NEW ORLEANS, July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until September 23, 2025 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Flywire Corporation (“Flywire” or the “Company”) (NasdaqGS: FLYW), if they purchased the Company’s securities between February 28, 2024 and February 25, 2025, inclusive (the “Class Period”). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Get Help
Flywire investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nasdaq-flyw/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options.
About the Lawsuit
Flywire and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.
On February 25, 2025, the Company announced its Q4 and FY 2024 financial results, disclosing a loss per share of $0.12 for Q4 2024, missing consensus estimates by $0.12, and revenue of $117.6 million, missing consensus estimates by $1.25 million, which it attributed to “a complex macro environment with significant headwinds,” and that the Company would “undertake an operational and business portfolio review” and certain “efficiency measures” including “a restructuring, which impacts approximately 10% of our workforce.”
On this news, the price of Flywire’s shares fell $6.59 per share, or 37.36%, to close at $11.05 per share on February 26, 2025.
The case is Hickman v. Flywire Corporation, et al., No. 25-cv-04110.
About ClaimsFiler
ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations.
David Pastorello was Pending Sentencing on State Charges for Disseminating Indecent Material to a Minor
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – David Pastorello, age 44, of Ithaca, New York, was arrested Tuesday evening and had his initial appearance on Wednesday on charges of enticement of a minor and distribution of child pornography. Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.
The complaint alleges that Pastorello sent text messages to a girl under the age of 12, repeatedly requesting that the child have sex with him. Pastorello also sent the victim indecent images of himself, in addition to two images constituting child pornography under federal law. Later, Pastorello entered the victim’s apartment without permission before fleeing. The charges in the complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Prior to this offense, in May 2025, Pastorello was arraigned in Tompkins County Court for the New York State offense of possessing a sexual performance by a child less than 16 years old. In July 2025, just a few days prior to the incident that gave rise to the federal charges, Pastorello pled guilty in Cortland County Court to the New York State offense of disseminating indecent material to a minor. The Cortland County case was reset for sentencing. Pastorello was out on bond in both pending state cases.
Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III stated: “Thanks to the quick work of federal, state, and local law enforcement, children have been protected and a dangerous predator has been apprehended. Despite having committed other crimes relating to child sexual abuse, Pastorello was allowed by state authorities to be out of custody. His new crimes demonstrate how dangerously unwise that decision was. Pastorello will be held fully accountable for the federal offenses he has committed.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig L. Tremaroli stated: “Mr. Pastorello, a repeat offender with an alarming criminal history, is a dangerous predator who is now facing serious federal charges. These charges would not have been possible without the incredible assistance and coordination provided by our partners from the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office, Ithaca Police Department, and New York State Police. Our communities should know the FBI is committed to leveraging these strong partnerships to bring the full weight of the federal government down on these disturbing predators looking to harm our children.”
Following the initial appearance, Pastorello was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending further proceedings.
If convicted of enticement of a minor, Pastorello faces a maximum term of life in prison and a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years, and for distribution of child pornography, a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 5 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute(s) the defendant is convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. Pastorello would also be required to register as a sex offender if convicted.
The FBI and New York State Police are conducting this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Gillis is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood.
Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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.
ALBUQUERQUE – A Hogback man is facing federal charges after an argument escalated into violence in front of multiple witnesses
According to court documents, on June 19, 2025, Renaldo Descheny, 43, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, assaulted Jane Doe by strangling her and striking her in the face with a firearm. The assault resulted in a laceration requiring hospital treatment. During the altercation, Descheny also pointed the firearm at multiple individuals and discharged the weapon several times, including firing towards the vehicle as the victims attempted to flee.
Descheny is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and will remain in custody pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted of the current charges, Descheny faces up to 10 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Philip Russell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Farmington Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Mondragon is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
A speed enforcement camera is to be trialled on Victoria Road in St Budeaux, following concerns raised by local residents and ward councillors.
The static camera, which will be installed near the tennis club and play area, will be used to enforce the existing 30mph speed limit in both directions over a six-month period.
It is one of two being loaned free of charge to Devon and Cornwall Police by a new supplier on a temporary basis to test their operation.
Victoria Road has been chosen as a suitable site to deploy one of the cameras as it has seen a number of collisions in recent years, some involving serious and fatal injuries and residents have been pressing the Council to introduce measures to tackle speeding and improve safety.
It is hoped the camera will encourage greater speed limit compliance, as well as help reduce traffic noise along this busy route.
Councillor John Stephens, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport, said: “Victoria Road is part of our major road network and runs through a densely populated residential area. There have been a number of collisions there in recent years, some of which were speed-related and some that have resulted in fatalities.
“Local residents have been raising their concerns about speeding traffic for some time and we are pleased to have been given the opportunity to trial this camera enforcement free of charge. I hope it helps to remind drivers of the limit in place and deter the more deliberate ‘racing’ we often see along this road.”
The camera is expected to installed next week and will be fixed to a lamp column that will have yellow reflective banding. There will be warning signs on both approaches and it will operate in the same way as other standard speed cameras across the city (not as an average speed camera).
If the trial is successful the police hope to purchase the camera, which will then remain on Victoria Road.
The Council does not make any money from speed camera fines. Once police operating costs are met, any surplus from fines goes to Vision Zero and, by law, has to go into road safety measures.
Vision Zero brings together local councils, emergency services, health trusts, National Highways, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety. Its vision is to cut the number of deaths and serious injuries to zero.
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has imposed a £300,000 monetary penalty against Markom Management Limited (MML)
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has imposed a £300,000 monetary penalty against Markom Management Limited (MML) for a breach of UK financial sanctions imposed against Russia following the 2014 annexation of Crimea.
The breach relates to MML’s involvement in the making of a payment of £416,590.92 to a designated person, who remains subject to an asset freeze under current Russia sanctions. This payment was in breach of the UK sanctions in force at the time in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
MML gave instructions to make the payment from another company’s bank account with the knowledge that the recipient was a designated person, showing a disregard for proper sanctions and failure to have in place adequate compliance and controls procedures.
As a result of this breach, OFSI imposed a penalty of £300,000 on MML.
The imposition of this penalty highlights some key lessons for industry. All firms, regardless of their size, should take appropriate steps to understand and address their exposure to sanctions risks; have adequate sanctions processes to ensure compliance including to promptly identify as well as report suspected breaches of financial sanctions to OFSI; and be alert to the risks of making payments in haste.
The UK considers financial sanctions to be a vital foreign policy tool. They remain central to the UK’s efforts to hold Russia to account, place Ukraine on the strongest footing possible, and deter malign activity around the world.
To date western sanctions have resulted in Russia’s oil and gas revenues falling every year since 2022 – losing over a third of its value in three years. Sanctions and the cost of Putin’s barbaric war are causing the Russian economy to stall – with the wealth fund hollowed out, inflation rising and government spend on defence and security spiralling.
This case is the latest in a series of monetary penalties announced over the past year. The UK will continue to prioritise sanctions enforcement, through public actions, such as monetary penalties, as well as actions which are not made public, such as warning letters and referrals to partner agencies and regulators.
On the 22 July, OFSI launched a consultation on proposed changes aiming to improve the effectiveness of its enforcement processes. These proposals, if implemented, will double the value of penalties for the worst sanctions breaches, and potentially speed up the resolution of certain penalty cases.
As 2025 University Scholars, three College of Engineering students are spending their last three semesters pursuing personalized research projects.
Open to all undergraduate students, the University Scholar Program allows students to design an in-depth research or creative project and to craft a learning plan that supports their academic goals during their final three semesters. Each student is mentored by an advisory committee of three faculty.
Admission to the University Scholars program is based on an application submitted during the first semester of a student’s junior year. Applications are reviewed by an interdisciplinary committee of faculty members who may select up to 30 University Scholars in any given year.
The University Scholars and their projects are below:
Laxmi Chinmaya Vobbineni ’26 Project Title: The Synergic Role of Electrical and Chemical Stimulation in Wound Healing of Diabetic Patients
University Scholar Laxmi Vobbineni ’26 is exploring techniques that can help diabetes patients heal faster from wounds.
People with diabetes often have trouble healing from wounds. Since high blood sugar can damage blood vessels and weaken the immune system, white blood cells struggle to reach the wound. This can slow tissue repair and lead to ongoing inflammation.
Wounds may heal very slowly, become chronic, or leave scars—and this can be painful and expensive for patients.
University Scholar Laxmi Vobbineni ’26, a biomedical engineering and molecular and cell biology double major, is working to help diabetic patients heal from wounds faster by using chemical and electrical stimulation.
“Chemical stimulation, such as ion channel blockers, in conjunction with electrical stimulation may improve the wound healing process for diabetic patients,” she says.
By combining these treatments with an ionically-conductive biomaterial called scaffolding, ions can help restore electrical signals in the body that guide white blood cells to repair tissue.
“Our hope is to develop a system that has high potential for clinical use,” Vobbineni says.
