NewzIntel.com

Category: Justice

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Police investigating suspicious church fires in Masterton

    Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

    Police are investigating after four suspicious fires at churches in Masterton early today.

    Emergency services were called to the fires from around 4.25am.

    Police have undertaken checks at other churches in the town this morning and have located evidence to suggest three further churches were targeted but did not catch alight.

    Police remain at the scenes of the fires this morning, alongside Fire and Emergency New Zealand.  Officers will also be conducting reassurance patrols, including in nearby towns Featherston and Carterton.

    If anyone has information which could assist our investigation, please contact Police via 105.

    Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
     

    ENDS
     

    Issued by Police Media Centre. 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: FBI Jacksonville Locates Remains of Missing Man from the UK

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

    The FBI Jacksonville Division, with support from state and local law enforcement partners, located the remains of 32-year-old Alex Hodgson Doughty on Tuesday, February 4, in a wooded area on private land near Kingsland, Georgia. FBI Jacksonville’s Evidence Response Team led the search. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner confirmed Mr. Doughty’s identity. No criminal charges are expected.

    Mr. Doughty was a citizen of the United Kingdom and was visiting North Florida in September 2022 when his mother contacted local police and reported that she could not reach him and was concerned for his well-being. Investigators from multiple federal, state, local, and international agencies have contributed to the search for answers since that time.

    “While we had hoped to bring Mr. Doughty’s family better news, we are thankful to be able to provide them with some closure,” said Special Agent in Charge Kristin Rehler. “This discovery is the direct result of our partnerships and special agents from FBI Jacksonville’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST), who were relentless in their efforts to narrow down potential search locations.”

    The FBI’s CAST supports law enforcement investigations through the analysis of historical and realtime mobile communications and geolocation data. CAST experts receive extensive training and are highly proficient at analyzing location data from mobile devices. Throughout fiscal year 2024, CAST experts assisted with more than 6,100 investigations, 54% of which were in support of state and local investigations. The search for Mr. Doughty was among those.

    In addition to the efforts of law enforcement, the Doughty family thanks the volunteer search teams who contributed their time and resources in six additional searches.

    This case was investigated by the FBI Jacksonville Division and State Attorney’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, Thames Valley (UK) Police Department, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and Kingsland (Georgia) Police Department. Additional local law enforcement provided resources to aid in the search.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Greenpeace organizations go to trial on high-stakes SLAPP lawsuit that could redefine protest rights

    Source: Greenpeace Statement –

    430+ orgs and 330,000+ individuals support Greenpeace organizations in fight against abuse of the legal system and corporate overreach

    Mandan, North Dakota (February 21, 2025)–North Dakota is set to become the battleground for one of the most consequential free speech cases in recent history. Energy Transfer, the Big Oil corporation behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, is seeking $300 million in damages from Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace International, accusing these organizations of playing a central role in organizing the Indigenous-led resistance to the pipeline back in 2016. The lawsuit is one of the largest Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) cases ever filed, and one of the biggest cases to go to court in North Dakota. Trial begins on February 24, 2025.

    “This case is a prime example of corporations abusing the legal system to silence critics and keep their operations secret,” said Sushma Raman, Greenpeace USA Interim Executive Director. “It is also a critical test of the future of the First Amendment – both freedom of speech and peaceful protest – under the Trump Administration and beyond. But we are fighting back, and we are not fighting back alone.”

    More than 430 organizations signed an open letter to Energy Transfer including 350.org, Public Citizen, ACLU North Dakota, SEIU, Indigenous Environmental Network, and Amnesty International USA (view full organization list) along with public figures such as Billie Eilish, Jane Fonda, Adam McKay, and Susan Sarandon – plus more than 350,000 individuals from around the world.

    The claims

    Energy Transfer’s claims against the Greenpeace entities fall into three broad categories: defamation, tortious interference, and on the ground claims. 

    The claims related to defamation allege that the Greenpeace entities made false statements, which caused damages to the company.

    “The important thing to note here is that by the time Greenpeace entities made any of these statements that are at issue, these were statements that were already widely circulated in the public,” said Deepa Padmanabha. “These were not statements that Greenpeace invented, and they were all legitimate expressions of the First Amendment protected right to speak.”

    Energy Transfer also claims that Greenpeace made alleged false statements to financial institutions involved with financing the Dakota Access Pipeline – and that based on those statements, the financial institutions took action that cost Energy Transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. The financial institutions, however, had their own commitments and conducted their own due diligence regarding the Dakota Access Pipeline.

    “The last bucket of claims are related to on the ground incidents such as trespass, conversion, and aiding and abetting,” said Padmanabha. “This is the area of claims that makes it clear that Energy Transfer’s target is much bigger than Greenpeace. Beyond the impact that this could have on the Greenpeace entities, one of the most worrisome things about the case is that it could establish dangerous new legal precedents that could hold any participant at protests responsible for the actions of others at those protests – including unknown individuals. And you can imagine that this would have a serious chilling effect on anybody who wants to engage in protest.”

    “Greenpeace played an extremely limited role at Standing Rock, and is proud of showing up in solidarity with Standing Rock activists. At no time did Greenpeace engage in property destruction or violence. All claims to the contrary are a reckless disregard for the truth.”

    Fighting back against SLAPP lawsuits

    SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. These types of cases masquerade as ordinary civil lawsuits, but their true purpose is to retaliate against those who speak out against harms. Such meritless lawsuits are meant to silence or bankrupt opponents by dragging defendants through a long, lengthy, expensive legal process. 

    As SLAPPs are a growing threat, most U.S. states have put legal protections in place to protect advocates. But in North Dakota – and 17 other states – no anti-SLAPP statutes exist. Last Congress, Representatives Raskin, Wyden, and Kiley introduced bipartisan legislation to deter corporations from filing SLAPP suits and to protect everyone’s right to free speech. In Europe, the European Union’s anti-SLAPP Directive entered into force in May 2024. 

    On Feb 11th, 2025, Greenpeace International initiated the first test of the EU’s new anti-SLAPP Directive by filing a lawsuit against Energy Transfer in the Netherlands.

    “Energy Transfer is attempting to hold Greenpeace International, a dutch-based nonprofit foundation accountable for hundreds of millions of dollars of alleged damages for signing on to a letter with over 500 organisations from more than 50 countries,” said Greenpeace International General Counsel Kristin Casper. “It is this, along with many more reasons, we believe Energy Transfer’s pending US$300 million suit is a contender for the award of the most blatant SLAPP anywhere in the world.”

    Big Oil companies Shell, Total, and ENI have also filed SLAPPs against Greenpeace entities in recent years. Just last year, Shell came after Greenpeace UK and Greenpeace International in a multimillion dollar lawsuit. After a quarter of a million people spoke out, the lawsuit was settled in December 2024.

    “Greenpeace has faced a long history of threats,” said Charlie Cray, Greenpeace USA Senior Strategist. “When the Rainbow Warrior ship was bombed in 1985, we said ‘you can’t sink a rainbow.’ And now we’re saying: ‘you can’t sue a movement.’ Whatever happens in North Dakota, we will continue to campaign for a green and peaceful future.”


    Partner quotes

    “The lawsuit against Greenpeace is also an attack on the Indigenous movement in our fight for self-determination to protect Mother Earth, our waters, sacred and cultural sites and our youth and future generations. These colonialist lawsuits are trying to send a warning to anyone who might consider speaking out and to be quiet – any of you could be next.” – Morgan Brings Plenty, Standing Rock Youth Council

    “The case against Greenpeace illustrates how mega-corporations can use lawsuits to silence, intimidate and ruin their critics. America must demand, and Congress must pass, bipartisan legislation to protect First Amendment rights against ruinous litigation practices.” – Rep. Jamie Raskin

    “Amnesty International USA stands steadfast with Greenpeace USA in their fight against Big Oil’s attempt to punish and silence a strong advocate for environmental rights and climate justice for its fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. As we experience the continual warming of our planet year over year due to the burning of fossil fuels, we need Greenpeace USA now more than ever to advocate and be a strong voice for the communities most at risk from the impacts of the climate crisis, rather than defending itself against retaliatory lawfare.” – Justin Mazzola, Researcher, Amnesty International USA

    “Everyone who says they care about freedom – of whatever political stripe – should join together to support the Greenpeace campaign to protect people’s right to speak out against corporate abuses. As Greenpeace knows from its own experience, too often corporations use their political, economic and legal power not just to run PR campaigns justifying their wrongdoing, but to threaten public interest advocates with bad-faith lawsuits (SLAPPs) and other intimidation tactics.” – Robert Weissman, Co-president of Public Citizen

    “Protesters and advocacy groups should never have to fear the weight of groups like ETP [Energy Transfer Partners] as a condition for expressing their First Amendment rights. The court should see this lawsuit for what it is and toss it.” – Brian Hauss, Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU 

    “No matter how hard they try, corporate powers will never silence the voice of the people. Working alongside movement allies, we know our collective pursuit of liberation and transformative change endangers what corporations like Energy Transfer rely on: a status quo built on injustice. We know this through our year-round issue-based and electoral organizing. TOP is proud to be in solidarity with Greenpeace as it fights this shameful attempt to stifle dissent and protest.” – David Villalobos, Political Director of Texas Organizing Project (TOP)

    Contact: Madison Carter, Greenpeace USA Senior Communications Specialist, [email protected]

    Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: York and Yorkshire-based investigators help secure jail for plumbing fraudster who exploited vulnerable homeowners

    Source: City of York

    A man from Bolton who targeted victims across the North West has been sentenced to four years in prison at Bradford Crown Court today, after defrauding vulnerable customers out of a total of £250,000.

