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Category: Security

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murray, Heinrich Sound Alarm on Reports of DOGE “Hit List” of Key Energy Projects, Demand that Department of Energy Follow the Law

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
    Murray, Heinrich, and colleagues: “Dissolving contracts, cancelling grants and loans, and reneging on loan guarantees without any intention to execute the laws is not only illegal, but is harmful to the public and energy consumers. Your indiscriminate cancellations of spending will increase energy prices, make our grid less secure, and stop energy innovation”
    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Vice Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, and U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, led 25 Democratic senators in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Christopher Wright demanding that he uphold his commitment to honor existing legal agreements and deliver funds passed into law by Congress.
    The letter comes on the heels of recent reports that the Department of Energy is creating a “hit list” of awards, projects, and contracts—many of which have already began construction—it is considering canceling, which would break existing agreements and  lead to job losses and reductions in the growth of new energy resources. 
    The senators detailed their serious concerns about the reports, telling Secretary Wright: “You assured us during your confirmation hearing that you believe that legal agreements should be honored (including managing the financial commitments you have inherited) and that you will follow the law.”
    The senators added: “Indiscriminately canceling program funding and executed contracts, and refusing to execute on the funding directives Congress enacted, neither honors existing agreements nor is consistent with the spending laws that have appropriated funding for specific purposes.”
    “Dissolving contracts, cancelling grants and loans, and reneging on loan guarantees without any intention to execute the laws is not only illegal, but is harmful to the public and energy consumers.  Your indiscriminate cancellations of spending will increase energy prices, make our grid less secure, and stop energy innovation,” the senators continued. “If the Department has a policy disagreement and does not want to spend money on programs Congress has funded, the lawful response is to ask Congress to rescind that funding. The decision ultimately rests with Congress, not with the President, the Department of Energy, or the Department of Government Efficiency.”
    The senators concluded the letter by demanding a detailed list and briefing that identifies which grants, loans, or loan guarantees Secretary Wright believes should be rescinded and why he thinks they should be rescinded.
    The full text of the letter can be found HERE and below.
    Dear Mr. Secretary:
    We are deeply troubled by recent news reports that the Department of Energy (Department) is creating a “hit list of clean energy projects” to “wipe out” for being inconsistent with the President’s priorities. This list reportedly includes hydrogen hubs and carbon capture, critical mineral, and battery storage projects that have already received grant and loan funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and annual appropriations bills. 
    You assured us during your confirmation hearing that you believe that legal agreements should be honored (including managing the financial commitments you have inherited) and that you will follow the law. Indiscriminately canceling program funding and executed contracts, and refusing to execute on the funding directives Congress enacted, neither honors existing agreements nor is consistent with the spending laws that have appropriated funding for specific purposes. 
    Our Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse and exclusive power to appropriate funds. Once a law is properly enacted, the Constitution requires the President to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”  The President cannot substitute his policy preferences for requirements in law, and that includes refusing to spend funds Congress requires the President to spend. 
    In this instance, where Congress has authorized and appropriated funds for programs that support clean energy projects, the Department must faithfully execute the law and expend the funds for the purposes provided.  For example, programs authorized that have received federal appropriations under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have requirements on timing of expended funds, purposes, and contractual expectations. An internal Office of Management and Budget guidance document cannot hide the Department’s obligation to follow the enacted law.
    Dissolving contracts, cancelling grants and loans, and reneging on loan guarantees without any intention to execute the laws is not only illegal, but is harmful to the public and energy consumers.  Your indiscriminate cancellations of spending will increase energy prices, make our grid less secure, and stop energy innovation.  If the Department has a policy disagreement and does not want to spend money on programs Congress has funded, the lawful response is to ask Congress to rescind that funding. The decision ultimately rests with Congress, not with the President, the Department of Energy, or the Department of Government Efficiency.  Please provide us a detailed list and briefing that identifies which grants, loans, or loan guarantees you believe should be rescinded and why you think they should be rescinded.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Crapo, Risch, Marshall Introduce SHORT Act to Roll Back Biden-Era Anti Gun Rule

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo

    Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Roger Marshall, M.D.  (R-Kansas) introduced the Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today (SHORT) Act.

    The SHORT Act would end the unconstitutional taxation, registration and regulation of weapons under the National Firearms Act (NFA), including short-barreled rifles and shotguns.

    The Biden Administration used the NFA to target American gun owners by claiming that pistols with stabilizing braces were illegal short-barreled rifles.  Biden’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) used this argument to ban these firearms and force gun owners to participate in an unconstitutional firearm registry.  The SHORT Act would prevent the ATF from enacting future versions of this ban and require the ATF to destroy all records relating to the registration, transfer or manufacture of NFA weapons.

    “Those seeking to strip away Second Amendment rights have sought every creative way possible to advance their agenda through legislation, regulation and litigation,” said Crapo.  “Burdening law-abiding Americans with additional firearm restrictions is not the answer to safeguarding the public.”

    “Democrats’ attempts to undermine the Second Amendment are unconstitutional and must be stopped,” said Risch.  “The SHORT Act protects law-abiding Idaho gun owners from unlawful registry, taxation, and regulation of commonly owned firearms.”

    “‘Shall not be infringed’ is crystal clear – and the Biden-era abuses of the Constitutionally protected rights of gun owners across the country need to be undone,” said Marshall.  “The SHORT Act takes a step toward rolling back nonsensical regulations that the National Firearms Act has placed upon gun owners.  I challenge my colleagues in both chambers to pass this legislation and join me in fully restoring and protecting our God-given Second Amendment rights.”

    Crapo, Risch and Marshall are joined by U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Rick Scott (R-Florida), Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Jim Justice (R-West Virginia), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi), Katie Britt (R-Alabama), Tim Sheehy (R-Montana) and Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska) in introducing the bill.  ?

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Update Serious Crash SH 1 Karapiro – Waikato

    Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

    A person is in a serious condition following a crash on Tirau Road, Karapiro early this morning.

    A motorcyclist has crashed just after midnight and been taken to Waikato Hospital.

    The Serious Crash Unit attended the scene and police are investigating the cause of the crash.

    The road is now open.

    ENDS

    Issued by the Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Police acknowledge IPCA findings into Auckland City incident

    Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

    Police acknowledge the IPCA’s findings into the events surrounding an arrest and use of force in Auckland City.

    On 25 September 2022, five Police officers responded to an incident on Hobson Street where a person was arrested, and an injured man was being taken to hospital.

    Two people, who were not involved in the incident, were walking past at the time and one began filming.

    Officer A and Officer B warned one of the men not to interfere before Officer A pushed the man and then arrested him for obstruction.

    The other man then started filming and Officer A arrested him for the same offence.

    During both arrests, force was used by the officers, however both men were later released without charge.

    In its conclusions the IPCA made several findings, including that Officers A and B were not justified in pushing the men, and that their arrests and the force used against them were unlawful.

    Relieving Auckland City District Commander, Acting Superintendent Sunny Patel, says Police also carried out an investigation which resulted in Officer A being charged with common assault. 

    “However, the charge was withdrawn when the man did not appear in court to give evidence.

    “We also undertook an employment investigation, which resulted in both Officer A and Officer B receiving an internal sanction.

    “Officers can always learn from situations like this one, and we will continue to do so.”

    ENDS.

    Holly McKay/NZ Police

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch Joins Schatz, Wicker, Warner, Hyde-Smith, and Barrasso to Lead Bipartisan Group Of 60 Senators In Introducing Legislation To Expand Telehealth Access, Make Permanent Telehealth Flexibilities

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)

    CONNECT For Health Act Holds Broad Bipartisan Support, Most Comprehensive Legislation On Telehealth In Congress
    Current Flexibilities Set To Expire September 30 Without Congressional Action
    WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch joined U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) in leading a bipartisan group of 60 senators to reintroduce the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act. The CONNECT for Health Act will expand coverage of telehealth services through Medicare, make COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities permanent, improve health outcomes, and make it easier for patients to connect with their doctors. Current flexibilities are set to expire on September 30 unless Congress extends them.
    “The COVID-19 pandemic proved that telehealth not only works, but is essential,” said Senator Welch. “Rural and underserved areas in Vermont and across the country desperately need solutions to address the widening gap in health care access, and increasing telehealth services must be part of the answer. This bipartisan bill takes commonsense steps to help bridge that gap and make sure that our policies adapt to the capabilities of our technology.”
    “While telehealth use has rapidly increased in recent years, our laws have not kept up,” said Senator Schatz. “Telehealth is helping people get the care they need, and it’s here to stay. Our comprehensive bill makes it easier for more people to see their doctors no matter where they live.”
    “We live in a digital world, and our health services should reflect that. In the past decade, telehealth has made medical care more accessible for patients across the state and country,” said Senator Wicker. “It is time to make telehealth coverage permanent for Medicare recipients so that more Americans, especially those in rural Mississippi, have access to health care.”
    “Telehealth services have proven to be a safe and effective form of medical care. Through the expansion of telehealth services in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, more patients have received quality, affordable care. I’m glad to introduce legislation that will make permanent some of these services and ensure Virginians continue to access affordable health care when they need it, and where they need it,” said Senator Warner.
    “Even before the pandemic, Mississippi recognized the vital role of telehealth. Across America, rural communities, the elderly, and those with mobility challenges have long struggled to access traditional healthcare,” said Senator Hyde-Smith. “This legislation is essential to delivering affordable, accessible, and quality care that Americans deserve, and I’m proud to continue this years-long effort to expand telehealth services.”
    “Telehealth is a critical for rural states like Wyoming,” said Senator Barrasso. “It has given folks access to specialized care no matter where they live. This important bipartisan bill will make it easier for Medicare patients, especially those in remote areas, to continue to have access to the health care they need.”
    In addition to Welch, Schatz, Wicker, Warner, Hyde-Smith, and Barrasso, the bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Angus King (I-Maine.), Jim Justice (R-W.V.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and John Boozman (R-Ark.).
    Telehealth provides essential access to care with nearly a quarter of Americans accessing telehealth in a month, according to the most recent available data.
    The CONNECT for Health Act would:

    Permanently remove all geographic restrictions on telehealth services and expand originating sites to the location of the patient, including homes;
    Permanently allow health centers and rural health clinics to provide telehealth services;
    Allow more eligible health care professionals to utilize telehealth services;
    Remove unnecessary in-person visit requirement for telemental health services;
    Allow for the waiver of telehealth restrictions during public health emergencies; and
    Require more published data to learn more about how telehealth is being used, impacts of quality of care, and how it can be improved to support patients and health care providers.

    The CONNECT for Health Act was first introduced in 2016 and is considered the most comprehensive legislation on telehealth in Congress. Since 2016, several provisions of the bill have been enacted into law or adopted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, including provisions to remove restrictions on telehealth services for mental health, stroke care, and home dialysis.
    Companion legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Mike Thompson (D- Calif.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), and Troy Balderson (R-Ohio).
    The CONNECT for Health Act has the support of more than 150 organizations including the American Medical Association, AARP, American Hospital Association, National Association of Community Health Centers, National Association of Rural Health Clinics, and American Telemedicine Association.
    The full text of the bill is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Stuck in the past: Trump tariffs and other policies are dragging the U.S. back to the 19th century

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Eric Strikwerda, Associate Professor, History, Athabasca University

    During Donald Trump’s first term as president, the United States lurched from the absurdity of his lies to the use of his office for personal financial gain, his schoolyard insults and his utter contempt for critics. His term ended with his irresponsible and dangerous incitement of the assault on the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.

