Nigerian National Extradited from South Africa for Cyber Fraud Scheme Targeting Tulsa Company

Spoofed Email Led to Fraudulent Shipment of $400,000 in Surface Pro Tablets

TULSA, Okla. – Sunday Daniel Ganyo, 37, a Nigerian national, made his initial appearance in federal court Friday, after being extradited from South Africa pursuant to a 2020 federal criminal complaint alleging his involvement in a cyber fraud scheme targeting companies in Tulsa and North Carolina. Ganyo faces charges for conspiracy; transportation of stolen goods; means of identification fraud; trafficking in false means of identification; identity theft conspiracy and attempt; aggravated identity theft; mail fraud; wire fraud; and attempt and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

“Identity theft and computer fraud have a lasting impact on the financial health of the victims and society,” said U.S. Attorney Clinton Johnson. “We are committed to bringing cyber criminals that target Oklahoma companies to justice, even when they hide behind stolen identities across the world and operate in the shadows of cyberspace.”

“The FBI has a long tradition of protecting American companies from these types of schemes and bringing those responsible to justice, no matter where they are located,” said FBI, Oklahoma City, Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Gray. “I’m grateful for the dedicated partnership of the South African authorities to find and arrest Mr. Ganyo, so that he may face charges here in Oklahoma.”

According to court documents, Ganyo is alleged to have sent a computer services company in Tulsa a spoofed email using a fraudulently acquired identity and arranged for the purchase of approximately $400,000 worth of Microsoft Surface Pro Tablets. The fraudulent email was successful, and an order was processed and shipped to a company in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ganyo is alleged to have sent a second spoofed email to the North Carolina company, impersonating the Tulsa company, claiming the order was in error and that someone would retrieve the shipment. The shipment was then retrieved from the North Carolina company, repackaged, and prepared for shipment to South Africa by an unknown coconspirator. However, the FBI was able to intercept the shipment in Memphis, Tennessee, and replace the contents with dummy goods and a tracking device. A controlled delivery was then executed in Johannesburg, South Africa and the defendant was arrested by partners with the South African Police Service. Investigation continues into Ganyo’s possible involvement in similar cyber fraud schemes in other parts of the country.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in South Africa to secure the arrest and extradition of Ganyo. The FBI is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Nassar and Thomas Buscemi are prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Members of the public are reminded to be extremely cautious while conducting business on the internet. Check sender emails and URL addresses for irregularities. Use a full-service internet security site that protects your information. Use strong passwords by incorporating at least 10 letters, numbers, and symbols. Keep your software updated because criminals exploit known software flaws. Manage your social media settings and be careful what you share. For instance, if you share your pets name or reveal where you and your spouse met, you might expose the answers to two common security questions. Secure your home network and public networks by using a virtual private network (VPN). Finally, don’t provide personal information to unsolicited individuals or messages. Most business won’t reach out and ask for personal information by phone or email. If they do, tell them you will call them back. Then call the main number to inquire about the request. If you believe you have been a victim of fraud report it to your local police.
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John Chen and Lin Feng Allegedly Furthered the PRC Government’s Transnational Repression Campaign Against the Falun Gong by Bribing a Purported IRS Official

A federal court in the Southern District of New York today unsealed a complaint charging two individuals with acting and conspiring to act in the United States as unregistered agents of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), conspiring to bribe and bribing a public official, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to the complaint, John Chen, aka Chen Jun, 70, a Los Angeles resident and former citizen of the PRC, and Lin Feng, a Los Angeles resident and PRC citizen, allegedly participated in a PRC Government-directed scheme targeting U.S.-based practitioners of Falun Gong — a spiritual practice banned in the PRC. Chen and Feng were arrested today in the Central District of California.

