NewzIntel.com

Category: Security

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Statement on Intimate Partner Violence

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    NOTE: The following is a joint statement from Becky Druhan, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, and Leah Martin, Minister responsible for the Advisory Council on the Status of Women.

    Today, we met with a coalition of advocates from across Nova Scotia who are dedicated to addressing intimate partner violence and gender-based violence. We are grateful for the passion and focus these advocates bring to this critical issue. Their tireless work is instrumental in supporting those affected and driving meaningful change in our communities.

    Our government is committed to working with coalition members to support survivors and implement solutions to address its root causes.

    Today’s discussions reaffirmed our commitment to:

    • delivering on the recommendations of the Mass Casualty Commission, the Desmond Fatality Inquiry and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, ensuring that these reports result in tangible change
    • developing and supporting community-wide strategies to prevent violence, including sustainable funding for organizations on the front lines
    • strengthening partnerships with advocates and experts to ensure our response reflects the needs and realities of those affected by intimate partner violence and gender-based violence.

    Our thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones and all those affected by these recent tragedies in our province. Help is available for those experiencing intimate partner violence and those who have used violence. If you or someone you know needs support, please call 211 for access to services. In emergencies, call 911 immediately.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Afghanistan: Security Council renews UN mission as WHO warns of health catastrophe

    Source: United Nations 2

    By Vibhu Mishra

    Peace and Security

    The Security Council on Monday extended the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for another year, as UN agencies reported sharp declines in resources for lifesaving aid.

    Unanimously adopting resolution 2777 (2025), the 15-member council stressed the “critical importance” of a continued presence of UNAMA and other UN agencies across Afghanistan.

    The council also expressed appreciation for the UN’s long-term commitment to the country and its people, reiterating its full support for UNAMA and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General who leads the mission.

    Ambassadors also expressed “serious concern” over the continued presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, and highlighted the need to combat the production, trade and trafficking of illicit drugs and chemicals used to manufacture narcotics.

    They stressed the need to improve disaster risk reduction, as disasters worsen the humanitarian and socio-economic crisis.

    Cuts could shut down 80 per cent of WHO programmes

    Meanwhile, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) in Afghanistan warned on Monday that funding shortages could force the closure of 80 per cent of the agency’s health services there, leaving millions without access to critical medical care.

    As of 4 March, 167 health facilities in 25 provinces had to shut down due to lack of money. A further 220 facilities could close by June, affecting the most vulnerable populations – women, children, the elderly and the displaced and returnees.

    “These closures are not just numbers on a report, they represent mothers unable to give birth safely, children missing lifesaving vaccinations, entire communities left without protection from deadly disease outbreaks,” said Edwin Ceniza Salvador, WHO’s top official in Afghanistan.

    “The consequences will be measured in lives lost,” he warned.

    © WHO

    Eighty percent of WHO-supported facilities in Afghanistan risk shutdown by June.

    Dire health crisis

    Even before the funding cuts, Afghanistan had been battling multiple health emergencies, including outbreaks of measles, malaria, dengue, polio and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever.

    Over 16,000 suspected measles cases, including 111 deaths, were reported in January and February 2025. Children are most at risk of illness and death, given “critically low” vaccination rates – only 51 per cent for first dose and 37 per cent for the second.

    While some donors continue to support Afghanistan’s health sector, funding has been significantly reduced as development aid priorities have shifted in recent months.

    Resources for broader humanitarian efforts in the country remain uncertain. With the first quarter coming to an end, the UN-coordinated $2.4 billion Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for 2025 is only about 13 per cent funded.

    “This is not just about funding,” said Dr. Salvador.

    Afghanistan HNRP

    Resource requirements for health programmes under the Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2025

    Click here for the Plan (pdf)

    “It is a humanitarian emergency that threatens to undo years of progress in strengthening Afghanistan’s health system … every day that passes without our collective support brings more suffering, more preventable deaths and lasting damage to the country’s health care infrastructure.”

    UNAMA in Afghanistan

    Established in 2002, UNAMA is a political mission which facilitates dialogue between political leaders in Afghanistan, regional stakeholders and the international community, to promote inclusive governance and conflict prevention.

    The deputy chief of the mission is also in charge of coordinating the UN’s extensive aid operation in cooperation with the de facto Taliban authorities since they returned to power in 2021.

    It is also mandated by the Security Council to monitor and report on the human rights situation, with a focus on women’s rights, minorities and vulnerable groups.

    UNAMA also supports regional cooperation, encouraging engagement between Afghanistan and neighbouring countries on issues related to security, stability and economic development.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Federal Court Finds Louisiana Tax Return Preparer in Contempt and Orders Disgorgement of Ill-Gotten Fees and Litigation Costs as Sanctions

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Note: View order here.

    Last week, a federal court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, found Whylithia R. Robinson in contempt for violating a permanent injunction that prohibited her and her business AAA Tax Service LLC from preparing, filing, or assisting in the preparation or filing of federal tax returns for others.

    The United States filed a complaint against Robinson and AAA Tax Service on Jan. 23, 2023. According to the complaint, Robinson prepared and filed 2,629 federal income tax returns for customers though AAA Tax Service from 2019-2021. The complaint further alleged that Robinson displayed a pattern of filing tax returns during this period that understated the customer’s tax liabilities and overstated tax refunds by fabricating business losses, claiming false charitable donations, or falsely claiming education credits for customers who were not entitled to them. On April 23, 2023, the court issued a default judgment of permanent injunction that barred Robinson and AAA Tax Services from preparing tax returns for others.

    Following a hearing last week, the court found that the United States demonstrated that Robinson violated the permanent injunction by continuing to prepare 227 tax returns for others. For these violations, the court held Robinson in civil contempt and ordered as sanctions that she disgorge $68,100 in ill-gotten fees she earned in violation of the injunction and reimburse the United States its costs of litigation and travel expenses.

    Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers 10 tips to avoid tax season fraud and ways to safeguard personal information.

    In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Zuni Man Pleads Guilty to Assault Resulting in Finger Amputations

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ALBUQUERQUE – A Zuni man pleaded guilty in federal court to assault with a dangerous weapon after he bit the victim multiple times, resulting in severe injuries that required the amputation of one finger and the partial amputation of another.

    According to court documents, between December 16, 2021, and December 17, 2021, Darold Zuniefeathers, 28, an enrolled member of the Zuni Pueblo, and John Doe had been hanging out with friends when they decided to buy more cigarettes before the gas station closed. Instead of driving to the gas station, Zuniefeathers turned down a side dirt road and assaulted John Doe in the car.

    During the assault, Zuniefeathers struck John Doe repeatedly and bit him multiple times on the torso, arm, and hand. The bites caused severe damage to John Doe’s hand, resulting in the amputation of one finger and the partial amputation of another.

    According to the plea agreement, Zuniefeathers faces up to 10 years in prison at sentencing followed by three years of supervised release.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin made the announcement today.

    The Zuni Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is prosecuting the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Wapato Man Found Guilty of Sexually Abusing Three Children

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Yakima, Washington – Acting United States Attorney Richard Barker announced that a jury returned a verdict in the trial of Jose Antonio Saldana, age 43 of Wapato, Washington. Saldana was found guilty of three counts of Abusive Sexual Contact and of Aggravated Sexual Abuse.