Vobbineni’s advisors are Syam Nukavarapu, professor and department head in Biomedical Engineering; David Daggett, associate professor-in-residence of molecular and cell biology; and Sangamesh Kumbar, associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the UConn Health Center. She also interns at the UConn Health Center under Kumbar, working on projects related to the fields of tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Vobbineni, a member of the Society of Women Engineers and STEM Scholar Executive Board, volunteers as a nursing aide at the Hospital for Special Care in New Britain, Connecticut. She also holds an executive board position for the UConn FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League Explore Program, which uses Legos and technology to excite youth about robotics and STEM.
Her involvement in FIRST began in middle school and high school and sparked her interest in innovation. “This is one of the reasons I decided to pursue biomedical engineering,” she says.
After graduation, Vobbineni plans to pursue medical school and work in the field of emergency medicine.
Wyeth Haddock ’26 Project Title: Developing a Copper-Based Medium Entropy Alloy with Enhanced Mechanical Properties for Space Applications
University Scholar Wyeth Haddock ’26, at left, is working at the National Center for Electron Microscopy in Berkeley, California this summer.
As a University Scholar, Wyeth Haddock ’26, a materials science and engineering major, is developing a structural material for use in extreme environments with potential applications in space exploration and nuclear energy.
His project focuses on synthesizing and analyzing an alloy made from copper, dysprosium, and yttrium (Cu-Dy-Y) that exhibits enhanced mechanical properties. By studying the alloy’s microstructure, phase stability, and mechanical behavior across temperature regimes, Haddock hopes to demonstrate improved material performance in extreme conditions and understand unique deformation behavior.
“If successful, the alloy could support the development of more durable materials for space exploration,” he says.
Haddock’s advisors include Seok-Woo Lee, associate professor of materials science and engineering and Director of Undergraduate Studies; and Yuanyuan Zhu, associate professor of materials science and engineering and director of the MSE Honors Program.
Haddock, an honors student from Fairfax, Vermont, is president of the UConn Running Club, and is a member of the UConn Materials Advantage Society, Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, Alpha Sigma Mu MSE Honor Society, and the ASM Board of Trustees. His jobs on campus include work as a campus tour guide and undergraduate teaching assistant. He recently served as a facilitator for the Honors First Year Experience program and as a Floor Mentor for the Honors 2 Opportunities Learning Community.
This summer, Haddock is a STROBE Summer Undergraduate Research Scholar at the University of California at Berkeley where he works in the National Center for Electron Microscopy at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
“Throughout my UConn experience, I’ve immersed myself in collaborative communities, working in a lab, facilitating a first-year course, and traveling nationally to compete in running races,” he says. “These sorts of experiences have allowed me to further my learning, as I seek to positively impact the world around me.”
Haddock intends to pursue a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering, with an emphasis on understanding how atomic structure influences the properties of materials. He hopes to continue research in structural materials, developing the materials necessary for the complex demands of an evolving world.
Passionate about education and outreach, Wyeth also hopes to continually inspire younger audiences to get involved in materials science and engineering.
Zhengyang Wei ’26 Project Title: Stability Analysis on 9D Shear Flow Model by Small-Signal Finite-Gain Lp Stable Theorem
University Scholar Zhengyang Wei ’26 is exploring ways to improve the stability and performance of aerodynamic designs.
Turbulence—when fluid flow becomes chaotic—is difficult to control, but preventing it is important in many engineering systems. As a University Scholar, mechanical engineering major Zhengyang Wei ’26 is using mathematical tools to prevent turbulence by studying shear flows. In shear flows, layers of liquid or gas move parallel to each other but at different speeds.
By finding the conditions that keep the flow stable, Wei’s research can help improve the stability and performance of aerodynamic designs, industrial systems, and other applications. This work contributes to developing effective strategies for controlling shear flows and advancing fluid dynamics research.
“For example, we can mitigate the transition to turbulence in the wind over an airplane wing, which will make the flight more stable and efficient,” he explains.
His advisors are Chang Liu, assistant professor in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering; Reza Sheikhi, professor-in-residence in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering; and Jason Lee, professor-in-residence in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering.
As University Scholars, Vobbineni, Haddock, and Wei receive a range of benefits designed to support and enrich their academic journey. These include a financial award that covers the General University Fee and Student Health Services Fee for up to three regular semesters, or until graduation from the program. Scholars are also eligible for course credit fee waivers for up to nine credits of summer or intersession courses, and the opportunity to enroll in graduate-level courses with instructor permission.
Students accepted into a UConn graduate program while in the University Scholar Program may begin working toward their graduate degree as undergraduates, with the ability to apply eligible graduate-level coursework toward that degree.
Home Newsroom Attorney General Labrador Secures Prison Sentence for Child Predator
BOISE — Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit arrested and secured the conviction of Enrique Galeana, 30, for possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material. Gem County District Judge Brent Whiting sentenced Galeana to 20 years in prison, with eligibility for parole after serving 10 years on July 14, 2025. Upon release, Galeana must register as a sex offender pursuant to Idaho law. “Every predator we remove from our streets makes Idaho families and communities safer,” said Attorney General Labrador. “Our ICAC investigators work relentlessly to protect children in Idaho from those who would exploit and harm them, and we will continue pursuing these criminals with the full force of the law.” In September 2024, Labrador’s ICAC Unit received a CyberTip indicating Galeana was uploading and distributing child sexual abuse material through an account linked to his phone number. After obtaining search warrants and conducting months of surveillance, ICAC investigators searched Galeana’s home, vehicle, and devices. Officers discovered numerous files depicting children ages 4 to 12. During questioning, Galeana admitted attraction to children ages 3-10 and to accessing the material for sexual arousal. During the investigation, authorities learned Galeana was an inadmissible alien and reported him to the appropriate federal authorities. Lead Deputy Attorney General Madison Allen Gourley prosecuted the case. ICAC Investigator Lauren Lane conducted the investigation.
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – James C. Mobley, 43, of Gainesville, Florida, was sentenced to a total of 15 years in federal prison following his conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the sentence.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “This sentence ensures that our community will be safer and sends a strong message that there are real and severe consequences for federal firearm offenses. Thanks to the outstanding work of our law enforcement partners, this armed felon has been called to account for his continued criminal conduct.”
On July 11, 2024, Gainesville Police Department officers conducted a traffic stop of Mobley. During a search of Mobley’s vehicle, officers located a loaded revolver and various narcotics. Mobley pleaded guilty the day his trial was set to commence on April 28, 2025. Mobley was sentenced as an armed career criminal due to his numerous felony convictions for serious drug offenses.
“We have zero tolerance for gun crimes in our community. My message to those who choose to bring guns and drugs to our streets – we will find you, and we will work with all our criminal justice partners to hold you accountable. Our community deserves safety,” said Chief Nelson Moya, Gainesville Police Department.
Mobley’s imprisonment will be followed by five years of supervised release. This conviction was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Gainesville Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Harley W. Ferguson and Adam Hapner prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
WASHINGTON –Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories, released Thorium, an automated, scalable malware and forensic analysis platform that can integrate commercial, custom and open-source analysis tools and enable cyber defenders to quickly assess malware threats and index forensic analysis results into a unified platform.
Advanced persistent threats using malware continue to increase in volume and complexity. The analysis of malware and forensics must be done accurately and quickly to enable organizations to defend their networks. However, malware analysts across government, public and private sectors are challenged with vast amounts of malware and managing a long list of malware analysis tools with specific capabilities and not enough time & resources to effectively analyze the threat.
Thorium allows cyber defenders to integrate their preferred tools into a single platform that orchestrates customized & automated analysis workflows at scale, analyze large amounts of malware quickly, and to add & remove tools quickly as malware threats evolve. Thorium is configured to ingest over 10 million files per hour per permission group and schedule over 1,700 jobs per second, while maintaining a fast results query.
“The Thorium framework underscores CISA’s focus and commitment to provide valuable services and resources at scale that help government and critical infrastructure protect against cyber threats and strengthen their cybersecurity. By publicly sharing this platform, we empower the broader cybersecurity community to orchestrate the use of advanced tools for malware and forensic analysis,” said CISA Associate Director for Threat Hunting Jermaine Roebuck. “With our partners at Sandia National Laboratories, we are enabling analysts nationwide to contribute insights and benefit from shared knowledge. Scalable analysis of binaries as well as other digital artifacts further enables cybersecurity analysts to understand and address vulnerabilities in benign software.”
Cybersecurity teams with frequent file analysis workflows can use Thorium to:
Integrate command-line tools as docker images (free and open-source software, commercial off-the-shelf, custom, etc.). With additional configuration, integrate virtual machine and bare-metal tools.
Filter tool results using tags and full-text search.
Control how submissions, tools, and results are accessible by using strict group-based permissions.
Scale with hardware using the power of Kubernetes and ScyllaDB to meet workload requirements.
Import and export tools for ease of sharing across cyber defense teams.
For more information and installation instructions, visit Thorium on CISA.gov. For more cybersecurity services offered by CISA, visit Free Cybersecurity Services & Tools.
###
About CISA
As the nation’s cyber defense agency and national coordinator for critical infrastructure security, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency leads the national effort to understand, manage, and reduce risk to the digital and physical infrastructure Americans rely on every hour of every day.
Welcomed by the INTERPOL President and Secretary General, the visit focused on bolstering international police cooperation to combat emerging crime threats.
