NewzIntel.com

Category: Security Intelligence

  • MIL-OSI Security: Pittsburgh Resident Indicted on Fentanyl Trafficking Charge

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of violating a federal narcotics law, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

    The one-count Indictment named Marc Anthony Smith, 36, as the sole defendant.

    According to the Indictment, on or about November 9, 2024, Smith knowingly possessed with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture containing fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance.

    The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than five years in prison, a fine of up to $5 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

    Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Vasquez Schmitt is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment.

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

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Raleigh Armed Narcotics Trafficker Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    RALEIGH, N.C. – Darius Donte Privette, a/k/a “Heavy,” a 31-year-old resident of Zebulon, N.C. was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl, crack cocaine, cocaine hydrochloride, and methamphetamine while armed in the Raleigh, Louisburg, and Zebulon areas.  Privette pled guilty on November 12, 2024.

    According to the court documents and other information presented in court, the investigation began on January 19, 2023, when officers with the Raleigh Police Department (RPD), stopped Privette on an outstanding warrant for his arrest.  While conducting a search incident to his arrest, law enforcement located and seized a large sum of money and a key to his car. 

    A search of Privette’s car resulted in the seizure of the following items: 13 round blue tablets labeled as Percocet but containing fentanyl and ANPP, a fentanyl precursor, with a total weight of 1.43 grams of fentanyl; 22 MDMA pills with a total weight of 8.55 grams; 5.88 grams of crack cocaine; 9.94 grams of cocaine; 48.2 grams of marijuana; a 9mm firearm; various ammunition; various drug paraphernalia including digital scales and rolling papers; and a total of $1,886.00 in U.S. currency.

    In an unrelated investigation, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Louisburg, North Carolina conducted three controlled purchases of crack cocaine from Privette in October and November 2023.  During each buy, Privette sold a confidential informant approximately one gram of crack in exchange for $100.  

    Law enforcement then executed a search warrant on Privette’s home on November 9, 2023.  In the upstairs bedroom, officers seized a large amount of marijuana, U.S. currency, and a firearm.  On the back porch, law enforcement found a drum-style large-capacity magazine inside a children’s backpack. In total, law enforcement recovered 3 firearms, 1 large-capacity magazine; approximately 348.8 grams of cocaine hydrochloride, 898.11 grams of marijuana, a drug ledger, and a total of $5,020.00.  

    The investigation further revealed that Privette had been previously convicted of Possessing Marijuana, Carrying a Concealed Firearm, Fleeing Law Enforcement with a Motor Vehicle, and Possession with Intent to Sell Cocaine.

    Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III.  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Raleigh Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, and Nash County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer C. Nucci prosecuted the case.

    Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for case number 5:24-CR-00199-D-001.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Dublin man pleads guilty to 3 armed bank robberies

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – A central Ohio man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to federal crimes related to three separate armed bank robberies. 

    Hussein A. Mohamed, 27, of Dublin, pleaded guilty to three counts of committing bank robbery, three counts of conspiring to commit bank robbery, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

    Mohamed admitted to committing three armed bank robberies in Columbus within a week in April 2024.

    According to court documents, on April 11, 2024, Mohamed robbed the Telhio Credit Union on North Hamilton Road. He wore a dark Patagonia sweatshirt, light ripped jeans, white covid mask and black winter hat. Mohamed showed the bank teller a note on his cell phone that demanded cash and indicated he had a gun.

    On April 16, 2024, Mohamed committed two separate armed robberies.

    First, at approximately 4pm, he robbed a Fifth Third Bank on Bethel Road. He wore a red sweatshirt, light jeans, blue covid mask and black New Balance shoes. Again, he showed the teller a note on his phone demanding money and indicating he had a gun.

    About 45 minutes later, he committed another bank robbery, this time at Huntington Bank on North High Street. Mohamed had changed clothes between the robberies.

    At this final robbery, Mohamed showed his phone to one bank teller, who provided him with cash. He then told another teller to empty her drawer. When that victim told Mohamed she did not have any money in her drawer, Mohamed pulled a black firearm from the waist area of his pants, racked the slide on the handgun, and forced the tellers into the vault room while making threats.

    For reach of the three robberies, Mohamed conspired with another individual who was present in the vehicle used to travel to and from the robberies.

    Law enforcement officials recovered the clothing that Mohamed wore at each robbery, a loaded handgun, Mohamed’s wallet and identification at an apartment on Merriwick Crossing Drive in Columbus.

    He was arrested in May 2024.

    Bank robbery is a federal crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Conspiring to commit bank robbery carries a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison. Brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence is punishable by a mandatory seven years and up to life in prison, to run consecutively to any other sentence imposed. Congress sets minimum and maximum statutory sentences. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at a future hearing.

    Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson. Assistant United States Attorneys Damoun Delaviz and Elizabeth A. Geraghty are representing the United States in this case.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Jury Finds District Man Guilty of Voluntary Manslaughter While Armed for a Murder at a Gender-Reveal Party

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

                WASHINGTON – A Superior Court Jury found Nyjell Outler, 22, of Washington, D.C., guilty, yesterday, of voluntary manslaughter while armed for the March 2021 shooting death of 21-year-old Demetris Brown on Madison Street NE, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.

                In addition to the manslaughter charge, the jury found Outler guilty of aggravated assault while armed for the shooting of Daloni Williams. Superior Court Judge Jason Park scheduled sentencing for May 30, 2025.

                According to the evidence presented at trial, on March 20, 2021, Outler arrived at a gender-reveal party with an AK-style rifle (known as a “Draco”) in a backpack. He was at the party for a little more than a half hour before the shooting. After interacting with different guests throughout the evening, at approximately 7:43 p.m., he stepped away from the driveway of the home where he had been hanging out, pulled the Draco out of his backpack, held it at his right side, and returned to the driveway where Demetris Johnson, Daloni Williams, and another young man were standing. With dozens of other guests inside the house and in the fenced-in area just off the driveway, Outler approached with the gun. When Daloni Williams took a couple steps toward the defendant with his arm extended, as if to say, “put that away” the defendant raised the Draco and shot Daloni Williams twice, from point-blank range. The defendant then pivoted and pulled the trigger two more times as Demetris Johnson and the other young man on the driveway were trying to run away. One of the shots hit Demetris Johnson in the back. Outler then ran from the area. Demetris Johnson died in the backyard of the house hosting the gender reveal party. Daloni Williams spent nine days in the hospital after emergency surgery to save his leg and had to undergo months of physical therapy.