    This time around, Trump is replying on outdated tools — tariffs, small government, territorial expansion and nationalism — to solve modern problems of globalization, wealth disparities, the decline of manufacturing jobs and exploitative capitalism.

    On April 2, he announced a baseline tariff of 10 per cent on all countries that import goods to the U.S., including Canada. Canada has also been hit with a 25 per cent levy on Canadian-made automobiles.

    The Trump administration’s current use of 19th-century tools to solve 20th-century problems that are wholly inappropriate for the 21st century threatens to take America back to the 19th century. This is an incredibly dangerous road for the U.S to take.

    The rise of the nation state

    The 19th century was marked by the rise of the nation-state — a single political entity united by geography, culture and language.

    This was, in many respects, the result of the rapidly industrializing world shifting away from monarchical rule and mercantile economics toward limited democratic rule and free-market capitalism.

    It was a time of tariffs, small government, territorial expansion and nationalism. It was also a time of mass migration from Europe to North America, where rampant nativism, colonialism and unchecked and exploitative capitalism shaped the landscape.

    The prevailing belief at the time was that nation-states should use tariffs, adopt isolationist policies to cut off the outside world and seize territory where possible. These measures, it was thought, would foster national unity and allow capitalism to thrive by letting the “invisible hand” of the marketplace work its magic.

    Protective tariffs promised to grow domestic industries, but the economic benefits were not evenly distributed. Wealth disparities grew wider as millions of immigrants arrived on North American shores, only to find deplorable living conditions in the cities and hardscrabble farmland out in the country.

    Some newcomers prospered, of course, but they tended to be those who arrived with money already in their pockets. And they fast learned how to exploit the lack of state-directed regulation, patches of corruption amid rapid western expansion and growing nativism and poverty to their own benefit.

    Many of the 20th century’s problems flowed from these 19th-century trends.

    The economic fallout of tariffs

    Following the financial Panic of 1873 and its ensuing economic depression in both Europe and North America, nation-states unleashed tariffs to protect their domestic economies. It was the wrong strategy to pursue, as it slowed trade even more by limiting the free flow of goods and capital. Money, as is now well-known, needs to move to grow.

    Working families chafed at the lack of labour protections like bargaining rights, health and safety measures, unemployment insurance and sick benefits. In response, they formed unions and initiated waves of strikes throughout the western industrialized world.

    Western North American farmers were furious that tariffs forced them to buy on protected markets while selling on unprotected ones subject to international market prices. They organized, too, by forming farmer co-operatives and backing movements like the Granger movement, populism and progressivism to protect their interests.

    Nation-states, warmed by rising nationalist fires, formed military-defence alliances across Europe and its colonial and former colonial holdings, including Canada. In 1914, these alliances led to the First World War, a global and industrial war the likes of which the world had never seen.

    The Great Depression

    By the 1930s, unrestricted and largely unregulated capitalism, together with astonishing wealth disparities and monopolistic tendencies, plunged the world into the decade-long Great Depression.

    Many governments’ initial response was to impose tariffs once again, and just as in 1873, they only made the problem worse. The simultaneous rise of fascism, which was largely nationalism run amok, brought the world to war again at the end of the decade, to devastating consequence.

    The post-war years saw a concerted international effort at using the nation-state to regulate domestic economies by investing in social services and programs and to rein in runaway capital when its excesses threatened stability.

    International bodies like the World Bank, the United Nations and the International Court of Justice were created to promote peace and stability. This new approach wasn’t always successful in its goals, but so far the world hasn’t seen any global hot wars or massive economic depressions.

    The end of history

    In 1992, historian Frances Fukuyama infamously declared that the world had reached “the end of history.”

    He didn’t mean that time stopped, of course. Instead, he was arguing that the liberal nation-state represented “the end-point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalization of western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.”

    In his view, the western industrialized world had reached the pinnacle of successful governance and unlimited prosperity.

    Yet, even as western liberal democracy was congratulating itself on its own success, these same nation-states, in conjunction with large corporations, were seeking out lower labour costs and greater profit in the developing world.

    The result was a hollowing-out of North America’s industrial heartlands, along with rampant exploitation of vulnerable labour in places like Asia, South Asia and South Central America. Once mighty American cities declined. Wages failed to keep up with inflation. Farm debt soared.

    This is where the Trump administration re-enters the story — tapping into the frustration and disillusionment of frustrated Americans by promising to restore a “golden age” that never was.

    Trump’s 19th-century playbook

    Despite his promises, Trump’s tariffs are unlikely to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. As history has shown, tariffs do not revive industries that are already gone; instead, they will only make Americans pay more for the things they need.

    A return to small government won’t “make America great again,” either. Instead, it risks repeating the 19th-century pattern of making the rich richer and gutting the very social programs millions of people rely on. The Trump administration’s massive and ongoing cuts to the Social Security Administration are already well under way.

    Trump’s rhetoric about territorial expansion, including threats to annex Greenland and Canada, won’t make the U.S. more secure. It will just exacerbate the sort of international tensions the world saw in 1914 and 1939.

    And with limited resources left to exploit, it’s becoming harder for capital to sustain itself, even as it seeks to wrest whatever is left from our planet, the realities of environmental catastrophe be damned.

    Nationalism, meanwhile, won’t foster a sense of national unity. It will only deepen existing divisions based on race and class. And if history is any guide, the consequences could be even more dire this time around, even pushing the world toward a global conflict unlike anything seen before.

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

    – ref. Stuck in the past: Trump tariffs and other policies are dragging the U.S. back to the 19th century – https://theconversation.com/stuck-in-the-past-trump-tariffs-and-other-policies-are-dragging-the-u-s-back-to-the-19th-century-253106

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Amid Record High Killing of Humanitarian Workers, Speakers Implore Security Council to Ensure Accountability for Attacks on Personnel in Conflict Zones

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI b

    What is the Council going to do to ensure accountability for the killing of aid workers and to prevent more such deaths, a senior United Nations humanitarian official asked the 15-member body today, as she detailed the unprecedented attacks that such workers face in conflict zones around the world.

    Joyce Msuya, Assistant-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, noting the record number of humanitarian workers killed in 2024 — 377 across 20 countries — said many more were injured, kidnapped, and arbitrarily detained.  “Being shot at should not be part of the job,” she emphasized. 

    In Sudan, at least 84 humanitarian workers, all Sudanese nationals, have been killed since the current conflict began in 2023.  Three days ago, the bodies of 15 emergency aid workers were recovered from a mass grave in Rafah — killed several days earlier by Israeli forces while trying to save lives.  “Gaza is the most dangerous place for humanitarians ever”, she said — a statement echoed several times in the ensuing discussion.  More than 408 aid workers were killed there, since 7 October 2023.  

    There is no shortage of robust international legal frameworks to tackle this, she added — “what is lacking is the political will to comply.”   Almost 95 per cent of those killed are local aid workers; but the killing of a local aid worker receives 500 times less media coverage than that of an international staff member.  She also highlighted the challenge posed by disinformation and misinformation campaigns targeting aid organizations. 

    Respect for International Law Is Critical 

    Highlighting three asks, she called on the Council to ensure respect for international law and protect humanitarian workers.  Secondly, “speak out”, she said, adding that “silence, inconsistency and selective outrage is emboldening perpetrators”.  Finally, accountability is crucial, she stressed, adding that the Council must ask concerned Governments to pursue justice, and when national jurisdictions fail it must use international mechanisms.

    Gilles Michaud, Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security, recalled that he had previously urged the Council to “translate words of support for the protection of humanitarian and United Nations personnel into meaningful action”.  At the time, he also called on Member States to join the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel.  “Since that briefing, I regret to inform you that progress has been elusive,” he said.

    In Gaza, the breakdown of the ceasefire has been “particularly brutal”, he emphasized, noting, among others, the direct attack on a clearly identified UN building on 19 March.  On 23 March, a worker of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and other humanitarian staff were killed while providing life-saving assistance — “their bodies left for days before they could be retrieved”, he noted. 

    “Impunity for attacks on humanitarian personnel have become the ‘new normal’,” he said.  Such attacks are perpetrated by non-State actors and Governments alike and, while the motives vary, he stressed:  “But, above all, they do it because they can get away with it.” 

    Closure of Vital Services Due to ‘Criminalization of Aid’ 

    “Through the eyes of a humanitarian, the world is a volatile place,” Nic Lee, Executive Director of the International NGO Safety Organisation told the Council.  On average, at least one aid worker is abducted, injured or killed every day.  Nationally and locally recruited personnel are particularly vulnerable and the international response to their death is lacking.  Violence at the hands of non-State armed groups continues to remain prevalent, with the most common incidents occurring in West and Central Africa. Further, the “criminalization of aid” amid an “explosive growth” in NGO restrictions has led to the closure of vital services for populations in dire need, he said.

    The Council must do more to facilitate diplomatic engagement on humanitarian issues, protect the humanitarian space and “challenge the worrying trend of criminalization of aid”, he said. “The fact is that violence against aid workers is more commonly linked to their identity as civilians than as aid workers,” he added.  The Council must address the double standards of Member States who continue to support those responsible for civilian and aid worker deaths alike. 

    Patterns of Violence Extend Across Multiple Conflict Zones

    When the floor opened, Council members reaffirmed that it is unacceptable to target humanitarian workers and highlighted the frontlines where they are in danger.  The representative of Slovenia recalled the words of the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), who addressed the Council in September 2024:  “One conflict informs the other, boundaries are pushed into the zone of the acceptable, and more human suffering follows.” 

    “The pattern of violence against humanitarian workers extends across multiple conflict zones,” Somalia’s delegate said, noting that in Sudan, over 100 aid workers have been killed since April 2023, while Ukraine has lost 23 brave souls, and in Gaza, 399 humanitarian personnel, including 289 UN staff members, paid the ultimate price.  Eight of the aid workers whose bodies were discovered in a mass grave in Rafah recently, he noted, were Red Crescent medics still wearing their protective gear.  This is a “stark violation of every principle we hold sacred”, he said. 

    In Gaza UN Workers Systematically Suppressed, Aid Workers Attacked

    Algeria’s delegate noted that the bodies were buried near destroyed ambulances — they were assassinated by Israeli occupying forces while attempting to save lives.  They deserve justice, he said, stressing that attacks directed at humanitarian personnel, their premises and assets are considered war crimes under international law.  The fact that these basic principles do not seem to apply to the Israeli occupying Power calls into question the relevance of international humanitarian law and the Security Council itself, he said.  Also stressing the need for accountability, China’s delegate stressed the role of UNRWA in Gaza, noting that it has been systematically suppressed and its humanitarian workers attacked. 