    Suhaib Sirajudin, 39, of Fifth Avenue, Bolton, operated as an ‘emergency plumber’ and pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent trading on 9 October 2024. The court heard how he took advantage of homeowners’ urgent need for a plumber by charging grossly inflated emergency callout and repair fees, frequently targeting victims who were older, vulnerable or lived alone. As well as seriously overcharging for initial works he often deliberately damaged victims’ properties in order to charge more for repairs.

    Between June 2021 and December 2022, trading as Plumbing Emergency 24/7 Limited and Expert Plumbing Limited 24/7, Mr Sirajudin advertised his services online and responded to emergency callouts from householders seeking urgent help with leaks. Mr Sirajudin would then exploit his victims, pressurising them into paying ‘extortionate’ sums for works that he completed to such a poor standard that the problem was either unresolved, or got worse.

    One older victim watched her kitchen ceiling fall in after Mr Sirajudin said a hole needed to be made in it to repair a bathroom leak. In total she and her husband, who was bedbound, paid almost £10,000 – almost all their savings. Another victim paid over £3,000 for the repair of a toilet leak that should have cost around £300. An expert said even that minor repair was not done properly.

    Another elderly couple were quoted £39,000 to repair their gas fire and boiler – which Mr Sirajudin was not qualified to do. They said Sirajudin made them feel belittled and as though they could not question the bill. They eventually paid £21,000.

    Many victims describe how Mr Sirajudin became aggressive when challenged, shouting and refusing to leave or threatening to take away new parts if payment was not made immediately. When victims or their relatives later contacted the companies to complain, their refund requests were often refused and they were cut off on the phone.

    As well as the financial losses, the emotional, mental and physical toll taken on victims has been significant, with a loss of confidence, depression and problems sleeping being among the lasting impacts of Mr Sirajudin’s crimes.

    The defendant was sentenced following an investigation by the National Trading Standards Yorkshire and Humber Regional Investigations Team, hosted by City of York Council, and the National Trading Standards eCrime Team, hosted by North Yorkshire Council.

    As well as the custodial sentence, Mr Sirajudin is also subject to a £250,000 confiscation order for victim compensation and £30,000 in prosecution costs. He will be disqualified from being a company director for 8 years.

    Cllr Jenny Kent, Executive Member with portfolio for Trading Standards at City of York Council, said:

    Mr Sirajudin intimidated and exploited people at a time when they needed emergency plumbing help, often late at night, in their own homes. Many victims were elderly or vulnerable and were charged extortionate amounts for often minor repairs which were badly done; in some cases made considerably worse. I hope they gain some small comfort from the sentencing today, and I’m very grateful for the persistence and dedication of our investigating teams here in York and North Yorkshire who worked hard to bring this case to trial.”

    Lord Michael Bichard, Chair, National Trading Standards, said:

    “With householders in desperate need of a plumber, often in the middle of the night, Mr Sirajudin was already in a position of power by the time he arrived at a caller’s home. If he saw that a customer was older, vulnerable or lived alone he took the opportunity to exploit them, leaving many feeling frightened in their own homes as well as thousands of pounds out of pocket.

    “I hope today’s sentencing provides some comfort for those involved and serves as a stark reminder that this type of callous intimidation and deceit will be investigated, and perpetrators brought to justice.

    “If you or someone you know has fallen victim to a fraud like this you should report it to the Citizens Advice consumer service helpline by calling 0808 223 1133.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lieutenant Governor Primavera Appoints Ian J. Kellogg to the 2nd Judicial District Court

    Source: US State of Colorado

    DENVER – Today, pursuant to her authority as acting Governor under the Colorado Constitution, Article IV, § 13, Lieutenant Governor Primavera appointed Ian J. Kellogg to the 2nd Judicial District Court. The appointment fills the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of the Honorable Darryl F. Shockley, and is effective immediately.

    Mr. Kellogg is a Trial Attorney for the Securities and Exchange Commission, a position he has held since 2022. His practice consists of civil and federal securities matters. Previously, he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office (2014-2022); Associate Attorney at Morrison & Foerster (2011-2014); Associate Attorney at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck (2008-2011), and Law Clerk for Judge Neil Gorsuch, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit  (2007-2008). Mr. Kellogg earned his B.A. from Gonzaga University in 1999 and his J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2007.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Stein Announces Boards and Commissions Appointments

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: Governor Stein Announces Boards and Commissions Appointments

    Governor Stein Announces Boards and Commissions Appointments
    lsaito

    Raleigh, NC

    Today, Governor Josh Stein announced Boards and Commissions appointments. 

    Governor Stein has appointed the following individual to the MyFutureNC Board of Directors: 

    • Kindl S. Detar of Mecklenburg as the Governor’s Office Designee. Detar is currently a Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Governor Josh Stein. Previously, Detar served as the Special Deputy Attorney General & Director of the Public Protection Section for the North Carolina Department of Justice.  

    Governor Stein has appointed the following individual to the North Carolina Real Estate Commission: 

    • The Honorable James Beaty, Jr. of Forsyth as a Public Member. Beaty Jr. is a retired United States District Court Judge for the Middle District of North Carolina. He has remained active in his community, serving on the Board of Deacons at United Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church of Winston-Salem. James Beaty Jr. further remains an active member of the North Carolina Chapter of the National Association of Guardsmen.   

    Governor Stein has appointed the following individual to the State Board of Refrigeration Contractors: 

    • Professor Srinath Ekkad of Wake as the Engineering School of the UNC System. Ekkad is the Department Head of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and the Special Advisor to the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at North Carolina State University. Ekkad has over 25 years of experience in research, teaching and administration.  

    Feb 21, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Alan Wilson announces Moncks Corner caregiver charged with stealing from vulnerable adultRead More

    Source: US State of South Carolina

    (COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that his office’s Vulnerable Adults and Medicaid Provider Fraud unit (VAMPF) has arrested Tierra Chawntell Moody, 42, of Moncks Corner, S.C., on one count of Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult {43-35-0085 (D)} and one count of Financial Transaction Card Fraud, value more than $500 in a six-month period {16-14-0060(a)(1-5)}. Moody was booked into the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center on February 21, 2025.

    An investigation by VAMPF revealed that, between May 9, 2024 and June 24, 2024, Moody is alleged to have knowingly made unlawful and unauthorized use of the funds or assets of a vulnerable adult. Specifically, it is alleged that Moody, while working as the victim’s caregiver, converted the victim’s funds for her own personal use by using the victim’s debit card to obtain money via ATM cash withdrawals without the authorization of the victim. The victim, a vulnerable adult under South Carolina law, resided in Charleston County, S.C., at the time of the alleged misconduct.

    This case was referred to VAMPF by the Charleston Police Department and will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office. 

    Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult is a felony and, upon conviction, has a penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. Financial Transaction Card Fraud, value more than $500 in a six-month period, is a felony and, upon conviction, has a penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of between $3,000 and $5,000, or both. 

    Pursuant to federal regulations, VAMPF has authority over Medicaid provider fraud; abuse and neglect of Medicaid beneficiaries in any setting; and the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of individuals residing in assisted living facilities or nursing homes. 

    Attorney General Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.