                At the time of the shooting, the defendant was wearing a GPS monitor due to an arrest for possessing another Draco in February 2021. About 2 hours after fleeing from 1 Madison St., he cut off his GPS. He was on the run for 11 months and was placed on the U.S. Marshal Service’s Top 15 most wanted list. Finally, in February 2022, the defendant was arrested in Florida following an anonymous tip.

                In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Martin and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They thanked the U.S. Marshals Service and its task force officers for their diligent work in capturing the defendant. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Mabry Johnson and Sharon Newman, Victim/Witness Advocate Latrice Washington-Williams, Victim/Witness Service Coordinators Katina Adams Washington and Shanika McCullough, and Investigative Analyst Zach McMenamin.

                Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dennis Clark, Kristian Hinson, and Yasmin Emrani, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney announces immigration case updates for the Eastern District of Virginia

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced today significant case updates on six immigration cases in the district.

    On Jan. 20 the President signed executive orders addressing the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws. Protecting the American People Against Invasion recognized that enforcing our Nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States, and that it is the policy of the United States to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens, particularly those aliens who threaten the safety or security of the American people. The order tasked the Department of Justice with prioritizing the prosecution of criminal offenses related to the unauthorized entry or continued unauthorized presence of aliens in the United States. Securing Our Borders prioritizes the pursuit of criminal charges against illegal aliens who violate immigration laws and against those who facilitate their unlawful presence in the United States.

    Carlos Alberto Sosa Horellana, a Honduran national, was removed from the United States in 2004. On Nov. 13, 2009, Sosa Horellana was removed again after reentering the United States and being convicted for an aggravated criminal felony in 2007 on two counts of rape with a child under age 13 as the victim. On Feb. 4, Sosa Horellana was arrested in Stafford, and a federal grand jury returned an indictment on March 4 charging him with illegally reentering the United States after removal for an aggravated felony conviction and failing to register as a sex offender. (Case No. 1:25-cr-48)

    On Oct. 2, 2023, Mario Ernesto Ortiz Escobar, a Salvadoran national, was convicted in the Southern District of Texas for illegally reentering the United States after a felony conviction and on Oct. 27, 2023, he was removed. Ortiz Escobar returned, however, and on Feb, 24 pled guilty to illegally reentering the United States. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 5. (Case No. 3:25-cr-31)

    Mayron De Jesus Salazar-De La Rosa, a Guatemalan national, was removed on April 3, 2014.  Salazar-De La Rosa subsequently returned and was found in Alexandria. On Feb. 27, he pled guilty to illegally reentering the United States. Salazar-De La Rosa is scheduled to be sentenced on May 29. (Case No. 1:25-cr-11)

    Jose Charles Medrano, a Mexican national, first entered the United States illegally in 2008. After voluntarily departing the country, Medrano illegally reentered the United States and on July 2, 2014, was convicted of driving under the influence (DUI). He was removed to Mexico on July 31, 2014. After illegally reentering the United States in January 2015, Medrano was convicted on March 21, 2016, of making terroristic threats in Houston, Texas. Medrano was removed to Mexico on March 29, 2016. When Medrano reentered the United States again, immigration officials located him and immediately removed him to Mexico on May 31, 2016. On April 22, 2023, Medrano was arrested in Henrico County for DUI and felony child abuse/neglect. On June 28, 2023, Medrano pled guilty to DUI and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and on Oct. 10, 2023, was removed again to Mexico. On August 17, 2024, Medrano again was arrested in Henrico County, this time charged with assault and battery of a family member and abduction. On Jan. 24, 2025, he was convicted of assault and battery of a family member. On March 5, Medrano pled guilty to illegally reentering the United States and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20. (Case No. 3:24-cr-175)

    On July 8, 2019, Brayan Josue Flores-Torres, a Salvadoran national and MS-13 member, was arrested in Prince William County and charged with aggravated malicious wounding. On April 23, 2020, Flores-Torres pled guilty to contributing to the delinquency of a minor, possession of illegal alcohol, and assault and battery by mob. On Aug. 14, 2020, Flores-Torres was removed to El Salvador. On Dec. 13, 2022, Chesapeake Police responded to a report of a stabbing in which the victim, who was dating Flores-Torres’ ex-girlfriend, identified Flores-Torres as the person who stabbed him. Flores-Torres was arrested following a high-speed chase. On March 21, 2024, Flores-Torres pled guilty to eluding police and failing to identify himself. On Nov. 7, 2024, Flores-Torres pled guilty to illegally reentering the United States. He was sentenced on March 11 and is subject to removal. (Case No. 2:23-CR-59)

    Melvin Mauricio Valencia Gil, a Salvadoran national, first illegally entered the United States before 2017. On Aug. 20, 2018, Valencia Gil was convicted in Nassau County, New York, of attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon, and reckless endangerment. On Nov. 26, 2021, Valencia Gil, a member of the Latin Kings gang, was removed to El Salvador. Less than a week after his removal, Valencia Gil left El Salvador and illegally reentered the United States. After being involved in a car accident in Virginia, Valencia Gil was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 2, 2023, for illegal reentry. He pled guilty on Sept. 23, 2024, and was sentenced on March 18 to three years in prison. (Case No. 3:23-CR-54)

    Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

    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 the case number provided above.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Jennifer LaBonte Imprisoned For Embezzling From Employer

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Rutland, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced that Jennifer LaBonte, 45, of Essex Junction, was sentenced on Monday in United States District Court in Rutland to four months of imprisonment following her guilty plea to a charge of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Lanthier also ordered that LaBonte serve a one-year period of supervised release following completion of her prison sentence. She also ordered LaBonte to pay $192,675 in restitution and a $7500 fine. The court noted that, prior to sentencing, LaBonte had paid in full her restitution obligation. LaBonte must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on May 6 to begin serving her sentence.

    Last October, the United States Attorney filed an information charging LaBonte with a single count of wire fraud. That is the charge to which she pleaded guilty. According to the information, between 2001 and January 2024, LaBonte was employed by automobile dealerships located in Burlington. From about 2012 until her termination, LaBonte served as office manager for the dealerships, a position that gave her oversight over all accounting matters. LaBonte had check-signing authority.