    The representative of the United Kingdom noted the one-year anniversary of the attack on a World Central Kitchen convoy in Gaza, which killed seven aid workers, including three British citizens, and called for the conclusion of the Military Advocate General’s consideration of the incident, including determining whether criminal proceedings should be initiated. 

    In Gaza, the representative of the United States said, “Hamas has cynically misused civilian infrastructure to shield themselves” causing “civilians to be caught in the crossfire”.  He expressed concern about the surge in civilian deaths in Sudan, the constraints faced by humanitarians in South Sudan and the devastating effects of the Russian Federation’s war on Ukraine on civilians and civilian infrastructure. Further, “we condemn the Houthis’ sham so-called judicial proceedings against detainees,” he said, expressing concern about the humanitarian and diplomatic personnel detained by the Houthis. 

    In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone’s delegate said, civilians are caught in the crossfire of armed group activity, while in Haiti, violence from armed gangs has engulfed urban centers, displaced thousands and left civilians at the mercy of lawlessness.  In Ukraine, the Russian Federation uses “cruel double-tap strikes” to target first responders, Denmark’s delegate pointed out.

    The Republic of Korea’s delegate noted that in Sudan, warring parties spread false narratives accusing the Sudan Emergency Response Room of collaborating with their enemies, thereby justifying the denial of humanitarian access and leaving millions in urgent need.  He called upon all States to consider sanctioning those responsible for disseminating unverified and libelous content.  Last year – the deadliest on record for humanitarian workers – also saw the adoption of Council resolution 2730 (2024), he recalled.

    Calls for Stronger Action to Implement Council Resolution 2730 (2024)

    The representative of Switzerland, who presented that text to the Council during the country’s tenure as a non-permanent member, stressed the importance of implementing it and guaranteeing unimpeded humanitarian access.  Several speakers reaffirmed support for that text, including the representative of Greece.  France’s delegate, Council President for April, speaking in his national capacity, echoed the call for justice and said that each time violations occur, the Council has to “speak out, it must react”.  Panama’s delegate said the text “set us on the right track, and it remains fully relevant.” 

    Pakistan’s delegate urged the creation of a “global implementation dashboard” for that resolution — it should provide real-time public tracking of violations, investigations and their outcomes “for everyone to see and follow”. The escalating attacks on humanitarian personnel are not just isolated incidents — “they reflect a growing disregard for international norms,” he said, adding that it is unacceptable that those who work to provide “dignity amidst displacement” are met “not with gratitude, but with gunfire”. 

    Guyana’s delegate expressed support for the Secretary-General’s recommendation for the Council to systematically request the concerned State authorities to conduct prompt, independent and effective investigations into incidents and to report to the Council about the outcomes of these investigations, including on measures to prevent reoccurrence.  The Council must also consider referrals to the International Criminal Court or other international tribunals where State authorities prove unable or unwilling to act, she said.

    “What new instruments can we talk about if the Security Council or the General Assembly of the United Nations are unable to enforce previous ones which remain fully relevant?” asked the Russian Federation’s delegate.  Current international obligations are more than sufficient, he said, calling for more scrupulous compliance.  His delegation abstained from voting on Council resolution 2730 (2024) because it contained some language “which is not fully accurate” and may result in distorted interpretation, he said.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Louisiana Chiropractor Convicted of Health Care Fraud and Unemployment Insurance Fraud

    Source: US State of California

    A federal jury convicted a Louisiana chiropractor yesterday for his role in health care fraud and unemployment insurance fraud schemes totaling millions of dollars.

    According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Dr. Benjamin Tekippe, 40, of New Orleans, was a chiropractor and owner of Metairie Chiropractic & Rehab in New Orleans. Tekippe solicited patients with insurance from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBSLA) at schools, public events, and on social media to receive chiropractic massages, which he misleadingly advertised as “free.” Tekippe would then routinely bill BCBSLA for chiropractic services he did not perform. In total, Tekippe fraudulently submitted over $2.3 million in claims to BCBSLA for services not performed and was reimbursed approximately $740,000 by the insurance provider. The fraudulent claims sought payment for thousands of chiropractic services purportedly provided by Tekippe during periods when he was out of the office, traveling on vacation, or incarcerated for past arrests. The evidence also showed that in response to a medical records request from a BCBSLA auditor, Tekippe fabricated patient records and instructed his staff to write them in their own handwriting to make it falsely appear that the services had been performed as billed. Evidence at trial showed that Tekippe spent the fraud proceeds on, among other things, luxury goods and gambling.  

    In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tekippe submitted weekly certifications falsely claiming that he was unemployed when he was billing for chiropractic services purportedly performed during his claimed unemployment. Through this scheme, Tekippe received $12,952 in unemployment insurance benefits to which he was not entitled.

    Tekippe was convicted of six counts of health care fraud and one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count and 10 years in prison on each health care fraud count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson for the Eastern District of Louisiana; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp of the FBI New Orleans Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Jason Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Service Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Region, Baton Rouge Field Office made the announcement.

    The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

    Trial Attorneys Kelly Z. Walters and Samantha Usher of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

    The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of 9 strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: First Degree Child Cruelty and Other Charges Filed in July 2023 Assault of Two-Year Old

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

                WASHINGTON – William Woodson, 26, of Southeast Washington, D.C. was indicted today by a D.C. Superior Court grand jury on three felony counts. Specifically, he is charged with one count of first degree child cruelty and one count of assault with significant bodily injury against a minor for his assault on a two-year-old victim, along with another felony charge from conduct directed at a separate adult the same day. The charges are in connection with an allegation that the defendant kicked a stranger’s two-year-old child down the escalator at the Mount Vernon Square metro station.  The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.

                Woodson is detained while the case remains pending.

                According to the government’s evidence, presented in police affidavits, on July 24, 2023 around 11:20 a.m., the victim’s mother was walking down the escalator at the Mount Vernon Square metro station when the defendant came up behind them.  He then (without any prior interaction or provocation) kicked the two-year-old child, causing him to fall down the escalator, hitting his head and face. Woodson exited the station and the victim’s mother followed him while carrying the now-injured child victim. The victim’s mother followed the defendant out of the metro station and called 911, providing law enforcement with information about the defendant.

                Responding MPD officers met the mother who gave them a lookout and, subsequently, officers stopped Woodson a short distance away. Medics arrived on scene and, noting that the two-year-old victim was bleeding from the head, advised the victim’s mother that he required transport to Children’s Hospital immediately. During transport, the victim lost consciousness. The victim remained hospitalized for approximately twelve hours and was diagnosed with a mild concussion before being sent home with his mother.

                This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Metropolitan Transit Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Katherine Ballou of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Cedar Rapids Man Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing a Firearm with an Extended Magazine

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Mycal Davis, age 40, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was sentenced on April 1, 2025, to two years in federal prison.  Davis received the prison term after a November 7, 2024, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.

    Information from the plea and sentencing hearings showed that law enforcement officers stopped a vehicle that Davis was a passenger in on December 21, 2023.  During the traffic stop, officers conducted a search of the vehicle and ordered the occupants out of the vehicle.  Davis exited the vehicle, and officers conducted a safety pat down for weapons and immediately noticed that Davis was armed with a firearm in his waistband.  Davis admitted what officers felt was a firearm and admitted he was a felon.  The firearm was equipped with a magazine containing 25 rounds of ammunition.  Officers continued to search Davis’s property and located various pills, some which tested positive as methamphetamine, and over 50 grams of marijuana.  

    Davis was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Davis was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Jones was released on bond conditions previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marshal on April 28, 2025. 

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

    The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hudson and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).  

    Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

    The case file number is 24-CR-61.

    Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Bowie County man sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for fentanyl overdose death

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    TEXARKANA, Texas – A Hooks man who sold fake prescription pills containing fentanyl has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, announced Eastern District of Texas Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.

    Henry Wayne Milligan, 28, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl resulting in death and was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder, III, on April 2, 2025.

    “The Eastern District of Texas will continue to aggressively prosecute those who distribute deadly drugs such as fentanyl in our communities and seek enhanced sentences commensurate with the tragic consequences and immeasurable losses suffered by victims and their families,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.

    According to information presented in court, Milligan pleaded guilty to selling the victim what were purported to be prescription pills, after which the victim was found dead in his home of what an autopsy later determined to be a fentanyl overdose. The pills sold by Milligan were tested and confirmed to be laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid commonly used as an analgesic or anesthetic that is 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin. Following his arrest, Milligan provided a voluntary statement during which he confessed.

    “We sincerely appreciate the unwavering commitment of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in prosecuting this case,” said Texarkana, Texas Police Department’s Public Information Officer Shawn Vaughn. “Their dedication to seeking justice for the victim and holding those accountable who distribute deadly fentanyl is invaluable in our ongoing fight against this epidemic.  We also want to recognize Detective Daniel Linn for his outstanding work in leading this investigation. His relentless efforts and attention to detail were instrumental in identifying Milligan as the supplier of the fentanyl that tragically led to the victim’s death.  Additionally, we extend our gratitude to the Texas Department of Public Safety for their invaluable assistance in this case. Their collaboration and resources played a crucial role in bringing this investigation to a successful resolution.”

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

    This case was investigated by the Texas Department of Public Safety – Criminal Investigations Division; and Texarkana Texas Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucas Machicek.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Department of Justice and United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa Honors Crime Victims and Survivors During 2025 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Cedar Rapids, Iowa — The United States Attorney from the Northern District of Iowa will commemorate National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) from April 6 through 12, 2025.

    This year’s NCVRW theme—Connecting Healing—recognizes that shared humanity drives vital connections to services, rights, and healing. KINSHIP is where victim advocacy begins.

    This annual observance challenges us to build a world where every connection built through KINSHIP — between survivors, advocates, and communities — holds the potential to heal. It asks us to ensure that resources are available to all survivors and that we show up for one another with empathy and intention.

    NCVRW 2025 will be commemorated in Iowa with many events across the state, including the following:

    • Friday April 4 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: The 2025 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week Commemoration, Polk County River Place, 2309 Euclid Ave., Des Moines, Iowa
      • Saturday April 5 at 9:00 a.m.: Go the Distance for Crime Victims 5K Run/Walk at Thomas Park in Marion, Iowa
      • Tuesday April 8 at 1:00 p.m and Thursday April 10 at 11:15 a.m.: From War to Wellness: A Journey of Resilience and Transformation on the Ankeny and Urban campuses of the Des Moines Area Community College.

    In the Northern District of Iowa, United States Attorney Timothy T. Duax announced winners for the following awards based on their service to victims in Iowa:

    • The Law Enforcement Victim Services Award is presented to Investigator Tracy Johnson from the Cedar Rapids Police Department. This award is presented to law enforcement officers in Iowa who go beyond the call of duty to help crime victims. It is the highest federal honor in Iowa for victim services by a law enforcement officer. Investigator Johnson is recognized for her excellent work investigating human trafficking and her work with a minor victim of trafficking.
    • The Law Enforcement Victim Services Award is also presented to Detective Chris Thomas of the Sioux City Police Department.  Detective Thomas was nominated for his outstanding investigative and advocacy work that led to the successful prosecution of Bobby Ray Rhoden.