    The South Carolina Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, dba VAMPF, receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $2,889,252 for federal fiscal year 2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $963,084 for FFY 2025, is funded by South Carolina.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Barrasso Bill Ends Outdated Handouts to China

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wyoming John Barrasso

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) recently introduced legislation that would end handouts to China funded by American taxpayers by removing China’s outdated designation as a “developing country” in international treaties.
    The Ending China’s Unfair Advantage Act would prohibit any American taxpayer dollars from funding a United Nations treaty known as the Montreal Protocol and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) until China is no longer defined as a developing country. China’s current designation as a developing nation under these treaties allows it to abide by a different set of rules and access funding – including American taxpayer dollars – from the multilateral funds.
    “American tax dollars have been funneled to China for decades because of special treatment from the United Nations,” said Senator Barrasso. “By maintaining its classification as a developing country, China keeps getting handouts from American taxpayers and gets to play by a different set of rules. This ridiculous and outdated policy must end now. This bill forces the United Nations to end China’s unfair advantage once and for all.”
    Cosponsors of this legislation include U.S Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Jim Justice (R-W.Va), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.)
    Full text of the legislation can be found here.
    Background:
    Under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, developing countries are eligible for financial assistance through a special multilateral fund. The U.S. is the largest contributor to the fund, giving almost $1 billion.
    China has received nearly $1.4 billion from this multilateral fund over the years, due to their classification as a developing country under the Montreal Protocol.
    The U.S. is required to phase down production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, by 85% by 2036 and China has until 2045 to reduce HFC use by 80%. China is given an extra decade, under the Kigali Amendment, to produce HFCs. It is also allowed an extra 5% in HFC production and consumption.
    In 2023, the U.S. delegation at the 35th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (MOP35) proposed removing the PRC from the Protocol’s list of “developing countries.” Objections from the PRC and its supporters prevented its inclusion in the agenda.
    In 2022, the Senate passed an amendment declaring that China is not a developing country and that the United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations should not treat China as such. It also conditioned the Senate’s ratification on the administration submitting a proposal to remove China as a developing country before the next meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol.
    Senator Barrasso introduced this bill in the 117th and 118th Congresses.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: EC: “Crimea is Ukraine. Ukraine is a democracy, and President Zelensky was elected democratically”

    Source: European Commission (video statements)

    Crimea is Ukraine, and the EU stands with Ukraine in restoring its territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence. The security of Ukraine is the security of the European Union, and we support Ukraine throughout this journey.

    Ukraine is a democracy, and President Volodymyr Zelensky was elected through a democratic process. No solution should be imposed on Ukraine without Ukraine or without the European Union.
    Thumbnail title: Ukraine is a democracy Crimea is Ukraine

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne08gwiOQ20

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Lake City Man Sentenced To Over 10 Years For Selling Methamphetamine

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

    Jacksonville, Florida – Senior United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Jeremy Leonardo Roldan (52, Lake City) to 10 years and 4 months in federal prison for selling 50 grams or more of a substance or mixture containing methamphetamine. Roldan pleaded guilty on October 3, 2024. 

    According to court documents, on December 11, 2023, Roldan sold methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement officer. Roldan previously sold methamphetamine to the undercover officer at least two prior times. Roldan was responsible for selling 59 grams of pure methamphetamine. While selling narcotics, Roldan was on supervised release for the same offense.

    The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Lake City Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Cannizzaro.  

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cassidy, Cornyn, Colleagues Urge ATF to Rescind Unconstitutional Biden Rules, Align with Trump 2A Agenda

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), John Cornyn (R-TX), and 28 Republican colleagues today sent a letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Deputy Director Marvin Richardson urging him to align the agency with President Trump’s Second Amendment priorities as laid out in his recent Executive Order and calling on him to identify and rescind former President Biden’s unlawful firearms regulations, including the “Engaged in the Business” rule, pistol brace rule, so-called “ghost gun” rule, and “zero tolerance” policy under which ATF has revoked the licenses of federal firearm licensees (FFLs) over minor bookkeeping violations.
     “On Friday, February 7, 2025, President Donald J. Trump took decisive action to reaffirm law-abiding Americans’ Second Amendment rights in issuing his Executive Order, Protecting Second Amendment Rights.  We urge you to immediately align ATF’s rules and policies with the President’s strong support for the Second Amendment,” wrote the senators.
    “Under former President Joe Biden, ATF adopted numerous policies and rules that infringed upon Americans’ Second Amendment protections. President Trump’s Executive Order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to review and develop a plan of action regarding President Biden’s unlawful firearms regulations. We ask that you work with the Attorney General to quickly identify and rescind these policies,” continued the senators.
    Cassidy and Cornyn were joined by U.S. Senators John Thune (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Barrasso (R-WY), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jim Justice (R-WV), Jim Risch (R-ID), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Steve Daines (R-MT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), James Lankford (R-OK), John Hoeven (R-ND), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Rick Scott (R-FL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ted Budd (R-NC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Todd Young (R-IN), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Jim Banks (R-IN), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) in sending the letter.
    Read the full letter here or below:
    Dear Deputy Director Richardson:
    Thank you for your service in leading the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) during the presidential transition. On Friday, February 7, 2025, President Donald J. Trump took decisive action to reaffirm law-abiding Americans’ Second Amendment rights in issuing his Executive Order, Protecting Second Amendment Rights.  We urge you to immediately align ATF’s rules and policies with the President’s strong support for the Second Amendment.
    Under former President Joe Biden, ATF adopted numerous policies and rules that infringed upon Americans’ Second Amendment protections. President Trump’s Executive Order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to review and develop a plan of action regarding President Biden’s unlawful firearms regulations. We ask that you work with the Attorney General to quickly identify and rescind these policies. In particular, we call your attention to the following anti-Second Amendment regulations and policies, which must be immediately rescinded:

    The engaged in the business rule, which is an unconstitutional attempt to move ATF to do all it can to impose universal background checks on law-abiding Americans. ATF has been enjoined, at least temporarily, from enforcing the rule because it violated the text of the Gun Control Act. 
    The pistol brace rule, which improperly reclassifies pistols equipped with stabilizing braces as “short-barreled rifles” (SBRs), thereby subjecting them to stringent regulations and serious criminal penalties under the National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act. We are troubled by the fact that ATF promulgated this rule after it previously determined that attaching a stabilizing brace to a pistol did not render the pistol an SBR.  This rule threatens to put stabilizing braces out of reach of millions of gun owners, including disabled combat veterans who rely on them to be able to shoot heavy pistols. Furthermore, the rule made law-abiding Americans felons overnight for having lawfully purchased stabilizing brace equipped pistols. Multiple courts have already found the rule to be arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act, and it was ordered vacated by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.  We appreciate the Government’s recent motions to hold ATF’s 5th and 11th Circuit appeals defending the rule in abeyance and to postpone oral argument, and ATF should work quickly to accede to the vacatur given the ongoing litigation. 
    The so-called “ghost gun” rule,  which cracks down on law-abiding hobbyists who are exercising their Second Amendment rights to privately build firearms—a longstanding tradition that traces back to the Colonial Era.  The regulations are currently before the Supreme Court, but ATF should act immediately to rescind this rule.
    The “zero tolerance” policy, under which ATF has revoked the licenses of federal firearm licensees (FFLs) over minor bookkeeping violations.  This policy violates a decades-long precedent of ATF working with FFLs to address these minor, unintentional violations and revoking FFL licenses only in cases of major, willful violations that threaten public safety. ATF should develop a program to restore the federal firearms licenses of those FFLs whose licenses were unfairly revoked—or surrendered under duress—where they did not engage in willful conduct (as understood prior to June 23, 2021, when the policy was announced) and do not represent at threat to public safety.

    In addition to promptly rescinding these rules and policies, we urge you to immediately destroy the hundreds of millions of ATF Form 4473 firearm transaction records and other licensee records that are over 20 years old. These records have no particular law enforcement value but do contain the sensitive information of millions of law-abiding gun owners.  ATF should likewise return to the policy of allowing FFLs to destroy Form 4473 in their possession that are over 20 years old, which the Biden Administration initiated in violation of the federal prohibition on gun registration.  Ending the policy of retaining these very old records will save money for the American taxpayer and counteract ATF’s unconstitutional rule change.  
    Furthermore, we urge you to “continue collaboration to improve the process for” National Firearms Act applications. Congress recently instructed ATF to make these improvements.  While NFA wait times have improved significantly, ATF must continue to “address ongoing delays in application processing times” until the archaic process is at least as efficient as the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. There is no reason that the right to purchase a firearm should be so greatly delayed; a right delayed is a right denied.
    The foregoing should not be considered a full accounting of every action or policy for which ATF may be held responsible under President Trump’s Executive Order but represent obvious and high priority places for ATF to initiate compliance.
    We look forward to working with you through the transition as you implement President Trump’s agenda and reorient ATF toward protecting Americans’ Second Amendment rights.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Founder of Haitian Orphanage Convicted for Sexually Abusing Boys in his Care

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    A federal jury in Miami convicted a Colorado man yesterday for sexually abusing numerous boys at the orphanage he founded and directed in Haiti.

    According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Michael Karl Geilenfeld, 73, most recently of Littleton, founded St. Joseph’s Home for Boys — a home for orphaned, impoverished, and otherwise vulnerable children in Haiti — in 1985 and operated it for more than two decades. During this time, Geilenfeld repeatedly traveled from the United States to Haiti, where he sexually abused the boys entrusted to his care.