    The information charged that, beginning no later than 2013, LaBonte began embezzling from the dealerships. For the most part, LaBonte stole cash receipts that had been paid over by dealership customers, but she also issued checks to herself for non-business-related purposes. LaBonte tried to cover up her thefts by manipulating and falsifying entries about individual transactions in the dealerships’ computerized accounting systems. An officer at the dealerships uncovered the fraud in January 2024 and LaBonte was immediately fired. The total loss resulting from her embezzlement was about $192,000.

    Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher commended the investigatory efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

    LaBonte is represented by Brooks McArthur, Esq. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Justice Department Announces Actions to Combat Cost-of-Living Crisis, Including Rescinding 11 Pieces of Guidance

    Source: United States Attorneys General 1

    The Justice Department today announced that it is taking action in response to President Trump’s Presidential Memorandum “Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis.” First, the Department is withdrawing 11 pieces of guidance to streamline Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance resources for American businesses. Next, the Department is raising awareness about tax incentives for businesses related to their compliance with the ADA.

    The Jan. 20 Presidential Memorandum described the regulatory demands put in place by the prior administration and called on the heads of all executive departments and agencies to take appropriate actions to lower the cost of living throughout the country. Today’s withdrawal of 11 pieces of unnecessary and outdated guidance will aid businesses in complying with the ADA by eliminating unnecessary review and focusing only on current ADA guidance. Avoiding confusion and reducing the time spent understanding compliance may allow businesses to deliver price relief to consumers.

    In addition, to further the goals of the Presidential Memorandum and to aid businesses during tax season, the Department is highlighting tax incentives available for businesses to help cover the costs of making access improvements for customers or employees with disabilities. The Department expects that small businesses will find this reminder helpful in reducing costs, especially as they prepare their tax filings. An explanation of these tax incentives is featured prominently on the ADA.gov website.

    “The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that businesses and members of the public can easily understand their rights and obligations, including the tax incentives that are available to help businesses comply with the ADA,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mac Warner of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Putting money back into the pockets of business owners helps everyone by allowing those businesses to pass on cost savings to consumers and bolster the economy.”

    The Department has identified the following 11 pieces of guidance for withdrawal:

    1. COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Can a business stop me from bringing in my service animal because of the COVID-19 pandemic? (2021)
    2. COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Does the Department of Justice issue exemptions from mask requirements? (2021)
    3. COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Are there resources available that help explain my rights as an employee with a disability during the COVID-19 pandemic? (2021)
    4. COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Can a hospital or medical facility exclude all “visitors” even where, due to a patient’s disability, the patient needs help from a family member, companion, or aide in order to equally access care? (2021)
    5. COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Does the ADA apply to outdoor restaurants (sometimes called “streateries”) or other outdoor retail spaces that have popped up since COVID-19? (2021)
    6. Expanding Your Market: Maintaining Accessible Features in Retail Establishments (2009)
    7. Expanding Your Market: Gathering Input from Customers with Disabilities (2007)
    8. Expanding Your Market: Accessible Customer Service Practices for Hotel and Lodging Guests with Disabilities (2006)
    9. Reaching out to Customers with Disabilities (2005)
    10. Americans with Disabilities Act: Assistance at Self-Serve Gas Stations (1999)
    11. Five Steps to Make New Lodging Facilities Comply with the ADA (1999)

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Colombian Navy Personnel Extradited To The United States For Their Role In Selling Locations Of Colombian Navy Drug Interdiction Vessels To International Drug Traffickers

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announced the extraditions of Jair Alberto Alvarez Valenzuela (54) and Luis Carlos Diaz Martinez (32), both from Colombia, to stand trial on an indictment for conspiracy to distribute cocaine having reasonable cause to believe it would be unlawfully imported into the United States. Alvarez Valenzuela and Diaz Martinez were extradited to the United States on March 13, 2025, from Colombia. If convicted, both defendants face a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. 

    According to the indictment, Alvarez Valenzuela and Diaz Martinez were former employees of the Colombian Navy. In exchange for money from drug traffickers they recruited active-duty members of the Colombian Navy to secretly plant global positioning system (GPS) tracking devices in Colombian Navy vessels. Transnational Criminal Organizations used the location data derived from these tracking devices to direct vessels filled with cocaine bound for the United States around Colombian Navy ships and patrols. 

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

    This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi- jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

    The specific mission of the OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations involved in large-scale drug trafficking, money laundering, and related activities. The OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigation. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia provided significant assistance in securing the arrests and extraditions of these defendants. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Stoia.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Pittsburgh Man Pleads Guilty to Reserve Township Bank Robbery

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on March 18, 2025, to a charge of bank robbery, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

    Mark Laughner, 38, pleaded guilty to Count One of the Indictment before United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon.

    In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, on May 16, 2024, Laughner entered a Reserve Township bank wearing a baseball cap and neck gaiter that covered his mouth and nose and instructed the teller to give him all of her large bills. After the teller handed over the $100 and $50 bills from her cash drawer, the defendant demanded the teller provide more cash quickly or he would shoot her in her face. Laughner left the bank with $1,370 in U.S. currency and was ultimately identified through the utilization of surveillance recordings as well as witness interviews.

    Allegheny County Police Department (ACPD) detectives obtained a warrant for Laughner’s arrest, and, on May 20, 2024, attempted to apprehend the defendant when detectives observed Laughner in the passenger seat of a vehicle outside of a Pittsburgh fire station. As detectives converged on the vehicle with their emergency lights activated, the driver exited the vehicle and Laughner jumped from the passenger side of the vehicle into the driver’s seat, where he began fleeing detectives by driving in reverse at a high rate of speed. Ignoring multiple verbal commands to stop, Laughner came within inches of striking two ACPD detectives before stopping and exiting the vehicle in the middle of the street and fleeing on foot. Using a police K-9 unit, law enforcement apprehended Laughner after finding him hiding in thick brush.

    Judge Bissoon scheduled sentencing for July 22, 2025. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

    Assistant United States Attorney V. Joseph Sonson is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

    The Allegheny County Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Laughner.