“The Chinese government has yet again attempted, and failed, to target critics of the PRC here in the United States,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We allege the defendants in this case attempted to bribe someone they thought was an IRS agent in order to further the Chinese government’s campaign of transnational repression in the United States. But the individual they attempted to bribe was in fact an undercover law enforcement agent, and both defendants were arrested this morning. The Justice Department will continue to investigate, disrupt, and prosecute efforts by the PRC government to silence its critics and extend the reaches of its regime onto U.S. soil. We will never stop working to defend the rights to which every person in the United States is entitled.”

“The Department of Justice continues to expose the Chinese government’s brazen attempts to perpetrate transnational repression, this time through attempted bribery,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “As highlighted by today’s arrests and charges of conspiracy, bribery, and money laundering, we will not tolerate efforts by the PRC or any foreign government to intimidate, harass, or undermine the rights and freedoms enjoyed by all who live in the United States.”

“China’s government has once again shown its disregard for the rule of law and international norms,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI will not tolerate CCP repression — its efforts to threaten, harass, and intimidate people — here in the United States. We will continue to confront the Chinese government’s efforts to violate our laws and repress the rights and freedoms of people in our country.”“No other nation poses as severe a threat to the democratic values of the United States as the government of the People’s Republic of China,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “The FBI will not stand by as the PRC attempts to weaponize our institutions and programs and attack the rights of those on U.S. soil. Any attempt to repress or harass individuals runs directly counter to the ideals our nation was founded upon, and it simply will not be tolerated. The FBI and our partners remain committed to confronting the illegal conduct of the PRC government that threatens our national security and freedom.”

“John Chen and Lin Feng allegedly waged a campaign at the behest of the Government of the People’s Republic of China to influence a U.S. Government official in order to further the PRC Government’s repression of practitioners of Falun Gong,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “Efforts to manipulate and use the arms of the U.S. Government to carry out the PRC Government’s autocratic aims are as shocking as they are insidious. My office will work vigorously to protect against malign foreign influences.”

The complaint alleges that from at least approximately January 2023 to May 2023, Chen and Feng worked inside the United States at the direction of the PRC government, including an identified PRC government official (PRC Official-1), to further the PRC government’s campaign to repress and harass Falun Gong practitioners. The PRC Government has designated the Falun Gong as one of the “five poisons,” or one of the top five threats to its rule. In China, Falun Gong adherents face a range of repressive and punitive measures from the PRC government, including imprisonment and torture.                 

As part of the PRC government’s campaign against the Falun Gong, Chen and Feng allegedly engaged in a PRC government-directed scheme to manipulate the IRS’s Whistleblower Program in an effort to strip the tax-exempt status of an entity run and maintained by Falun Gong practitioners (Entity-1). After Chen filed a defective whistleblower complaint with the IRS (the Chen Whistleblower Complaint), Chen and Feng paid $5,000 in cash bribes, and promised to pay substantially more, to a purported IRS agent who was in fact an undercover officer (Agent-1), in exchange for Agent-1’s assistance in advancing the complaint. Neither Chen nor Feng notified the Attorney General that they were acting as agents of the PRC government in the United States.

In the course of the scheme, Chen, on a recorded call, explicitly noted that the purpose of paying these bribes, which were directed and funded by the PRC government, was to carry out the PRC government’s aim of “toppl[ing] . . . the Falun Gong.” During a call intercepted pursuant to a judicially authorized wiretap, Chen and Feng discussed receiving “direction” on the bribery scheme from PRC Official-1, deleting instructions received from PRC Official-1 in order to evade detection, and “alert[ing]” and “sound[ing] the alarm” to PRC Official-1 if Chen and Feng’s meetings to bribe Agent-1 did not go as planned. Chen and Feng also discussed that PRC Official-1 was the PRC Government official “in charge” of the bribery scheme targeting the Falun Gong.