LYON, France: The Saudi Arabian Minister of Interior, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Saud Bin Naif Bin Abdulaziz, met with INTERPOL President Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi and INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza at the organization’s Lyon headquarters.
“INTERPOL greatly values the strong partnership with Saudi Arabia in tackling global security threats. The visit of the Minister of Interior to INTERPOL’s headquarters underlines the Kingdom’s commitment to international police cooperation and our shared determination to confront transnational crime through collaboration, innovation, and trust.”
Prince Abdulaziz Bin Saud said:
“Today’s visit reflects Saudi Arabia’s continued commitment to supporting INTERPOL and strengthening international cooperation in combating cross-border crime. The Kingdom values INTERPOL’s vital role in enhancing collaboration between security agencies worldwide, a partnership which is crucial to global security and stability.”
Prince Abdulaziz Bin Saud and his delegation were briefed by INTERPOL officials on police capabilities targeting cybercrime, financial fraud and other emerging crime threats.
“Saudi Arabia has shown important leadership in driving the digital transformation of international police cooperation. The Kingdom’s generous support for INTERPOL’s I-CORE programme is accelerating our efforts to build a more connected and effective global policing architecture.”
Prince Abdulaziz Bin Saud was accompanied by Hesham Al-Faleh, Assistant Minister of Interior and Fahd bin Mayouf Al-Ruwaili, Ambassador of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to France, alongside other senior national security leaders.
America and Chile deepen mutual commitment to security
SANTIAGO, CHILE – Today, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem met with Chilean Minister of Public Security Luis Cordero Vega, Attorney General Ángel Valencia, and Minister of Justice Jaime Gajardo Falcón for the first time to discuss how the two countries can work together to deter illegal immigration, how Chile can maintain compliance with the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, and how the two countries can increase law enforcement cooperation to facilitate lawful travel and crackdown on criminals entering America.
“Today, America and Chile deepened our mutual commitment to security by discussing how we can work together on several key information sharing initiatives in the near future,”Secretary Noem said in a statement. “I am proud to announce that we signed a letter of intent for continued partnership on Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert (BITMAP) that will expand this vital data sharing program into new area. Chile also deserves applause for its efforts to stay compliant with our Visa Waiver Program and for its law enforcement’s efforts to stop criminals heading towards America from traveling through its country.”
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Chilean Minister of Public Security Luis Cordero Vega, and Minister of Justice Jaime Gajardo Falcón
Secretary Noem and Chilean officials moved one step closer to a BITMAP memo of understanding by signing a letter of intent that represents Chile and the U.S.’s desire to continue these efforts.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem signs BITMAP letter of intent
Chile also committed to accepting all ICE charter flights and enrolling in Electronic Nationality Verification (ENV) and our Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement (SAFE) programs. Chile will continue to be key a member of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program and has been a valued partner for law enforcement efforts in the region.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Chilean Minister of Public Security Luis Cordero Vega hold a bilateral meeting
The U.S. looks forward to continuing information sharing, engaging in joint law enforcement training exercises, and looking for new ways to build upon its relationship with Chile.
WASHINGTON –Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released an Eviction Strategies Tool, a no-cost resource designed to support cyber defenders in their efforts to respond to cyber incidents. CISA contracted with MITRE to develop this tool that enables cyber defenders to create tailored response plans and adversary eviction strategies within minutes. They will also be able to develop customized playbooks aimed at containing and evicting adversaries from compromised systems and networks.
The tool includes COUN7ER, a database of atomic post-compromise countermeasures mapped to adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), and Cyber Eviction Strategies Playbook NextGen, a web-based application that matches incident findings with countermeasures obtained from COUN7ER. Together, these resources help defenders build systematic eviction plans with distinct countermeasures to thwart and evict unique intrusions.
“How an organization approaches remediation and eviction of an incident is critically important to a successful response effort. Over the years, we have seen organizations struggle with identifying the right steps to take and the correct sequencing of actions to properly evict advanced adversaries from their enterprises,” said Jermaine Roebuck, Associate Director for Threat Hunting, CISA. “This tool will level the playing field by making it easier for IT staff and cyber defenders to coordinate efforts and achieve a successful eviction. I encourage public and private sector organizations to incorporate this capability into their incident response plans.”
Key features of the Eviction Strategies Tool include:
Enables cyber defenders to build response plans based on either MITRE ATT&CK® or on free text that describes threat actor activities on compromised assets.
Exports defensive measure options in numerous formats, such as JSON, Microsoft Word and Excel, and markdown.
Builds on knowledge from other frameworks, including MITRE D3FEND™, as well as MITRE ATT&CK.
Contains more than 100 fully developed, researched and curated atomic actions that incident responders can take to contain and evict adversary agency within their networks and assets.
To encourage collaboration and development, CISA offers Cyber Eviction Strategies Playbook NextGen and COUN7ER to the public under the MIT Open Source License. Cyber defenders are encouraged to review the new tool and provide feedback using CISA’s anonymous product survey.
For more information on best practices to implement preventative measures and manage cyber risks, visit Cybersecurity Best Practices.
###
About CISA
As the nation’s cyber defense agency and national coordinator for critical infrastructure security, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency leads the national effort to understand, manage, and reduce risk to the digital and physical infrastructure Americans rely on every hour of every day.
On Friday, July 18, FBI Seattle took felony fugitive Salman Haji into custody following his arrest and deportation from Nairobi, Kenya, as part of an operation targeting violent crime. Haji was wanted for the January 2024 homicide of Mingyuan Huang in the parking lot of a business in Tukwila in what the investigation has determined to have been an attempted robbery. Haji is also charged in a federal armed carjacking case.
“International fugitive investigations like this one require significant coordination with domestic and international law enforcement partners as well as our Legal Attaché offices, which advance the FBI’s mission worldwide,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “The FBI is committed to pursuing those who attempt to flee the criminal justice system and bringing them to justice, even when they seek to evade accountability by hiding overseas. This international operation was a joint effort by the Tukwila Police Department, FBI Seattle, FBI Legal Attachés Nairobi and The Hague, the DEA Nairobi Country Office, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations and Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.”
“The Tukwila Police Department would like to thank the FBI and all the involved federal and international law enforcement partner agencies for their assistance in locating and taking Haji into custody and stand trial for the homicide of Mingyuan Huang,” said Eric Drever, Chief of Police, Tukwila Police Department.
The operation that ultimately led to Haji’s arrest is part of Summer Heat, the FBI’s nationwide initiative targeting violent crime during the summer months. As part of this effort, the FBI has launched a multi-pronged offensive to crush violent crime. By surging resources alongside state and local partners, executing federal warrants on violent criminals and fugitives, and dismantling violent gangs nationwide, we are aggressively restoring safety in our communities across the country.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday in a bid to salvage Gaza truce talks and tackle a humanitarian crisis in the enclave, where a global hunger monitor has warned that famine is unfolding.
Shortly after Witkoff’s arrival, President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social network: “The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!”
Indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Doha ended in deadlock last week with the sides trading blame for the impasse and gaps lingering over issues including the extent of an Israeli military withdrawal.
Witkoff arrived with Israel facing mounting international pressure over the widespread destruction of Gaza and constraints on aid in the territory, with Canada the latest Western power to say it will recognise a Palestinian state.
Israel on Wednesday sent a response to Hamas’ latest amendments to a U.S. proposal that would see a 60-day ceasefire and the release of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a source familiar with the details said.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas. Israeli officials have in recent days said Israel might declare that it would annex parts of Gaza if the stalemate continues.
Gaza medical officials said at least 23 people were reported killed by Israeli fire across the enclave, including 12 people among crowds who had gathered to receive aid around the Netzarim corridor, an area held by Israeli troops in central Gaza.
The Israeli military said that its troops had fired warning shots to disperse crowds that were endangering them with no casualties identified.
Since the war began, the Gaza health ministry has recorded 156 deaths from starvation and malnutrition, most of them in recent weeks, including at least 90 children.
Israel’s Public Broadcaster Kan said Witkoff would also visit an aid distribution site in Gaza.
Confronted by rising international outrage over images of starving children, Israel said on Sunday it would halt military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and designate secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine.
CALLS ON HAMAS TO DISARM
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Wednesday the United Nations and its partners had been able to bring more food into Gaza in the first two days of pauses, but the volume was “still far from enough”.
Even with more aid running through Gaza, residents face peril from Israeli forces and Palestinian looters when trying to reach the supplies.
“I have tried several times to grab a sack of flour. The only time I managed to do so, someone with a knife froze me in the street and took it away, threatening to stab me,” one man from Deir Al-Balah told Reuters, asking not to be identified.
With the number of Palestinians killed in almost two years of war passing 60,000 this week, pressure has been mounting in Gaza on Hamas to reach a ceasefire deal with Israel.
“We can save thousands of lives and maybe the war wouldn’t resume,” Rami from Gaza City told Reuters via a chat app.
Mothers of hostages led a protest outside Netanyahu’s office, calling on the government to end the war.
“End this nightmare,” said Yael Engel-Lichi, whose nephew had been taken hostage and released in a previous ceasefire. Twenty of the 50 hostages still held by militants in Gaza are believed to still be alive.
Netanyahu, whose ruling coalition includes two far-right parties who want to conquer Gaza and re-establish Jewish settlements there, has said he will not end the war until Hamas no longer rules the enclave and lays down its arms.