    Investigator Johnson was the lead investigator in a human trafficking case involving a minor victim, two individuals who were eventually charged and convicted, and numerous other men who paid to participate in abusing the victim.  Investigator Johnson took a victim-centered approach to the investigation, developing a rapport with the minor victim and utilizing a trauma-informed interview style that gave the minor victim confidence that she was safe with Investigator Johnson.  Investigator Johnson’s outstanding and compassionate work with the victim was crucial to the case.  One of the charged defendants, Jarod Anderson, went to trial.  The victim testified during the trial and was able to tell the jury what had been done to her.  Investigator Johnson’s hard work during the investigation and prior to trial helped prepare the victim to face the difficult task of testifying in open court.  As a result of the victim’s brave testimony and Investigator Johnson’s outstanding work, Anderson was found guilty and is awaiting sentencing.  The second charged defendant, Tana Torres, pled guilty and was sentenced to up to eight years in prison.

    Rhoden victimized multiple individuals, including a former girlfriend.  Roden initially manipulated his victim into believing that she was responsible for the abuse he inflicted upon her, including torturing her, threatening her with a gun, and recording his abuse.  The victim eventually broke free, but Rhoden kidnapped her.  He used threats to get his victim into his car to help him recover a phone she had taken. Over the next 36 hours, he brutalized her and drove her to at least two locations in an effort to find his phone. The victim escaped Rhoden by running away from him to a neighbor’s house. As she ran, Rhoden fired his gun at or near her. A subsequent investigation of the kidnapping revealed live ammunition and a spent casing in the garage where Rhoden lived, and one of the locations where he held his victim.

    Detective Thomas demonstrated outstanding investigatory skills and compassion for the victim while he was investigating the kidnapping.  The victim was initially reluctant to trust or cooperate with law enforcement.  But Detective Thomas persisted in working with the victim until the victim came to trust him and the criminal justice system.  Thanks to Detective Thomas’s patience, the victim agreed to and was able to testify in very difficult circumstances during Rhoden’s trial.  Without her strength in doing so, Rhoden may have remained free to victimize others.  Detective Thomas’s compassion and care for the victim led directly to the victim having the strength to free herself from Rhoden’s hold and protect others from him by testifying.  As a result, Rhoden was found guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2, 2025.

    “These awards recognize the exceptional efforts of two law enforcement officers to provide assistance to federal and state victims in the Northern District of Iowa,” said United States Attorney Duax. “Ensuring victims feel safe while going through the difficult process of an investigation and trial is crucial to securing justice for the victims. The service of these officers, and other state and federal law enforcement officers and victim advocates, is a vital component of our criminal justice system.”

    NCVRW began in 1981 to honor victims and survivors of crime, raise awareness of victims’ rights and services and recognize the dedication of those who work with crime victims.

    For additional information about this year’s NCVRW activities and more ideas on supporting crime victims, visit OVC’s website at www.ovc.gov. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Man Who Mailed Fentanyl from Arizona to Iowa Sentenced to Over Seven Years in Federal Prison

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    A man who mailed fentanyl powder, pills containing fentanyl, and “ice” methamphetamine from Arizona to Dubuque, Iowa, was sentenced today to 87 months in federal prison for his involvement in a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

    Shawn Javier Lopez-Johnson, age 29, from Phoenix, Arizona, received the prison term after a November 1, 2024 guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.         

    From March 2023 through December 2023, Lopez-Johnson mailed re‑distribution quantities of controlled substances, including hundreds of fentanyl pills, from Arizona, to Dubuque, Iowa, to his co-conspirator, Alexander John Chapman who was previously sentenced for his role in the conspiracy.  During this time, Lopez-Johnson mailed Chapman approximately $5,400 worth of fentanyl powder, pills containing fentanyl, and methamphetamine.

    Lopez-Johnson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Lopez-Johnson was sentenced to 87 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Lopez-Johnson is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.

    The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicole L. Nagin, and it was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force and the United States Postal Inspection Service, at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 24-CR-01003.

    Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Major Case Fugitive Wanted for Kentucky Murder Captured by U.S. Marshals in South Carolina

    Source: US Marshals Service

    Washington, DC – The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force (CRFTF), in coordination with the Southern District of West Virginia, the Eastern District of Kentucky, the District of South Carolina, and the USMS Special Operations Group, arrested a West Virginia man in South Carolina on March 31. He was wanted for a 2019 murder in Kentucky.

    Charles Ray Blevins, 38, of Williamson, West Virginia, was a USMS major case fugitive and was being considered for elevation to the agency’s 15 Most Wanted fugitives list. He was wanted by the Kentucky State Police for first-degree murder and for being a felon in possession of a firearm, as well as by the West Virginia Department of Corrections for a parole violation.

    Blevins was convicted of second-degree murder in Cabell County, West Virginia, in 2009 and was released on parole in 2019. On July 6, 2019, he was accused of shooting and killing a man in South Williamson, Kentucky. Warrants for his arrest were issued on July 11, 2019.

    U.S. Marshals investigators with the Eastern District of Kentucky’s Central Kentucky Fugitive Task Force and Southern District of West Virginia CUFFED Task Force requested that Blevins be elevated to major case status due to the potential danger he posed. Blevins was known to carry firearms, had access to body armor, and had stated that he would not return to prison but would instead engage in violence with any law enforcement officers who attempted to arrest him.  

    Investigators in West Virginia and Kentucky recently learned that Blevins had traveled to South Carolina and sent a collateral lead to the USMS Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force.

    Information was developed that Blevins was frequenting a house in the 300 block of Coach Hill Drive in Gaffney.  Investigators began surveilling the residence.  Because of the threat Blevins presented based on his previous actions and statements, USMS Special Operations Group deputies were requested to assist with the apprehension.

    As SOG members approached the house, Blevins attempted to flee through the back of the house but fell, breaking his leg. He was taken into custody without further incident.   

    Blevins was transported to a local hospital for treatment and will remain in USMS custody pending his extradition back to Kentucky to answer for his crimes. 

    “Given the seriousness of Mr. Blevins’ alleged crimes, the threat he posed to the public,  and his ability to avoid capture, it was critical that we bring him into custody swiftly and safely,” said Acting U.S. Marshals Service Director Mark Pittella. “This arrest, just before he was set to be named one of our 15 Most Wanted fugitives, speaks to the dedication and coordination of our Marshals Service personnel and the many law enforcement professionals who worked together to ensure he is held accountable and brought to justice. This is what protecting our communities looks like.”

    “Mr. Blevins learned what fugitives have been learning since 1789,” said U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of West Virginia Michael Baylous. “The United States Marshals Service never grows weary in its pursuit of justice.” 

    “The United States Marshals Service has proven, yet again, why we are the leaders in fugitive apprehension,” said U.S. Marshal for the District of South Carolina Chrissie C. Latimore. “The coordinated efforts with our state and local partners led to the arrest of a major fugitive. The District of South Carolina remains steadfast in our unwavering commitment to the pursuit of justice, fortified by strategic partnerships and collaborative efforts. It is both a privilege and a solemn responsibility to seek justice for the victims of the senseless and tragic act of violence committed by Blevins.” 

    “This investigation is a testament to the commitment the U.S. Marshals in the Eastern District of Kentucky and Southern District of West Virginia have for finding, apprehending and bringing to justice violent fugitives,” said acting U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Kentucky Jeremy Honaker. “Our Deputies and support staff have tirelessly collaborated to locate and apprehend Blevins. Yesterday’s arrest was a strong symbolic gesture of this commitment.”   

    The USMS is grateful for the assistance and support of the Gaffney Police Department, the Rock Hill Police Department, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, York County Sheriff’s Office, and especially the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division.

    The USMS established its major case fugitive program in 1985 to supplement the agency’s 15 Most Wanted fugitive program to draw attention to some of the country’s most dangerous and high-profile fugitives. These fugitives tend to be career criminals with histories of violence who pose a significant threat to public safety.  Major case fugitives are considered among the “worst of the worst” and can include murderers, sex offenders, major drug kingpins, organized crime figures and individuals wanted for high-profile financial crimes. 

    The USMS has a long history of providing expertise to other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in support of their fugitive investigations. Working with authorities at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels, USMS-led fugitive task forces arrested more than 74,000 fugitives and cleared nearly 89,000 warrants in FY 2024.

    The USMS CRFTF began operations in January 2018. The CRFTF has partnership agreements with four federal and 68 state and local agencies; and operates in South Carolina and North Carolina. The CRFTF has apprehended more than 8,900 fugitives since its inception and is always striving to make communities safer.

    Established in 1971 as one of the first federal tactical units, the USMS Special Operations Group is a specially trained, rapidly deployable tactical unit composed of deputy U.S. marshals capable of responding to high-risk and sensitive law enforcement situations, national emergencies, and civil disorders.

    USMS SOG prepares to enter the residence in Gaffney to arrest Blevins.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Multiple Fugitives Arrested Which Leads to Drug Seizure in Maine

    Source: US Marshals Service

    Portland, ME – The U.S. Marshals Service in Maine announces multiple arrests while in search for a Massachusetts fugitive. Jason Whitney, 47, was arrested at his residence in Waldoboro, Maine Wednesday night, April 1st. Whitney was wanted for a weapon offense charge out of Massachusetts. While in search of Whitney at the residence, U.S. Marshals Task Force members discovered several other occupants living at the residence that had multiple warrants for arrest.

    After receiving investigative leads from the United States Marshals Service (USMS) District of Massachusetts New England HIDTA Fugitive Task Force, the USMS Maine Violent Offender Task Force (MVOTF) was able to determine Whitney was living at a residence in Waldoboro, Maine. In coordination with the Waldoboro, Maine Police Department, Whitney was apprehended. Also discovered and arrested at the residence were Hannah Stone, 25, of Waldoboro, Maine, and Daason Carter-Hawkins 24, of Dorchester, Massachusetts. Stone and Carter-Hawkins had multiple warrants for failure to appear on previous drug related offenses here in Maine.

    Concurrent to the arrests, multiple quantities of drugs and paraphernalia where also discovered and seized by authorities, which included 184 grams of “crack” cocaine. Drug related investigations are on-going by state and local authorities.

    Significant assistance was provided by the Massachusetts USMS New England HIDTA Fugitive Task Force, Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section (VFAS), Waldoboro, Maine Police Department, and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA). All three subjects were arrested without incident.

    The USMS, Maine Violent Offender Task Force is comprised of members of the U.S. Marshals Service, Maine Department of Corrections, Biddeford Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Maine National Guard Counterdrug Task Force and the Coast Guard Investigative Service.

    If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of any state or federal fugitive please contact the United States Marshals Service, MED.TIPLINE@usdoj.gov.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Straw purchaser sentenced for supplying firearms smuggled across the border

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

    CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 38-year-old McAllen resident has been ordered to prison for her role in firearms trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

    Jazmin Gutierrez and her co-defendant, Isai Alpides-Navarrete, each pleaded guilty July 25, 2024.  

