranking national security officials where highly sensitive, classified, or controlled information was shared and discussed over Signal—an unsecure commercial messaging app. In addition to the reckless inclusion of a journalist in the chat, we are deeply concerned about this serious breach in the proper handling of such information and deliberations. Given the extraordinary circumstances of this shocking incident and the significant public interests at stake, it is imperative that you immediately appoint a Special Counsel to thoroughly and impartially investigate whether any of the government officials involved violated federal criminal law.
Appointment of a Special Counsel is appropriate where the Department may have a conflict of interest or extraordinary circumstances are present, a criminal investigation is warranted, and it is in the public interest to appoint an outside Special Counsel to investigate the matter. Such circumstances are clearly present here.
The Signal chat group started by Mr. Waltz included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, among at least 18 other high-ranking government officials. In addition to discussing the sensitive foreign policy implications of military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, these officials proceeded to discuss key operational information regarding the precise timing of the planned attacks, the types of military aircraft and munitions to be used, and the targets and results of the strikes as they occurred. An unprecedented security breach of this magnitude involving top senior government officials presents the kind of extraordinary circumstances clearly contemplated by the Special Counsel regulations.
These officials conducted a highly sensitive discussion, including of clearly classified or controlled information, over the commercial messaging app Signal, including in some instances on personal devices and while traveling in foreign countries, rather than using the secure U.S. government channels and facilities that are designed and required for the sharing of such information. Despite subsequent claims to the contrary by you, President Trump, and several of the officials involved, including in testimony before Congress, some of the information they shared and discussed over Signal would almost certainly be considered classified or, at a minimum, controlled, prior to and in the immediate aftermath of an impending strike.
These shockingly reckless breaches of security protocols for safeguarding sensitive and classified information clearly warrant an investigation into whether any of the government officials involved violated federal laws pertaining to the proper safeguarding and preservation of such information. For example, gross negligence in handling national defense information may violate the Espionage Act. Importantly, other laws, including the Federal Records Act, require the preservation of certain government records. Signal allows users to schedule messages for deletion after certain time periods and Mr. Waltz appears to have set the chat messages to delete initially after one week and then later in the chat changed the setting to delete messages after four weeks. Destruction of government records or property may constitute a violation of various criminal statutes. Subsequent statements to Congress and testimony before the House and Senate Intelligence Committees by several of the officials involved raise additional concerns about potential violations of federal criminal laws that prohibit making false statements to Congress, committing perjury in testimony to Congress, inducing another person to commit perjury, or conspiring to commit any of the foregoing actions.
Even prior to his first Administration, President Trump campaigned for the need to prosecute and “lock up” individuals who allegedly “bypass government security” or “sent and received classified information on an insecure server.” Further, as an avowedly loyal and zealous advocate for the President, you echoed these same sentiments prior to your confirmation. Given the extraordinary nature of this security breach by senior Trump Administration officials, the likelihood that these actions needlessly endangered American lives and our nation’s security, the importance of putting our nation’s security before partisan political interests, and the range of federal criminal laws that may have been violated, it is imperative that the Department of Justice conduct a thorough investigation to assess the extent of the damage and determine whether any criminal charges are warranted against any of the government officials involved.
During your confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, you assured the American people that everyone will be held to “an equal, fair system of justice” if you were confirmed as Attorney General, and that “no one is above the law.” As the individuals most seriously implicated in this incident include senior officials at the highest levels, including several of your fellow cabinet members, appointment of a Special Counsel is necessary to ensure that the investigation and any ensuing prosecutions are fair, impartial, and independent and that no official, regardless of seniority or political affiliation, is above the law.
The people of this country deserve the assurance that this matter will be taken seriously and addressed swiftly. To do so, we urge you to appoint a Special Counsel immediately.
-30-

MIL OSI USA News –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI: Brigitte Custer Joins Unissant as VP, Strategy and Solutions, Strengthening National Security Focus

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

HERNDON, Va., April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, Unissant Inc. (Unissant) announced the addition of Brigitte Custer as Vice President, Strategy and Solutions. In her new role, Custer will spearhead strategic initiatives and drive solution development with an emphasis on the national security vertical. Her appointment comes at a pivotal moment in Unissant’s growth, as the company expands its capabilities to address the increasingly complex challenges faced by its clients.