As part of this scheme, Chen and Feng allegedly met with Agent-1 in Newburgh, New York, on May 14.  During the meeting, Chen gave Agent-1 a $1,000 cash bribe as an initial, partial bribe payment. Chen further offered to pay Agent-1 a total of $50,000 for opening an audit of Entity-1, as well as 60% of any whistleblower award from the IRS if the Chen Whistleblower Complaint were successful. On May 18, Feng paid Agent-1 a $4,000 cash bribe at John F. Kennedy International Airport as an additional partial bribe payment in furtherance of the scheme. Chen allegedly obtained funding from the PRC government to make bribe payments during his trips to the PRC in the course of the scheme.

Chen and Feng are each charged with (1) one count of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General and to bribe a public official, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; (2) one count of acting as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; (3) one count of bribing a public official, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison; and (4) one count of conspiring to commit international money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The FBI New York and Los Angeles Field Offices and Counterintelligence Division are investigating the case with valuable assistance provided by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shiva H. Logarajah, Qais Ghafary, Michael D. Lockard, and Kathryn Wheelock for the Southern District of New York and Trial Attorney Christina A. Clark of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

The charges in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shiva H. Logarajah, Qais Ghafary, Michael D. Lockard, and Kathryn Wheelock for the Southern District of New York and Trial Attorney Christina A. Clark of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

The charges in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven

Mona Faiz Montrage Received Over $2 Million in Fraud Proceeds and Pretended to Marry One Victim to Further the Fraud Scheme

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of a six-count Indictment charging MONA FAIZ MONTRAGE for her role in a series of romance schemes and for laundering the proceeds of those schemes.  MONTRAGE was arrested in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2022, and was extradited from the United Kingdom on May 12, 2023.  MONTRAGE will be presented before U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty, to whom the case is assigned, later today.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Mona Faiz Montrage was a member of a criminal conspiracy that specifically targeted older Americans through romance scams.  These scams can be both financially and emotionally devastating for vulnerable victims.  Thanks to the efforts of our law enforcement partners, Montrage was arrested abroad and has been brought to the United States to face justice.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Michael J. Driscoll said: “We alleged today that Ms. Montrage participated in multiple romance scams – often targeting elderly victims – resulting in more than $2 million in fraudulent funds under her control.  Romance scams – especially those that target older individuals – are of major concern.  The FBI will be tireless in our efforts to hold fraudsters accountable in the criminal justice system.”

As alleged in the Indictment and other publicly filed materials. From at least in or about 2013 through in or about 2019, MONTRAGE was a member of a criminal enterprise (the “Enterprise”) based in West Africa that committed a series of frauds against individuals and businesses in the United States, including romance scams. 

Many of the Enterprise’s romance scam victims were vulnerable, older men and women who lived alone.  The Enterprise frequently conducted the romance scams by sending the victims emails, text messages, and social media messages that deceived the victims into believing that they were in romantic relationships with a person who had, in fact, a fake identity assumed by members of the Enterprise.  Once members of the Enterprise had successfully convinced victims that they were in a romantic relationship and had gained their trust, they convinced the victims, under false pretenses, to transfer money to bank accounts the victims believed were controlled by their romantic interests, when, in fact, the bank accounts were controlled by members of the Enterprise.

MONTRAGE is a Ghanaian public figure who rose to fame as an influencer through her Instagram profile, under the username “Hajia4Reall,” which at one point had approximately 3.4 million Instagram followers and was among the top 10 profiles with the most followers in Ghana.

MONTRAGE received money from several victims of romance frauds whom members of the Enterprise tricked into sending money.  Among the false pretenses used to induce victims to send money to MONTRAGE were (i) payments to transport gold to the United States from overseas; (ii) payments to resolve a fake FBI unemployment investigation; and (iii) payments to assist a fake United States army officer in receiving funds from Afghanistan.

As to one victim, MONTRAGE used her real name and spoke to the victim several times by phone.  MONTRAGE sent the victim a tribal marriage certificate purporting to show that MONTRAGE and the victim had been married in Ghana.  The victim sent MONTRAGE approximately 82 wire transfers totaling approximately $89,000 to purportedly help with costs associated with MONTRAGE’s father’s farm in Ghana.