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

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Aliquippa Felon Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearm Charge

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on March 18, 2025, to a federal firearm charge, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

    Tyland Witherspoon, 28, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge William S. Stickman IV to one count of felony possession of a firearm and ammunition.

    In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, on June 19, 2024, Witherspoon—who was previously convicted of a felony—was found to be in possession of a firearm and ammunition while the sole occupant of a vehicle in the Northview Heights area of Pittsburgh. Federal law prohibits possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon.

    Judge Stickman scheduled Witherspoon’s sentencing for July 28, 2025. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.

    Witherspoon remains detained pending sentencing.

    Assistant United States Attorney Nicole A. Stockey is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

    The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Pittsburgh Bureau of Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Witherspoon.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Nigerian National Charged with Theft of Pandemic Unemployment Benefits

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A Nigerian national residing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of theft of government property, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

    The one-count Indictment named Funke Iyanda, 43, with no U.S. status, as the sole defendant.

    According to the Indictment, from May 27, 2020, to May 24, 2021, Iyanda prepared and submitted a false application and claim for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits in the name of another person to the PA Department of Labor, for which Iyanda received approximately $40,980 in unemployment benefits to which Iyanda was not legally entitled.

    The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

    Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Melucci is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

    The U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment.

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

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Kansas Man Sentenced for Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials

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

    WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced to 188 months in prison after federal law enforcement officers discovered child sexual abuse materials at his home.

    According to court documents, Scott Warren Vass, 57, of Arkansas City pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. 

    In April 2023, while executing a search warrant at Vass’ home, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents seized multiple devices belonging to Vass containing child sexual abuse materials.  Further investigation revealed several of Vass’ Google accounts also contained sexually explicit depictions of minors under 12 years of age.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case. 

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Gordon prosecuted the case.

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

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Bible Hill — Northeast Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit charge man with Murder

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    The Northeast Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit (NEN MCU) has charged a man with Murder associated to a death that occurred in September 2023.

    On September 17, 2023, Colchester County District RCMP responded to a report of a sudden death at a home on Wild Chance Drive in Bible Hill. The victim was identified as a 32-year-old woman of Bible Hill, and her death was believed to be suspicious.

    That morning, a Bible Hill man who was known to the victim was safely arrested at the Bible Hill RCMP Detachment and later released without charges.

    On March 17, 2025, the same man, 31-year-old Richard Craig Barrett, was charged with Murder (first degree) and investigators can confirm the homicide was an incident of intimate partner violence.

    “Over the course of this complex investigation, officers collected a significant amount of forensic evidence and spoke with many witnesses who shared valuable information,” says Cpl. Sandy Matharu of the Northeast Nova Major Crime Unit. “We appreciated the patience of the victim’s loved ones as investigators conducted a thorough examination and evaluation of the evidence, enabling us to put together a comprehensive investigation that supports this murder charge.”

    Barrett appeared in Truro Provincial Court on March 18 and was remanded in custody pending future court appearances.

    The investigation is ongoing and is being led by the NEN MCU with assistance from the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service and RCMP Forensic Identification Section.

    Nova Scotia RCMP encourages anyone experiencing, or at risk of, intimate partner violence to reach out. Support is available across Nova Scotia and can be accessed by dialing 211, calling the provincial toll-free line at 1-855-225-0220, or visiting Nova Scotia 211 online. You can access support anonymously.

    Our thoughts continue to be with the victim’s loved ones, and the community, at this difficult time.

    File # 2023-1382910

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Van Zandt Electrical Contractor Sentenced in Wire Fraud Conspiracy

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

    TYLER, Texas – A Canton man has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in a wire fraud conspiracy in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.

    James Derr, 55, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle on March 18, 2025.  Derr was also ordered to pay $2,615,585.93 in restitution.

    According to information presented in court, Derr, an electrical contractor with J&D Electric, was involved in a conspiracy with Rebekah Mitchell and Brittany Burton to divert equipment for their own financial gain.  Between March of 2017 and May of 2021, Mitchell used her position at Schneider Electric in Athens to steal Schneider Electric circuit breakers from their inventory and direct the shipment of the stolen circuit breakers to locations where Derr could take possession of them.  Mitchell paid Burton to use her position at J&K Storage in Flint to receive shipments of stolen Schneider Electric circuit breakers at J&K Storage.  Mitchell created fraudulent documentation in the purchase order and/or bill of lading logistics systems depicting fictional customers that resulted in the shipment of Schneider Electric circuit breakers to locations that she and Derr agreed upon, which included, on approximately 11 occasions in 2017 and 2018, J&K Storage. Derr took possession of the Schneider Electric products at various locations and sold them to various buyers. Derr shared the proceeds of these sales with Mitchell in consideration for her role in the conspiracy.  As a result, Derr, Mitchell and Burton caused Schneider Electric to suffer a financial loss of approximately $2,615,585.93.

    On February 18, 2025, Mitchell was sentenced to 34 months in federal prison and was also ordered to pay $2.6 million in restitution to Schneider Electric. Burton pleaded guilty to her role in the conspiracy and is currently awaiting sentencing.

    This case was investigated by the FBI Tyler Field Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James Noble.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Roanoke Man Sentenced to Over 17 Years on Child Pornography Charge

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ROANOKE, Va. – A Roanoke man, who agents found in possession of more than 3,800 images of child pornography, was sentenced this week to 210 months in federal prison.

    Joshua Jennings, 43, pled guilty in September 2024, to one count of knowingly receiving child pornography. In addition to prison time, Jennings was also sentenced to 20 years of supervised release following his release from prison.

    According to court documents, in February 2024 agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) determined that Jennings’s IP address was sharing child pornography on the Internet. Agents subsequently learned that Jennings was a registered sex offender with two prior state convictions for possessing child pornography.

    On February 26, 2024, agents with HSI executed a search warrant at the home address associated with Jennings’ IP address and seized a HP laptop computer belonging to Jennings. A forensic review of the laptop revealed more than 3,800 images and video files of identified child victims of abuse from more than 300 known child pornography series.

    Search history on the laptop showed Jennings conducted multiple searches related to his sexual interest in children, including “CP,” “PTHC,” and “CP dog.”

    Acting U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Lee and  ICE Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C., Acting Special Agent in Charge Christopher Heck made the announcement.