    The jury convicted Geilenfeld of one count of traveling in foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct and six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place, between 2005 and 2010. Each of the six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place relates to a particular victim who was a child at the time of the offense. Each of the six victims testified about the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of Geilenfeld, as did four other victims who were not the subject of the charged offenses. Geilenfeld is scheduled to be sentenced on May 5 and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on each of the seven total counts. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Miami and the FBI Miami Field Office investigated the case.

    Trial Attorneys Jessica L. Urban and Eduardo Palomo of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lacee Monk for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the 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, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Saad Healthcare Agrees to Pay $3M to Settle False Claims Act Allegations That It Billed Medicare for Ineligible Hospice Patients

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Note: View the settlement here.

    Saad Enterprises Inc., doing business as Saad Healthcare, has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false claims for the care of hospice patients in Alabama who were ineligible for the Medicare hospice benefit because they were not terminally ill.

    Hospice care is special, end-of-life care intended to comfort terminally ill patients. Patients admitted to hospice care generally stop receiving traditional medical care designed to cure their terminal condition and instead receive medical care focused on providing them with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of a terminal illness. Medicare patients are considered to be terminally ill and hospice-eligible when they have a life expectancy of six months or less if their illness runs its normal course.

    “Respectful and appropriate end-of-life care is the crux of the hospice benefit under Medicare,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will hold accountable those who exploit this benefit for their own gain.”

    “Caring for terminally ill people is a responsibility the United States and the Medicare program take seriously,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Keith A. Jones for the Southern District of Alabama. “Patients and taxpayers deserve not to be cheated, and the Department of Justice will continue to protect them.”

    The settlement resolves allegations that between 2013 and 2020 Saad submitted, or caused the submission of, false claims to Medicare for 21 patients who did not meet the eligibility requirements for the Medicare hospice benefit as defined by statute and regulation, despite Saad knowing the patients were ineligible for the Medicare hospice benefit.

    The civil settlement resolved a lawsuit filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the Government’s recovery. The qui tam lawsuit was filed by Melissa Wolff and Whitney Sims, former Saad employees, and is captioned United States ex rel. Wolff & Sims v. Saad Enterprises, Inc., Case No. 1:19-cv-00040 (S.D. Ala.). Ms. Wolff and Ms. Sims will receive $540,000 in connection with the settlement.

    The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort amongst the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama; and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

    The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Nina Herring for the Southern District of Alabama and Trial Attorney Rory Skaggs of the Civil Division handled the matter.

    The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Advancing the fight against racism

    Alberta Immigration and Multiculturalism has released its second annual report, highlighting numerous government actions taken over the past year to combat racism, celebrate diversity and advance the implementation of recommendations outlined in Alberta’s Anti-Racism Action Plan.

    Launched in 2022, Alberta’s Anti-Racism Action Plan included 28 recommendations to be undertaken over a three-year period. Although the plan identifies 28 distinct actions, the scope of work under each continues to expand. To date, 28 specific recommendations have been worked on and of those, 27 have been completed.

    “This report showcases the steps our government is taking to implement measures that tackle systemic barriers and discrimination. I am proud of the significant progress we’ve made so far. Together, government’s actions are helping to foster a more welcoming province.”

    Muhammad Yaseen, Minister of Immigration and Multiculturalism

    Achievements outlined in the report include creating Alberta’s first Black Advisory Council to support the ongoing work of the Alberta Anti-Racism Advisory Council and the Premier’s Council on Multiculturalism. These councils engage with communities on an ongoing basis to garner feedback and insight that inform efforts on anti-racism and cultural collaboration.

    In addition to the work of the councils, in 2024 the Ethnocultural Grant program provided $5.1 million in funding to 182 projects to increase cross-cultural awareness, while the Anti-Racism Grant program provided $424,000 in funding to 49 anti-racism initiatives.

    “The Council is so pleased to see the progress on the Action Plan and the government’s commitment to combatting racism through public education, empowering communities, data and measurement, systems change and taking action on hate incidents. There is much more work needed to be done, still, as racism and inclusion remain integral issues in our province. The Council is working hard on further recommendations in line with the Action Plan and is grateful for the opportunity to do so”. 

    Sania Chaudhry, co-chair, Alberta Anti-Racism Advisory Council

    Working to address racism requires cross-government action. Since the Action Plan was implanted, all departments have been tackling the issue. In Seniors, Community and Social Services, actions undertaken in the past year support First Nations and Métis groups in identifying and addressing systemic and social barriers, and in developing affordable housing supports.

    “We know Indigenous peoples can face discrimination when trying to access affordable housing and available housing options may not always suit their needs. That’s why we have continued to work with Indigenous governments and organizations through our Indigenous Housing Capital Program to ensure housing meets communities’ needs and provides culturally appropriate supports.”

    Jason Nixon, Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services

    Indigenous Relations is committed to reducing disparities through implementing programs and initiatives that support Indigenous education, employment, emergency shelters, healthcare improvements and fostering cultural awareness.

    “Alberta’s government is committed to honouring the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action by addressing systemic bias and racism across the province. We continue to work with Indigenous leaders to ensure policies and programs include Indigenous perspectives so that our work remains culturally appropriate and effective.”

    Rick Wilson, Minister of Indigenous Relations

    The Alberta Security Infrastructure Program (ASIP) supports faith-based and community groups at risk of hate or bias-motivated violence by funding security assessments, security infrastructure improvements, training, equipment and immediate security response measures. In response to hate sentiment, the government has expanded eligibility for this program to include Islamic and Jewish faith-based alternative schools, as well as Arabic bilingual programs in Alberta, until the end of 2025. In addition, Alberta’s Hate Crimes Coordination Unit continues to work with law enforcement groups across the province to help reduce and respond to hate-driven occurrences by facilitating training opportunities, inter-agency intelligence gathering and investigative supports.

    “It doesn’t matter where you are from – in Alberta, everyone deserves to feel safe and respected in their community. Acts of harassment and vandalism have no place on our streets, schools or places of worship. Alberta’s government will do whatever it takes to end these types of crimes and to build safer communities for everyone.”

    Mike Ellis, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services

    In addition, Alberta Education is updating curriculum to ensure opportunities to address anti-racism, pluralism and related topics are available across all subjects and grades, including English language arts and literature, social studies and physical education and wellness.

    “Every student deserves to feel welcomed, respected and seen at school. That’s why our curriculum provides opportunities for students to explore and learn about diversity across Canada and the world. For example, our new K-6 social studies curriculum includes knowledge to help address racism, Islamophobia and antisemitism.” 

    Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Education

    Alberta’s government strongly condemns all forms of racism. Work continues across government ministries to address discrimination through many actions and initiatives to foster a more welcoming province.

    Quick facts

    • Alberta’s Anti-Racism Annual Report covers government actions under five themes:
      • public education/cultural awareness
      • government as a catalyst for system improvements
      • empowering communities
      • responding to hate incidents and crimes
      • data and measurement
    • Alberta’s Anti-Racism Action Plan’s first annual report, published in December 2023, highlighted the 26 actions taken across 25 ministries. 
    • The Alberta Anti-Racism Advisory Council was created in 2019 to provide insight and advice on addressing racism. Its 48 recommendations helped inform Alberta’s Anti-Racism Action Plan.

    Related information

    • Taking Action on Racism: Building Momentum
    • Ethnocultural Grant Program
    • Anti-Racism Grant Program
    • Alberta Security Infrastructure Grant

    Related news

    • A new road map for combating racism Alberta’s Anti-Racism Plan (July 18, 2022)

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Saad Healthcare Agrees to Pay $3M to Settle False Claims Act Allegations That It Billed Medicare for Ineligible Hospice Patients

    Source: United States Attorneys General 11

    Note: View the settlement here.

    Saad Enterprises Inc., doing business as Saad Healthcare, has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false claims for the care of hospice patients in Alabama who were ineligible for the Medicare hospice benefit because they were not terminally ill.

    Hospice care is special, end-of-life care intended to comfort terminally ill patients. Patients admitted to hospice care generally stop receiving traditional medical care designed to cure their terminal condition and instead receive medical care focused on providing them with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of a terminal illness. Medicare patients are considered to be terminally ill and hospice-eligible when they have a life expectancy of six months or less if their illness runs its normal course.

    “Respectful and appropriate end-of-life care is the crux of the hospice benefit under Medicare,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will hold accountable those who exploit this benefit for their own gain.”

    “Caring for terminally ill people is a responsibility the United States and the Medicare program take seriously,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Keith A. Jones for the Southern District of Alabama. “Patients and taxpayers deserve not to be cheated, and the Department of Justice will continue to protect them.”

    The settlement resolves allegations that between 2013 and 2020 Saad submitted, or caused the submission of, false claims to Medicare for 21 patients who did not meet the eligibility requirements for the Medicare hospice benefit as defined by statute and regulation, despite Saad knowing the patients were ineligible for the Medicare hospice benefit.