Custer’s addition underscores Unissant’s unwavering commitment to delivering advanced solutions for agencies safeguarding national health and security. For more than three decades, she has served as a technology strategist and trusted advisor to executives and agency heads across the U.S. Intelligence Community, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Federal Law Enforcement, and now currently for the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA). Prior to Unissant, she held senior leadership positions at CGI, GDIT, Deloitte and operated as an independent strategy consultant.

“Brigitte’s exceptional blend of strategic vision, technical expertise, and dedication to community engagement makes her the perfect fit for Unissant,” remarked President and CEO Sumeet Shrivastava. “We are excited to welcome her and look forward to her contributions in driving our strategic growth and delivering impactful solutions to our clients.”

Custer stated, “My professional journey has always been driven by a desire to bridge the gap between technology and mission needs. I’m excited to join a company that shares this vision and is committed to delivering innovative solutions with mission impact.”

About Unissant
Mission-focused, data-driven—Unissant Inc. (Unissant) delivers for the agencies that keep our nation healthy and safe. Keeping people and mission at the forefront, we apply our domain expertise, data acumen, and technology know-how to achieve breakthrough results. Agencies turn to Unissant for our expertise in AI, advanced analytics, digital excellence, and cybersecurity solutions. Our proven frameworks drive successful execution of complex projects at enterprise scale. With an unwavering commitment to advancing mission outcomes, our teams engineer human-centered, innovative solutions that accelerate time to value. We bring honesty, integrity, and dependability to every interaction with our employees, clients, and partners.

For more information, visit us at www.unissant.com.

For more information:
Theresa White
Director, Growth Enablement and Marketing
TWhite@Unissant.com
+1 703.889.8500, ext 124

The MIL Network –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: The dark side of psychiatry – how it has been used to control societies

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Caitjan Gainty, Senior Lecturer in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, King’s College London

In his new book, No More Normal, psychiatrist Alastair Santhouse recalls an experience from the 1980s when he was a university student in the UK helping deliver supplies to “refuseniks” – Soviet citizens who were denied permission to leave the USSR. These people often faced harsh treatment, losing their jobs and becoming targets of harassment. Some were even diagnosed with a psychiatric condition called “sluggish schizophrenia”.

By the time Santhouse encountered this diagnostic category, sluggish schizophrenia had been kicking around psychiatry in the Soviet Union for some time. It first entered the diagnostic lexicon in the 1930s, coined to describe cases in which adults diagnosed with schizophrenia had displayed no symptoms of the disorder in childhood.

This notion of a symptomless disorder gave it tremendous value to Soviet officials in the 1970s and 80s, who wielded it ruthlessly against those who suddenly suffered from delusions of wanting a better society or hallucinatory desires to emigrate.

But they weren’t the only ones to wield psychiatry to repress and control. “Punitive” or “political” psychiatry has proven to be quite a useful tool in many parts of the world. One well-known case is that of Chinese political activist Wang Wanxing, who marked the third anniversary of the 1989 pro-democracy student protests in Tiananmen Square by unfurling his own pro-democracy banner on that same spot.

He was immediately arrested, jailed, and then diagnosed with “political monomania”: a “condition” characterised by the irrational failure to agree with the state. For treatment, he was confined for 13 years in a psychiatric hospital, part of the Ankang (“peace and health”) network of psychiatric institutions where dissidents like him were forcefully medicated and subjected to “treatments” such as electrified acupuncture.

More recent applications of punitive psychiatry pop up periodically in our news feeds and disappear just as quickly. Some women who removed their headscarves or cut their hair as part of anti-government protests in Iran in 2022 were diagnosed with antisocial behaviour, forcefully institutionalised and subjected to “re-education”.