    U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos has now ordered Gutierrez to serve 121 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by two years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence about the number of firearms the pair purchased and their frequent trips around the state to collect them before transferring them to another individual who would smuggle them across the border. In handing down the sentence, Judge Ramos commented that this wasn’t an isolated incident, but multiple trips and that the firearms were going to individuals who commit serious crimes.

    Judge Ramos previously sentenced Alpides-Navarrete, a citizen of Mexico illegally residing in the United States, to a total of 121 months for straw purchasing firearms and being an alien in possession of ammunition.

    As part of an investigation involving the unlawful purchase, transfer and exportation of firearms, authorities arrested Gutierrez March 21, 2024. At that time, they found her in possession of five handguns, a 7.62x39mm assault rifle, high-capacity magazines and ammunition.

    Law enforcement also conducted a search warrant at a residence in McAllen and took Alpides-Navarrete into custody. Inside the residence, they seized approximately 275 rounds of ammunition and high capacity magazines as well as 21 empty pistol boxes.  

    At the time of her arrest, Gutierrez admitted to finding firearms online from private sellers and purchasing over 50 of them which other individuals later smuggled into Mexico.  

    Gutierrez was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

    This case is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations and IRS Criminal Investigation are conducting the OCDETF operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage. 

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Watt is prosecuting the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Behind the Scenes of a Cancer Control ImPACT Review Mission

    Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

    Lorna Awo Renner (left) is seen discussing paediatric care as part of the imPACT Review team at work at Primary Health Care Centre Primerio Maio.

    “The rising numbers of cancer cases in Mozambique is of great concern,” said Mozambique’s Minister of Health, Armino Tiago, speaking of his decision to invite the IAEA, World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, to carry out an imPACT review in the country in 2024. “The government is taking action to expand access to diagnosis and treatment,” he added.

    Mozambique, in common with many low- income countries (LICs) around the world, is facing a growing cancer challenge. Cancer is now the second leading cause of death globally, and many health systems in LICs are least prepared to manage this burden.

    How do ImPACT Reviews Help Countries with Cancer Control?

    Each year, the IAEA, together with its partners the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), conducts around ten ImPACT Reviews, designed to support countries in their efforts to improve comprehensive cancer control.

    ImPACT Reviews assess a country’s cancer control capacities and needs in order to  prioritize interventions and help governments effectively respond to their country’s cancer burden. This response could involve creating a national cancer control plan, producing feasibility documents – often called ‘bankable documents’- that justify the funding of cancer care facilities to donors, or deciding to join WHO cancer initiatives, such as those on cervical, breast and childhood cancer.

    “Controlling cancer in Mozambique is a significant challenge, compounded by limitations in infrastructure, human resources, and access to adequate diagnostics and treatments,” said Tiago, Mozambique’s Minister of Health.

    “The imPACT Review represents a valuable opportunity to identify critical gaps and outline concrete strategies to strengthen our capacity to address cancer. We are confident that this collaboration will provide essential guidance to improve cancer care in our country,” the Minister of Health added.

    What Goes On Behind the Scenes of an ImPACT Review?

    Experts participating in the Mozambique mission came from countries in Africa, Europe, North and South America, bringing expertise from fields ranging from palliative care, pathology and public health to oncology and epidemiology. Many were also native speakers of Portuguese, which is widely spoken in Mozambique.

    As in other imPACT Reviews, the Mozambique mission experts were nominated by the IAEA, IARC and WHO. IARC recommended experts in cancer registry, an information system that collects, manages and analyses data on people diagnosed with cancer. The IAEA nominated experts in radiation medicine, diagnostic imaging and radiation safety and the WHO nominated experts on all other aspects of cancer control.

    The experts met online several times in the run-up to the mission to discuss their findings.

    Three months before setting foot in Mozambique, the imPACT Review international experts started meeting online to assess the needs of the country. The experts researched the latest available evidence on public health policies and cancer control, provided by IARC, WHO and IAEA, including experts from the IAEA human health programme. They also gathered reports and data from UN staff,  professionals from Mozambique’s Ministry of Health and other national cancer stakeholders to gain a good understanding of the country’s cancer-related infrastructure and capacity. Professionals and stakeholders in cancer control in Mozambique completed questionnaires to help the imPACT Review experts identify needs, challenges and opportunities. A preliminary report was produced ahead of the in-country mission to determine its scope.

    Arsen Juric, Mozambique imPACT Review Coordinator said: “These preparatory meetings are part of a strategic process. They help the experts make evidence-based recommendations that aim to strengthen and embed cancer control in Mozambique’s national health system, better serving patient needs across the country.”

    The imPACT review is designed to give a broad overview of cancer care in the host country, determining the gaps and needs which are most urgent, to inform decision makers when formulating health policy regarding cancer.

    What is Cancer Control?

    Prevention includes factors such as diet, smoking cessation and vaccinations against infectious disease. It is estimated it is currently possible to prevent 40 per cent of all cancers.

    Detection includes screening and early diagnosis. Early detection means many cancers have a high potential for cure.

    Treatment aims to cure disease, prolong life, and improve the quality of remaining life

    Palliative care involves addressing the needs of patients and their families from the time of cancer diagnosis to improve quality of life and the ability to cope effectively. 

    On the Ground in Mozambique

    At the beginning of May, the imPACT Review team experts arrived in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, to visit hospitals and public health centres. They met cancer care experts, policy and decision makers and technical staff from Mozambique’s Ministry of Health, and the staff of the WHO country office, as well as representatives of civil society organizations

    In addition to experts from IARC and WHO, the mission also included an expert from MD Anderson Cancer Center, an IAEA nuclear safety expert, an IAEA cancer control expert and the IAEA’s National Liaison Officer for Mozambique.

    ImPACT reviews look at every aspect of cancer control, including how data on cancer is managed, and financing, as well as prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and palliative care. During the review, the experts visited hospitals, primary health care facilities, and met with civil society, patient and cancer advocacy groups in Mozambique to obtain as much data as possible on the cancer control situation in the country.

    The imPACT Review team visited Primeiro Maio to find out more about the country’s national cervical cancer screening programme

    Prioritizing Women and Children’s Cancers

    While imPACT Reviews look at all aspects of cancer control, the Mozambique review gave the team to focus on WHO cancer initiatives, such as those on cervical, breast and childhood cancer.

    Severin von Xylander from Mozambique’s WHO Country Office said the WHO was also working with the National Cancer Control Programme in Mozambique to prioritize the prevention and early detection of cancers affecting women and children, in line with global cancer control initiatives.

    At the Primeiro Maio healthcare centre, the  imPACT Review team learned more about the scope of services in primary care, such as prevention and early detection, particularly in terms of cancers that affect women and children.

    Speaking of positive outcomes, Celina Mate, of the Mozambique Ministry of Health, said that interactions with the imPACT review team during the in-country mission had helped realize that their cervical cancer screening coverage was more comprehensive than they had previously thought.

    “In addition to this aspect, we were able to look at our needs and the need to advocate for financial support to increase screening capacity using a high-standard test such as the HPV DNA test,” said Mate.

    Paintings by children at Maputo Central Hospital.

    Lorna Awo Renner, an international expert in paediatric oncology from Ghana taking part in the imPACT Review, used her time in Mozambique to observe and make recommendations on how the country is  addressing childhood cancer.

    “Over 80 per cent of childhood cancers are curable, but at a global level we are at about 30 per cent, you take the low- and middle- income countries, they have even lower rates,” she says.

    The WHO’s Global Initiative for Childhood Cancers, aims to improve long term cure outcomes for childhood cancer globally to over 60 per cent by 2030. Renner said she hoped  Mozambique would also join the initiative.

    At the end of the mission, a report was produced for the Mozambican government, which will support the next national cancer plan to address the growing cancer situation in the country.

    The IAEA’s Support to Mozambique

    The imPACT Review team are shown imaging equipment by Narciso Sitoe,a radiation oncologist trained under the IAEA technical cooperation programme.

    The IAEA has supported Mozambique in providing cancer care at Maputo Central Hospital for over a decade. A Brazilian team of consultants carried out the training and implementation of radiotherapy at Maputo Central Hospital with the support of the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme. Since 2009,14 specialists at Maputo Central Hospital have been trained in radiation oncology and medical physics through the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme, with the aim of strengthening radiotherapy services.

    Rays of Hope: Cancer Care for All

    While around half of all cancer patients can benefit from some form of radiotherapy, countries such as Mozambique have only limited access to this technology. As just one radiotherapy unit in the capital city of Maputo is available for a population of over 30 million people, many cancer patients in Mozambique are unable to access this life-saving treatment.

    Establishing new radiotherapy facilities is a complex project, requiring new infrastructure and equipment (or better use of existing infrastructure and equipment) as well as training to ensure professionals are available to work in the new facilities, and that radiation safety protocols are followed.

     In 2023 Mozambique joined the IAEA’s Rays of Hope initiative, which aims to help bridge the gap in cancer care around the world by expanding access to radiotherapy.

    “Through Rays of Hope the IAEA will continue to support the expansion of radiation medicine capacities in Mozambique, in diagnosis as well as treatment, including through support for the development and training of the national cancer care workforce,” said Hua Liu, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation.

    ImPACT Reviews are a vital step in helping countries to improve national radiotherapy services, along with cancer control in general, as they allow international teams of cancer control experts to support national counterparts with cancer control planning and investments.

    READ MORE: Mozambique is Prioritizing Cancers Affecting Women and Children

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Leader of Export Control Evasion Scheme Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison

    Source: US Justice – Antitrust Division

    Headline: Leader of Export Control Evasion Scheme Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison

    Oleg Sergeyevhich Patsulya, a Russian national, was sentenced today to 70 months, or nearly six years, in prison for his role in a conspiracy to export controlled aviation technology to Russia and to launder money in connection with the illegal export scheme. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Minnesota Man Sentenced for Advertising and Distributing Images of Child Sexual Abuse over the Dark Web

    Source: US Justice – Antitrust Division

    Headline: Minnesota Man Sentenced for Advertising and Distributing Images of Child Sexual Abuse over the Dark Web

    A Minnesota man was sentenced yesterday to 21 years and 10 months in prison for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) found in his apartment and for using the dark web to advertise and distribute CSAM images and videos.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: High Ranking MS-13 Leader and Fugitive Wanted for Multiple Murders Found and Arrested in Long Island

    Source: US State Government of Utah

    Last night, a high-ranking leader of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, was arrested in New York for his alleged role in a conspiracy responsible for 11 murders.

    Joel Vargas-Escobar, also known as Momia, was indicted the District of Nevada and charged with racketeering conspiracy that involved 11 murders. Vargas-Escobar is also charged with two counts of murder-in-aid of racketeering and associated firearms charges. Vargas-Escobar – who previously had been deported to El Salvador and illegally re-entered the United States – had been a fugitive from justice for nearly four years.