    The civil settlement resolved a lawsuit filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the Government’s recovery. The qui tam lawsuit was filed by Melissa Wolff and Whitney Sims, former Saad employees, and is captioned United States ex rel. Wolff & Sims v. Saad Enterprises, Inc., Case No. 1:19-cv-00040 (S.D. Ala.). Ms. Wolff and Ms. Sims will receive $540,000 in connection with the settlement.

    The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort amongst the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama; and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

    The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Nina Herring for the Southern District of Alabama and Trial Attorney Rory Skaggs of the Civil Division handled the matter.

    The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Founder of Haitian Orphanage Convicted for Sexually Abusing Boys in his Care

    Source: United States Attorneys General 11

    A federal jury in Miami convicted a Colorado man yesterday for sexually abusing numerous boys at the orphanage he founded and directed in Haiti.

    According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Michael Karl Geilenfeld, 73, most recently of Littleton, founded St. Joseph’s Home for Boys — a home for orphaned, impoverished, and otherwise vulnerable children in Haiti — in 1985 and operated it for more than two decades. During this time, Geilenfeld repeatedly traveled from the United States to Haiti, where he sexually abused the boys entrusted to his care.

    The jury convicted Geilenfeld of one count of traveling in foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct and six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place, between 2005 and 2010. Each of the six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place relates to a particular victim who was a child at the time of the offense. Each of the six victims testified about the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of Geilenfeld, as did four other victims who were not the subject of the charged offenses. Geilenfeld is scheduled to be sentenced on May 5 and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on each of the seven total counts. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Miami and the FBI Miami Field Office investigated the case.

    Trial Attorneys Jessica L. Urban and Eduardo Palomo of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lacee Monk for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the 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, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ukraine war three years on: the bloodiest battles may be still to come

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alexander Titov, Lecturer in Modern European History, Queen’s University Belfast

    Just ahead of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the conflict has taken a dramatic and unexpected turn. The US is abruptly disengaging from its support of Ukraine, having previously promised that they would stand with Kyiv for “as long as it takes”.

    Europe is in panic mode, while Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is having public spats with the freshly installed US president, Donald Trump.

    At this stage, it seems that Vladimir Putin is firmly on top. But Trump is not the main cause of the current crisis, he merely reflects a more serious problem for Ukraine.

    When war broke out in the early hours of February 24 2022, the world was shocked, but not entirely surprised. Warnings of Russia’s attack on Ukraine had the advantage of preparing a united western front against Russia.

    Western resolve strengthened as expectations of a quick Moscow victory faded and Ukraine’s self-confidence grew. This mood was reflected in Josep Borrell’s statement the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs on April 9 that Russia must be defeated on the battlefield.

    Two weeks earlier, US president Joe Biden declared that Putin “cannot stay in power”. In September 2022, when the Ukrainian army recaptured a large part of the territory occupied by Russia in the Kharkiv region, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, told the EU parliament that “Russia’s industry is in tatters,” and that Moscow was using dishwashing machine chips for its missiles.

    In an atmosphere of euphoria on October 4, Zelensky issued an official ban on negotiations with Putin. There would be only one outcome to this war: Putin’s defeat.

    Indeed, Putin’s original plan had failed. Russia was retreating in Kharkiv and abandoning its strategic foothold on the right bank of the Dnieper in Kherson. On September 21 Putin had to declare a partial mobilisation, the first since the second world war, because Russia’s professional army was running out of men.

    Fortunes of war

    How things have changed: as the war approaches its three-year mark the west’s triumphalist mood is now a distant memory. Mark Rutte, secretary general of Nato, warned on January 13 that “what Russia now produces in three months, that’s what the whole of NATO from Los Angeles to Ankara produces in a year”. It’s a far cry from von der Leyen’s “Russian economy in tatters” jubilation of 2022.

    In its dying days, the Biden administration rushed more weapons to Ukraine and imposed ever harsher sanctions on Moscow. This could not hide the fact that the US could not continue to fund Ukraine as it had for the first three years. Any US president would now struggle to get another Ukraine funding bill through Congress.

    And Donald Trump is not just any US president. In his first month he has changed his country’s Ukraine policy in a characteristically dramatic and abrupt way.

    But the underlying problem was always there: what to do with this war that Ukraine is not going to win and in which Russia is slowly getting the upper hand. It’s been clear since the failure of Ukraine’s much touted counteroffensive in summer 2023 that Ukraine can’t win militarily. So continuing to supply Ukraine at current levels can only prolong the fight, not change the course of the war.

    From Trump’s perspective, this is a Biden war that has already been lost. And politically, it’s much easier for Trump to seek peace than his European counterparts because he campaigned on an anti-war message, repeatedly blaming Biden for the war and saying it would never have happened if he were president. Trump wants to find a quick fix and move on. If it fails, he can wash his hands of it and let the Europeans deal with it.

    Europe clearly doesn’t know what to do now: it can’t accept defeat, but neither can it pretend that Ukraine can win the war without US support. It is a sign of their desperation that in “emergency meetings” called by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, they spend so much time discussing hypothetical and, frankly, highly unlikely scenarios for sending European troops into Ukraine.

    After talks with the US in Saudi Arabia, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov made clear the Russian position: “The troops of Nato countries [in Ukraine] under a foreign flag – an EU flag or any national flag … is unacceptable.” And the Europeans are simply not in a position to impose conditions on the Kremlin.

    The best that the EU can do on the third anniversary of the invasion is to unveil yet another sanctions package: number 16. But now that the US has changed its mind about its war aims, there’s no hiding the fact that Europe’s war strategy is in tatters.

    The end point

    Russia is under no pressure to rush into a deal it doesn’t like. Moscow’s terms are known: formal recognition that the four regions it annexed in September 2022 plus Crimea are now part of Russia, and withdrawal of the remaining Ukrainian troops from those regions. Kyiv must pledge permanent neutrality, limits on its armed forces. It must recognise and establish Russian language rights in Ukraine and ban far-right parties.

    But these terms are completely unacceptable to Kyiv. And while there’s no good way out for Ukraine, it’s not yet in a desperate enough position to accept such a deal.

    The only way to force it on Kyiv is either a complete military collapse by Ukraine’s forces, which is not looking likely at the moment, or concerted pressure from a united west to accept Russia’s unpalatable terms. But the west is divided on this issue, with the Europeans insisting that Ukraine should keep fighting until it can negotiate “from a position of strength”.

    It’s a heroic assumption that Ukraine will be in a stronger position by this time next year. After the peak of confidence in early 2023, when Zelensky declared that “2023 will be the year of our victory!” each subsequent anniversary of the invasion saw Kyiv’s position weaker. But still, on current trends, it would take Russia until the end of the year to capture the rest of the eastern province of Donbas, without which an end to the war is unlikely anyway.

    For these reasons, there is no guarantee that the US-Russian talks will lead to a resolution of the conflict. Unfortunately, this means that the bloodiest battles of the war are yet to come, as the Russian military pushes to maximise its military advantage.

    In keeping with the wishes of Josep Borrell, the outcome of this war is still likely to be decided on the battlefield.

    Alexander Titov does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Ukraine war three years on: the bloodiest battles may be still to come – https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-three-years-on-the-bloodiest-battles-may-be-still-to-come-250422

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Man convicted of planning robbery at a jewellers in Richmond

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    Analysis of phone data and CCTV by Met officers has led to the conviction of a man who planned a robbery at a jewellers in Richmond. 

    Two men tied up a member of shop staff before stealing around £1.3 million worth of luxury watches during the raid in May 2024. 

    Flying Squad detectives, who specialise in investigating robberies, recovered and trawled through hundreds of hours of CCTV from across the country to piece together what happened. 

    As a result, Mannix Pedro, 37, who organised the raid, was found guilty of conspiracy to rob at Woolwich Crown Court on Wednesday, 19 February. He will be sentenced at a later date.

    Detective Sergeant Matt Hollands, who led the investigation, said: ”This was an audacious robbery that was several months in the planning. I’m pleased our investigation has resulted in a dangerous offender being convicted.

    “Our work is far from over, and our focus remains finding the three other men involved and putting them before the courts.”  

    On the afternoon of 25 May 2024 two men visited the jewellers in Kew Road after making an appointment with the owner. 

    After initially appearing to be normal customers, they tied up a member of staff before filling a rucksack with high-value watches. 

    The Met was called and officers began an investigation. They recovered CCTV from the jewellers which had captured the incident. By working back, they were able to identify the car the men had arrived in. 

    Along with phone data, officers used this evidence to link the two men to three others they believed had been involved in planning the robbery. 

    Sadly, the day after the incident occurred, the member of staff assaulted during the robbery was found dead. He was identified as Oliver White, who was 27 and from Surrey. A full inquest into his death is yet to take place, however it was not treated as suspicious. 