    Based on court documents and evidence presented at trial, beginning in August 1999, and continuing to January 2014, Saldana sexually abused three children under the age of 13 in Wapato, Washington. During trial, the victims recounted the abuse they suffered, which included Saldana touching them under their clothing and attempting to sexually abuse one of the victims.  

    United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke presided over the trial for Saldana, which began March 10, 2024. Sentencing in this matter is set for June 16, 2025, in Yakima, Washington.

    “The victims who came forward in this case demonstrated tremendous courage and bravery,” stated Acting United States Attorney Barker.  “Many victims who experience childhood sexual abuse do not disclose the events to others soon after they occur. At the trial in this case, three young victims testified years after the abuse they had suffered and identified Mr. Saldana as their abuser. The jury heard their voices and found Mr. Saldana guilty of the abuse he inflicted for more than two decades.  For his horrific crimes, Mr. Saldana will face a sentence of thirty years to life.”

    “In this devastating case, Mr. Saldana abused multiple children for more than a decade on the Yakama Nation Reservation, even though he was not a tribal member himself,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “The FBI is committed to enforcing federal laws to protect our tribal communities, and all our communities, from abuse and violence, especially the most vulnerable members of our society: our children.”

    This case was investigated by the FBI and the Yakama Nation Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Murphy.

    1:24-cr-02040-MKD

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Tonasket Man Charged with Receiving and Possessing Sexually Explicit Material from Minors

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Spokane, Washington – Acting United States Attorney Richard R. Barker announced today that Daniel John Kraft, age 41, was charged by criminal complaint on one count of Receipt of Child Pornography and one count of Possession of Child Pornography. Kraft was arraigned in federal court on March 10, 2025.

    According to court documents, in September 2024, the Sanders County Montana Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) developed information that Snapchat user “smokeweed5468” was soliciting sexual images from a minor. “Smokeweed5468” also told the minor he knew where they lived and threatened to kidnap the minor and take them to Mexico.

    Investigators obtained a warrant for the Snapchat account for “smokeweed5468.” The records from Snapchat contained more than a dozen sexually explicit videos of minors. “Smokeweed5468” also used Snapchat to offer the minors drugs and money and asked if the minors would be willing to sneak out and meet with him.

    Investigators learned the Snapchat account was allegedly being used at home in Tonasket, Washington, owned by Kraft. The Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) confirmed Kraft lived at the home. OCSO also confirmed Kraft was a registered sex offender for violations committed in 2013.

    On March 5, 2025, the Washington State Patrol took Kraft into custody at his home in Tonasket. Investigators seized several electronic devices. A search of Kraft’s cellphone allegedly revealed Snapchat running in the background of the device. In addition, investigators allegedly located several sexually explicit images involving minors on Kraft’s phone that were also on the “smokeweed5468” Snapchat account. 

    This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Seattle Police Department, Washington State Patrol, the Eastern Region Washington Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, Sanders County Sheriff’s Office, and the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie Van Marter.

    2:25-mj-00091-JAG

    A complaint 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: Federal Court Finds Louisiana Tax Return Preparer in Contempt and Orders Disgorgement of Ill-Gotten Fees and Litigation Costs as Sanctions

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    Note: View order here.

    Last week, a federal court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, found Whylithia R. Robinson in contempt for violating a permanent injunction that prohibited her and her business AAA Tax Service LLC from preparing, filing, or assisting in the preparation or filing of federal tax returns for others.

    The United States filed a complaint against Robinson and AAA Tax Service on Jan. 23, 2023. According to the complaint, Robinson prepared and filed 2,629 federal income tax returns for customers though AAA Tax Service from 2019-2021. The complaint further alleged that Robinson displayed a pattern of filing tax returns during this period that understated the customer’s tax liabilities and overstated tax refunds by fabricating business losses, claiming false charitable donations, or falsely claiming education credits for customers who were not entitled to them. On April 23, 2023, the court issued a default judgment of permanent injunction that barred Robinson and AAA Tax Services from preparing tax returns for others.

    Following a hearing last week, the court found that the United States demonstrated that Robinson violated the permanent injunction by continuing to prepare 227 tax returns for others. For these violations, the court held Robinson in civil contempt and ordered as sanctions that she disgorge $68,100 in ill-gotten fees she earned in violation of the injunction and reimburse the United States its costs of litigation and travel expenses.

    Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers 10 tips to avoid tax season fraud and ways to safeguard personal information.

    In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Attorney General Alan Wilson joins President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to discuss crime, justice reform at DOJ headquartersRead More

    Source: US State of South Carolina

    (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – On Friday, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson joined President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi at the Department of Justice headquarters for an important discussion on crime, law enforcement, and justice reform. 

    “When people ask me what keeps me up at night, I talk about a lot of the problems originating at the southern border of the United States,” said Attorney General Wilson. “Roughly two months ago, with the election of President Trump, America plugged the holes in the boat, but the water is still in the boat. The consequences of the policies that the previous administration implemented have created a lot of problems for our states. Gang activity, illegal immigration, and of course, probably most importantly, the fentanyl that is being trafficked into our respective states. I had the opportunity to serve for eight years with our current United States Attorney General Pam Bondi and what she’s doing at the Justice Department is going to be so incredibly helpful to all of us.” 

    The event highlighted the administration’s commitment to tackling violent crime, strengthening border security, and ensuring justice is applied fairly and consistently across the country. Attorney General Wilson stood alongside President Trump and Attorney General Bondi to emphasize the importance of cracking down on drug cartels, strengthening law enforcement partnerships, and upholding the rule of law. 

    During the event, President Trump reaffirmed his administration’s aggressive stance on law and order, announcing new initiatives to dismantle organized crime networks and target repeat offenders. Attorney General Bondi outlined reforms within the Department of Justice to streamline investigations and prosecute criminals more effectively. 

    Attorney General Wilson underscored South Carolina’s commitment to holding criminals accountable and ensuring victims receive the justice they deserve. He praised federal-state partnerships that have led to significant arrests and successful prosecutions in major criminal cases, and South Carolina’s proactive efforts to prevent dangerous criminals from exploiting legal loopholes. 

    To view a recording of the press conference please click HERE.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Nova Scotia’s First Accessibility Standard Addresses Outdoor Spaces, Recreation Buildings

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    The Province has taken another important step on the way to an accessible Nova Scotia by 2030 – adopting the first of six accessibility standards.

    The government has approved the Built Environment Accessibility Standard. It focuses on rules for outdoor and recreational spaces that will be required in the design and planning of new infrastructure starting April 1, 2026.

    “Every Nova Scotian deserves equal access to buildings and outdoor spaces. This milestone is crucial in our efforts to create a more accessible province and represents a significant step toward ensuring that all Nova Scotians can participate and thrive,” said Justice Minister Becky Druhan, Minister responsible for the Accessibility Act.

    The built environment includes the spaces where people live, work, learn and play across Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Building Code Regulations will be amended to address the accessibility of buildings. Together, the building code and the Built Environment Accessibility Standard will enable a more accessible built environment.

    The standard will help ensure things like better parking options, easier access to eating areas and benches in parks, and accessible lockers and pools in new recreation facilities for people with disabilities.

    In addition to the built environment, other areas with standards under development include education, employment, goods and services, public transportation and information and communication.