Hamas has rejected calls to disarm.
Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating the ceasefire efforts, backed a declaration on Tuesday by France and Saudi Arabia which outlined steps for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The declaration says Hamas “must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority”, which is led by its rivals and exercises limited self-rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israel has ruled out the Palestinian Authority gaining control of Gaza and on Thursday Defence Minister Israel Katz and Justice Minister Yariv Levin voiced support for annexing the West Bank – territory which the Palestinians seek for a state.
Israel has denounced declarations by France, Britain and Canada since last week that they may recognise a Palestinian state, which Israel says amounts to rewarding Hamas for its October 7, 2023 assault on Israeli territory.
That attack, when fighters killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages back to Gaza, precipitated the war.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, embarking on a visit to Israel, said negotiations for a two-state solution must begin but that for Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state would come at the end of that process.
Brasília, Brazil, 31 July 2025– The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Government of Brazil today issued a powerful Call to Action urging governments to place gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) at the heart of global climate response. The Call to Action was issued as the2025 Global Symposium on Climate Justice and Impacted Populationsdraws to a close in Brasilia.
The Call to Action outlinesa shared roadmap to put gender equality, SRHR, and protection from gender-based violence (GBV) at the center of global climate response. It identifies concrete steps for governments and institutions to take as they prepare for key COP30 milestones – including theBelem Health Action Plan, a flagship COP30 initiative focused on strengthening health systems as part of global climate action.
The Call to Action demands:
More climate finance directed to women and girls, especially in crisis-affected settings
Stronger support for national and local partnersto include SRHR and protection from GBV in climate policies
Greater investment in data and evidenceto inform gender-responsive climate action
Stronger emergency preparedness and health systemsthat can withstand climate shocks
That SRHR and protection for GBV arefinallyincluded in the COP30 Gender Action Plan on climate change
Women and girls are already paying a steep price for a climate crisis they did not cause. They face rising rates of gender-based violence, worsening maternal health outcomes, and growing barriers to essential services like contraception and safe childbirth. Yet most national climate policies overlook their needs. Key systems, including health, education, and protection services, remain underfunded and overstretched. Just a fraction of global climate finance is allocated to gender equality, and reliable data on how women and girls are affected remains scarce or nonexistent.
“We are at a pivotal moment in our march against climate change — one that must unite us all. Let us leverage this moment to forge a path forward that ensures climate justice and strengthens the resilience of women and young people in the face of climate change,” said Diene Keita, UNFPA Acting Executive Director, in her opening remarks.
The three-day hybrid event, which brought together more than 150 policymakers, researchers, youth leaders, and advocates from around the world, built on UNFPA’s first global convening on climate and SRHR,theInternational Symposium on SRHR, Gender and Climate Change Resilience, held in Pretoria ahead of ICPD25 in 2019. There, participants issued theFuture Africa Call to Action– a shared advocacy agenda, urging governments to integrate SRHR and gender equality into climate resilience efforts. This year’s event took that work further, delivering theBrasília Call to Actionas the next step to embed gender, health, and equity into climate decision-making — especially as countries prepare new climate commitments ahead of COP30.
“Many aspects of climate change and its impacts on populations were examined and further explored during the discussions of this symposium, reinforcing the understanding that it is impossible to advance resilience and sustainable development without integrating gender equality into environmental and climate policies,” said Janja Lula da Silva, First Lady of Brazil and Special Envoy for Women at COP30, who participated in the closing ceremony. “There can be no climate justice without gender equality. And no climate justice without the full participation of women.”
As the UN’s lead agency on sexual and reproductive health, UNFPA brings a critical rights-based perspective to climate action, grounded in gender equality and the lived realities of diverse women and girls. With decades of experience in humanitarian response, data systems, and frontline health services, UNFPA is working with countries to ensure sexual and reproductive health care and interventions to address GBV and harmful practices remain available during climate shocks. From supporting displaced women during emergencies to strengthening climate-resilient health systems, UNFPA is helping countries respond to today’s risks while preparing for a more uncertain future.
(COLUMBIA, S.C.) –South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Victor Hugo Lara Rosaldo, 35, of Gaffney, S.C., Caleb Tyler Patterson, 31, of Gaffney, S.C., and Timothy David Anderson, 58, of Chesnee, S.C., on nine total charges connected to the sexual exploitation of a minor. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office made the arrests in these unrelated cases. Investigators with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, also a member of the state’s ICAC Task Force, assisted with these investigations.
Investigators received CyberTipline reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which led them to Rosaldo, Patterson, and Anderson. Investigators state Rosaldo and Anderson distributed files of child sexual abuse material, and Patterson possessed and distributed files of child sexual abuse material.
Rosaldo was arrested on July 29, 2025. He is charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree (§16-15-405), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count.
Patterson was arrested on July 29, 2025. He is charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree (§16-15-405), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count; and two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count.
Anderson was arrested on July 30, 2025. He is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree (§16-15-405), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.
These cases will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.
Attorney General Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.
* Child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, is a more accurate reflection of the material involved in these heinous and abusive crimes. “Pornography” can imply the child was a consenting participant. Globally, the term child pornography is being replaced by CSAM for this reason.
Coast Guard cutter Joseph Doyle and a Station San Juan boat crew assisted four mariners aboard the disabled vessel Sueño I off Carolina, Puerto Rico, Wednesday. Assisted are four men, Dominican Republic nationals, who reportedly were on a voyage from Tortola, British Virgin Islands to Samana, Dominican Republic, when the vessel experienced electrical problems and became disabled.
For more breaking news follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10)
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Senators Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) re-introduced the bicameral Gun Violence Prevention Research Act, legislation to annually authorize $50 million over the next five years for gun violence prevent research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Make no mistake: gun violence is preventable. Republicans actively choose to watch children, mothers, fathers, and Americans gunned down in deference to the gun lobby,” said Strickland. “We must root out the gun violence crisis in our nation. This legislation will simply treat gun violence as the public health crisis it is, and allow us to research it so we can take steps toward saving lives.”
“Stopping the spread of our nation’s gun violence epidemic requires action on the reforms we know are essential and effective,” said Senator Markey. “We must invest more to study the root causes of violence and develop evidence-based solutions. This legislation would allow our nation’s top medical, scientific, and public health researchers to conduct studies that would save lives. It is critical that we chart a path out of this public health crisis.”
“Gun violence is a uniquely American crisis that continues to impact communities across Michigan and our country,” said Senator Slotkin. “As the first Member of Congress to have two mass shootings in my former House district—Oxford High School and Michigan State University—I’ve seen first-hand the devastating toll gun violence has on our communities. As elected officials, our most basic responsibility is to protect our children from the things that are truly harming them. We must treat this epidemic like the national security threat that it is. And that means using every tool in the toolbox. Let’s get this bill across the finish line.”
This legislation arrives at a critical time. The Trump Administration has effectively dismantled gun violence prevention efforts, decimating the staff at the CDC and terminating $158 million—more than half—of federal funding for gun violence prevention programs at the Department of Justice.
House co-sponsors include: Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Rep. Jim Costa (CA-21), Rep. Juan Vargas (CA-51), Rep. Shontel Brown (OH-11), Rep. Don Beyer (VA-08), Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04), Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15), and Rep. Deborah Ross (NC-02).
This bill is endorsed by the following organizations:
Brady United
Everytown for gun Safety
March For Our Lives
GIFFORDS
You can read the full bill text here.
Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10)serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. She is Whip of the New Democrat Coalition, Secretary of the Congressional Black Caucus, and is one of the first Korean-American women elected to Congress.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (7th District of Washington)
SEATTLE, WA — U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, is leading dozens of Members of Congress in demanding answers from Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice (DOJ) over an internal memo prioritizing the denaturalization of U.S. citizens.
“It appears this Administration plans to weaponize denaturalization cases to further smear innocent people and go after its perceived enemies,” wrote the Members. “The Trump Administration’s denaturalization efforts are a threat to the safety of every single American, including the roughly 24.5 million naturalized citizens as well as natural-born citizens alike. If the Administration is attacking citizens for speaking out against them, no one in this country is safe from harassment and arrest.”
Denaturalization, or the revocation of citizenship, has a dangerous history in this country. While it was used for good following World War II to remove former Nazis who lied about their crimes, it was weaponized in the McCarthy era when roughly 22,000 denaturalization cases were filed for political purposes. During that time, the Supreme Court intervened in the Afroyim v. Rusk case, ruling that denaturalization was only acceptable in cases of citizenship being gained through fraudulent means or if the individual posed a legitimate threat to national security.
However, the DOJ seems to be pursuing denaturalization outside of those guidelines, even saying in their memo, “these categories do not limit the Civil Division from pursuing any particular case…the Civil Division retains the discretion to pursue cases outside of these categories as it determines appropriate.”
President Trump has threatened baseless denaturalization against Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York, as well as Rosie O’Donnell, an American-born comedian and actress.
The letter is also signed by Representatives Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Becca Balint (VT-At Large), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Greg Casar (TX-35), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Lou Correa (CA-46), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Summer Lee (PA-12), Ted Lieu (CA-36), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Deborah Ross (NC-02), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Adam Smith (WA-9), Darren Soto (FL-09), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), and Jill Tokuda (HI-02).