Women in Iran who protested against wearing hijabs were sent for re-education.
Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock

In 2024, in Russia, an activist’s choice of T-shirt, bearing the slogan “I am against Putin”, was considered so problematic that it required the summoning of a “psychiatric emergency team”.

As in the Soviet Union, the advantages of punitive psychiatry were not a little Orwellian: diagnosing a citizen with a mental illness made it easier to isolate their ideas, cut them off physically and discourage similar behaviour.

Not just authoritarian regimes

While authoritarian regimes certainly seem to wield it with the most abandon, punitive psychiatry has not been absent in the west. Indeed, at the height of the civil rights movement in the US, black activists protesting generations of racial prejudice and injustice were subjected to much the same diagnostic regime.

One example was the pastor and activist Clennon W. King, Jr. who was arrested and confined to a mental institution in 1958 after he attempted to enrol at the all-white University of Mississippi for a summer course. It was an act so inconceivable that the state of Mississippi thought he must be insane.

And, according to his FBI record, the militant civil rights leader Malcolm X was a “pre-psychotic paranoid schizophrenic”: a diagnosis made based on his activism and protest speech. As Jonathan Metzl has shown, the descriptors used to “diagnose” Malcolm X were later enshrined in the American Psychiatric Association’s 1968 updated definition of schizophrenia. Dissent in the US was as potentially pathological as dissent anywhere else.

Though each of these cases undoubtedly constitutes a gross misuse of psychiatry, the practice of making distinctions between what constitutes normal and abnormal behaviour is fundamental to the discipline. And, as Metzl’s account of the shifting definition of schizophrenia implies, psychiatric disorders are especially sensitive to social change.

Unlike most physical illnesses, psychiatric illnesses often have few physiological signs. Whereas a broken bone on an X-ray can be declared unambiguously broken, psychiatric problems are diagnosed in terms of constellations of symptoms, written on but not in the body, and recounted by patients in conversation with their therapist, or via a listing of these symptoms on one of the many diagnostic questionnaires that make up the psychiatric diagnostic arsenal.

Psychiatry’s bible

These are then matched to symptom clusters listed in psychiatry’s bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). Though in the everyday practice of mental health, there is much more to this process, in theory, the closeness of this match designates the absence or presence of disease.

That psychiatric diagnoses are unusually socially responsive is by and large unavoidable. Our mental health is itself socially specific, so much so that some have argued that something as apparently universal as depression, for example, is actually an illness specific to western or even just anglophone cultures.

Whether that hypothesis is true or not has no bearing on whether depression is in fact real. It only suggests what psychiatry intrinsically acknowledges already: that mental health has a critically significant social component.

As the use of psychiatry for these punitive purposes makes clear, this necessary malleability lends itself to abuse. The radical psychiatrists of the 1970s certainly believed so when they re-examined the very notion of normal, exposing its role in policing society and enforcing categories of exclusion. It’s how homosexuality ended up as a diagnosable psychiatric illness in the 1952 edition of the DSM – a pathology built by and for the norms of the American mainstream.

But it’s a malleability that can also lead to change in the opposite direction, where society – we, you and I – revisit and change these boundaries. Homosexuality was removed from the DSM in 1973, not because of any new scientific information, but because of a targeted gay rights activist campaign and, more indirectly, the slow shift over the intervening decades toward greater social inclusion.

In his book, Santhouse reflects on where we are now in psychiatry, at a time when there is, to quote his clever title, “no more normal”. Though the definition of normal is always in a state of flux, ours is a moment of diagnostic surfeit, in which mental health clinicians have had to cede space to a superabundance of resources that allow us – even encourage us – to diagnose ourselves.

And that makes this an interesting moment: one in which we explicitly see our vision of mental health being remapped onto the shifting politics of identity and inclusion that permeate now. Insofar as this forces us to reckon with the social aspects of our mental health in a more explicit way than we are used to, perhaps this is no bad thing.

Caitjan Gainty has received funding from the Wellcome Trust.