    “The American people are safer following the arrest of yet another MS-13 leader thanks to the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and Joint Task Force Vulcan,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This terrorist entered our country illegally and is accused of orchestrating 11 murders — under President Trump’s leadership, we will not rest until this terrorist organization is completely dismantled and its members are behind bars.”

    “The arrest of yet another violent and dangerous MS-13 leader is a major win for our FBI agents, law enforcement partners, and safer American streets,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Our agents and analysts are continuously coordinating across multiple field offices and investigating with our valued partners to keep this work going — and we will not stop until that work is done.”

    According to court documents, MS-13 is a national and transnational gang composed largely of individuals of Salvadoran or other Central American descent. MS-13 has more than 10,000 members regularly conducting gang activities in at least 10 states and Washington, D.C., with thousands more conducting gang activities in Central America and Mexico. MS-13 operates through the use of intimidation and violence, including murder, and enriching members and associates through criminal activities, including breaking into houses and stealing firearms, jewelry, cash, and other items of value, and selling narcotics. MS-13 is organized by subsets known as “cliques,” and each clique typically has one or more leaders, commonly referred to as “shot callers.”

    Vargas-Escobar and his co-defendants are allegedly part of MS-13’s command and control structure in Las Vegas and California and exercised significant leadership roles in the organization’s operations. The indictment charges members of the “Parkview” clique of MS-13 with committing 11 murders over about a year in Nevada and California. According to the indictment, many of the victims were allegedly kidnapped by MS-13 members and taken to remote locations in the mountains and desert where they were tortured and killed.

    Vargas-Escobar was the alleged leader of the Parkview clique of MS-13 in Las Vegas and personally ordered two of the charged murders. He was deported to El Salvador in 2018 but illegally re-entered the country.

    The arrest operation was coordinated by the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division in Washington, D.C., with support from the FBI’s Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York field offices, the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section (VCRS), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, and Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV).

    JTFV, which was created in 2019 to destroy MS-13 and now expanded to target Tren de Aragua, is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the Southern District of New York; the Eastern District of New York; the District of New Jersey; the Northern District of Ohio; the District of Utah; the District of Massachusetts; the Eastern District of Texas; the Southern District of Florida; the Eastern District of Virginia; the Southern District of California; the District of Nevada; the District of Alaska; the Southern District of Texas; and the District of Columbia, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division. Additionally, the FBI; DEA; HSI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; and the Federal Bureau of Prisons have been essential law enforcement partners with JTFV.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America and an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    Vargas-Escobar appeared this morning for his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York – Central Islip. He was ordered detained and will be transferred to the District of Nevada for trial. If convicted, Vargas-Escobar faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Christopher Taylor and Justin Bish from the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melanee Smith and Steven Rose for the District of Nevada, with substantial assistance from Joint Task Force Vulcan Deputy Director Jeremy Franker, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

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

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: High Ranking MS-13 Leader and Fugitive Wanted for Multiple Murders Found and Arrested in Long Island

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    Last night, a high-ranking leader of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, was arrested in New York for his alleged role in a conspiracy responsible for 11 murders.

    Joel Vargas-Escobar, also known as Momia, was indicted the District of Nevada and charged with racketeering conspiracy that involved 11 murders. Vargas-Escobar is also charged with two counts of murder-in-aid of racketeering and associated firearms charges. Vargas-Escobar – who previously had been deported to El Salvador and illegally re-entered the United States – had been a fugitive from justice for nearly four years.

    “The American people are safer following the arrest of yet another MS-13 leader thanks to the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and Joint Task Force Vulcan,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This terrorist entered our country illegally and is accused of orchestrating 11 murders — under President Trump’s leadership, we will not rest until this terrorist organization is completely dismantled and its members are behind bars.”

    “The arrest of yet another violent and dangerous MS-13 leader is a major win for our FBI agents, law enforcement partners, and safer American streets,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Our agents and analysts are continuously coordinating across multiple field offices and investigating with our valued partners to keep this work going — and we will not stop until that work is done.”

    According to court documents, MS-13 is a national and transnational gang composed largely of individuals of Salvadoran or other Central American descent. MS-13 has more than 10,000 members regularly conducting gang activities in at least 10 states and Washington, D.C., with thousands more conducting gang activities in Central America and Mexico. MS-13 operates through the use of intimidation and violence, including murder, and enriching members and associates through criminal activities, including breaking into houses and stealing firearms, jewelry, cash, and other items of value, and selling narcotics. MS-13 is organized by subsets known as “cliques,” and each clique typically has one or more leaders, commonly referred to as “shot callers.”

    Vargas-Escobar and his co-defendants are allegedly part of MS-13’s command and control structure in Las Vegas and California and exercised significant leadership roles in the organization’s operations. The indictment charges members of the “Parkview” clique of MS-13 with committing 11 murders over about a year in Nevada and California. According to the indictment, many of the victims were allegedly kidnapped by MS-13 members and taken to remote locations in the mountains and desert where they were tortured and killed.

    Vargas-Escobar was the alleged leader of the Parkview clique of MS-13 in Las Vegas and personally ordered two of the charged murders. He was deported to El Salvador in 2018 but illegally re-entered the country.

    The arrest operation was coordinated by the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division in Washington, D.C., with support from the FBI’s Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York field offices, the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section (VCRS), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, and Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV).

    JTFV, which was created in 2019 to destroy MS-13 and now expanded to target Tren de Aragua, is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the Southern District of New York; the Eastern District of New York; the District of New Jersey; the Northern District of Ohio; the District of Utah; the District of Massachusetts; the Eastern District of Texas; the Southern District of Florida; the Eastern District of Virginia; the Southern District of California; the District of Nevada; the District of Alaska; the Southern District of Texas; and the District of Columbia, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division. Additionally, the FBI; DEA; HSI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; and the Federal Bureau of Prisons have been essential law enforcement partners with JTFV.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America and an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    Vargas-Escobar appeared this morning for his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York – Central Islip. He was ordered detained and will be transferred to the District of Nevada for trial. If convicted, Vargas-Escobar faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Christopher Taylor and Justin Bish from the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melanee Smith and Steven Rose for the District of Nevada, with substantial assistance from Joint Task Force Vulcan Deputy Director Jeremy Franker, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Leader of Export Control Evasion Scheme Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison

    Source: United States Attorneys General 7

    Defendant and Co-Conspirator Both Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Send Controlled Aircraft Components to Russia

    Oleg Sergeyevhich Patsulya, a Russian national, was sentenced today to 70 months, or nearly six years, in prison for his role in a conspiracy to export controlled aviation technology to Russia and to launder money in connection with the illegal export scheme. In December 2024, Patsulya’s co-conspirator, Russian national Vasilii Sergeyevich Besedin, was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in the scheme.

    In April 2024, Patsulya, 46, of Miami-Dade County, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to export items from the United States without a license in violation of the Export Control Reform Act and conspiracy to commit international money laundering. At today’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Dominic W. Lanza for the District of Arizona. found that Patsulya was an organizer and leader of the conspiracy and that the money laundering scheme – which employed numerous shell companies, offshore accounts, and multi-layered transactions – was sophisticated in nature, which led to the application of sentencing enhancements.

    In handing down Patsulya’s 70-month sentence, Judge Lanza emphasized the seriousness of the offense, Patsulya’s leadership role in planning and carrying it out, and the fact that Patsulya committed these crimes not long after being granted the privilege of a visa to enter the United States. “It’s hard to imagine a bigger betrayal of the United States than what you did,” Judge Lanza said. The proceedings also established that Patsulya currently lacks legal status to be present in the United States.

    According to court documents, beginning in or about May 2022, Patsulya and Besedin conspired with each other and several others to obtain orders for various aircraft parts and components from Russian buyers – primarily commercial airline companies – and then fulfill those requests by acquiring the parts from the U.S. suppliers and unlawfully exporting the parts to Russia. The defendants admitted to knowing the items were controlled and required a license from the Department of Commerce to export.

    As part of the scheme, the defendants conspired to export multiple shipments of a carbon disc brake system used on Boeing 737 aircraft. When they contacted various U.S. suppliers in efforts to obtain the brake system, Besedin and Patsulya provided false information that the parts were intended for countries other than Russia. The United States was able to detain, prior to export, multiple shipments made by the defendants containing units of the brake assembly technology.

    As part of their guilty pleas, Besedin and Patsulya admitted that they attempted to conceal the illegal exports and avoid detection by law enforcement, including by making false representations about the identities of their true customers and using straw buyer-companies located overseas to obscure the origin of revenue. For example, on Sept. 8, 2022, Besedin and Patsulya traveled to Arizona to close a deal with a U.S. company, in which the defendants sought to purchase units of the brake assembly technology. During their discussions with the company, the defendants misrepresented that the aircraft parts were going to be exported to Turkey, when they were in fact destined for Russia. The defendants made false statements to the company both orally and in signed export compliance forms. In connection with this transaction, the defendants received money from a Russian airline company to make the purchase. The funds were transferred to Patsulya’s American bank account from a Turkish bank account that had previously received the money from Russia.

    In total, throughout the conspiracy, American bank accounts associated with MIC P&I LLC, Patsulya’s company, received at least $4,582,288.51 sent from Russian airline companies through Turkish bank accounts to purchase aircraft parts and components intended for unlawful export. As part of his plea and sentence, Patsulya is required to forfeit assets, including a luxury car and personal boat, in the amount of $4,582,288.51.

    Sue Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine for the District of Arizona, Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, and Special Agent in Charge Richard Fitzpatrick of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Phoenix Field Office made the announcement.

    The BIS Phoenix Field Office and the FBI Phoenix Field Office investigated the case, with valuable assistance provided by the BIS Boston Field Office, the FBI Miami Field Office, Homeland Security Investigations Phoenix Field Office, Customs and Border Protection-Phoenix Field Office, and the U.S. Marshals Office in Miami.

    Trial Attorney Christopher M. Rigali of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Voit for the District of Arizona prosecuted the case.

    This case was coordinated through the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation-states. The Strike Force leverages tools and authorities across the U.S. government to enhance the criminal and administrative enforcement of export control laws.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEW REPORT: Trump’s Mass Firings at VA Hurt WA Veterans

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    ICYMI: Murray Statement on Trump & Elon Plans to Decimate VA, Firing 80,000 Employees and Putting Veterans’ Care in Grave Danger

    ICYMI: Senator Murray, VA Researchers, Employees, Contractors in WA State Slam Trump & Elon’s Plans to Decimate VA With Further Mass Layoffs, Harm Services Veterans Rely On

    ***Report HERE***

    Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, released a new report detailing how President Trump and Elon Musk’s reckless mass firings at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are already harming veterans’ services and health care in Washington state and across the country.

    Senator Murray has been outspoken in standing up for veterans, VA employees, and VA researchers against Trump and Elon Musk’s indiscriminate mass layoffs that will undermine critical services our nation’s veterans rely on every day. Senator Murray, a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, was among the first to raise the alarm about the layoffs of VA researchers and called on President Trump to immediately reverse the firings. She pressed VA Deputy Secretary nominee Dr. Paul Lawrence on the firings of VA researchers at the hearing on his nomination last week, held a press conference with a VA employee and veteran in Seattle who was abruptly laid off as part of the mass firings with zero justification, and put out a fact sheet on how the indiscriminate mass firings were hurting workers in Washington state, including VA researchers. In January, Murray and others called on President Trump to exempt all VA employees from the hiring freeze issued as part of his Day One Executive Orders.  