    The Department of Homeland Security- Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Valuable investigative assistance was provided by the Albemarle County Police Department, the Virginia State Police, Virginia Probation & Parole, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Parkersburg (West Virginia) Police Department, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

    The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identity and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/. 

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  • MIL-OSI Security: East Liberty Man Sentenced to Over Nine Years in Prison for Series of Bank Robberies

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

    PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 110 months of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on his conviction of bank robbery, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

    United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan imposed the sentence on Rashon Coleman, 31, of the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

    According to information presented to the Court, on April 10, 2023, a subject later identified as Coleman walked into a bank, shoved a white plastic grocery bag appearing to contain a gun at the teller, and demanded $50,000 in cash. Coleman left the bank with approximately $904 given to him by the teller. The following day, Coleman entered a different bank nearby the first and shouted at the tellers to give him all of the money. Upon receiving money from one of the tellers, Coleman ordered everyone to the ground, threatening to shoot them all if they did not comply. He examined the cash he’d received from the teller and then demanded more, threatening to shoot one of the tellers in the head if they didn’t follow his instructions. A teller went to the vault and returned with additional cash, which she gave to Coleman, who then fled through the bank’s front door, this time, with approximately $4,344.

    Pittsburgh Bureau of Police officers responding to the alarm noticed Coleman, who matched the description of the robbery suspect, walking down the street from the bank. The officers stopped Coleman and found him in possession of a bag containing a toy gun and a large amount of cash. Coleman later confessed to robbing both banks, and subsequently was charged with the two robberies in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, where he was granted alternative housing at a community detention facility.

    On May 20, 2023, Coleman was granted permission to leave that facility for a short period but failed to return at the designated time. The same day, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police officers responded to a bank robbery in progress at the same bank that Coleman had robbed on April 10, 2023, where the subject, again later determined to be Coleman, had walked in yelling that he was robbing the bank and instructing everyone to get down. He demanded $20,000 in cash and threatened to start “popping” people if he didn’t get the money, also forcing one of the bank’s employees to open a security door leading to the vault that Coleman had been unable to breach during his first robbery of the bank. Coleman fled with more than $25,000 and a short time later was found by police inside a nearby store, where he was positively identified and had a bag containing the cash.

    Assistant United States Attorney Carl J. Spindler prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

    Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Coleman.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Florida Attorney Sentenced to 102 Months for an Attempted Bombing Near the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.

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

               WASHINGTON – Christopher Rodriguez, 45, of Panama City, Fla., was sentenced today to 102 months in federal prison for the September 2023 attempted bombing near the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Washington, D.C., and for the November 2022 bombing of a satirical sculpture depicting communist leaders Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong in San Antonio, Texas.

               The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Washington Field Division. 

               Rodriguez, a licensed Florida attorney and a U.S. Army veteran, pleaded guilty August 2, 2024, to damaging property occupied by a foreign government, explosive materials—malicious damage to federal property, and receipt or possession of an unregistered firearm (destructive device). 

               In addition to the 102-month prison term, U.S. District Court Chief Judge James E. Boasberg ordered Rodriguez to serve three years of supervised release.

               According to court documents, on September 23-24, 2023, Rodriguez drove from his home in Panama City, Fla., to Northern Virginia with a rifle and 15 pounds of explosive material. On the way, he stopped in Harrisonburg and Charlottesville, Va., to buy a black backpack, nitrile gloves, and a burner cell phone. On September 24, he parked his car in Arlington, Va., and used the burner phone to arrange for a taxi to drive him to within a few blocks of the Chinese Embassy. Between midnight and 3 a.m. near the back wall of the Embassy in Northwest Washington, Rodriguez placed the explosives-filled backpack next to a streetlight. Rodriguez then attempted to detonate the explosives by shooting at the backpack with a rifle. Rodriguez missed his target, and the device failed to detonate. Law enforcement officers later recovered the backpack containing explosive material, three shell casings, and bullet fragments from the ground along the outer perimeter wall of the Chinese Embassy. Impact marks were found on the Embassy wall near the bullet fragments behind the backpack.

               According to court documents, DNA obtained from the black backpack was found to be consistent with DNA evidence obtained from a previous arrest of Rodriguez in June 2021 in California. During the California incident, Rodriguez possessed three firearms and apparent explosive material consistent with the explosives used during the Chinese Embassy attack. DNA evidence obtained from Rodriguez pursuant to a buccal swab warrant later confirmed this DNA match.

             Between November 5 and 7, 2022, according to court documents, Rodriguez rented a vehicle in Pensacola, Fla., and drove to San Antonio, Texas. At about 2:25 a.m. on November 7, Rodriguez scaled an eight-foot fence to enter a courtyard on the 300 block of West Commerce Street, San Antonio. Inside the courtyard, he placed two canisters of explosive materials at the base of a satirical steel sculpture titled “Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin’s Head.” At 2:30 a.m., Rodriguez used a rifle to shoot at the canisters at the base of the statue, causing an explosion that caused damages of at least $325,000 to the Miss Mao sculpture.

    Law enforcement arrested Rodriguez on November 4, 2023, in Lafayette, Louisiana. He has been held since that date. 

               This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Washington Field Division. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Florida, the Western District of Louisiana, and the Western District of Texas; the ATF’s Tampa, New Orleans, and Houston Field Divisions; the FBI’s Washington and San Antonio Field Offices; the San Antonio Field Office of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations; the U.S. Secret Service, Uniformed Division and Foreign Missions Detective Unit; the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security; and the Metropolitan Police Department. 

                The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jolie F. Zimmerman and Stuart D. Allen. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maeghan Mikorski and Kelly Stephenson and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McCarthy.

    23cr392

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: USNS John Lewis Completes First Fleet Tasked Underway Replenishment

    Source: United States Navy

    Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler, USNS John Lewis (T-AO 205) became the first ship in the new John Lewis class to conduct a fleet task under Commander, U.S. Third Fleet, by refueling the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin (DDG 89) of the coast of Southern California Saturday.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Providence Man Admits to Trafficking Fentanyl-Laced Counterfeit Pills

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

    PROVIDENCE – A Providence man admitted to a federal judge today that he trafficked more than 2,000 fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

    Michael Sellers, 64, pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution of fentanyl. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 18, 2025. The sentence imposed will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    In pleading guilty, Sellers admitted that on at least two occasions in November 2023, he sold more than 1,000 counterfeit fentanyl-laced pills to an individual while under surveillance by FBI agents.