In total, MONTRAGE controlled bank accounts that received over $2 million in fraudulent funds from the Enterprise.

*                *                *

MONTRAGE, 30, of Accra, Ghana, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of wire fraud, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and one count of money laundering, each of which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  MONTRAGE is also charged with one count of receipt of stolen money, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to receive stolen money, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of MONTRAGE will be determined by a judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the FBI.  Mr. Williams also thanked the United States Marshals Services, the National Extradition Unit, United States Customs and Border Protection, and the FBI Legal Attaché in London for their assistance in the investigation.  The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division provided significant assistance in securing the defendant’s extradition from the United Kingdom.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mitzi Steiner and Kevin Mead are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Justice Department Recovers Over $53M in Profits Obtained from Corruption in the Nigerian Oil Industry

The Justice Department announced today the final resolution of two civil cases seeking the forfeiture of various luxury assets that were the proceeds of foreign corruption offenses and were laundered in and through the United States.

With the conclusion of the cases, the department has recovered roughly $53.1 million in cash – constituting the net liquidated value of the defendant’s assets – plus a promissory note with a principal value of $16 million.

According to court documents, from 2011 to 2015, Nigerian businessmen Kolawole Akanni Aluko and Olajide Omokore conspired with others to pay bribes to Nigeria’s former Minister for Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who oversaw Nigeria’s state-owned oil company. In return, Alison-Madueke used her influence to steer lucrative oil contracts to companies owned by Aluko and Omokore. The proceeds of those illicitly awarded contracts totaling more than $100 million were then laundered in and through the United States and used to purchase various assets through shell companies, including luxury real estate in California and New York as well as the Galactica Star, a 65-meter superyacht. The real estate was also used as collateral for loans to Aluko and shell companies he controlled. As part of the forfeiture process, those lien holders were paid.  

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Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office, and Chief Jim Lee of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

The FBI’s International Corruption Squad in the Washington Field Office and the IRS-CI investigated the cases, with assistance from the FBI Los Angeles Field Office.

Trial Attorneys Michael W. Khoo and Joshua L. Sohn of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section prosecuted the cases. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas provided substantial assistance. 

These cases were brought under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative. This initiative is led by a team of dedicated prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies, and often with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and, where appropriate, to use those recovered assets to benefit the people harmed by these acts of corruption and abuse of office.

In 2015, the FBI formed International Corruption Squads across the country to address national and international implications of foreign corruption. Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the United States should contact federal law enforcement at tips.fbi.gov/ or send an email to kleptocracy@usdoj.gov.

Source-FBI

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) —The FBI Columbia field office issued a warning today to be cautious of potential romance scams ahead of Valentine’s Day. As Valentine’s Day approaches, it is likely scammers will exploit individuals online who may be looking for companionship or romance this time of year. Recent data reported in the 2021 Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) annual report showed that South Carolinians lost $6.8 million dollars to confidence fraud and romance scams that year. Although 2022 data has not been released, it is expected there will be increased reported losses due to recent upward trends. “Cyber criminals use any information they can find about you to gain your trust, build a relationship, and ultimately steal your money or personal identifiable information (PII),” said Susan Ferensic, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Columbia Division. “We want the public to be well informed about how these scams occur and how they can better protect themselves.” The following are examples of common red flags of romance scams, as well as tips to better protect yourself. Common Romance Scam Red Flags: The scammer makes promises to meet in person but gives excuses as to why they can’t. The scammer will ask for money once they gain your trust. Typically, they explain they have an owed debt, need financial assistance, or they ask for travel funds. The scammer will request money through methods that make it hard to be traced and hard to get back. The scammer may ask to leave a dating service or social media site to communicate directly. How to Protect Yourself: Be careful what you post and make public online. If you suspect a scam, stop communicating with the person immediately. Conduct a reverse image search of the person’s photo(s). If it is associated with another name or profile, it is likely a scam. Take things slow and ask a lot of questions. Never send money to someone you have only communicated with online or by phone. If you suspect you are involved in a romance scam or you have fallen victim, report the incident to the FBI’s IC3 by visiting www.ic3.gov.