    Detective Sergeant Hollands added: “Throughout this investigation Oliver has been in our thoughts and we have remained committed to securing justice for his family. His death is a tragic reminder that crimes such as robbery have a significant impact on victims.” 

    In a statement paying to tribute to her son, Oliver’s mother, Amy Keane, said: “I would describe Oliver as a huge character, very warm and a brilliant person. He lit up the room when he entered it and was incredibly kind and caring, he would go above and beyond for anyone. He cared deeply for his family, was a wonderful role model for his little brother, as well as his two sisters.

    “Oliver really wanted to make something of himself, he aspired to buy a house, have a family and was planning for his future and this influenced his decision to work 24/7 as he saw his friends doing well in a business they enjoyed.

    “We know Oliver to be trustworthy and honest. Given the jury have convicted a man of planning and organising the robbery of Oliver, we take this as vindication of our firmly held belief he played no role in this offence and was not implicated in any involvement.

    “We are all absolutely devastated with the loss of our funny, thoughtful and kind son Oliver, our lives will never be the same and we feel this loss every minute of every day.”

    Further enquiries are ongoing to locate the three other members of the group and anyone with information about their whereabouts is asked to call 101 quoting the reference 01/MP/11200/24. 

    Information can also be shared anonymously with the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.  

    Samaritans are here day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch. 

    Conviction details 

    Mannix Pedro, 37 (18.10.87), of Cobbetts Close, Woking, was found guilty of conspiracy to rob at Woolwich Crown Court on Wednesday, 19 February, and will be sentenced at a later date.

    The jury failed to reach a verdict in relation to another man. A re-trial will take place in due course.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Jury Convicts Former KC Police Officer of $200,000 Charity Fraud Scheme

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Kansas City, Mo., police officer who ran an anti-crime charity has been convicted in federal court of a scheme in which he spent more than $200,000 in donations for his own personal expenses.

    Aaron Wayne McKie, 47, was found guilty on Thursday, Feb. 20, of nine counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. McKie worked as a police officer for the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department for 24 years, assigned as a police officer to the Crime Free Multi-Housing section from 2002 through 2023.

    McKie served from 2009 to 2023 as president of Mid-America Crime Free, Inc. (MACF), a non-profit organization that claimed to provide training to persons in the rental housing industry and promote anti-crime programs. He was an officer of the charity for three years prior, from 2006 to 2009.

    Evidence produced during the trial indicated that McKie devised a scheme to defraud MACF and its donors that began in July 2009 and lasted until October 2023. Individuals and businesses contributed $387,620 to MACF, not including in-kind donations. McKie spent at least $200,060 for his own personal purposes.

    The biggest source of MACF funds was an annual golf tournament, “Fairways 4 Fuzz Golf Tournament.” Individuals and businesses donated both money and in-kind donations, such as food and beverages, to MACF via the golf tournament. At least 121 donors have been identified.

    From 2009 to 2023, the flyers soliciting donations and players for the tournament claimed the funds raised would enable MACF to provide free seminars to owners of rental properties and train police officers. In reality, those claims were false. The Kansas City Police Department paid the salaries and expenses of Crime Free Multi-Housing unit officers who may have provided training to landlords; McKie used the majority of MACF funds for personal spending; and the IRS had revoked the organization’s tax-exempt status in 2010.

    Under federal statutes, McKie is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole on each of the 10 counts on which he was convicted. 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.

    Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., deliberated for nine hours before returning guilty verdicts to U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips, ending a trial that began Monday, Feb. 10.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Hanson. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Ending the Universal Credit two-child cap

    Source: Scottish Government

    Views sought on flagship policy.

    The Scottish Government is launching a consultation on its plans to end the two-child cap on benefits.

    Eradicating child poverty is the government’s top priority and ministers have committed to ending the limit by April 2026, or sooner if possible. The Child Poverty Action Group estimate that scrapping the two-child cap in Scotland could lift 15,000 children out of poverty. 

    The consultation is seeking views from the public and stakeholders about the most effective ways to put systems in place to mitigate the effects of the two-child cap. It asks for views on questions such as whether Social Security Scotland should administer top-up payments.

    Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said:

    “The UK Government has failed to scrap the two child cap despite it being a key driver of child poverty. In the face of such inaction the Scottish Government is determined to end the impact in Scotland.  If we can safely get the systems up and running earlier than April 2026, then we will make our first payments earlier – helping to lift thousands more children out of poverty.

    “We have launched a consultation calling for people to respond as we look to put the necessary systems in place to achieve our goal. We have made clear to the UK Government what is needed for us to end the impact of this policy and I would urge people and organisations across Scotland to contribute to make their views known.

    “The draft 2025-26 budget continues to invest more than £3 billion to policies which tackle poverty and the cost of living for households – and I would hope that would command widespread support across Parliament.

    “There is irrefutable evidence that the two child limit is increasing poverty and hardship across the UK. We have repeatedly called on the UK Government to end the two-child cap, and we have been just one of many voices saying the same thing. Until they do so, the Scottish Government will do everything in its power to mitigate the policy, which helps create child poverty.”

    Background

    The consultation closes on April 18th 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: First-of-its-kind conference on ‘Fundamental Rights at the Heart of Policing’

    Source: Europol

    On 20 and 21 February 2025, experts from law enforcement authorities, academia and non-governmental organisations gathered at Europol headquarters for the first ‘Fundamental Rights at the Heart of Policing’ conference, organised by Europol’s Fundamental Rights Officer.Over 130 participants from 25 EU Member States and 11 non-EU countries joined the event, as well as representatives from the EU Fundamental Rights Agency…

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Boozman, Ernst, Bennet Fight to Make Higher Education Accessible for Farm Families

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Arkansas – John Boozman

    WASHINGTON––U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced the bipartisan Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act to reverse changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process that threaten to reduce or even eliminate access to need-based student aid for farm families and small business owners. 

    Specifically, the legislation would amend the FAFSA Simplification Act to restore the original exemption of all farmland, machinery, other operational materials and small businesses with fewer than 100 employees from being declared as assets on the FAFSA form.

    “We rely on our farm families to feed, clothe and fuel the world,” said Boozman. “Supporting agriculturalists by ensuring their children have the opportunity to access an affordable education is commonsense. As Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I am proud to champion a bipartisan solution that helps rural America’s future generations pursue higher learning.”

    “No one should have to sell off the farm – or their small business – to afford college. As a farm kid myself, I know the enormous impacts grants and financial aid have on rural students’ decision to go to college,” said Ernst. “I’m fighting for Iowa families, so unfair policies don’t hold them back from investing in their child’s education.” 

    “From Colorado to Iowa, federal financial aid helps ensure more students can afford college – including students from farm families, whose businesses are vital to our communities and economies,” said Bennet. “Our bipartisan bill will help ensure these students receive the financial aid they need.”

    This legislation is also cosponsored by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), Jim Justice (R-WV), Jerry Moran (R-KS), John Hoeven (R-ND), Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Thom Tillis (R-NC). 

    Congressman Tracey Mann (R-KS-01) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

    The Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act is endorsed by several stakeholders including the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, SchoolHouse Connection, National Milk Producers Federation, United Egg Producers, Land O’Lakes and Farm Credit Council.

    Find the full bill text here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Springfield, Illinois, Man Sentenced to 180 Months for Drug Trafficking Associated with Street Gang

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

    SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A Springfield, Illinois, man, Derrick Bailey, 44, was sentenced on January 30, 2025, by Senior U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough to 180 months in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, for his role in a wide-spread drug conspiracy involving a Springfield street gang, Boss Playas, lasting from approximately May 2020 through November 2020.

    At the sentencing hearing, Bailey was held accountable for trafficking over 10 kilograms of cocaine as a member of the conspiracy. Also during the hearing, Judge Myerscough noted that the group of conspirators were responsible for distributing large amounts of controlled substances in the Springfield area, which had a negative effect on the community.

    Co-defendants in the case have received the following sentences of imprisonment: Denziel Witherspoon, 240 months; James Cooper, 180 months; Christopher Wallace 120 months; Isadore Montgomery, 120 months; Rashaud Brown, 84 months; Paul Davis, 40 months; and Taylor Cockrell, 36 months. Additional defendants Dorothy Jackson, Shelton Witherspoon, Lavar Maney, Haley Riley, and Haylee Vaughn have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

    Bailey was indicted on December 15, 2020, and pleaded guilty on September 18, 2024. He has remained in the custody of the United States Marshal since his arrest on December 1, 2020.  

    The statutory penalties for the most serious charge of conviction include up to life in prison, up to a $20,000,000 fine, and up to a life term of supervised release.

    This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office; Illinois State Police; and Springfield Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Z. Weir represented the government in the prosecution.