    On November 16, 2023, Sellers provided an individual with 1,027 fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills in exchange for $2,500 in cash. On November 24, 2023, he provided the same individual with 1,024  fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills in exchange for $2,500. In each instance, the pills were quickly seized by law enforcement.

    The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Peter I. Roklan and Stacey A. Erickson.

    The matter was investigated by the FBI.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Real Estate CEO Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Manipulating WeWork Stock with Fraudulent Tender Offer Scheme

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

    Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JONATHAN MOYNAHAN LARMORE was sentenced today to five years in prison for manipulating the stock price of WeWork, Inc. (“WeWork”) with a fake tender offer designed to fraudulently inflate the value of LARMORE’s own WeWork securities. LARMORE’s sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, who also presided over a one-week trial after which LARMORE was convicted of one count of tender offer fraud and one count of securities fraud.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Jonathan Larmore treated the stock market like a game he could rig to obtain instant riches at the expense of innocent investors. As today’s sentence shows, this Office will continue to advocate for significant penalties against those who manipulate our markets and defraud investors.”

    According to the evidence presented in court during the trial:

    LARMORE is the former CEO of Arciterra Companies LLC, a real estate investment and management firm. In the fall of 2023, LARMORE perpetrated a scheme to use a false and fraudulent tender offer to manipulate the stock price of WeWork, a co-working space company that was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

    To execute his scheme, LARMORE created a sham real estate investment firm called Cole Capital Funds LLC (“Cole Capital”). LARMORE then spent more than $775,000 buying tens of thousands of cheap, short-dated, out-of-the-money WeWork call options and hundreds of thousands of shares of WeWork common stock. On November 3, 2023, LARMORE published a fake press release announcing that Cole Capital proposed to acquire 51% of all outstanding shares owned by minority shareholders of WeWork at a more-than-700% premium in an all-cash offer worth more than $77 million. At the time, WeWork was on the verge of bankruptcy. The press release itself contained a number of false and misleading claims about LARMORE and Cole Capital, and their ability to carry through with the purported tender offer.

    In fact, neither LARMORE nor Cole Capital had the intent or ability to execute the announced tender offer. Instead, LARMORE intended for news of the tender offer to fraudulently inflate WeWork’s share price and, thereby, to increase the value of LARMORE’s newly acquired WeWork call options and shares.

    Approximately one minute after LARMORE’s press release about his fraudulent tender offer was published, WeWork’s share price quickly increased during after-hours trading by more than 70% and continued to rise to a high of more than 150% over the stock price prior to the publication of the press release. The WeWork call options LARMORE purchased could have made him tens of millions of dollars with a big enough spike to WeWork’s stock price, but the vast majority of the options expired before LARMORE could publish his manipulative press release. The following Monday, November 6, 2023, WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. LARMORE never followed through on his fraudulent tender offer.

    *               *                *

    In addition to the prison term, LARMORE, 51, of Syracuse, Indiana, was sentenced to three years of supervised release during which the defendant must perform 500 hours of community service.

    Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mr. Podolsky also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a civil action against LARMORE, for its assistance and cooperation in the investigation.

    This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam S. Hobson, Sarah Mortazavi, and Justin V. Rodriguez are in charge of the prosecution. 

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  • MIL-OSI Security: The Terrorist Screening Center Changes Name to the Threat Screening Center

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

    The FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) has been renamed the Threat Screening Center to reflect an expanded mission. For more than 20 years, the Terrorist Screening Center has been the U.S. government’s lead terrorist watchlisting entity. As national security threats continue to evolve, the TSC has expanded beyond terrorism watchlisting and screening to address other national security threats, like transnational organized crime (TOC).

    With the recent designation of eight drug cartels and gangs as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs), the TSC is well positioned to significantly increase its available identity information on transnational organized crime actors. To reflect this broader mission and increased focus on watchlisting FTO-designated TOC members, the TSC has changed its name to the Threat Screening Center.

    “Border security is essential to protecting our country and providing safer communities for our citizens,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “We’re expanding the watchlist to include cartel and gang members from newly designated foreign terrorist organizations. This change will assist our law enforcement and Intelligence Community partners as we all work together toward the goal of crushing violent crime within our borders.”

    “With expanding and growing threats, we are reflecting that in our name,” added TSC Director Michael Glasheen. “Transnational organized crime watchlisting plays an important role in U.S. security interests while we continue to prevent terrorist attacks. The name change is a signal to the American people that the TSC is a powerful tool that can be used to fight all national security threats.”

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Jamaican National Charged With Illegal Reentry By A Previously Deported Alien

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Orlando, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces the filing of a criminal complaint charging Garville Gary Gayle (36, Jamaica) with illegal reentry by a previously deported or removed alien. If convicted, Gayle faces up to ten years in federal prison. 

    According to the complaint, Gayle is a Jamaican citizen and national who was previously removed from the United States on November 19, 2009, and again on May 26, 2016. Prior to being removed from the United States, he was convicted of felony offenses, including illegal reentry by a previously removed alien. He has never applied to the Attorney General of the United States and/or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for permission to re-enter the United States. On April 29, 2024, Gayle was found voluntarily back in the United States.

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

    This case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO), the Orlando Police Department, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. Del Mastro.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Acting Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Matthew R. Galeotti Delivers Remarks Following Verdict in San Antonio Human Smuggling Case

    Source: United States Attorneys General 7

    Thank you U.S. Attorney Leachman for the Western District of Texas, Craig Laraby, Special Agent in Charge of HSI’s San Antonio Field Office, and everyone for being here. My name is Matthew Galeotti, and I am the Acting Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

    Today is a momentous day in the Department’s relentless fight against the leaders, organizers, and key facilitators of human smuggling networks – thanks to the work of our partners in the Western District of Texas and at ICE-HSI.

    As Attorney General Pamela Bondi has announced, the Department is committed to the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations. To help meet this goal, the Department is laser-focused on dismantling human smuggling networks. Working with our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and law enforcement partners, the Criminal Division is on the front lines of that fight.

    You have already heard from U.S. Attorney Leachman on the extraordinary work in this case, but let me take a moment to recognize the victims and the extraordinary efforts of the prosecution team that bring us all here today.