The Galapagos Islands where the Oceanography and Microplastics Laboratory, supported by the IAEA, was established to monitor and analyse microplastic pollution.
A new laboratory supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was officially inaugurated this month in the Galapagos Islands to address the growing threat of marine microplastic pollution.
The Oceanography and Microplastics Laboratory was established by the government in Ecuador, with support from the IAEA, to monitor and analyse microplastic pollution in the Galapagos Islands. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Galapagos Islands are renowned for their extraordinary biodiversity and unique evolutionary adaptations, shaped by their remote location some 1000 kilometres west of mainland Ecuador.
While a robust monitoring and cleanup programme is in place to tackle the estimated six tonnes of plastic waste that wash ashore on the islands each year, microplastics — plastic particles smaller than five millimetres — pose a more complex challenge for the Galapagos National Park, a protected area encompassing 97% of the islands.
Nuclear-derived techniques can help detect and analyse microplastic particles too small for traditional monitoring. The laboratory is now analysing water samples and will be able to analyse sediment, and biota samples from the islands at a microscopic scale to identify the types of polymers and improve the understanding of how they disperse in the marine environment where they can endanger marine life.
In a video address at the opening ceremony for the laboratory on 17 July, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the laboratory — situated on the Santa Cruz Island — will be an active partner in environmental monitoring and reporting of microplastic pollution for Ecuador, including the Galapagos Islands.
“The laboratory offers new opportunities to conduct studies on the environmental impact on the vulnerable and relevant biodiversity of the Islands, helping authorities to take and implement more precise control measures aimed at the protection and conservation of the Galapagos National Park,” he added.
The new laboratory marks a significant milestone in the IAEA’s NUTEC Plastics initiative, which has supported countries since its launch in 2020 in researching microplastics and applying nuclear techniques to enhance recycling processes. The support to the Galapagos Islands follows the IAEA’s work in Antarctica — another valuable ecosystem — with the launch of microplastics research there in 2024.
The data generated in the new laboratory will enable local and national authorities to more accurately assess plastic pollution levels and design targeted strategies to mitigate their impact. The information will also feed into the IAEA’s coordinated efforts under the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratories in Monaco to build a global network of laboratories with analytical capacities to monitor and mitigate marine microplastic pollution.
The IAEA, through its technical cooperation programme, has also strengthened monitoring and analytical capacities in institutions such as the Galapagos National Park and the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) in Guayaquil, to address the growing threat of marine pollution from microplastics in the Galapagos Islands. The IAEA has allocated nearly €1 million to provide the new laboratory with equipment and training for monitoring marine stressors such as ocean acidification, eutrophication, and microplastic pollution — all of which threaten the region’s unique biodiversity and ecosystems.
Drugs worth USD 5.7 billion also seized in INTERPOL-led operation targeting key trafficking routes and organized crime groups
LYON, France – In the biggest firearms operation ever coordinated by INTERPOL, authorities in Central and South America have made 14,260 arrests and seized some 8,263 illicit firearms, as well as 305,000 rounds of ammunition.
With illicit firearms used by criminals to commit armed robberies and murder, they are also closely associated with the proliferation of a wide range of other crimes using the same trafficking routes.
The links between illicit firearms and drug manufacturing and trafficking were thrown into sharp relief, with the seizure of 203 tonnes of cocaine and other drugs together worth some USD 5.7 billion, and 372 tonnes of drug precursors during Operation Trigger IX (12 March – 2 April).
Law enforcement across INTERPOL’s 195 member countries have reported record drug seizures in the past year and, in many cases, a spike in drug-related violence, fueled by the traffic of illegal firearms.
The operation, which saw an unprecedented level of cooperation across 15 countries, also identified a range of other crimes such as corruption, fraud, human trafficking, environmental crime and terrorist activities.
Colombian authorities arrested the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice
Arrests in Honduras – Operation Trigger IX
Firearms are closely associated with the proliferation of a wide range of other crimes.
Border checks – Operation Trigger IX
Operational hub – Operation Trigger IX
Marine patrols – Operation Trigger IX
Operation Trigger IX led to the disruption of 20 organized criminal groups
Drug seizure – El Salvador
A woman attempting to smuggle pistols and chargers between Paraguay and Brazil.
Seizure by Chile – Operation Trigger IX
Vehicle checks – Operation Trigger IX
Uruguay saw its largest-ever seizure of ammunition.
Operational highlights
INTERPOL gathered firearms experts from participating countries at an operational hub in Foz do Iguaçu in the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, to support frontline actions and ensure the swift exchange and cross-checking of intelligence.
On the ground, coordinated actions led to the disruption of 20 organized criminal groups, including the arrest of members of Primeiro Comando da Capital, Mara Salvatrucha and the Balkans Cartel, all involved in firearms trafficking.
In Uruguay, 100,000 pieces of ammunition trafficked internationally by two European nationals were seized by authorities, marking the country’s largest-ever such seizure.
Authorities in Brazil and Paraguay shut down several firearms dealerships following the identification of irregular transfers and unlicensed sales.
Other operational results include:
11 victims were rescued in Paraguay, when authorities dismantled a human trafficking ring.
In cooperation with Venezuela, police in Colombia arrested a Venezuelan national subject to an INTERPOL Red Notice for terrorism and arms trafficking.
A 32 year old woman was arrested at the land border between Paraguay and Brazil with eight pistols and 16 chargers taped to her body.
Looking ahead, some 30 investigations were opened as a result of actions on the ground, and authorities identified 15 new modus operandi for the illicit manufacturing, trafficking and concealment of firearms, with INTERPOL’s Purple Notice leveraged to help alert member countries.
Officers perform real-time checks against INTERPOL’s databases during Operation Trigger IX.
Operational hub – Brazil
Border checks between Argentina and Brazil
Seizure by Honduras – Operation Trigger IX
Police checks by Argentina – Operation Trigger IX
Authorities shut down several firearms dealerships in Brazil and Paraguay
Authorities had immediate access to the INTERPOL Ballistic Information Network
Arrest in Paraguay – Operation Trigger IX
El Salvador firearms dealership checks – El Salvador
INTERPOL’s global reach
“The fact that an operation targeting illicit firearms resulted in such massive drugs seizures is further proof, if needed, that these crimes are intertwined,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock.
“The results, coming just weeks after our Americas Regional Conference was highlighting the need for greater information sharing on these linked organized crime activities, also demonstrate the unique value of INTERPOL in supporting efforts in the field.
“The organized crime networks behind all of these illicit activities have only one priority, which is profit. We, as law enforcement, must be equally determined to dismantle them across every region and globally,” concluded Secretary General Stock.
Valdecy Urquiza, INTERPOL’s Vice-President for the Americas, highlighted the value of joint initiatives such as Trigger IX in prioritizing national and regional efforts against illicit flows. “Intelligence-led investigations and operations enable police to cooperate internationally and remove illicit firearms from circulation to protect the public,” said Mr Urquiza.
INTERPOL global tools used by investigators during the operation include the Illicit Arms Records and Tracing Management System (iARMS), the only global database of illicit firearms, including stolen, lost and trafficked/smuggled firearms.
Authorities also had immediate access to the INTERPOL Ballistic Information Network (IBIN), enabling law enforcement officials to compare images of ballistic fingerprints from fired casings and projectiles to establish links between crimes worldwide.
Tracing the history and ownership of recovered firearms provides crucial investigative leads. Every firearm is unique and can be identified by its serial number, make, model and calibre as well as by its ballistic ‘fingerprint’. Comparing ballistics evidence of recovered cartridge casings and ammunition is therefore crucial to investigations.
During the operation, INTERPOL’s Firearms Programme was supported by INTERPOL’s Regional Bureaus in Argentina and El Salvador, its Drugs and Fugitives units, and its Command and Coordination Centre.
More than 100 national law enforcement agencies were involved in the operation, including the collaboration of US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which supported participating countries.
Participating countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay.
Operation Trigger IX was funded by the European Union and carried out under the framework of Project Disrupt.
Police leaders throughout the region look to strengthen cooperation against terrorism, illicit trafficking and other crimes
OHRID, North Macedonia – Three days of discussions between senior police officers from 53 countries in Europe and the wider INTERPOL membership have led to a call for greater coordination to effectively combat the region’s most pressing security threats.
INTERPOL’s 50th European Regional Conference saw delegates adopt recommendations to more closely align international efforts in a range of strategic areas, including counterterrorism, illicit trafficking and the sharing of police data.
The meeting took place as Europe faces a historic peak in the production of illegal narcotics, which has strengthened organized crime groups and led to an accompanying rise in violent crime across the region.
“The globalized nature of crime means that our respective borders are only as strong as our weakest links,” said Stephen Kavanagh, INTERPOL Executive Director of Police Services.
“The data contributed to INTERPOL is a contribution not just to national or regional security, but to global security,” Mr Kavanagh added.
No alternative
A panel featuring leaders from European Union law enforcement bodies Europol and Frontex focused on the need for greater alignment between INTERPOL and regional policing bodies, to build a global model for a police data-sharing architecture and ensure Global Policing Goals are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
“The most important part of international police cooperation is information exchange,” said Peter De Buysscher, INTERPOL Vice President for Europe, who chaired the conference. “We need a global data-sharing framework. There is no alternative.”