    Quotes:

    “Nova Scotia has always been an early adopter of new codes and standards. The adoption of the Built Environment Accessibility Standard is no exception and will improve accessibility for all Nova Scotians where they live, work, learn and play, now and in the future.”
    — George Cotaras, President, Nova Scotia Association of Architects

    Quick Facts:

    • Nova Scotians have been extensively involved in developing the built environment standard and others through committees and providing input on recommendations
    • raising awareness of the new built environment standard and educating people about it will continue through 2026
    • almost two in five Nova Scotians over the age of 15 identify as having a disability; this number is expected to grow as the population ages
    • almost 59 per cent of Nova Scotians with disabilities report experiencing barriers in the built environment
    • the accessibility standards will be enacted as regulations under the Accessibility Act

    Additional Resources:

    The Built Environment Accessibility Standard Regulations are available at: https://novascotia.ca/accessibility/built-environment/

    Accessibility Act: https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/accessibility.pdf

    More information on accessibility standards in development is at: https://accessible.novascotia.ca/creating-accessibility-standards

    Access By Design 2030, Nova Scotia’s road map for an equitable, inclusive and accessible province where everyone has opportunities to thrive: https://novascotia.ca/accessibility/access-by-design/access-by-design-2030.pdf

    News release – Province to Adopt 2020 National Building Codes: https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2024/09/20/province-adopt-2020-national-building-codes

    Other than cropping, Province of Nova Scotia photos are not to be altered in any way

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Philadelphia Man Sentenced to More Than 10 Years in Prison for 2022 Armed Carjacking in City’s West Oak Lane Section

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Naseem Rashidi Clouden, 23, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on March 13 by United States District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney to 121 months in prison and five years of supervised release for one count of carjacking and one count of carrying and using a firearm during, and in relation to, the commission of a crime of violence.

    Clouden was indicted on those violations in January of 2023. He pleaded guilty in November of 2024, admitting to carjacking a woman who was sitting in her mother’s Toyota Camry at approximately 8 p.m. on November 3, 2022, in Philadelphia. As part of his plea, the defendant also admitted that a firearm was used during and in relation to the armed carjacking.

    According to the publicly filed documents in this case, the victim reported that while sitting in her mother’s vehicle in the West Oak Lane section of Philadelphia, six men including the defendant approached the vehicle on foot. The defendant and his accomplices pulled on the door handles of the car and ordered the victim out of the vehicle and two of the men pointed guns at her. When she did not move fast enough, one of the men yelled: “shoot her” and the victim immediately complied and got out of the car. Four offenders then jumped into the vehicle and drove away.

    The victim immediately called the police, and two officers enroute to the scene observed the victim’s mother’s vehicle. The officers pursued the vehicle until it stopped on the 6200 block of Old York Road and three men fled from the vehicle on foot. The officers then chased after the men, recovered a firearm on the block, and within a short time, located the defendant hiding under a van. The defendant was taken into custody and identified as one of the persons who committed the carjacking.

    “Naseem Clouden terrorized our city at gunpoint. These offenses are a priority for my office and our partners on Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “We simply won’t stand for these senseless acts of violence. The crime of federal carjacking brings significant prison time, as Clouden’s sentence shows: a decade in prison for a crime that took just moments to commit.”

    “‘Shoot her!’ a carjacker yelled, as the victim scrambled to save her own life. Armed carjacking is a brutal, dangerous crime, and thanks to the responding police officers, Naseem Rashidi Clouden has been convicted and sentenced to more than a decade in federal prison for it,” said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division. “Together with our Carjacking Task Force partners we are applying ATF’s unique forensic and investigative tools to stop criminals like this from terrorizing our neighborhoods.”

    “This latest sentencing of a carjacker is a testament to the continued commitment of the Philadelphia Police Department and our law enforcement partners to stem the tide of violent crime in our city,” said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel. “Carjacking endangers the safety and peace of mind of our residents, and we will not tolerate it. Through our continued collaboration with federal agencies, we will ensure those who commit these crimes are pursued, prosecuted, and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

    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 investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Stram.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Palm Coast Man Indicted For Distributing, Receiving, And Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Orlando, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces the  unsealing of an indictment charging Jonathan Albert Carter (44, Palm Coast) with one count of distribution, two counts of receiving, and one count of possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). If convicted on all counts, Carter faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years, up to 20 years, in federal prison for each of the distribution and receipt charges, and up to 20 years’ imprisonment, for the possession of CSAM. 

    According to the indictment, on or about August 13, 2021, Carter knowingly distributed CSAM. On or about December 12, 2022, and on or about November 19, 2023, Carter knowingly received CSAM, and on or about January 4, 2023, Carter possessed CSAM that depicted a minor who had not yet attained 12 years of age.

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

    This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kaley Austin-Aronson.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Hot Springs Man Sentenced to More Than 4 Years in Prison for Money Laundering and Wire Fraud

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    HOT SPRINGS – An Arkansas man was sentenced on March 12, 2025, to 57 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $252,344.00 in restitution, followed by three years of supervised release following his guilty pleas to money laundering and wire fraud charges.  The Honorable Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing, which took place in the United States District Court in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

    According to court documents, John Christopher Bates, 57, waived indictment by a grand jury and pleaded guilty to an information charging him with money laundering and wire fraud. The two counts related to separate schemes, one involving false applications for benefits to the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, who administers the state’s distribution of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.  The other related to Bates’s fraudulent applications for Economic Impact Disaster Loans, totaling more than $1 million. 

    U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

    The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Trent Daniels and Hunter Bridges prosecuted the case.

    Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website at www.pacer.gov.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Security News: Federal Court Finds Louisiana Tax Return Preparer in Contempt and Orders Disgorgement of Ill-Gotten Fees and Litigation Costs as Sanctions

    Source: United States Department of Justice 2

    Note: View order here.

    Last week, a federal court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, found Whylithia R. Robinson in contempt for violating a permanent injunction that prohibited her and her business AAA Tax Service LLC from preparing, filing, or assisting in the preparation or filing of federal tax returns for others.

    The United States filed a complaint against Robinson and AAA Tax Service on Jan. 23, 2023. According to the complaint, Robinson prepared and filed 2,629 federal income tax returns for customers though AAA Tax Service from 2019-2021. The complaint further alleged that Robinson displayed a pattern of filing tax returns during this period that understated the customer’s tax liabilities and overstated tax refunds by fabricating business losses, claiming false charitable donations, or falsely claiming education credits for customers who were not entitled to them. On April 23, 2023, the court issued a default judgment of permanent injunction that barred Robinson and AAA Tax Services from preparing tax returns for others.

    Following a hearing last week, the court found that the United States demonstrated that Robinson violated the permanent injunction by continuing to prepare 227 tax returns for others. For these violations, the court held Robinson in civil contempt and ordered as sanctions that she disgorge $68,100 in ill-gotten fees she earned in violation of the injunction and reimburse the United States its costs of litigation and travel expenses.

    Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers 10 tips to avoid tax season fraud and ways to safeguard personal information.

    In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Director Emma Burnham of the Antitrust Division’s Criminal Enforcement Section Delivers Remarks to Global Competition Review

    Source: United States Attorneys General 7

    Thank you to Global Competition Review for putting together today’s program. I am grateful for the opportunity to close out what I imagine has been a full day of interesting discussions.

    Let me cut to the chase. As I’m sure you are all aware, like the rest of the federal government, we at the Antitrust Division are in the midst of a transition. I know from my experience at the Division through previous transitions that these periods always raise questions about our enforcement levels and priorities going forward, about how we’ll deploy our finite resources. And I know you all are eager for answers on whether and how our enforcement priorities might shift. Of course, I won’t attempt to speak for our new and incoming leadership team at the Department, but what I can say is that I fully expect robust antitrust enforcement to continue, with cartel enforcement being no exception.