    The case against Bailey was part of an investigation of the Springfield-based Boss Playas street gang and was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has sown ‘psychological terror’, warns top aid coordinator

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Peace and Security

    In the nearly three years since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the country’s people have endured continuous attacks, “psychological terror…displacement and hardship”, top UN aid coordinator Matthias Schmale said on Friday.

    Briefing from Ukrainian capital Kyiv after another night of “air sirens and more loud explosions”, Mr. Schmale noted that the crisis began in 2014, with Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea. “So, all children that were born since – all children up to the age of 11 – have never experienced their country at peace,” he said.

    According to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, 2024 saw a 30 per cent increase in civilian casualties compared to 2023. “The humanitarian situation is worsening, especially in frontline areas,” it said in an update, highlighting that a full 36 per cent of Ukraine’s population – 12.7 million people – needs humanitarian aid this year.

    “There are very strong pushes by the armed forces of the Russian Federation along the front line and evacuations are ongoing,” Mr. Schmale explained. “We are supporting people with essential goods, including cash assistance, as they are on the move to transit centres, collective sites and wherever they end up being.”

    Speaking from Zaporizhzhia in southeast Ukraine, Toby Fricker from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that more than 2,520 children have been killed or injured since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.

    “The real number is likely far higher and it’s getting worse”, said Mr. Fricker, chief of communication in Ukraine. “There was a more than 50 per cent increase in child casualties in 2024 compared to 2023 and what we see is no place is safe: schools, maternity wards, children’s hospitals, all have been affected by attacks.”

    Behind battle lines

    Underscoring the essential role played by women in Ukraine “beyond the battlefield”, UN Women Geneva Director Sofia Calltorp explained that “there is another story unfolding, and that is the story of all those women and girls who are bearing the brunt of this war.”

    In 2024, the number of people killed and injured in Ukraine increased by 30 per cent, Ms. Calltorp noted. “Of them, 800 women lost their lives and more than 3,700 women were injured last year in Ukraine. We also know that the vast majority of Ukrainian refugees and displaced persons are women, and 6.7 million women are in need of lifesaving humanitarian assistance.”

    Funding crisis

    Responding to questions about the impact of the US funding freeze on humanitarian work, Ukraine Humanitarian Coordinator Mr. Schmale expressed “hope that US funding will become part of the equation. Last year, it made up 30 per cent of what we spent on the humanitarian side, 10 per cent on the development side.”

    The UN’s top aid official in Ukraine added: “We are of course worried about the funding freezes; as we all know, it’s not the end of the day yet, there are a lot of discussions going on. We have some of our partners, including within the UN, that have received some exemptions from the general freeze of funding, but so far, no money has been flowing as a result of those exemptions.”

    In addition to repeated attacks on energy infrastructure across Ukraine, other public facilities have also been targeted, with 780 health centres and more than 1,600 schools damaged or destroyed, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

    “In Odessa this week we saw a health clinic providing care for 40,000 children and a kindergarten serving 250 of the youngest children were severely damaged in an attack,” said Dr Jarno Harbicht, WHO Country Representative for Ukraine. “When a children’s hospital is hit, a school shelled or electric grid destroyed, children suffer even when they survive.”

    Haunted by drones

    The mental stress faced by millions of Ukrainians because of the war is real and debilitating, the WHO official continued: “Imagine a young mother in Kharkiv region in Ukraine, her days interrupted by air raid sirens and her nights haunted by drones. Each day is a struggle balancing her children’s safety with their anxiety that has become her constant companion.”

    The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission (HRMMU) has confirmed the killing of more than 12,654 civilian men, women, girls, and boys since the full-scale Russian invasion on 24 February 2022, with nearly 30,000 injured. Eighty-four per cent of the casualties happened in territory controlled by the Ukrainian government and 16 per cent in territory occupied by Russia.

    “Three years of full-scale conflict in Ukraine have wrought persistent and escalating human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law,” said Danielle Bell, Chief of HRMMU. “As the civilian toll grows heavier, the human rights of all those affected must remain at the forefront of  any negotiations for sustainable peace.”

    Rising toll

    The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission (HRMMU) has confirmed the killing of more than 12,654 civilian men, women, girls, and boys since the full-scale Russian invasion on 24 February 2022, with nearly 30,000 injured. Eighty-four per cent of the casualties happened in territory controlled by the Ukrainian government and 16 per cent in territory occupied by Russia.

    “Three years of full-scale conflict in Ukraine have wrought persistent and escalating human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law,” said Danielle Bell, Chief of HRMMU. “As the civilian toll grows heavier, the human rights of all those affected must remain at the forefront of  any negotiations for sustainable peace.”

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Career Offender Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Fentanyl Trafficking

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

    RICHMOND, Va. – A North Carolina man was sentenced today to 25 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute parafluorofentanyl and fentanyl.

    According to court documents, on the evening of September 17, 2023, Jaron James Starkey, 35, of Charlotte, and formerly of New Castle County, Delaware, was driving erratically southbound on I-95 in Caroline County. Other drivers traveling on I-95 called 911 to report the erratic driving. Virginia State Police (VSP) responded to the area and upon arrival observed that Starkey had crashed his Jeep. Starkey, who was alone in the car, was speaking incoherently and his eyes were bloodshot. He was transported to the Mary Washington Hospital emergency room.

    Upon approaching the vehicle, the responding VSP officers also observed thousands of glassine baggies, each of which appeared to contain a white powder, scattered throughout Starkey’s car. A total of 4,497 blue glassine baggies collected contained Parafluorofentanyl, with a net weight of over 122 grams. Also in the vehicle were 120 white glassine baggies containing fentanyl.

    Starkey has 21 prior convictions as an adult, including two previous drug trafficking convictions, convictions for possessing firearms as a convicted felon, and conspiracy to commit burglary, among others.   

    Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; Lt. Colonel Matt Hanley, Virginia State Police Interim Superintendent; and Brian Layton, Chief of Fredericksburg Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. The Fredericksburg Regional Narcotics Task Force assisted in the investigation of this case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Mastandrea prosecuted the case.

    A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:24-cr-58.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Maryland Man Convicted of Supplying Cocaine and Fentanyl to Fredericksburg Drug Trafficker

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

    RICHMOND, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Maryland man today of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute over 500 grams of cocaine hydrochloride, over 40 grams of fentanyl, and a detectable amount of p-fluorofentanyl.

    According to court records and evidence presented at trial, from at least July 1, 2022, through June 8, 2023, Sean Shaka Myles Sr., 50, of Baltimore, supplied Omar Jermel Dixon, 48, of Fredericksburg, with cocaine, fentanyl and p-fluorofentanyl, which Dixon then supplied to a number of individuals for redistribution in and around Fredericksburg.

    Myles faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison when sentenced on June 18. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; Ibrar A. Mian, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; and Jason S. Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge David J. Novak accepted the verdict. The Fredericksburg Regional Narcotics Task Force assisted in the investigation of this case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Olivia L. Norman and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Gilliland, an Assistant Attorney General with the Virginia Attorney General’s Office are prosecuting the case.

    This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:24-cr-95.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Four men sentenced following Met investigation into death of man in Croydon

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    Four men have been sentenced to a total of 67 years in prison following a Met Police investigation into the death of 22-year-old Lavaun Witter in Croydon.

    On 5 February 2021, officers were called to Wisbeach Road at around 20:08hrs, after a member of the public found Lavaun collapsed and seriously injured.

    He sadly died at the scene after sustaining a stab wound to the leg.

    An investigation was launched by the Met’s Specialist Crime South Unit. Enquiries revealed that prior to his death, Lavaun’s flat had been broken into by four men. The men, who were armed with long knives and swords, demanded drugs and slashed through an internal door.

    Lavaun and a 16-year-old boy were stabbed before running from the scene but Lavaun collapsed a short distance away.

    CCTV enquiries quickly identified the suspects as Tyreece Riggon, Julian Russell, Tyreece Wolfries-Parkin and Alex Pasley.

    On 18 February 2021, officers raided an address linked to Riggon and he and Russell were arrested. A subsequent search of an address linked to Russell recovered a Louis Vuitton bag belonging to Lavaun.

    Wolfries-Parkin and Pasley were also arrested in the following weeks.

    All were charged with Lavaun’s murder as well as attempted murder and attempted grievous bodily harm of the 16-year-old.

    Detective Chief Inspector Mike Nolan, Senior Investigating Officer in the case said:

    “These men were prepared to use extreme levels of violence and take Lavaun’s life to gain possession of drugs they believed were inside the property.

    “Lavaun was defenceless against the four men who were each armed with large knives, including a Samurai sword.

    “Levaun’s death devastated his family and his community. I commend the bravery and strength they have shown throughout this lengthy investigation.”