    The full report is available HERE and below:

    National View: The Department of Veterans Affairs

    The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs serves approximately nine million enrolled veterans every year. Washington state alone has around 232,000 veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. Its mission is to provide comprehensive care, support, and benefits to veterans of the United States military and their families. Core VA benefits and services include: health care including medical, mental health, and rehabilitation care; benefits and compensation including disability compensation, pensions, educational assistance, and housing loans; and burial and memorial services, including access to national cemeteries.

    Like the rest of the federal government, VA employs high numbers of veterans and military spouses compared to private sector employers. Veterans make up 30% of the federal workforce, and the federal government is the largest single employer of veterans in the country.

    On February 13, 2024, VA Secretary Collins terminated 1,000 VA employees, including a substantial number of veterans and military spouses, without cause.Then on February 24, Secretary Collins carried out another round of illegal terminations of VA employees. This mass firing brought the total number of fired VA employees to 2,400. Of those fired, a large proportion were themselves veterans and military spouses. On March 4, a leaked internal VA memo showed that Secretary Collins planned to terminate an estimated 83,000 employees – likely including an estimated 20,000 veterans – by the end of September of this year. This plan to reduce the VA workforce to September 2019 levels, coupled with the ongoing hiring freeze and illegal terminations of probationary employees, will be catastrophic for the agency, its workforce, and for the veterans, caregivers, and survivors it serves.

    These measures will reverse the progress made by the previous Administration, during which VA was able to deliver more care and benefits to more veterans than ever before. It would roll back the progress and massive expansion of care and benefits from the bipartisan PACT Act, the largest expansion of VA health care and benefits in decades. These mass firings also threaten to erode recent progress in lowering the veteran unemployment rate, which has been a longstanding, bipartisan priority.

    The Department of Veterans Affairs Provides Necessary Services and Has Ripple Effects Across Washington State

    Before these mass firings, the VA was already experiencing staff shortages. The recent additional staffing and funding cuts will exacerbate these shortages and negatively impact the care veterans receive.

    Former VA employees describe likely irreversible damage to the VA system, including loss of innovation and increased strain on already scarce staff time and resources. 

    • Future Zhou, a disabled Army veteran who worked as an Inventory Manager at the Puget Sound VA Medical Center in Washington state, was abruptly let go due to recent workforce cuts imposed by the Trump Administration. By eliminating inventory management positions, understaffed nurses will now be burdened with additional responsibilities as they work to provide top-notch care with already limited time. Veteran patients will need to wait longer for medication and equipment they need while they are receiving care.
      • “Unfortunately, I was not alone. Five other logistics personnel in our probationary phase were dismissed within hours of me, two mail clerks and three supply techs. The unprofessional manner in which these decisions were executed was incredibly disrespectful. I have since visited my office—because I still receive my care at the Seattle VA—and witnessed firsthand the undue stress and devastation that these indiscriminate firings have caused. Our supply team is now more than seven days behind on placing critical supply requests for medication and equipment in our hospital, and our supply techs have had to cut their night shifts, limiting deliveries to our clinics. I saw nurses going down to the warehouse to collect their own supplies in order to continue to provide quality care to our veterans. I am not confident that the hospital can remain open under these conditions.”
    • Christian Helfrich, who served twenty years with the Puget Sound VA Medical Center as a research investigator, was one of seven research employees laid off because their research terms were not renewed due to the hiring freeze.
      • “In terms of what the effect will be on veterans… it’s not having innovative care developed in the VA, like pulmonary teams using the Electronic Health Record to identify problems for veterans before they happen, preventing things like pneumonia, and it’s not doing things like having people systematically identifying problems with the new Oracle Electronic Health Record… Research is an investment in the future—and if we don’t invest in research today, we are not investing in the future of the VA. And I’ll just add, what’s going on right now isn’t a two-way door where you can tear down the VA and then see what happens, and if you don’t like it, go back to the way it was. This is a one-way door —if we tear it down now, it is going to take years or decades to build back.”
    • Raphael Garcia, a 100% disabled Army veteran and combat engineer, was abruptly fired from his role as a management analyst with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs by the current administration.
      • “I swore an oath to serve our country—first in the U.S. Army and then at the VA—only to be suddenly terminated by the very institution that promised to care for those who have served … Removing key personnel, not only delays claim processing, it erodes the institutional knowledge built over years of service, and sacrifices the care and compassion our veterans deserve.”

    All three of these VA employees provided essential services to improve the health and lives of veterans. Without these staff and the other dedicated VA employees who were unduly fired, health care access and disability claim decisions will be delayed, services will be eliminated, and overall care for veterans will be negatively impacted.

    One veteran, who is a prominent member and advocate in his local veteran service organization, confirmed that these cuts will further stress these systems that veterans rely on.

    • Joshua Schrek is an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran who now lives in Renton, Washington and serves as a Judge Advocate General of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). He’s been active in the VFW for over 15 years, previously serving at the post, district, and department levels, including previously being the Department of Washington VFW state Chief of Staff. His comments represent his own views and not those of VFW.
      • “I have received information directly from an employee at the Seattle VA who expressed serious concerns. He shared that his department is responsible for overseeing 46 veteran-facing products and services, including My HealtheVet, Community Care Billing, Enrollment & Eligibility, and the Veterans Crisis Line. Out of 140 authorized positions, only 65 are filled – expected to drop to 59. He also noted that they rely on over 700 contractors, and with contract cancellations happening centrally and without local input, there’s a risk these systems could go offline with no available staff to restore them.”
      • “The situation has the potential to affect not only veterans but also the families who rely on VA support systems. If services like benefits processing, crisis response, and access to medical care are interrupted, it creates stress and instability for those trying to navigate an already complex system. One particularly alarming note shared with me was that if some systems break, they may ‘stay down indefinitely’ due to a lack of technical staff to fix them.”

    The Trump Administration is Damaging Veterans’ Access to Care for Years to Come

    Trump and Musk are putting the health care and benefits veterans have earned in grave danger. They are firing tens of thousands of people responsible for administering the services and care that over nine million veterans enrolled in VA health care across the country count on—and it’s a breach of the sacred commitment we make to our veterans to take care of them when they return home. These arbitrary mass layoffs, at the very least, are going to mean longer processing times for disability or education claims veterans are desperately waiting on and longer wait times for veterans to see a healthcare provider—to say nothing of the serious threat to patient safety or the threat of VA medical centers closing. For example, the Puget Sound VA already has 40 mental health position vacancies, 14 of which are psychology positions. Firing additional employees will only further decrease access to mental health care. The consequences will reverberate for generations—more veterans sick and unable to get their benefits, more veterans out of a job, and fewer men and women willing to sign up to serve a nation that shows it will not keep their promises to them.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: April 2nd, 2025 Heinrich, Murray Sound Alarm on Reports of DOGE “Hit List” of Key Energy Projects, Demand that Department of Energy Follow the Law

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
    WASHINTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Vice Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, led 25 Democratic senators in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Christopher Wright demanding that he uphold his commitment to honor existing legal agreements and deliver funds passed into law by Congress.
    The letter comes on the heels of recent reports that the Department of Energy is creating a “hit list” of awards, projects, and contracts—many of which have already began construction—it is considering canceling, which would break existing agreements and  lead to job losses and reductions in the growth of new energy resources.  
    The senators detailed their serious concerns about the reports, telling Secretary Wright: “You assured us during your confirmation hearing that you believe that legal agreements should be honored (including managing the financial commitments you have inherited) and that you will follow the law.”
    The senators added: “Indiscriminately canceling program funding and executed contracts, and refusing to execute on the funding directives Congress enacted, neither honors existing agreements nor is consistent with the spending laws that have appropriated funding for specific purposes.”
    “Dissolving contracts, cancelling grants and loans, and reneging on loan guarantees without any intention to execute the laws is not only illegal, but is harmful to the public and energy consumers.  Your indiscriminate cancellations of spending will increase energy prices, make our grid less secure, and stop energy innovation,” the senators continued. “If the Department has a policy disagreement and does not want to spend money on programs Congress has funded, the lawful response is to ask Congress to rescind that funding. The decision ultimately rests with Congress, not with the President, the Department of Energy, or the Department of Government Efficiency.”
    The senators concluded the letter by demanding a detailed list and briefing that identifies which grants, loans, or loan guarantees Secretary Wright believes should be rescinded and why he thinks they should be rescinded.
    The full text of the letter can be found here and below. 
    Dear Mr. Secretary: 
    We are deeply troubled by recent news reports that the Department of Energy (Department) is creating a “hit list of clean energy projects” to “wipe out” for being inconsistent with the President’s priorities. This list reportedly includes hydrogen hubs and carbon capture, critical mineral, and battery storage projects that have already received grant and loan funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and annual appropriations bills.  
    You assured us during your confirmation hearing that you believe that legal agreements should be honored (including managing the financial commitments you have inherited) and that you will follow the law. Indiscriminately canceling program funding and executed contracts, and refusing to execute on the funding directives Congress enacted, neither honors existing agreements nor is consistent with the spending laws that have appropriated funding for specific purposes.  
    Our Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse and exclusive power to appropriate funds. Once a law is properly enacted, the Constitution requires the President to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”  The President cannot substitute his policy preferences for requirements in law, and that includes refusing to spend funds Congress requires the President to spend.  
    In this instance, where Congress has authorized and appropriated funds for programs that support clean energy projects, the Department must faithfully execute the law and expend the funds for the purposes provided.  For example, programs authorized that have received federal appropriations under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have requirements on timing of expended funds, purposes, and contractual expectations. An internal Office of Management and Budget guidance document cannot hide the Department’s obligation to follow the enacted law. 
    Dissolving contracts, cancelling grants and loans, and reneging on loan guarantees without any intention to execute the laws is not only illegal, but is harmful to the public and energy consumers.  Your indiscriminate cancellations of spending will increase energy prices, make our grid less secure, and stop energy innovation.  If the Department has a policy disagreement and does not want to spend money on programs Congress has funded, the lawful response is to ask Congress to rescind that funding. The decision ultimately rests with Congress, not with the President, the Department of Energy, or the Department of Government Efficiency.  Please provide us a detailed list and briefing that identifies which grants, loans, or loan guarantees you believe should be rescinded and why you think they should be rescinded.
                                                                           

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin Questions Witnesses During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On Nationwide Injunctions