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Update: Jose Rodolfo Villarreal-Hernandez was arrested Saturday, January 7, 2023, by Mexican authorities. Calvin A. Shivers, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Matthew J. DeSarno, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Dallas Field Office, announced today the addition of Jose Rodolfo Villarreal-Hernandez, aka “El Gato,” to the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list. A reward of up to $1 million is being offered by the U.S. Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program for information leading directly to his arrest. The FBI’s Dallas Field Office is seeking the public’s assistance in locating Villarreal-Hernandez, who is allegedly responsible for stalking and orchestrating the murder-for-hire of a 43-year-old male victim in Southlake, Texas. On May 22, 2013, the victim and his wife were preparing to depart a shopping center in Southlake, Texas. A white Toyota Sequoia approached the couple’s Range Rover as the wife was loading her purchases into the back of the vehicle. The victim was sitting in the passenger’s seat. The shooter exited the Toyota Sequoia as the driver pulled in behind the couple’s vehicle. The shooter approached the Range Rover from the passenger side and shot the victim multiple times. He then entered the Toyota Sequoia and fled the scene. The victim was later pronounced deceased at a local hospital.

The investigation, led by the FBI’s Dallas Field Office, revealed the victim was stalked by a group of individuals beginning in March of 2011. The investigation further determined this same group allegedly committed the murder-for-hire on May 22, 2013, at the direction of Villarreal-Hernandez. Investigators believe that Villarreal-Hernandez had a personal grudge against the victim.

A federal arrest warrant was issued in the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas, in 2018. Villarreal-Hernandez is charged with interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.

“Jose Rodolfo Villarreal-Hernandez is charged with orchestrating a brutal murder that took place in broad daylight at a busy shopping center. The shooter and his accomplices showed no regard for the victim, his wife, or the innocent bystanders who witnessed the murder,” said Special Agent in Charge DeSarno. “The FBI’s ‘Ten Most Wanted Fugitives Program’ allows us to bring this case to the eyes and ears of citizens around the world. We will not rest until Villarreal-Hernandez is apprehended and made to answer for these charges in court.”

“The FBI will continue to use its ‘Ten Most Wanted Fugitives Program’ to locate and arrest violent criminals like Jose Rodolfo Villarreal-Hernandez,” said Assistant Director Shivers. “We will bring to justice those individuals who commit violent acts and threaten the safety of our citizens and our community. However, in order for us to be effective, we need the public’s assistance. We encourage you to reach out to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI if you witness a crime or have information that is beneficial to an ongoing investigation."

Villarreal-Hernandez should be considered armed and dangerous. He has black hair and brown eyes, stands 5 feet 4 inches tall, and is approximately 165 pounds. The FBI believes he may be hiding in Mexico.

Villarreal-Hernandez is the 524th person to be placed on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives”

list. A “Ten Most Wanted Fugitive” poster is available on the FBI’s website and is posted on various social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter. Additionally, digital billboards in several states that border Mexico will publicize Villarreal-Hernandez. The FBI has established a new tip line through the mobile application WhatsApp. Anyone with information regarding Villarreal-Hernandez’s whereabouts should call +1 817-213-6640 through WhatsApp. Tips can also be provided online at tips.fbi.gov.