    As you heard, in June 2022, 64 aliens, from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico were loaded into a tractor-trailer without functioning air conditioning by members of an alien smuggling organization for the three-hour drive from Laredo to San Antonio, ultimately leading to the deaths of 53 people, including children and one pregnant woman. Eleven others were hospitalized.

    Today, two of the people responsible, Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzalez-Ortega, were held accountable for this tragedy by a United States jury. In total, eight members of this alien smuggling organization have now been convicted for their roles in this horrific event. This investigation and prosecution are the direct result of the hard work of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas and the dedicated special agents of Homeland Security Investigations, in close coordination with Joint Task Force Alpha and the Criminal Division.

    The crimes committed — and the tragedy caused — by this type of pernicious alien smuggling organization epitomize why the Attorney General is elevating Joint Task Force Alpha to be run directly out of her Office. The goal is to eliminate the scourge of human smuggling.

    Joint Task Force Alpha’s mission is to target and prosecute the leaders and organizers of transnational criminal organizations engaged in human smuggling and human trafficking throughout the Americas.

    Since its creation, Joint Task Force Alpha has tirelessly pursued significant smuggling indictments and extradition efforts across the country. In just the past seven weeks, the Department has charged more than 760 defendants involved in human smuggling.

    And we’re not done – not even by a long shot.

    In fact, we are continuing to prosecute those responsible for this mass casualty alien smuggling event.

    Just yesterday, Rigoberto Miranda-Orozco made his first court appearance here in the Western District of Texas after his extradition from Guatemala. His detention hearing is on Thursday. This Joint Task Force Alpha case will be prosecuted by trial attorneys from the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant United States Attorneys from the Western District of Texas.

    Miranda-Orozco was indicted and has been charged for allegedly conspiring with other smugglers to facilitate the travel of four aliens from Guatemala through Mexico, and ultimately, to the United States. He allegedly charged the aliens, or their families and friends, approximately $12,000 to $15,000 for the journey. The indictment alleges that three of these aliens passed away in the tractor-trailer in June 2022, and the fourth suffered serious bodily injury. For his actions, Miranda-Orozco is charged with six counts related to migrant smuggling resulting in death or serious bodily injury and he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

    This extradition sends the message that the Department of Justice will pursue human smugglers who violate U.S. law no matter where they are.

    I want to express my deep appreciation to our key law enforcement partners who built this investigation: HSI San Antonio and the HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., along with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center; U.S. Border Patrol; ATF; the San Antonio Police Department; and the Palestine Police Department. I would also like to thank our Criminal Division trial attorneys from the Office of International Affairs and resident legal advisors from the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) who provided significant assistance in coordinating with our foreign partners.

    I also want to thank our foreign law enforcement partners, especially Guatemalan law enforcement, for their assistance with this investigation and extradition.

    As I mentioned, the Department is vigorously prosecuting human smugglers to the fullest extent of the law.

    The Department of Justice has been working with members of Congress to advance a proposal to increase the sentencing guidelines in such cases to accurately account for the full scope of harm that can result from human smuggling.

    People around the country may not be familiar with the prevalence and seriousness of human smuggling cases. This case exemplifies why we all must pay attention. Human smuggling is dehumanizing, dangerous and it can be deadly. Smuggling victims are often subject to rape, kidnapping, extortion, exploitation and more. It will not stand.

    Our resolve in tackling these crimes will not waver. Joint Task Force Alpha, along with our partners, will continue to pursue the leaders and organizers of human smuggling and trafficking networks wherever they operate, with an enhanced focus on alien smuggling and trafficking by cartels and transnational criminal organizations.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: Navy Culinary Specialists Showcase their skills at the 49th Joint Culinary Training Exercise

    Source: United States Navy

    FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. – Culinary Specialists (CS) from across the fleet competed at the 49th annual Joint Culinary Training Exercise (JCTE), which ran from Feb. 28 until March 7, 2025, at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia. This year’s training event attracted over 150 U.S. military personnel from installations and activities worldwide, alongside allied forces teams from the Republic of Korea, Germany, the U.K., and France.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Maryland Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Pandemic Relief Loan Fraud and Commercial Loan Fraud

    Source: United States Department of Justice (National Center for Disaster Fraud)

    Defendant admitted to spending portions of fraudulent-loan proceeds on a Lamborghini and home renovations.

    Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Lydia K. Griggsby sentenced Andra Shirone Thompson, 48, of Silver Spring, Maryland, to a year and a day for two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

    Thompson pled guilty to conspiring to defraud Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act loan programs and his role in a years-long scheme to defraud commercial equipment financing companies. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised released and ordered to forfeit $847,280, and pay $813,363.01 in restitution to the victims of his schemes.

    Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, made the announcement with Supervisory Official Matthew Galeotti, Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Executive Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington, D.C., Field Office; Jeffrey D. Pittano, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Mid-Atlantic Region; Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Braithwaite, Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Eastern Region; and Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office.

    According to his guilty plea, Thompson admitted to participating in a conspiracy to submit fraudulent applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans on behalf of companies he controlled. The companies included Alpha Bravo Tango LLC., Senergy Consulting Group Inc., and Novus Ordo Seclorum LLC. Through the scheme, Thompson fraudulently obtained $716,375. He spent a portion of the proceeds on vehicles, including a 2014 Lamborghini Aventador, and on renovating a home in North Carolina.

    Thompson also joined a conspiracy to defraud equipment financing companies by submitting fraudulent invoices that falsely showed the sale of substantial quantities of computer servers and related equipment. Thompson and his co-conspirators caused borrowers to submit fraudulent invoices to lenders to support their loan applications to purchase items. After approval, lenders deposited loan proceeds into accounts controlled by Thompson and his co-conspirators. The lenders were unaware that the sales on the invoices never occurred. Thompson and his co-conspirators typically “kicked back” a portion of the proceeds to the borrower who submitted the application and kept the rest for themselves. Thompson personally participated in three executions of this scheme, causing approximately $813,362 in fraudulently induced lending.

    Additionally, the co-conspirators caused more than $60 million of fraudulently induced lending across more than 350 separate loans through this scheme. Thompson’s principal co-conspirator, Craig David Davis, 49, of Venice, California, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and was sentenced earlier this month to 93 months incarceration.