    With that said, I will offer some thoughts on our recent and ongoing criminal enforcement work and our core mission.

    I’ll start with a few simple truths.

    First, our country relies on free markets.

    Second, vigorous antitrust enforcement is essential to protect free markets and ensure that we all receive the benefits of competition.

    Third, that enforcement mission has a critical criminal prosecution component. If we did not prosecute those who commit antitrust crimes like price fixing and monopolization schemes, unchecked collusion, consolidation, and anticompetitive crimes would distort our markets and raise prices — including on everyday products we all rely on, as well as for vital goods and services the government needs to ensure our national security and provide critical infrastructure. This is why areas like healthcare, defense spending, agriculture and food supply, infrastructure and housing, and technology for just a few examples, continue to be staples of our work.

    So, it is not surprising that we are continuing to investigate and charge criminal cases — across a wide array of sectors and across all levels of the economy. These investigations and cases have significant impacts on key areas of public procurement and private spending.

    We are not even through the first quarter of 2025, and already our statistics are tangible evidence that our enforcement is not letting up. Thus far this year, our teams have charged 15 defendants — one company and 14 individuals — and have obtained 24 guilty pleas — two from companies and 22 from individuals. I would be the first to acknowledge that numbers aren’t the whole story. Much of our work goes on behind the scenes, in a covert posture, and the public filings are merely the tip of a vast iceberg.

    But the numbers can certainly tell you something about our priorities. I think you can take away two things from these statistics: first, we are not shying away from enforcement; and second, we remain deeply committed to individual accountability — never forgetting the essential, unique deterrent role that prison sentences serve.

    The recent charges include a slate of guilty pleas in US v. Martinez, a case where 12 individuals were charged with using anticompetitive and violent means to monopolize the market for transmigrante forwarding services in the Los Indios, Texas, area, and to enforce a price fixing and market allocation conspiracy. The majority of defendants have now pleaded guilty, including to landmark criminal monopolization conspiracy charges.

    I’ll note that it was just about three years ago when Antitrust Division officials began observing in public fora like this one that Section 2 of the Sherman Act, like Section 1, is a felony offense and that the Antitrust Division had a long and storied record — albeit interrupted by a half century of underenforcement — of prosecuting monopolization crimes. Several years ago, some may have thought it remarkable to hear from an enforcer that if the facts and the law lead us to the conclusion that a criminal charge based on Section 2 of the Sherman Act is warranted, we’ll charge it. But from where we stand today, the landscape has changed. Several years on, the Division has done exactly what was previewed: we have charged several criminal monopolization cases, using the statute as Congress wrote and intended it to punish those who seek to monopolize markets through anticompetitive means.

    The charges in Martinez are also illustrative for another reason — they show that antitrust crimes occur at all levels of the economy and that antitrust crime can also occur alongside and be carried out with other crimes — including extortion and acts of violence.

    Beyond Martinez, the Division’s recent guilty pleas include defendants charged with conspiracies and schemes targeting government procurement, which our teams investigated with our law enforcement partners through the Procurement Collusion Strike Force. For example, four defendants pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges arising from schemes targeting IT sales to the Department of Defense and intelligence community. Those pleas included a former government official who admitted to accepting bribes in exchange for ensuring that another defendant received government contracts at inflated prices.

    And within the last month, three individuals and one company admitted to rigging bids in the Division’s ongoing investigation into widespread bid rigging and fraud targeting sports equipment for schools that has, in total, resulted in six defendants charged to date, all of whom have pleaded guilty. At least 100 schools throughout Mississippi and elsewhere have been victimized by these conspiracies. And in a different investigation, another defendant recently pleaded guilty to obstruction for destroying evidence, demonstrating yet again that we will pursue cases where defendants seek to obstruct or impede criminal or civil antitrust investigations by destroying evidence or lying to agents and enforcers.

    Additional recent successes relate to our continued pursuit of bid rigging and collusion in construction and infrastructure industries. In an ongoing investigation, four individuals and a company recently admitted rigging bids for commercial roofing services in Florida — a vital industry given that safe, affordable roofing is critical to Florida communities prone to hurricanes. And two more individuals pleaded guilty in a long running investigation of bid rigging of asphalt paving services in the Detroit area. In total seven individuals and three companies have been charged and admitted guilt in that investigation.

    I think it’s also worth noting that these charges continue to expose individuals to real prison sentences — leading to significant general deterrence. Take as one example the most recent criminal antitrust case that went to trial — against two executives, Greg and David Melton, who were convicted of fixing prices, rigging bids, and allocating jobs in the sale of ready-mix concrete in the Savannah, Georgia area. They were sentenced to 41 and 26 months in prison.

    At that sentencing hearing — I will quote from the transcript because it is an important reminder of how courts view these violations — the judge observed that the crime of conviction was, in effect, “years of decisions that stole from the American people, from our economy.”

    The judge went on to say: “That’s what antitrust is. It’s like thievery, because at the bedrock of the greatest economy in the history of the world is competition. That’s what we’ve always been founded on. I have naturalization ceremonies in our courtrooms, and I tell new citizens, welcome to the country where you have the greatest potential and opportunity that you’ll ever have, because we’re a meritocracy. You come here; you do a good job, and you can obtain anything. That’s the American dream.

    When we rig a system, when we rig government or we rig the economy, we steal from that dream.

    It’s very, very serious conduct; and that’s why we have serious consequences for it.”

    And this is precisely why our work continues. Teams are preparing for three trials in the coming months. The first of these, scheduled to begin March 24 in Las Vegas, charges an individual with wage fixing and fraud in the healthcare industry. Next up, is another individual trial, set for April in the District of Idaho, on charges of market allocation in wildfire fighting services sold to the U.S. Forest Service, part of our ongoing work prosecuting procurement collusion through the PCSF. And in May, a team is heading to Oklahoma to try a case against two executives and a company charged with rigging bids and fixing prices in erosion control products and services for highway construction.

    These cases, like so many others we have brought, have a direct impact on the livelihood of regular Americans and are a vital part of our government’s work to safeguard the public’s tax dollars. Their variety — in terms of industry and geography — reflect the breadth of our work and its importance to our country.

    Beyond those cases, our covert and nonpublic work is ongoing. We have more grand jury investigations open now than at any time in my career, more than twice as many investigations as we had a decade ago. I expect to be able to share developments in some of these investigations in the near future.

    In sum, our criminal enforcement work is continuing.

    I want to conclude by recognizing the work that the Antitrust Division does cannot happen without its people — the beating heart of the organization. Fundamentally, the Antitrust Division is its people, who make significant sacrifices to perform their public service roles. They continue to operate at the highest level as they investigate and prosecute cases to protect American consumers and our open markets. I’m so proud of the work they do, and I remain incredibly grateful that I have the opportunity to work alongside them every day. Thank you.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Corner Brook — RCMP Major Crimes Unit West arrests man in Port au Port West, attempt murder charge laid

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    RCMP NL’s Major Crime Unit (MCU) West arrested 66-year-old Wayne Harold Hynes of Port au Port West on March 16, 2025, as part of an ongoing investigation that left a snowmobiler with life-threatening injuries.