– ref. The dark side of psychiatry – how it has been used to control societies – https://theconversation.com/the-dark-side-of-psychiatry-how-it-has-been-used-to-control-societies-248493

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI China: China unveils historic lunar sample exhibition in Beijing

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

BEIJING, April 1 — For the first time, lunar samples collected from the Moon’s near and far sides are put on display together at an exhibition that opened Tuesday in Beijing.

The exhibition at the National Museum of China is themed around China’s lunar exploration program over two decades and jointly hosted by the museum and the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The samples were collected by China’s Chang’e-5 and Chang’e-6 missions.

The exhibition also displays hundreds of valuable artifacts as well as pictures and documents related to China’s lunar exploration program that was officially approved in 2004.

According to the organizers, the exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of the country’s lunar exploration efforts, highlighting its historical background, development, major achievements and future goals.

The exhibition will run for two months.

MIL OSI China News –

April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: FBI Warns Public to Beware of Scammers Impersonating Law Enforcement and Government Officials
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

The FBI Philadelphia Field Office is warning the public of fraud schemes in which scammers impersonate law enforcement or government officials in attempts to extort money or steal personally identifiable information.

Government and law enforcement impersonation scams can come in various forms, most commonly email or phone calls.

On the phone, scammers often spoof caller ID information, so fraudulent calls appear to be coming from an agency’s legitimate phone number. Recipients should hang up immediately and report the call to law enforcement.

Fraudulent emails may give the appearance of legitimacy by using pictures of the FBI Director and/or the FBI seal and letterhead. Common hallmarks of a scam email include misspellings, missing words, and incorrect grammar.

Be advised, law enforcement does not call or email individuals threatening arrest or demanding money.

To avoid becoming a victim of this scam:
- Be wary of answering phone calls from numbers you do not recognize.
- Do not send money to anybody that you do not personally know and trust.
- Never give out your personal information, including your Social Security number, over the phone or to individuals you do not know.
The FBI will never:
- Call or email private citizens to demand payment or threaten arrest. You will also not be asked to wire a “settlement” to avoid arrest.
- Ask you to use large sums of your own money to help catch a criminal.
- Never request you send money via wire transfer to foreign accounts, cryptocurrency, or gift/prepaid cards
- Call you about “frozen” Social Security numbers or to coordinate inheritances.
If you believe you are a victim of a law enforcement or government impersonation scam:
- Cease all contact with the scammers immediately
- Notify your financial institutions and safeguard any financial accounts
- Contact your local law enforcement and file a police report
- File a complaint with the FBI IC3 at www.ic3.gov.
- Be sure to keep any financial transaction information, including prepaid cards and banking records and all telephone, text, or email communications.
If you think you are a victim of this, or any other online scam please file a report with your local law enforcement agency and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at ic3.gov.

MIL Security OSI –
April 2, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: FBI Philadelphia Raises Awareness About Sexual Assaults on Airplanes

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

PHILADELPHIA—April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and the FBI Philadelphia Field Office is taking that opportunity to alert the public about a serious federal crime: sexual assault aboard aircraft.

Sexual assault aboard aircraft—which usually takes the form of unwanted touching—is a felony that can land offenders in prison.

To respond to incidents at airports or on airplanes, each of the FBI’s 55 field offices have airport liaison agents (ALA). These agents are assigned to the nearly 450 U.S. aviation facilities that have passenger screening operations regulated by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and respond to crime aboard an aircraft, a violation which falls within the FBI’s special investigative jurisdiction. 

“Everyone has the right to fly without being subjected to abusive or sexual misconduct,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, special agent in charge of FBI Philadelphia. “Alongside our airport and law enforcement partners, the FBI is committed to supporting victims and holding offenders fully accountable for their actions.”

To support and assist victims of federal crimes, the FBI has Victim Specialists in field offices across the country.

We encourage everyone to be aware of their surroundings while onboard an airplane. If you have been a victim of sexual assault aboard an aircraft, or have witnessed one take place, report it your flight crew, airport authority police, and the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.

You can reach out to FBI Philadelphia at (215) 418-4000.

For victim services resources on sexual assault, visit: Navigating the Impact of Sexual Assault — FBI

MIL Security OSI –

April 2, 2025