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
    April 02, 2025
    Durbin questioned witnesses about the legal ramifications of President Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, his attacks on law firms
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “Rule by District Judges II: Exploring Legislative Solutions to the Bipartisan Problem of Universal Injunctions.” Durbin first questioned Samuel Bray, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School, about birthright citizenship. President Trump’s executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship was blocked earlier this year. 
    “One judge, a Ronald Reagan appointee, said that efforts by the Administration are blatantly unconstitutional. If you accept the normal process which you described to us, how should that case (birthright citizenship) be handled if we’ve done away with the universal application of decisions?” Durbin asked.
    Professor Bray responded that the judge blocking President Trump’s executive order is exactly how the “courts are supposed to work. The courts are going to decide the cases. In every single one, the courts will say there’s birthright citizenship under the Constitution [and] that [there] will not actually be a disagreement between the circuit courts and there won’t even need to be a decision from the Supreme Court.”
    Durbin responded, “But assume the alternative—that there is a federal judge in some state who says, ‘I think the President is right. I believe birthright citizenship is unconstitutional.’ So you have a case in controversary, and it affects only the cases filed in that [circuit]?”
    Professor Bray responded that if that scenario happens and the circuit courts are split, the case will go up to the Supreme Court. He continued, saying that “just because one branch goes beyond its constitutional bounds, doesn’t mean the judiciary should go beyond its [constitutional bounds].”
    “In light of individuals personally affected by this [birthright citizenship executive order]—pregnant women, as an example—we just have to let the process play out, is that what you suggest?” Durbin asked to both Professor Bray and Professor Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at Georgetown University Law Center.
    Professor Vladeck responded, “I think it’s worth underscoring the human consequences… because if it takes three years for that circuit split to get to the Supreme Court, you’re going to have three years where, in large parts of the country, children born to undocumented parents will not be citizens. Some of those children could be subjected to removal by the United States on the ground that they are not citizens.”
    Video of Durbin’s first round of questions in Committee is available here.
    Audio of Durbin’s first round of questions in Committee is available here.
    Footage of Durbin’s first round of questions in Committee is available here for TV Stations.
    Durbin then asked Jesse Panuccio, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, about President Trump’s attacks on law firms. Over the past month, President Trump has issued executive orders attacking a number of law firms because they dared to employ attorneys who were involved in litigation or represented clients that President Trump didn’t like.
    “What is the impact of those executive orders on the targeted firms?” Durbin asked.
    Mr. Panuccio responded that Durbin would “have to ask those law firms what the impact has been,” despite working at a law firm himself.
    “What message do you think these executive orders send to the legal community more broadly?” Durbin asked.
    Despite working within the legal community, Mr. Panuccio again responded, “I think you’d have to ask the legal community more broadly.”
    “I’m asking you—you’re with a law firm and it’s not unreasonable to ask you—has it come up in conversation the last two weeks among your colleagues?” Durbin asked.
    Mr. Panuccio responded that he wasn’t invited before the Committee to testify on this topic.
    Durbin posed the same question to Professor Vladeck.
    Professor Vladeck responded that when the executive branch is openly threatening law firms that criticize the Administration, it threatens the separation of powers.
    Video of Durbin’s second round of questions in Committee is available here.
    Audio of Durbin’s second round of questions in Committee is available here.
    Footage of Durbin’s second round of questions in Committee is available here for TV Stations.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Louisiana Chiropractor Convicted of Health Care Fraud and Unemployment Insurance Fraud

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    A federal jury convicted a Louisiana chiropractor yesterday for his role in health care fraud and unemployment insurance fraud schemes totaling millions of dollars.

    According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Dr. Benjamin Tekippe, 40, of New Orleans, was a chiropractor and owner of Metairie Chiropractic & Rehab in New Orleans. Tekippe solicited patients with insurance from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBSLA) at schools, public events, and on social media to receive chiropractic massages, which he misleadingly advertised as “free.” Tekippe would then routinely bill BCBSLA for chiropractic services he did not perform. In total, Tekippe fraudulently submitted over $2.3 million in claims to BCBSLA for services not performed and was reimbursed approximately $740,000 by the insurance provider. The fraudulent claims sought payment for thousands of chiropractic services purportedly provided by Tekippe during periods when he was out of the office, traveling on vacation, or incarcerated for past arrests. The evidence also showed that in response to a medical records request from a BCBSLA auditor, Tekippe fabricated patient records and instructed his staff to write them in their own handwriting to make it falsely appear that the services had been performed as billed. Evidence at trial showed that Tekippe spent the fraud proceeds on, among other things, luxury goods and gambling.  

    In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tekippe submitted weekly certifications falsely claiming that he was unemployed when he was billing for chiropractic services purportedly performed during his claimed unemployment. Through this scheme, Tekippe received $12,952 in unemployment insurance benefits to which he was not entitled.

    Tekippe was convicted of six counts of health care fraud and one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count and 10 years in prison on each health care fraud count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson for the Eastern District of Louisiana; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp of the FBI New Orleans Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Jason Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Service Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Region, Baton Rouge Field Office made the announcement.

    The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

    Trial Attorneys Kelly Z. Walters and Samantha Usher of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

    The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of 9 strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: New York Men Sentenced for Violent Attempted Theft of Drugs from Rangeley Home

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Andre Muller, Robert Holland and others conspired to steal drugs from a Rangeley residence in 2016

    BANGOR, Maine: Two New York man were sentenced today for conspiring to interfere with commerce by robbery in connection with a violent home invasion in Rangeley in 2016.

    U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Andre Muller, 54, to 200 months in prison, and Robert Holland, 45, to 188 months in prison. Both men were also sentenced to three years of supervised release following their terms of imprisonment. Muller and Holland were found guilty on November 23, 2023, after a three-day jury trial in the U.S. District Court in Bangor.

    According to evidence presented during the trial, in July 2016, Muller, Holland and four coconspirators developed a plan to steal controlled substances from a Rangeley residence. On July 26, 2016, Muller traveled from New York City with Hector Munoz, 57, of Florida and one other coconspirator, meeting up with Holland and a fifth man at a location just outside Rangeley. On July 28, 2016, two of the coconspirators, including Munoz, entered the Rangeley residence armed with knives with the intent to take the controlled substances. During the commission of the robbery, the robbery’s intended target shot and killed the second coconspirator. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is not identifying that conspirator because they were not charged.

    Muller and Holland were initially convicted following a five-day jury trial that concluded August 10, 2022. Judge Torresen granted a motion for a new trial, however, based on evidence of juror prejudgment, and the second trial was held in November 2023.

    Hector Munoz pleaded guilty to conspiring to interfere with commerce by robbery on January 15, 2020, and was sentenced to time served on January 12, 2024.

    The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Maine State Police; the Rangeley Police Department; the U.S. Border Patrol; and the Carrabassett Valley Police Department investigated the case, with assistance provided by the Maine Office of the Attorney General.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Minnesota Man Sentenced for Advertising and Distributing Images of Child Sexual Abuse over the Dark Web

    Source: United States Attorneys General 1

    A Minnesota man was sentenced yesterday to 21 years and 10 months in prison for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) found in his apartment and for using the dark web to advertise and distribute CSAM images and videos.

    According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Craig James Myran, 47, of Bemidji, was an active participant on a website only accessible through the dark web that was dedicated to discussing and trafficking CSAM. For years, he used an account with a unique username to make over a thousand posts in which he shared images of CSAM. In at least one post, Myran requested specific files of known CSAM from other users that he disturbingly referred to as his “holy grail.” In another post, he advertised over 100 images depicting the sadomasochistic sexual abuse of two prepubescent minors. On Dec. 8, 2022, FBI special agents executed a search warrant on Myran’s apartment in Bemidji, where they found a cell phone and numerous hard drives that contained evidence that he used the dark web to advertise, publish, and solicit CSAM. Agents also found thousands of other CSAM images.

    According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, Myran’s sexual exploitation of minors was not limited to his activity on just one particular dark-web site. He was simultaneously an active participant on multiple other dark-web sites dedicated to trafficking in CSAM, and he previously made posts on the dark web about producing his own CSAM by screen-recording minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct during online webcam interactions. On Nov. 20, 2024, a federal jury convicted Myran on two counts of advertising child pornography, one count of distributing child pornography, and one count of possessing child pornography.

    Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick for the District of Minnesota; and Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of the FBI Minneapolis Field Office made the announcement.

    The FBI Minneapolis Field Office investigated the case.

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

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Multi-Million Dollar Scheme to Defraud Medicare

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    A Florida man pleaded guilty on Monday to purchasing Medicare identification numbers and using those numbers to cause over $8.4 million of false and fraudulent claims to be submitted to Medicare.

    Corey Alston, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and to illegally purchase Medicare beneficiary identification numbers in connection with a scheme to bill Medicare for COVID-19 test kits that were ineligible for reimbursement. According to court documents, Alston and his co-defendant, Latresia A. Wilson, conspired to unlawfully purchase Medicare beneficiary identification information (including Medicare Beneficiary Identification Numbers) and used that information to submit millions of dollars in claims to Medicare for COVID-19 test kits that the beneficiaries did not want or request.

    Over the course of just seven months, from July 2022 through February 2023, Alston, Wilson, and others, through companies they owned and controlled, submitted over $8.4 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare that were ineligible for reimbursement. Medicare paid over $2.6 million based on the false and fraudulent claims. Alston personally earned over $2.3 million from the scheme.

    Wilson previously pleaded guilty on June 10, 2024, to conspiracy to defraud the United States and to illegally purchase Medicare beneficiary identification. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15. Alston is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9. Alston and Wilson each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Matthew W. Fodor of the FBI Tampa Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jesus Barranco of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.

    The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

    Trial Attorneys Shane Butland and Keith Clouser and Senior Litigation Counsel Catherine Wagner of the National Rapid Response Strike Force of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Acting Assistant Chief Justin Woodard assisted in charging the case.

    The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Multi-Million Dollar Scheme to Defraud Medicare

    Source: US State of California

    A Florida man pleaded guilty on Monday to purchasing Medicare identification numbers and using those numbers to cause over $8.4 million of false and fraudulent claims to be submitted to Medicare.

    Corey Alston, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and to illegally purchase Medicare beneficiary identification numbers in connection with a scheme to bill Medicare for COVID-19 test kits that were ineligible for reimbursement. According to court documents, Alston and his co-defendant, Latresia A. Wilson, conspired to unlawfully purchase Medicare beneficiary identification information (including Medicare Beneficiary Identification Numbers) and used that information to submit millions of dollars in claims to Medicare for COVID-19 test kits that the beneficiaries did not want or request.

    Over the course of just seven months, from July 2022 through February 2023, Alston, Wilson, and others, through companies they owned and controlled, submitted over $8.4 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare that were ineligible for reimbursement. Medicare paid over $2.6 million based on the false and fraudulent claims. Alston personally earned over $2.3 million from the scheme.

    Wilson previously pleaded guilty on June 10, 2024, to conspiracy to defraud the United States and to illegally purchase Medicare beneficiary identification. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15. Alston is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9. Alston and Wilson each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Matthew W. Fodor of the FBI Tampa Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jesus Barranco of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.

    The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

    Trial Attorneys Shane Butland and Keith Clouser and Senior Litigation Counsel Catherine Wagner of the National Rapid Response Strike Force of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Acting Assistant Chief Justin Woodard assisted in charging the case.

    The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

    MIL OSI USA News –