    At approximately 4:30 p.m. on February 21, 2025, Bay St. George RCMP responded to the report of an injured snowmobiler on Gravel’s Pond in Port au Port. The operator of the snowmobile fell from the machine after it came to a stop and sustained serious injuries that did not appear to be consistent with the fall from the snowmobile. The RCMP MCU was engaged to continue the investigation.

    As part of the investigation, police determined the level of injury to the snowmobiler was not as a result of the fall from the snowmobile.

    On February 25, 2025, with a search warrant authorized under the Criminal Code, RCMP MCU searched Hynes’s residence and seized a number of items as part of this investigation.

    In continuing the investigation, Hynes was arrested yesterday at his home without incident and was held in police custody overnight. He appeared in provincial court today, via teleconference, was charged with attempted murder and was remanded into custody. His next court appearance takes place on March 18, 2025.

    The investigation is continuing.

    Background:

    https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/news/2025/rcmp-nls-mcu-searches-home-port-au-port-part-injured-snowmobiler-investigation

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: CTG 73.6, RTN Dive Unit, ROKN UTC Conduct Diver Training during Joint Exercise Cobra Gold 2025 [Image 1 of 10]

    Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)

    Issued by: on

    SATTAHIP, Thailand (March 3, 2025) U.S. Navy Diver 2nd Class Gabe Gaona, left, assigned to Commander, Task Group 73.6/Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1-6 (CTG 73.6/MDSU 1-6), inspects dive equipment with a Royal Thai Navy (RTN) diver, assigned to RTN Dive Unit, in preparation for a diving exercise as part of Joint Exercise Cobra Gold 2025 in Thailand, March 3, 2025. Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific/ Task Force 73 (COMLOGWESTPAC/CTF 73) sustains the U.S. Navy’s maritime forces and is responsible for all diving and salvage operations in the Western Pacific in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/Released)

    Date Taken: 03.03.2025
    Date Posted: 03.17.2025 11:31
    Photo ID: 8919832
    VIRIN: 250303-N-ED646-1006
    Resolution: 8640×5760
    Size: 2.64 MB
    Location: SATTAHIP, TH
    Web Views: 0
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  • MIL-OSI Security: New task force launched in Virginia to eliminate transnational criminal organizations

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

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. – U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert of the Eastern District of Virginia along with federal and state partners announced today the recently established Virginia Homeland Security Task Force (VHSTF), an interagency group founded to combat transnational organized crime and coordinate ongoing immigration enforcement efforts across Virginia. In the two weeks since the VHSTF’s creation on March 3, task force members have arrested 247 individuals.

    Hundreds of personnel are supporting the task force, including representatives from U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI’s Washington, Norfolk, and Richmond Field Offices; Homeland Security Investigations; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; U.S. Marshals Service; Virginia Department of Corrections; Virginia Office of the Attorney General; Virginia Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security; Virginia State Police; and the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.

    The VHSTF is part of Operation Take Back America, which streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

    The VHSTF is the first of these task forces. Task force members are building on existing partnerships and initiatives to enforce immigration laws and policies to dismantle TCOs threatening the safety of millions of Virginians.

    These organizations operate across international borders, wholly or in part, by illegal means. Regardless of structure, TCOs destabilize local communities and fuel violence by engaging in drug trafficking, firearms trafficking, human trafficking, assault, kidnapping, murder, and extortion.

    One of the VHSTF’s goals is the elimination of TCOs across Virginia. Task force members seek to target these organizations’ infrastructures — including leaders, intermediaries, and street-level offenders — utilizing the State Department’s new foreign terrorist designations of various gangs, such as Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13); Cártel de Sinaloa; and Tren de Aragua (TdA). Under the guidance provided by Attorney General Pamela Bondi, leaders and managers of cartels and TCOs may be prosecuted for such crimes as terrorism, racketeering, continuing criminal enterprise offenses, violations of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, and violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

    To date, the VHSTF has arrested numerous gang affiliates, including 18 MS-13 affiliates, six TdA affiliates, and 12 individuals affiliated with other TCOs.

    A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: OSCE supports K9 handling masterplan to boost Moldovan law enforcement operations into 2028

    Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE

    Headline: OSCE supports K9 handling masterplan to boost Moldovan law enforcement operations into 2028

    Participants at the signing ceremony for the K9 masterplan, Chisinau, Moldova, 17 March 2025. (General Police Inspectorate) Photo details

    The Moldovan General Police Inspectorate (GPI) introduced a canine (K9) handling masterplan developed with OSCE support in Chisinau, Moldova, on 17 March. Covering the years 2025 to 2028, this document sets a clear framework for enhancing the operational effectiveness of Moldova’s K9 police units.
    From search and rescue to drug and explosives detection, the masterplan provides a structured approach to boosting K9 officers’ operational capabilities in law enforcement activities, as well as modernizing and improving K9 training standards. By adopting this plan, the GPI reaffirms its commitment to international good practices in policing and security.
    “The adoption of this masterplan marks a significant step in strengthening the capacities of our law enforcement agency,” said Viorel Cernăuțeanu, Head of the GPI. “Through this partnership with the OSCE and our international partners, we are equipping our K9 units with the necessary skills and resources to address evolving security challenges more effectively.”
    Senior officials from the GPI and international partners attending the signing ceremony addressed the OSCE’s key role in the development of the plan, including the technical expertise, training and resources provided, and its importance for Moldova’s law enforcement.
    These activities are implemented as part of the extrabudgetary project “Support to the Law Enforcement Agencies in Moldova in Response to the Security Challenges in the Region”, funded by France, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, that bolsters Moldova’s law enforcement capabilities in countering transnational threats.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Syria: Relative of Assad regime’s disappeared speaks of anguish in search for truth and justice

    Source: United Nations 2

    Peace and Security

    A relative of two Syrians tortured and murdered by the Assad regime has spoken of the anguish caused by their enforced disappearance during the country’s civil war.

    Obeida Dabbagh’s brother Mazen, and nephew Patrick – both Syrian-French nationals – were arrested by Air Force Intelligence officials in November 2013.

    Held for years and tortured, there were falsely declared dead in 2018 “years after they disappeared,” Mr. Dabbagh told the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, which meets at the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG).

    Arbitrary victims

    He stressed that his uncle and nephew had not been involved in initially peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad that authorities attempted to crush by carrying out mass arrests, torture and widespread human rights abuses that have been widely condemned by UN senior officials.

    “The Syrian regime, in addition to torture and executions, extorted money from our family, promising us information or release in exchange for exorbitant sums, before expelling [Mazen’s] wife and [his] daughter from our family home in Damascus,” Mr. Dabbagh told the panel, which is one of ten UN human rights Treaty Bodies independent of the Human Rights Council.

    Fight against impunity

    “This fight goes beyond my family,” Mr. Dabbagh continued.

    “It is part of a universal quest for justice and against impunity for war crimes. Through this legal action, I wanted not only to obtain justice for Mazen and Patrick, but also to participate in the global fight against the atrocities committed by the Syrian regime.”

    Before they were arrested, Mazen provided teaching support at a French college in the Syrian capital and his son Patrick was a psychology student at Damascus university.

    Desperate to secure their release, their family approached the Syrian, French and international authorities, including the Red Cross and European Union.

    In 2016, alongside the NGO International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the family filed a complaint with the Paris Prosecutor’s office for crimes against humanity.