The volume of data in policing has increased dramatically in recent years, opening up new investigative opportunities but also posing data management challenges. At the international level, there is a crucial need to minimize duplication and increase alignment so that investigators or frontline officers have access to the right information when they need it.
Joint initiatives such as FIELDS, which brings together capabilities from INTERPOL and Frontex into a unified system that helps border officials spot fraudulent travel and identity documents, was highlighted as a concrete example of successful alignment.
What drug traffickers fear
European police leaders also discussed the rapidly evolving state of play with regards to drug trafficking and the organized crime groups behind the illicit trade.
The adaptability of networks was identified as a key challenge to enforcement, with groups often working across national and regional lines to secure ever-greater profits. To effectively combat such networks, police must be just as adaptive and even more collaborative.
Recent successes in INTERPOL initiatives such as the I-CAN project targeting the ‘Ndrangheta mafia group, closely involved in bringing cocaine from Latin America into Europe, were highlighted as examples of innovative international police cooperation.
Launched in 2020, I-CAN has already produced results that have “exceeded expectations”, according to one conference speaker, with more than 40 high-profile arrests and tens of thousands of pieces of intelligence exchanged.
“This is what drug traffickers fear,” said one closing speaker. “All of us in the same room, working together, exchanging information and breaking down walls.”
At INTERPOL’s 50th European Regional Conference, delegates have gathered to discuss common crime threats from drug trafficking to cybercrime.
OHRID, North Macedonia – Strengthening international police cooperation to counter the rapidly escalating threat posed by organized crime networks was the key focus of INTERPOL’s 50th European Regional Conference.
The three-day (8-10 May) conference brings together more than 140 participants from 53 countries in Europe and beyond to discuss the most pressing crime issues facing the region.
The conference takes place in Ohrid, North Macedonia, which itself marks 30 years as an INTERPOL member country this year.
“These past 30 years, through our membership in the world’s largest police organization, have witnessed our commitment and willingness to be engaged in global police cooperation,” said Oliver Spasovski, Minister of Interior of the Republic of North Macedonia, in remarks during the conference’s opening ceremony.
“With the establishment of the global INTERPOL I-24/7 communication system, our country was among the first to connect with this global police family, to exchange information between members and the General Secretariat, as well as directly access global criminal databases,” the Minister added.
Unprecedented scale
Fueled by historic levels of drug trafficking, organized crime groups are increasingly posing a direct threat to state authority in many countries, and there is evidence that levels of violence related to these criminal networks is also increasing.
“Organized crime is a top concern,” said INTERPOL President Ahmed Naser al-Raisi in the conference’s opening ceremony. “These transnational crimes not only threaten the safety and security of the region, but also have a spillover effect on the rest of the world.”
Last month, INTERPOL announced its largest ever firearms trafficking operations, which saw more than 14,000 suspects arrested across Central and South America, and an unprecedented USD 5.7 billion in illegal narcotics seized.
“Over the last five years, [drug] trafficking and consumption have increased by an order of magnitude, with Europe one of the main transit and destination markets,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock.
“We continue to see record seizures at European borders and ports, and a corresponding rise in violent crime, corruption and money laundering of unprecedented scale,” added Secretary General Stock.
The global scale of many organized crime networks, often spanning multiple continents, has underlined that international cooperation through INTERPOL is often the only means for police in Europe and other regions to bring fugitives to justice or gather crucial intelligence.
European crime landscape
Beyond drug trafficking, the results of INTERPOL’s 2022 Global Crime Trend report, which surveyed police across the Organization’s 195-country membership, show that money laundering and cyber or cyber-enabled crimes also top European law enforcement’s list of concerns.
Money laundering ranked second among the crime trends most frequently indicated by member countries in the region as posing a ‘high’ or ‘very high’ threat, with financial fraud also ranking very high.
The report notes that the use of online tools by criminals to perpetrate financial fraud schemes has also rapidly expanded in recent years, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Especially concerning, 76 per cent of police respondents from Europe expect online child sexual exploitation and abuse to increase or increase significantly in the next three to five years.
The report notes that the demand for livestreaming abuse has steadily increased in recent years, likely intensifying during the pandemic. While live distance child abuse most often take place in Southeast Asia, cases in the European Union have also recently been detected.
Keeping Europe safe
Founded in the heart of Europe – in Vienna – during the region’s interwar period 100 years ago, INTERPOL’s history is closely intertwined with that of Europe.
Established in a 1920s context of geopolitical upheaval and concerns of rising international crime, the Organization’s founding representatives agreed that only through collaboration could police combat transnational crime threats – a common goal shared throughout periods of political or economic tension.
Later, in one of the Organization’s darkest chapters, the Nazis assumed control of the International Criminal Police Commission – as INTERPOL was then called – after deposing its President. In 1946, Belgium spearheaded INTERPOL’s rebuilding in the new postwar era.
Today, European member countries remain global leaders in their use of and contribution to INTERPOL capabilities – and this activity is quickly growing. With regards to INTERPOL databases, European member countries contribute more records, undertake more searches and – crucially – receive more hits than any other region.
New historical peaks for records, searches and hits in INTERPOL databases from European member countries were reached in 2022. In the past year alone, searches of INTERPOL databases by European law enforcement have risen by nearly a third.
The figures underscore the fundamental place INTERPOL capabilities occupy in European countries’ approaches to keeping their communities safe.
Boston, MA – The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), District of Massachusetts Fugitive Task Force (MAFTF) announces the arrest of Webster Portalatin-Castro, 37, who was wanted for rape of a person under the age of 18. The warrant was issued on June 3, 2025, from the Cleveland Municipal Court in Cleveland, OH.
On Thursday, July 31st, 2025, Portalatin-Castro was arrested in Lawrence, MA for a warrant for rape of a juvenile. The Cleveland Police Department in Ohio requested the assistance of the USMS Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF) with locating Portalatin-Castro.
The NOVFTF and the Cleveland Police Department worked collaboratively and provided investigative information to the MAFTF, as Castro was believed to be in Massachusetts. The MAFTF along with significant assistance from the MA State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section (VFAS), Lawrence PD, Lowell PD, and the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office tracked down Portalatin-Castro to Lawrence, MA, where he was placed under arrest.
Castro is being charged as a Fugitive from Justice and will be arraigned in Massachusetts pending his extradition back to Ohio.
Portalatin-Castro is unlawfully present in the United States and according to ICE, he entered the country illegally in 2023.
If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of any state or federal fugitive please contact the United States Marshals Service, contact the USMS at 1-877-WANTED2 or submit information via the USMS Tips App.
MAFTF participants include the USMS District of MA, MA State Police, Boston Police, Brockton Police, Cambridge Police, Hampden County Sheriff’s Department, Haverhill Police, Lowell Police, Middlesex Sheriff’s Department, New Bedford Police, Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department, Springfield Police, Worcester Police, West Springfield Police, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, Randolph Police, Quincy Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.
Boston, MA – Earlier this morning, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), District of Massachusetts Fugitive Task Force (MAFTF) arrested Webster Portalatin-Castro, 37, who was wanted for rape of a person under the age of 18.
The warrant was issued on June 3, 2025, from the Cleveland Municipal Court in Cleveland, OH. During the investigation into his whereabouts members of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF) gathered information that Portalatin-Castro may have fled the Cleveland area and was possibly hiding near Boston, Massachusetts.
Early this morning, The MAFTF along with significant assistance from the MA State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section (VFAS), Lawrence PD, Lowell PD, and the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office tracked Portalatin-Castro to an address in the 700 block of Haverhill St. in Lawrence, MA, where he was placed under arrest. Lawrence is approximately 30 miles north of Boston.
Castro is being charged as a fugitive from justice and will be arraigned in Massachusetts pending his extradition back to Ohio. Additionally, Portalatin-Castro is unlawfully present in the United States and according to ICE, he entered the country illegally in 2023.
U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott stated, “The U.S. Marshals Service will track down violent sexual predators such as this whether they are in the city of Cleveland or have fled across the country. There is nowhere for them to hide when the Marshals are looking for them.”
Anyone with information concerning a wanted fugitive can contact the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force at 1-866-4WANTED (1-866-492-6833), or you can submit a web tip. Reward money is available, and tipsters may remain anonymous. Follow the U.S. Marshals on Twitter @USMSCleveland.
The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force – Cleveland Division is composed of the following federal, state and local agencies: U.S. Marshals Service, Cleveland Police Department, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority Police Department, Euclid Police Department, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Independence Police Department, Parma Police Department, Aurora Police Department, Solon Police Department, Cleveland RTA Police Department, Westlake Police Department, Bedford Police Department, Middleburg Heights Police Department, Newburgh Heights Police Department and the Metrohealth Police Department.
President Trump’s Executive Order empowers DHS to continue cracking down on smuggling and unfair trade practices
WASHINGTON – President Trump signed an Executive Order suspending duty-free de minimis tariff exemptions for low-value shipments from all countries. His order empowers Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to close this loophole which was used to avoid tariffs and smuggle deadly synthetic opioids like fentanyl into the United States.