    A trial at the Old Bailey began on 17 July 2023 and Julian Russell (18.09.1998) of Sanfield Road, CR7 and Tyreece Wolfries- Parkins, (06.10.2002) were found guilty of murder. Alex Pasley (01.10.1995) of Paxton Grove, Coulsdon was found guilty of manslaughter.

    A re-trial began on 4 November 2024 and on Thursday, 12 December, Tyreece Riggon, 24 (29.09.2000) of Armistice Gardens, SE25 was found guilty of attempted GBH. Pasley was also found guilty of attempted GBH in relation to the attack on the 16-year-old boy.

    The group appeared at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, 19 February for sentencing.

    Julian Russell was sentenced to life in prison, to serve a minimum of 24 years in prison minus the four years spent on remand.

    Tyreece Wolfries- Parkins was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum term of 20 years minus the time spent on remand.

    Alex Pasley was sentenced to 17 years in prison and Tyreece Riggon was sentenced to six years, both minus four years spent on remand.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Taney County Official Pleads Guilty to Stealing $260,000

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

    SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A former official with the Taney County Health Department pleaded guilty in federal court today to a scheme to embezzle approximately $260,000 from the agency.

    Hugo Ricardo Huacuz, 51, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to a five-count federal information. Huacuz pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, two counts of stealing federal funds, one count of money laundering and one count of aggravated identity theft.

    Huacuz was the chief operating officer and the chief financial officer of the Taney County Health Department until he resigned on Nov. 14, 2023. Huacuz had been employed by the health department since 2011.

    By pleading guilty today, Huacuz admitted that he stole from the Taney County Health Department in a scheme that lasted from March 23, 2022, to Nov. 14, 2023. Huacuz caused the health department to write checks to Argon Investments, LLC, a company organized by Huacuz and his wife. Huacuz forged the signatures of health department members, using their identities without their permission. Huacuz caused the health department to issue 15 checks totaling approximately $259,000, which were deposited into the bank account of Argon Investments.

    Huacuz used the stolen funds for personal expenses charged to his personal credit card, including automobile insurance, maintenance, repair and parts; restaurants; home construction items; gasoline; airline tickets and travel, including to Chicago, Illinois, New York State, San Diego, California, College Station, Texas, Nashville, Tennessee, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Portland, Oregon; utilities; dry cleaning; clothing; dental and medical care; and payments to the Missouri Secretary of State’s office for Argon’s LLC fees.

    Health board members were not aware of the existence of Argon Investments or that any checks had been issued to Argon Investments. In order to conceal his scheme from the board, Huacuz caused these checks to be coded as payments to Sanofi Pasteur, Inc., a multinational pharmaceutical company. Huacuz falsely reported to the health department’s board that some of the checks written to Argon Investments were for items purchased from Sanofi, and created false invoices from Sanofi purportedly for the purchase of pharmaceutical and medical items, including COVID-19 testing kits.

    In November 2023, the director of the Taney County Health Department received information concerning Huacuz’s job performance. The information stated that Huacuz was frequently absent from his job and that he had other businesses he was operating independent from his job at the health department. After reviewing the information, the director met with Huacuz on Nov. 13, 2023, and placed him on administrative leave. Huacuz went to the bank immediately afterward and withdrew more than $24,000 from the Argon bank account, leaving a balance of $100 in the account.

    Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Huacuz agrees that he embezzled at least $258,976 and, at the very least, this amount is subject to forfeiture and restitution. The government will recommend a sentence of no more than four years and six months in federal prison without parole while Huacuz will seek a sentence of three years in federal prison without parole. 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 Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert. It was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Indian National Sentenced to Eight Years in Federal Prison for Defrauding Elderly Victims of Nearly $6 Million

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

    AUSTIN, Texas – An Indian national was sentenced in a federal court in Austin today to 97 months in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering.

    According to court documents, Moinuddin Mohammed, 34, engaged in a conspiracy to launder proceeds of a scheme to defraud elderly victims out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gold. Mohammed was a courier who picked up the cash and gold from vulnerable elderly people. The international conspiracy originated from India and involved the impersonation of government officials in order to convince the victims to turn over millions of dollars from their retirement and savings accounts.

    Multiple victims were contacted by a person claiming to be the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, who told the victims that they were under investigation or at risk of financial loss. The victims were told that they would need to deposit cash, gold or other items of financial value in order to resolve the investigation or prevent the loss. One victim was defrauded of more than $300,000, another was defrauded of approximately $151,500, and a third victim lost a total of approximately $470,000 to the fraud scheme. Nationwide, investigators identified 21 victims who lost a total of nearly $6 million to the scheme.

    In addition to his imprisonment, Mohamed will pay full restitution in the approximate amount of $960,000, forfeits $20,000 in cash that was seized by investigators, and forfeits a money judgement in the amount of $16,000.

    “The significant sentence of this courier for an international fraud scheme sends a strong message that we will investigate and prosecute those at every level of the organization,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas. “Mohammed illegally used the likeness of government officials to prey on and victimize the vulnerable, elderly people in our community, and fraudsters like him will be held accountable.”

    “Mohammed targeted some of our most vulnerable elderly citizens in an effort to line his own pockets and the pockets of foreign fraudsters,” said Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tapp for the FBI’s San Antonio Field Office.  “The FBI continues to see an uptick in financial scams targeting our elderly population and we work every day to bring awareness to our victims and justice to those who perpetuate these devastating schemes. We want to thank our U.S. Attorney’s Office for aggressively pursuing justice for those who fell victim to this scammer. Cases like this are a priority for the FBI and we encourage anyone who has been a victim of a financial scam to contact your local FBI office or go to www.IC3.gov. We also encourage the public to review the FBI’s last report on Elder Fraud to educate yourselves and protect those you love.”

    The FBI investigated the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Henneke prosecuted the case.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Alexis Mac Allister Announces as Jeton’s Latest Brand Ambassador

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LONDON, UK, Feb. 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Jeton, global payment services provider, announces a three-year partnership with global football icon Alexis Mac Allister. The 25-year-old Argentine football player is a midfielder for Premier League Club Liverpool and represents Argentina’s national team. The agreement between the global payment services provider and the footballer will appoint Mac Allister to serve as Jeton’s brand ambassador and represent the brand in various marketing campaigns. Jeton will be authorised to use Mac Allister’s professional name, image, likeness, and biography as part of the partnership.

    “I’m pleased to be Jeton’s brand ambassador,” stated Alexis Mac Allister. ‘I look forward to representing the brand and sharing its values with my fanbase and football lovers worldwide.”

    ‘We are very happy and excited to work closely with Mac Allister. We have strategized these partnerships based on what our customers expect from Jeton and how we can exceed their expectations. We hope to build stronger relations among the football community and reach out to football lovers all around the world through partnerships they desire. As exemplified by our recent partnership with Japanese football player Kou Itakura, we believe we are one step closer to achieving our objectives. We can’t wait to embark on this journey alongside Alexis Mac Allister.’ said Executive Director of Jeton.

    Jeton is known for its ongoing partnerships, marketing activities and close relations with football clubs and the community. The global payment services brand has a long-lasting relationship with West Ham United FC as their official e-Wallet partner and have previously partnered with other notable football clubs such as Aston Villa FC and Hull City AFC. Jeton has recently expanded its reach into the Asian market by partnering with Japanese football player Kou Itakura.

    About Jeton

    LA Orange CY Limited, trading as Jeton, is authorised by the Central Bank of Cyprus under the Electronic Money Law of 2012 and 2018 (Law 81(I)/2012) for distributing or redeeming electronic money (e-money), with Licence No: 115.1.3.66. LA Orange CY Limited has been incorporated in the Republic of Cyprus under the provisions of the Companies Law (Cap 113) with registration number HE 424807, with its registered office address at 116 Gladstonos, M. Kyprianou House, 3rd and 4th Floor, 3032, Limassol, Cyprus.

    © 2024 | LA Orange Limited, trading as Jeton, is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 for distributing or redeeming electronic money (e-money) and providing certain payment services on behalf of an e-money institution, with FCA registration number 902088. LA Orange Limited is registered in England and Wales, Company Number 11535714, with its registered office address at The Shard Floor 24/25, 32 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9SG, United Kingdom.

    Jeton Bank Limited is licensed and authorised by the Financial Services Unit, Ministry of Finance of the Commonwealth of Dominica, licensed as a banking institution under the international Banking Act, fully authorised to provide services to clients worldwide, under the prudential supervision of the Financial Services Unit. Jeton Bank Limited is registered in the Commonwealth of Dominica, Company Number 2022/C0175, with its registered address at 1st Floor, 43 Great George Street, Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica, Post Code: 00109-8000. – LEI Code: 894500XGIX3R4HCIOC29.

    Social Links

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    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JetonPayments

    Media contact

    Brand: Jeton

    Contact: Media team

    Email: marketing@jeton.com

    Website: https://www.jeton.com/

    SOURCE: Jeton

    The MIL Network –