    Key French intervention

    This legal action allowed the French justice system to open an investigation and collect key testimonies, particularly from Syrian deserters. This led to an indictment order in March 2023 for three senior Syrian regime officials to stand trial for complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes.

    Following their trial in France last May, Ali Mamlouk, Jamil Hassan and Abdel Salam Mahmoud were sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for complicity in imprisonment, torture, enforced disappearance and murder constituting crimes against humanity, as well as for confiscation of property, classified as a war crime.

    International rights framework

    The Committee on Enforced Disappearances monitors how countries implement the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2006 and came into force in December 2010.

    Ratifying countries are legally bound to its provisions, including the prohibition of secret detention, the obligation to search for disappeared persons, the criminalization of enforced disappearance and the commitment to prosecute those responsible.

    For the Committee, independent rights expert Fidelis Kanyongolo highlighted the critical importance of extra-territorial jurisdiction in the Committee’s work, given that many States have yet to ratify the Convention – along with the fact that Syria has not ratified the Rome Statute, which would have allowed the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute serious human rights crimes there.

    In addition, there has been no resolution from the UN Security Council referring grave rights abuses in Syria to the ICC and the domestic justice system remains neither independent nor accountable, Mr, Kanyongolo maintained.

    Trailblazing global accord

    The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance is the first universally legally binding human rights instrument concerning the practice.

    It was preceded by the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1992.

    With 77 State parties today, the Convention remains a key reference, with several of its provisions now reflecting customary international law.

    Call for Justice

    In a statement marking 14 years since the start of the Syrian civil war, the UN Human Rights Council-mandated Commission of Inquiry on Syria called for urgent efforts to hold all perpetrators accountable, both from the Assad era and all warring parties since 2011.

    “Evidence, including documents in prisons, courts and mass grave sites, must be preserved to support future truth and accountability initiatives led by the new Syrian authorities, with the support of key actors such as Syrian civil society,” the Commission stated.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: COMLOG WESTPAC Holds Awards Ceremony, March 13, 2025 [Image 11 of 11]

    Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)

    Issued by: on

    SINGAPORE (Mar. 13, 2025) Rear Adm. Todd F. Cimicata, left, Commander, Logistics Group Western
    Pacific/Task Force 73 (COMLOG WESTPAC/CTF 73), names Master-at-Arms 1st Class Jonathan Wade,
    COMLOG WESTPAC Sailor of the Quarter (SOQ), during an awards ceremony on Sembawang Naval
    Installation, Mar. 13, 2025. COMLOG WESTPAC supports deployed surface units and aircraft carriers, along
    with regional Allies and partners, to facilitate patrols in the South China Sea, participation in naval exercises
    and responses to natural disasters. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jordan Jennings/Released)

    Date Taken: 03.13.2025
    Date Posted: 03.14.2025 03:07
    Photo ID: 8915341
    VIRIN: 250313-N-YV347-1017
    Resolution: 7172×4781
    Size: 25.47 MB
    Location: SG
    Web Views: 13
    Downloads: 1

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  • MIL-OSI Security: CTG 73.6, RTN Dive Unit Commence Joint Exercise Cobra Gold 2025 [Image 1 of 9]

    Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)

    Issued by: on

    SATTAHIP, Thailand (Feb. 24, 2025) Divers from the U.S. Navy, Royal Thai Navy (RTN), and Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy assigned to Commander, Task Group 73.6/Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1-6 (CTG 73.6/MDSU 1-6), RTN Dive Unit, and ROK Navy Underwater Construction Team, pose for a group photo during Joint Exercise Cobra Gold 2025 in Thailand, Feb. 24, 2025. Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific/ Task Force 73 (COMLOGWESTPAC/CTF 73) sustains the U.S. Navy’s maritime forces and is responsible for all diving and salvage operations in the Western Pacific in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/Released)

    Date Taken: 02.24.2025
    Date Posted: 03.17.2025 10:56
    Photo ID: 8919742
    VIRIN: 250224-N-ED646-1016
    Resolution: 8000×5333
    Size: 2.93 MB
    Location: SATTAHIP, TH
    Web Views: 1
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  • MIL-OSI Security: CTG 73.6, RTN Dive Unit, ROKN UTC Conduct Joint Exercise Cobra Gold 2025 [Image 8 of 12]

    Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)

    Issued by: on

    SATTAHIP, Thailand (Feb. 25, 2025) A Royal Thai Navy (RTN) diver, assigned to RTN Dive Unit, practices the Kerie Cable exothermic cutting method with U.S. Navy divers, assigned to Commander, Task Group 73.6/Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1-6 (CTG 73.6/MDSU 1-6), and Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy divers, assigned to ROK Navy Underwater Construction Team, during Joint Exercise Cobra Gold 2025 in Thailand, Feb. 25, 2025. Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific/ Task Force 73 (COMLOGWESTPAC/CTF 73) sustains the U.S. Navy’s maritime forces and is responsible for all diving and salvage operations in the Western Pacific in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/Released)

    Date Taken: 02.25.2025
    Date Posted: 03.17.2025 11:07
    Photo ID: 8919759
    VIRIN: 250225-N-ED646-1403
    Resolution: 8640×5760
    Size: 2.87 MB
    Location: SATTAHIP, TH
    Web Views: 0
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  • MIL-OSI Security: CTG 73.6, RTN Dive Unit, ROKN UTC Conduct Joint Exercise Cobra Gold 2025 [Image 1 of 5]

    Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)

    Issued by: on

    SATTAHIP, Thailand (Feb. 26, 2025) U.S. Navy Divers, assigned to Commander, Task Group 73.6/Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1-6 (CTG 73.6/MDSU 1-6), prepare dive equipment prior to underwater exothermic cutting drills as part of Joint Exercise Cobra Gold 2025 in Thailand, Feb. 26, 2025. Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific/ Task Force 73 (COMLOGWESTPAC/CTF 73) sustains the U.S. Navy’s maritime forces and is responsible for all diving and salvage operations in the Western Pacific in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/Released)

    Date Taken: 02.26.2025
    Date Posted: 03.17.2025 11:11
    Photo ID: 8919787
    VIRIN: 250226-N-ED646-1003
    Resolution: 8640×5760
    Size: 2.62 MB
    Location: SATTAHIP, TH
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  • MIL-OSI Security: CTG 73.6, RTN Dive Unit, ROKN UTC Conduct Joint Exercise Cobra Gold 2025 [Image 4 of 5]

    Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)

    Issued by: on

    SATTAHIP, Thailand (Feb. 26, 2025) U.S. Navy Diver 1st Class Blake Goins, center left, assigned to Commander, Task Group 73.6/Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1-6 (CTG 73.6/MDSU 1-6), assists a Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy diver, assigned to ROK Navy Underwater Construction Team, with donning a diving mask prior to exothermic cutting drills as part of Joint Exercise Cobra Gold 2025 in Thailand, Feb. 26, 2025. Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific/ Task Force 73 (COMLOGWESTPAC/CTF 73) sustains the U.S. Navy’s maritime forces and is responsible for all diving and salvage operations in the Western Pacific in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/Released)

    Date Taken: 02.26.2025
    Date Posted: 03.17.2025 11:11
    Photo ID: 8919790
    VIRIN: 250226-N-ED646-1190
    Resolution: 8640×5760
    Size: 2.63 MB
    Location: SATTAHIP, TH
    Web Views: 0
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  • MIL-OSI Security: Dominican National Pleads Guilty To Making False Statement To Federally Licensed Firearms Dealer

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Orlando, FL – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces that Eugenio Gonzalez-Paredes (53, Dominican Republic) has pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer. Gonzalez-Paredes faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison.