    Financial assistance offered through the CARES Act included forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and other expenses, through the PPP, administered through the Small Business Administration (SBA).  The SBA also offered an EIDL and/or an EIDL advance to help businesses meet their financial obligations.

    The District of Maryland Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud, including fraud relating to the CARES Act. The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors.  The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.

    For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.  Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

    U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the IRS-CI, FDIC-OIG, SBA-OIG, and the FBI who investigated the case. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Wenner, along with Trial Attorney David A. Peters from the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, who prosecuted the federal case.

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

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Whitehorse — Missing man located

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    The Whitehorse RCMP would like to update the public that Mr. David Eric Godfrey has been located deceased.

    The RCMP, and Mr. Godfrey’s family, would like to extend their gratitude to Yukon Search and Rescue and the numerous volunteers who assisted in the search efforts.

    Yukon RCMP extend their condolences to the family.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Reward offered in appeal to solve murder of Junior Nelson

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    Detectives investigating the murder of Junior George Nelson, whose remains were found nine years ago in Northolt, are appealing for witnesses and information to identify whoever is responsible.

    The independent charity Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to £20,000 for information that leads to the identification and prosecution of those responsible for Junior’s murder.

    A murder investigation was launched after Junior’s remains were found in undergrowth near railway lines at the back of Rabournmead Drive in Northolt on 14 March 2016.

    Junior had been reported missing after last being seen on 15 August 2015 in Kilburn.

    Detective Constable Iain McDonald from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command said:

    “It’s been ten years since Junior disappeared – years in which his family and friends have been left without the answers they deserve.

    “We remain committed to finding those responsible for Juniors’s death but need the public’s help. There are people amongst the community, in particularly the Kilburn area, who know what happened to Junior.

    “A lot can happen in ten years. Allegiances can change and maybe you felt unable to talk to us at the time, for whatever reason, but you are now in a position to do so. Now is the time to come forward.

    “We understand that those with information may be concerned, but I would urge anyone who can help to come forward and help give Junior’s family the justice they deserve.

    “A substantial reward is available from Crimestoppers, who are a charity, independent of to the police. – They will not ask for your personal details when you contact them, just for any information that could help identify who is responsible for Junior’s murder. To qualify for this reward, you must provide information directly to them.

    “You can also speak to our investigation team. Any information you have, no matter how small, could be significant and will be treated with the strictest confidence.”

    Alexa Loukas, Crimestoppers’ London Regional Manager, said:

    “We know that coming forward and speaking up can be incredibly daunting. Crimestoppers provides a safe and anonymous way for anyone with information to help, without ever having to involve the police. Even though ten years have passed since Junior’s tragic murder, what you know could be the key to bringing justice for Junior and providing his family with the answers they so desperately need. We cannot identify telephone numbers or IP addresses, and we never record calls. Since our charity was founded in 1988, we have always upheld our promise of anonymity.”

    Anyone with information is asked submit this online to police via the Major Incident Public Portal (MIPP) at this link.

    You can also provide information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via crimestoppers-uk.org. The reward will only be payable for information passed directly to Crimestoppers and not to the police. A reward code must be asked for when calling the charity on 0800 555 111. If you contact Crimestoppers via the online form anonymously, the ‘keeping in contact’ facility must be used and a reward code must be requested on your initial contact with the charity.

    An investigation was initially launched after Junior Nelson was reported missing on 21 August 2015 – he had last been seen at his home address in Aldershot Road, NW6 at around midday on Saturday 15 August. Police believe he remained in the vicinity of his home until that evening before he travelled from Kilburn towards Wembley. This was not a usual journey he would take.

    Mobile phone analysis subsequently confirmed his phone was in use in the Stonebridge Park area of Wembley at around 22:00hrs that evening – however, his phone has never been recovered.

    Junior was well known in the Kilburn area. Police believe that prior to his disappearance he was being taken advantage of by those involved in dealing illegal drugs in the area.

    Police initially investigated Junior as a missing person but this was changed to a murder investigation following the discovery of his remains.

    Four people were arrested following an initial investigation but all were released without charge.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: USS Vermont Returns Home From First Western Pacific Deployment

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – The Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Vermont (SSN 792) returned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam March 16, following a seven-month deployment, the submarine’s first deployment to the Western Pacific. 104 Sailors assigned to Vermont earned their first Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, since the submarine’s departure from Pearl Harbor in August 2024.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: ‘Pacific Medics’ lead joint, combined medical evacuation exercise during Eighth Army’s Freedom Lift

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    The 65th Medical Brigade’s Pacific Medics spearheaded teams from across Korea and successfully conducted Eighth Army’s Freedom Lift 25-1, a large-scale medical evacuation training exercise across multiple locations in the Republic of Korea. This historic exercise integrated the 65th Medical Brigade, allies and joint partners at an unprecedented scale.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Marshals, Partner VI Agencies Arrest, Return Murder Suspect to St. Thomas to Face Charges

    Source: US Marshals Service

    St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands – A murder suspect is back in custody in St. Thomas thanks to the efforts of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) in the District of the Virgin Islands, the USMS Florida Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force (FCRFTF), the Virgin Islands Police Department, the USMS Foreign Field Office Jamaica and the British Virgin Islands Department of Immigration.

    Demare A. Encarnacion, 32, is alleged to have participated in the early morning Oct. 13, 2024, shooting death of Cecil Scatliffe in the area of Kronprindsens Gade.

    Encarnacion was charged by arrest warrant Oct. 17, 2024, with first-degree murder, use of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, possession of an unlicensed firearm within 1,000 feet of a school.

    FCRFTF investigators developed information in December 2024 that Encarnacion was in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. He was apprehended in Tortola earlier today and returned to the USVI by BVI Immigration officers.

    “As the enforcement arm of the U.S. Courts, the U.S. Marshals’ commitment to partnerships with federal, local and international law enforcement agencies to track down violent fugitives is unwavering,” said Acting U.S. Marshal for the District of the Virgin Islands, Kwesi Howard. “Although we cannot arrest our way out of problems, we can help bring closure to families who are affected by crimes of violence.”

    The mission of the FCRFTF is to locate and apprehend fugitives, with priority given to fugitives wanted for violent crime.  Founded July 1, 2008, the task force is supported by eight federal and 101 state and local agencies and operates within the southern, northern and middle districts of Florida, as well as the District of the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

    MIL Security OSI –