“For decades, bad actors have taken advantage of America’s de minimis process by smuggling in deadly narcotics, harmful products, and other contraband in hidden products,” said Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “This loophole led to the death of thousands of Americans, fueled the opioid crisis, and harmed U.S. consumers. This decision to end de minimis will save American lives, increase revenue, and protect the American consumer and entrepreneur.”
Under the de minimis treatment, imported goods that are valued at or under $800 were exempt from tariff duties. Countries exploited this system to flood the American market with cheap goods that undercut American manufacturers and cost American jobs. This exemption also allowed drug cartels and other criminal organizations to smuggle drugs and other contraband into our country.
Over the past decade the volume of de minimis shipments to the United States exploded, growing from 134 million shipments in 2015 to over 1.36 billion shipments in 2024. De minimis shipments accounted for 90% of all cargo seizures in FY 24. These shipments often broke the law with 98% of narcotics seized from cargo falling under the de minimis exemption, as well as 97% of counterfeit items seized.
Now, thanks to President Trump’s Executive Order, this loophole is closed. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is empowered to enforce tariffs on these goods and can continue to protect the homeland from the smuggling of deadly synthetic opioids like fentanyl and counterfeit goods. This will save American lives, protect American jobs, and restore billions in lost revenue.
Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), John Curtis (R-UT), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), senior members of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, introduced the Strengthening the Rule of Law in the Brazilian Amazon Act. The bipartisan legislation addresses crimes committed by transnational criminal organizations and drug trafficking groups, which are devastating communities in and around the Brazilian Amazon, upending the rule of law, and accelerating environmental degradation and deforestation. Violent deaths in the Brazilian Amazon are significantly higher than in other parts of the country. The bill would provide the U.S. government with more tools to support U.S.-Brazil efforts to address these crimes and prioritize identifying investment opportunities for U.S. companies in the Brazilian Amazon.
“Addressing cartel violence and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is important to protecting our national security, promoting stability in the Western Hemisphere, and preserving the environment,” said Kaine, Ranking Member of the SFRC Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. “I’m proud to join with Senators Curtis and Merkley to introduce this bipartisan legislation to expand the United States’ role in cracking down on violence, forced displacement, and environmental degradation in the Amazon.”
“Criminal networks thrive where the rule of law is weak—and when they do, both people and the planet suffer,” saidCurtis, Chair of the SFRC Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. “This bill helps us partner with Brazil to crack down on lawlessness in the Amazon and support a model of conservation that is also rooted in economic opportunity.“
“The Amazon provides sanctuary for countless wildlife, and the trees of this tropical forest support not only Brazil’s environment, but also the lungs of the planet,” saidMerkley, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.?“As the impacts of climate chaos become deadlier and more frequent—threatening our health, planet, and future—the U.S. must support Brazil’s efforts to stand against the criminal and often violent efforts driving deforestation and environmental degradation in the Brazilian Amazon.”
Specifically, the bipartisan Strengthening the Rule of Law in the Brazilian Amazon would:
Direct the U.S. Secretary of State, in coordination with other U.S. federal agencies, to prioritize supporting Brazil’s efforts to identify and disrupt transnational criminal networks committing environmental crimes.
Direct support to local communities and vulnerable areas in the Brazilian Amazon.
Recommend the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) place an individual in Brazil responsible for identifying sustainable economic opportunities for U.S. businesses in the Brazilian Amazon.
Require the Secretary of State to submit a report to Congress regarding drivers of deforestation and environmental degradation in the Brazilian Amazon.
Advise the United States to encourage international financial institutions to prioritize promoting sustainable development in the Amazon and oppose loans or programs that would exacerbate environmental crimes in the region.
U.S. appeals court judges sharply questioned on Thursday whether President Donald Trump’s tariffs were justified by the president’s emergency powers, after a lower court said he exceeded his authority with sweeping levies on imported goods.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., is considering the legality of “reciprocal” tariffs that Trump imposed on a broad range of U.S. trading partners in April, as well as tariffs imposed in February against China, Canada and Mexico.
In hearing arguments in two cases brought by five small U.S. businesses and 12 Democratic-led U.S. states, judges pressed government lawyer Brett Shumate to explain how the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law historically used for sanctioning enemies or freezing their assets, gave Trump the power to impose tariffs.
Trump is the first president to use IEEPA to impose tariffs.
The judges frequently interrupted Shumate, peppering him with a flurry of challenges to his arguments.
“IEEPA doesn’t even say tariffs, doesn’t even mention them,” one of the judges said.
Shumate said that the law allows for “extraordinary” authority in an emergency, including the ability to stop imports completely. He said IEEPA authorizes tariffs because it allows a president to “regulate” imports in a crisis.
The states and businesses challenging the tariffs argued that they are not permissible under IEEPA and that the U.S. Constitution grants Congress, and not the president, authority over tariffs and other taxes.
Neal Katyal, a lawyer for the businesses, said the government’s argument that the word “regulate” includes the power to tax would be a vast expansion of presidential power, Katyal said.
The arguments – one day before Trump plans to increase tariff rates on imported goods from nearly all U.S. trading partners – mark the first test before a U.S. appeals court of the scope of his tariff authority. The president has made tariffs a central instrument of his foreign policy, wielding them aggressively in his second term as leverage in trade negotiations and to push back against what he has called unfair practices.
Trump has said the April tariffs were a response to persistent U.S. trade imbalances and declining U.S. manufacturing power.
He said the tariffs against China, Canada and Mexico were appropriate because those countries were not doing enough to stop illegal fentanyl from crossing U.S. borders. The countries have denied that claim.
Shumate cited a 1975 appeals court decision that authorized President Richard Nixon’s across-the board surcharge of 10% on imported merchandise to slow inflation. But that decision added that the president did not have authority to impose “whatever tariff rates he deems desirable.”
Shumate also said that courts cannot review a president’s actions under IEEPA or impose additional limits that are not included in the law. Several judges said that the argument would essentially allow one law, IEEPA, to overwrite all other U.S. laws related to tariffs and imports.
Katyal said the Trump administration’s argument ignored the more limited nature of Nixon’s tariffs and changes to the law since the 1970s.
“No trade law in 200 years has been interpreted to give the president this power,” Katyal said.
The case is being heard by a panel of all of the court’s active judges, eight appointed by Democratic presidents and three appointed by former Republican presidents. The timing of the court’s decision is uncertain, and the losing side will likely appeal quickly to the U.S. Supreme Court.
TRADE NEGOTIATIONS
Tariffs are starting to build into a significant revenue source for the federal government, with customs duties in June quadrupling to about $27 billion, a record, and through June have topped $100 billion for the current fiscal year. That income could be crucial to offset lost revenue from Trump’s tax bill passed into law earlier this month.
But economists say the duties threaten to raise prices for U.S. consumers and reduce corporate profits. Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff threats have roiled financial markets and disrupted U.S. companies’ ability to manage supply chains, production, staffing and prices.
On May 28, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade sided with the Democratic states and small businesses that challenged Trump. It said that the IEEPA did not authorize tariffs related to longstanding trade deficits.
The Federal Circuit has allowed the tariffs to remain in place while it considers the administration’s appeal.
The case will have no impact on tariffs levied under more traditional legal authority, such as duties on steel and aluminum imports.
The president recently announced trade deals that set tariff rates on goods from the European Union and Japan, following smaller trade agreements with Britain, Indonesia and Vietnam. Trump’s Department of Justice has argued that limiting the president’s tariff authority could undermine ongoing trade negotiations, while other Trump officials have said that negotiations have continued with little change after the initial setback in court.
Trump has set an August 1 date for higher tariffs on countries that don’t negotiate new trade deals.
There are at least seven other lawsuits challenging Trump’s invocation of IEEPA, including cases brought by other small businesses and California.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled against Trump in one of those cases, and no judge has yet backed Trump’s claim of unlimited emergency tariff authority.
Does an offer seem too good to be true? Take a tactical pause to evaluate
OAKLAND — In recognition of Military Consumer Month, Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a consumer alert to help protect California service members, veterans, and their family members from targeted common scams and fraud. The military community and their families are often targets for predatory scammers: According to the Federal Trade Commission, military consumers nationwide reported over 99,400 fraud complaints last year — an increase from 2023’s approximately 93,000 complaints — including 44,587 imposter scams that reportedly cost them and their families over $199 million.
“More and more often, service members, veterans, and their families are targets for predatory scammers promising everything from home loans to jobs, and continuing education. This is absolutely unacceptable. As part of our commitment to protect those who protect us, my office will continue to bring the full force of the law against those who seek to exploit California’s military community,” said Attorney General Bonta. “If you have fallen victim to a scam or suspect fraudulent activity, get help and share your story so that we can help your fellow service members. You can report fraud to your local military or civilian law enforcement agency, or to the California Department of Justice at oag.ca.gov/report.”
Why is the Military Community Targeted?
Military service members, veterans, and their families are frequently targeted by scammers who want access to their pay and benefits, and who know that military members will often pay even fraudulent or over-stated debts to avoid security clearance issues or other disruptions to their military careers. In addition, the camaraderie that unites the military community is often exploited by impostors who claim to be veterans in attempts to perpetrate scams or access personal information for fraudulent purposes.