    According to court documents, Gonzalez-Paredes attempted to purchase a Glock pistol from a federally licensed firearms dealer in Deltona, Florida. To purchase the firearm, Gonzalez-Paredes was required to complete a Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Form 4473. The Form 4473 asked whether Gonzalez-Paredes had ever been convicted of a felony, and Gonzalez-Paredes checked the answer “No.” At the time Gonzalez-Paredes filled out the Form 4473, he had twice previously been convicted in the United States District Court in the District of Puerto Rico for illegal reentry by a previously deported alien.

    This case was investigated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Megan Testerman.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: New Kensington Man Sentenced to 2.5 Years in Prison for Stealing Two Dozen Firearms

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A former resident of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 30 months of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on his conviction of federal firearms charges, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

    Senior United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Steyn Sarduy, 19.

    According to information presented to the Court, on or about January 22, 2024, Sarduy and his co-defendant, Michael Guin, conspired to steal a truck from a business and used the stolen truck to crash into and gain access to a firearms store in New Kensington. The defendants broke multiple display cases and stole 24 firearms.

    Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan D. Lusty prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

    Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Sarduy.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Operation Take Back America Results in the Administrative Arrest of 81 Illegal Aliens, 25 of Whom Were Also Charged with Felony Criminal Offenses

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

    Louisville, KY – During the week of March 10 through March 14, 2025, as part of Operation Take Back America, multiple federal law enforcement agencies in Kentucky worked together to repel the invasion of illegal immigration throughout the Commonwealth. The operation, coordinated out of Louisville, resulted in 81 administrative arrests of illegal aliens. Of the 81 illegal aliens arrested, 25 were also charged with immigration-related criminal offenses, including illegal reentry after deportation or removal, illegal possession of firearms, and illegal possession of controlled substances. In the Western District of Kentucky, 53 illegal aliens were administratively arrested, with 18 being criminally charged.  

    The illegal aliens not charged criminally will be held in ICE custody, pending removal proceedings and potential deportation.

    The arrests included illegal aliens from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Cuba, India and Palau. 

    U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud of Homeland Security Investigations, Nashville, Sam Olson, Field Officer Director, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Chicago, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Acting Special Agent in Charge A.J. Gibes of the ATF Louisville Field Division, Special Agent in Charge Jim Scott of the DEA Louisville Field Division, Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Stansbury of the FBI Louisville Field Office, and  U.S. Marshal Gary B. Burman of the Western District of Kentucky made the announcement.

    “I commend the work of our federal law enforcement partners, prosecutors, and support personnel who worked tirelessly to make this operation a success,” stated U.S. Attorney Bennett. “The aggressive investigation and prosecution of those who violate immigration laws positively impacts the security of our communities and of the Nation.”  

    The following 18 illegal aliens were charged by indictment or criminal complaint in the Western District of Kentucky: 

    Moises Archaga-Garcia, age 46, a citizen of Honduras, was charged with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about March 10, 2025, Archaga-Garcia was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about July 30, 2003. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison.

    Luis Alberto Torres-Flores, age 35, a citizen of El Salvador, was charged with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about March 10, 2025, Torres-Flores was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about August 29, 2014. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison.

    Lorenzo Perez-Perez, age 33, a citizen of Guatemala, was charged with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about March 10, 2025, Perez-Perez was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about December 7, 2011, and January 21, 2016. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison. 

    Aroldo Rodriguez-Navarro, age 40, a citizen of Mexico, was charged with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about March 10, 2025, Rodriguez-Navarro was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about August 25, 2009, and June 5, 2014. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison. 

    Angel David Zuniga-Baca, age 35, a citizen of Honduras, was charged with possession of a firearm by an illegal alien and reentry after deportation or removal. On or about October 12, 2024, Zuniga-Baca possessed a firearm in Jefferson County, Kentucky, with knowledge that he was an alien illegally and unlawfully in the United States. On or about March 10, 2025, Zuniga-Baca was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about November 16, 2009, and April 25, 2014. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison.

    Ewin Cabrera-Cabrera, age 33, a citizen of Honduras, was charged with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about March 11, 2025, Cabrera-Cabrera was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about April 10, 2014, and February 7, 2013. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison.

    Roberto Cruz-Pacheco, age 34, a citizen of Mexico, was charged with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about March 11, 2025, Cruz-Pacheco was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about December 31, 2008. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison. 

    Darwin Martinez-Figueroa, age 41, a citizen of Mexico, was charged with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about March 11, 2025, Martinez-Figueroa was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about May 17, 2014, and April 11, 2018. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison.

    Williams Josue Rodriguez-Calix, age 28, a citizen of Honduras, was charged with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about March 11, 2025, Rodriguez-Calix was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about December 12, 2018. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison. 

    Jose Rodriguez, age 39, a citizen of Mexico, was charged with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about March 11, 2025, Rodriguez was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about December 1, 2011, and February 28, 2020. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison. 

    Zoiber Hernandez-Dominguez, age 50, a citizen of Mexico, was charged with possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. On or about December 16, 2024, Hernandez-Dominguez possessed a firearm in Jefferson County, Kentucky, with knowledge that he was an alien illegally and unlawfully in the United States. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

    Marcos Juarez-Morente, age 38 a citizen of Guatemala, was charged with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about March 13, 2025, Juarez-Morente was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about January 20, 2006, and May 19, 2006. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison.

    Esteban Perez-Cristostomo, age 45, a citizen of Guatemala, was charged with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about March 13, 2025, Perez-Cristostomo was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about January 21, 2010. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison. 

    Ramiro Galeana-Arzate, age 28, a citizen of Mexico, was charged with reentry after deportation or removal. On or about March 14, 2025, Galeana-Arzate was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about December 4, 2020. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison. 

    Humberto Avila-Duran, age 54, a citizen of Mexico, was charged with possession of a firearm by an illegal alien and reentry after deportation or removal. On or about March 14, 2025, Avila-Duran possessed a firearm in Jefferson County, Kentucky, with knowledge that he was an alien illegally and unlawfully in the United States. On the same day, Avila-Duran was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about January 21, 2011, March 3, 2011, March 8, 2011, August 14, 2012, May 9, 2014, May 13, 2014, and November 13, 2020. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison. 

    Humberto Avila-Murillo, age 28, a citizen of Mexico, was charged with possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. On or about March 14, 2025, Avila-Murillo possessed a firearm in Jefferson County, Kentucky, with knowledge that he was an alien illegally and unlawfully in the United States. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. 

    Edi Diaz-Lopez, age 30, a citizen of Mexico, was charged possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. On or about January 3, 2025, Diaz-Lopez possessed a firearm and methamphetamine with knowledge that he was an alien illegally and unlawfully in the United States. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.

    Alvaro Mandujano-Rodriguez, age 32, a citizen of Mexico, was charged with possession of a firearm by an illegal alien and reentry after deportation or removal. On or about October 7, 2023, Mandujano-Rodriguez was an alien found in the United States after having been denied admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United States on or about November 29, 2025. On the same date, Mandujano-Rodriguez possessed two firearms in Jefferson County, Kentucky, with knowledge that he was an alien illegally and unlawfully in the United States. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison.

    A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

    There is no parole in the federal system.

    The operation was coordinated by HSI Nashville and ICE/ERO Chicago. The cases are being investigated by the HSI, ICE/ERO, FBI, ATF, DEA, and USMS.

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

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

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Par Funding Enforcer Sentenced to 11½ Years in Prison for RICO Conspiracy, Obstruction of Justice, and Retaliation

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

    James LaForte Brutally Assaulted Receivership Attorney, Threatened Government Witnesses, Extorted Merchants

    PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that James LaForte, 48, of New York, New York, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney to 137 months’ imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release to include 12 months’ home confinement, for crimes committed as part of a criminal enterprise that ran a fraudulent investment vehicle[1] known as Complete Business Solutions Group, Inc., d/b/a Par Funding (“Par Funding”) for a number of years, before it was taken over by a court-appointed receivership pursuant to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. LaForte was also ordered to pay $2,488,645 in restitution, representing the portion of investor proceeds that he illegally diverted from Par Funding’s numerous investors for his own use through sham merchant contracts and other self-dealing conduct.

    In February 2024, the defendant, his brother Joseph LaForte, Par Funding’s president and CEO, and Joseph Cole Barleta, Par Funding’s chief financial officer, were charged in an amended second superseding indictment with racketeering conspiracy and related crimes.

    James LaForte pleaded guilty in September 2024 to racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, and extortionate collection of debt, as well as obstruction of justice, for his violent assault on one of the Par Funding receivership’s Philadelphia attorneys, and retaliation, for threatening several government witnesses.

    “James LaForte served as one of his brother’s enforcers,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “He not only used threats of violence to collect on Par Funding’s debt, but stalked and assaulted an attorney, in retaliation for that man’s efforts to hold the LaForte family responsible for one of the largest financial frauds in Philadelphia’s history. As today’s sentence shows, this brand of brazen and violent lawbreaking simply won’t be tolerated in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.”

    “Since its earliest days, the FBI has been dedicated to investigating complex financial crimes,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “James LaForte participated in a criminal enterprise driven by greed and sustained through threats and violence. The FBI is proud to stand with our partners in the pursuit of justice — disrupting these schemes and ensuring restitution for victims.”

    “The defendant in this case was brought to justice for his participation in a criminal enterprise that caused significant financial harm to numerous investors,” said Special Agent in Charge Patricia Tarasca of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC OIG), New York Region. “The FDIC OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to pursue those who commit such egregious crimes that threaten investors and the safety and soundness of our Nation’s financial institutions.”

    Joseph LaForte also pleaded guilty in September 2024 to racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, and related crimes and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 26, 2025. Barleta pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of racketeering conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 2, 2025.

    This case was investigated by the FBI, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Newcomer, Samuel Dalke, and Eric Gill.

    The SEC in Florida investigated and litigated the civil securities fraud charges, which formed the basis of a portion of the Par Funding criminal prosecution.

    [1] On January 21, 2025, the Court found the Par Funding fraud scheme caused an actual fraud loss of approximately $404,000,000, which it reduced to $288,395,088 after factoring in credit for collateral seized from Par Funding by federal authorities when the investigation became public in July 2020.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Man sentenced to life in jail for murder of Sean O’Neill

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    A 23-year-old man responsible for the brutal murder of Sean O’Neill has been jailed for life.

    Dellan Charles (08.01.2001), of no fixed address, appeared at Kingston Crown Court on Monday, 17 March where he was told he will serve a minimum of 23 years behind bars. He was convicted of murder on Tuesday, 17 December.

    On the evening of Thursday, 18 May 2023, following an altercation between two rival groups in Reynolds Road, Hayes, Charles chased and killed Sean in a quiet residential street in broad daylight.

    After cornering him, Charles used two knives to stab Sean multiple times. During the trial, the court heard how Charles shouted “die, die, die” during the attack.

    In CCTV footage, Charles was pictured calmly leaving the scene after delivering the fatal blows, before making his escape by trespassing through nearby leafy suburban gardens. The jury heard how Charles disposed of a knife at a nearby address, before concocting a calculated plan to flee the area. He then went to ground for just shy of a year.

    Over the course of the next ten months, detectives pieced together the course of events alongside an extensive manhunt.

    The specialist team of officers then used this evidence and intelligence to capture Charles in Coventry on Wednesday, 27 March 2024, helping secure justice for Sean and his family.

    The jury heard how Sean was a funny, kind and sociable person and many people have been deeply affected by his tragic death.

    Detective Inspector Kevin Martin, who led the investigation for Specialist Crime South, said:
     “Myself and the team once again pay tribute to Sean’s family who, throughout this distressing time, have shown real strength and togetherness.

    “Heartbreakingly, nothing will ever bring Sean back, but today, the man responsible for taking him away from his much-loved family has been forced to face the reality of his malicious actions.”

    In a statement previously provided by Sean’s family, they added:

    “We really appreciate the efforts of the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service in bringing about justice, as well as the support we have received throughout this difficult process.

    “Sean will be remembered for his big heart, charming smile and fun-loving personality. He is incredibly loved by us all and we miss him every day.”

    ENDS

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Man Found Guilty of Six Counts of Child Exploitation

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

    SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – After a five-day jury trial, Lionel Albino Galindo was found guilty of six counts of child exploitation. United States District Court Judge Maria Antongiorgi-Jordan presided over the trial.

    According to court documents, from February 2024 throughout March 19, 2024, Lionel Albino Galindo sexually exploited a 13-year-old female minor. The defendant used a cellular phone as well as internet instant messaging services, to knowingly persuade, induce, entice, and coerce a 13-year-old female minor, to engage in sexual activity, which includes the production of child pornography.

    During trial, the government presented evidence to prove that Albino Galindo knowingly transported the female minor to engage in sexual activity on several occasions and produced visual depictions of such conduct. The defendant also received child pornography from the female minor and sent obscene material to the minor.

    The jury found Lionel Albino Galindo guilty of one count of coercion and enticement of a minor; one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; one count of sexual exploitation of children; one count for receipt of child pornography; one count for possession of child pornography; and one count of transfer of obscene material to a minor.

    The defendant faces the following possible sentences: for coercion and enticement and transportation of minor to engage in illicit sexual conduct, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years up to life; for sexual exploitation of children he faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years up to 30 years; for possession of child pornography and transfer of obscene material  to a minor he faces up to 10 years; and for receipt of child pornography he faces five to 20 years in prison; all charges followed by a term of supervised release of no less than 5 years up to life. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 10, 2025, at 9:30 am. The defendant was ordered to remain under the custody of the Bureau of Prisons pending sentencing.

    “I commend the prosecutors, and our law enforcement partners for their hard work and dedication in bringing this child predator to justice,” said United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow of the District of Puerto Rico.

    “The FBI remains steadfast in its commitment to protecting our most vulnerable—our children,” said Devin Kowalski, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s San Juan Field Office. “This verdict underscores the seriousness of crimes against minors and reinforces our dedication to holding offenders accountable. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to ensure that those who prey on children face the full force of justice.”

    The FBI investigated the case with the collaboration of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau.

    Assistant US Attorney (AUSA) Jenifer Y. Hernández Vega, Chief of the Child Exploitation and Immigration Unit and AUSA Emelina Agrait Barreto prosecuted the case.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.

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