Common Scams Targeting the Military Community:
Scammers use a variety of tactics to gain trust. Protect yourself by staying up to date on common military- and veteran-targeted scams. Beware of the following:
Charity Scams: Just because a charity includes the word “veteran” in its name doesn’t mean that veterans are members of the group, or that veterans or their families will benefit from a donation. Scammers will use names that sound legitimate or those that mimic the names of well-known charities to create confusion. Take the time to make an informed decision and be wary of aggressive solicitations. Go to oag.ca.gov/charities, under the Resources & Tools section, and click on Registry Verification Search. If a charity is not listed, it should not be soliciting funds in California. If it is listed, you can view its financial reports, including the IRS Form 990 that the charity is required to file with DOJ’s Registry of Charitable Trusts.
Predatory Schools: The GI Bill and other military education programs offer you the chance to attend school and plan for your future, but for-profit schools sometimes target service members and veterans with false promises. Slow down and take the time you need to make the right decision. Predatory schools often use high-pressure sales tactics to try to get you to sign up. It’s important to ask for information about the programs, such as graduation rates, job placement, and graduate salary information. Offers that seem too good to be true generally are. Further, don’t forget that educational opportunities at the California Community Colleges, California State University, and University of California may be available to you.
Home Loan Scams: Be aware of scammers that — through phone calls or fraudulent mailers — claim to be affiliated with the government, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or your home loan servicer. These fraudsters may attempt to convince you to agree to loan modifications, refinance your home, or make payments on your loans. Be cautious of any individual or lender that contacts you and asks you to pay fees upfront before receiving any services; tells you to cancel your mortgage payment and resend the funds elsewhere; tells you to make payments to someone other than your current loan servicer; or pressures you to sign papers you haven’t had a chance to read thoroughly or that you don’t understand — including asking you to sign over the title to your property.
Identity Theft and Fraud: Some scammers will pretend to be from the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, or other official organizations in order to get your personal information so that they can commit identity theft or fraud. Before you provide any information, always make sure a request is coming from an official organization by doing a quick search on the internet or consulting a trusted source to get the organization’s real contact information. Never trust the contact information given by the person that is asking for your personal information, as scammers often give out fake contact information. Be wary of letters and emails that have misspellings, look unprofessional, or send you to a non-government website for information or action, as these are almost always fake. Lastly, never give out your Social Security number to receive military or veteran discounts. Scammers often promise military or veteran discounts in order to obtain personal information.
Job Scams: Service members looking for new career opportunities after leaving service are a target for scammers posting fictitious job listings with the goal of stealing their personal information and finances. Avoid becoming a victim of job scams by conducting thorough research on the company. Additionally, stick to well-known job search platforms and government career websites when looking for job opportunities. Remember, legitimate employers will never require you to pay fees for applications, interviews, or background checks. You should also look out for fake check scams, which occur when a scammer posing as an employer sends you a counterfeit check to deposit into your account. The scammer will then ask you to send a portion of the funds back to them or a third party, while letting you keep some as payment. Eventually, the bank reverses the fake check, leaving you stuck paying the money back to the bank. If something feels off or suspicious during the job search, trust your instincts and end communication immediately.
Pension Scams: Veterans ages 65 and over are targeted by scam financial advisers who try to persuade senior veterans to buy costly annuities or transfer their assets into trusts, or pay unnecessary and illegal fees for help with a veterans pension application. These “advisers” claim to help veterans qualify for Aid and Attendance or other veterans benefits, but may cause you to lose eligibility or access to pension, disability, or healthcare benefits. If you are interested in Aid and Attendance or other veterans benefits, you can get free help from your County Veterans Service Office here.
Affinity Fraud: Affinity scams target members of identifiable groups, including the military. The perpetrators are — or pretend to be — members of the targeted group, and use sales pitches that rely on group trust and loyalty. In the military community, this includes exploiting the trust that service members have for their fellow service members, and for veterans who previously served. Don’t make a significant purchase, or an investment decision, based on the salesperson’s supposed military service, or the claim that a business is military-friendly or endorsed by the Armed Forces. Take a tactical pause, and shop around for the best deal.
Debt Collection and Illegal Threats: Debt collectors may try to trick or scare service members into making payments on debts. It is illegal for debt collectors to do any of the following: revoke your security clearance; contact your command in order to collect a debt (unless they have your consent, given after the debt came due, to do so); discipline or demote you; or garnish your pay. If a debt collector is trying to collect a debt that you do not owe or have already paid, dispute the debt in writing. Tell the debt collector why you do not owe the debt, include copies of any evidence you have, and mail this dispute to the debt collector using registered mail so that you have proof that the collector received it — and make sure to keep copies of everything for yourself. If you dispute the debt within 30 days after the collector first contacted you, the collector must stop collection until it shows you written proof of the debt.
Rental Housing Scams: These scams target military personnel looking for housing near a base, especially prevalent during the Permanent Change of Station season. Scammers pretend to be real estate agents and post fake ads for rental properties on websites, sometimes promising military discounts and other incentives in order to get service members to send them money for fees and deposits upfront. If someone insists on receiving money or other payments before a property has been seen, it is likely a rental scam. Avoid wiring money to reserve apartments, and use your installation housing office or established property management companies to locate potential housing.
Predatory Auto Sales and Financing: Car dealers located near military bases may try to lure service members with promises of special deals for military personnel. Often, these so-called deals conceal the terms of purchase for the vehicle and result in the service member drastically overpaying for both the vehicle and the cost of financing. For example, dealers may insist that military personnel will not qualify for financing unless they purchase overpriced and unnecessary add-ons. Other times, the dealer may tell a service member who just purchased a car that the initial financing fell through and insist on renegotiating for worse terms. You should not rely on oral promises, nor feel pressured to enter into any purchase, without first reading and understanding the contract. If you are looking to purchase a car, you should explore all of your options for financing — including by contacting your bank or credit union — before making a purchase.
Protect Yourself from Scams:
Bring a battle buddy when making big decisions, and take a tactical pause: Take your time with big decisions and get advice. A business that pressures you to make a quick decision or to not talk with your family, friends, a military financial counselor, or an officer or NCO that you trust may be out to scam you.
Take advantage of free annual credit reports: You are entitled to one free credit report every year from each of the three national credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Your credit history contains information from financial institutions, utilities, landlords, insurers, and others. By checking your credit reports at least once a year, you can identify signs of identity theft, as well errors in your report that could be raising the cost of your credit. Order your free annual credit reports by phone, toll-free, at 1-877-322-8228, or online at www.annualcreditreport.com.
Place a Fraud Alert: If your identity is stolen, put a fraud alert on your credit report by contacting the three main credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Also, consider requesting a credit freeze, which will restrict access to your credit file, making it difficult for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name.Report identity theft right away and get a recovery plan at identitytheft.gov. Additionally, file a police report with your local sheriff or police department and keep a copy for your records.
Report Suspicious Activity: Never give out personal information to a lender or servicer that contacts you out of the blue. If you are feeling unsure, hang up and call your loan servicer directly at the number that is listed on your mortgage statement. Report suspicious activity to the Office of the Attorney General at oag.ca.gov/report and file a complaint with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Protect your online information and accounts with strong passwords: Protect yourself by using different, unique passwords for each of your online accounts. Make sure that the passwords you use are at least eight characters, including a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols.
Check your credit card bills and bank statements often: Look for unauthorized charges, withdrawals, or unexpected bills, and report irregular activity to your bank as soon as you see it. If you notice that a bill didn’t arrive on time, it may mean that someone has changed the contact information on your account in order to hide fraudulent charges. Don’t share personal information: Be careful about what personal information you share, such as your address or financial information.
Sign up for the Enhanced Homeowner Notification Program: If you reside in Los Angeles County, you may sign up to receive mailed copies of documents recorded against your home, allowing you to review recorded real estate documents so you are aware of actions taken against your property.
If you believe you have been the victim or target of a scam, immediately contact your local police department or reach out to your base legal office. For the legal office’s contact information, ask your command or visit to legalassistance.law.af.mil/. California National Guard personnel can also obtain legal help at calguard.ca.gov. You may also file a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General at oag.ca.gov/report. For additional information on military-targeted scams, visit our website at oag.ca.gov/consumers/general/military.
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
BILLINGS – A Hays man who possessed illegal firearms was sentenced today to 48 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
Wylon Alfred Plainfeather, 54, pleaded guilty in March 2025 to one count of possession of an unregistered firearm and one count of possession of an unregistered silencer.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.
The government alleged in court documents that on December 27, 2022, law enforcement officers responded to a Billings residence to search for a probationer. The probationer was not present, but officers searched the house and found three firearms in the basement.
As law enforcement was preparing to leave the residence following the search, Plainfeather pulled into the driveway. He admitted owning all three guns and acknowledged one was a sawed-off shotgun and another, a .22 caliber rifle, had a tube on it. Plainfeather said he fired the gun with the tube and claimed it was not very effective at making it quieter. He said he got all the firearms from the reservation and that he traded for them. Law enforcement officers confirmed the firearms were in operable condition but not registered to Plainfeather (or anyone else) in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR).
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelsey Hendricks prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the ATF, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, and Montana Probation and Parole.
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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).