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United States Attorney Clint Johnson today announced December’s Grand Jury A and B indictments. The following individuals have been charged with violations of United States law in indictments returned by the Grand Jury. The return of an indictment is a method of informing a defendant of alleged violations of federal law, which must be proven in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt to overcome a defendant’s presumption of innocence. Federal Grand Jury B, Dec. 19- 23, 2022 Anthony Abel-Flores; Jabier Bustos; Vanessa Garcia-Jimenez; Olivia Carrell. Drug Conspiracy; Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute; Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises. Beginning in November 2022, Abel-Flores, 31; Bustos, 33; Garcia-Jimenez, 19; and Carrell, 27, of Jennings, allegedly took part in a methamphetamine conspiracy. As part of that conspiracy, Abel-Flores, Bustos, and Garcia-Jimenez are charged with possessing with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Finally, Carrell is charged with maintaining a place in Jennings for the purpose of storing and distributing the methamphetamine. Homeland Security Investigations and the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel-lyn McCormick is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-428 Eli Cooper Cailler. Possession of Child Pornography; Receipt of Child Pornography. Cailler, 24, of Inola, is charged with possessing and receiving child sexual abuse material from April 1, 2020,to July 18, 2022. Homeland Security Investigations and the Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Paisner is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-421 Caleb Lee Giles. Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country (Counts 1, 4); Abusive Sexual Contact with a Minor in Indian Country (Counts 2, 5); Coercion and Enticement of a Minor (Counts 3, 6) (superseding). Giles, 23, of Afton, is charged with perpetrating sex crimes against two minor victims from September 2020 to January 2022. The FBI is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan E. Michel is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-136 Lane Gloyd. Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography. Gloyd, 23, of Sand Springs, is charged with receiving and distributing numerous images of child sexual abuse material from Jan. 8, 2021, to April 25, 2022. Homeland Security Investigations and the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Rubens is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-136 Solon Michael Griffith. Child Abuse in Indian Country. Griffith, 55, of Vinita, is charged with striking and significantly bruising a 6-year-old victim. The FBI is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Niko A. Boulieris is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-416 Jeannie Rene King; Jacob Alejandro Romero. Child Abuse in Indian Country (Count 1); Child Neglect in Indian Country (Counts 2,3). From Sept. 21, 2022, through Oct. 18, 2022, King, 23, of Sapulpa, abused an infant, causing multiple fractures to the child’s legs. King and Romero, 22, of Sapulpa, also failed to ensure proper medical treatment and supervision for the child. The FBI and Sapulpa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Ihler is prosecuting the case. Lawrence Macon Jr. First Degree Murder in Indian Country (Count 1); Causing Death by Using and Discharging a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence (Count 2); Felon in Possession of a Firearm (Count 3); Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition (Count 4); Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country (Counts 5, 7); Carrying, Using, and Brandishing a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence (Count 6); Carrying, Using, Brandishing, and Discharging a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence (Count 8) (superseding). Macon Jr., 30, of Tulsa, is charged with killing Aliza Renea Crook using a firearm on Nov. 6, 2022. Macon Jr. shot into the vehicle Crook was riding in, striking the victim. He is further charged with being a felon in possession of a Beretta U.S.A. Corporation 9 mm caliber Parabellum semi-automatic pistol and with possessing a Smith & Wesson 9 mm caliber semi-automatic pistol, a H.S. Produkt .45 caliber ACP semi-automatic pistol, a Glock Inc. .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and 90 rounds of ammunition. Additionally, on Sept 11, 2022, Macon allegedly followed a second victim and discharged his firearm into a vehicle while the victim was in the car. Finally, he is alleged to have pistol whipped a third person with a firearm on Oct. 2, 2022. The FBI, Tulsa Police Department, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Niko A. Boulieris and Ryan H. Heatherman are prosecuting the case. 22-CR-388 Julio Martinez-Perez. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Martinez-Perez, 33, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States on Oct. 18, 2016, at or near Del Rio, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Rubens is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-425 Leeroy Wendell McQueary, II. Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country (Counts 1, 2). McQueary allegedly assaulted two St. Francis Hospital security officer when drove his car directly at the two officers, only swerving after they discharged their firearms at the vehicle. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Tulsa Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Niko Boulieris is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-417 Enedino Nives-Tomas. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien; Alien Unlawfully in the United States in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition. Nives-Tomas, 34, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed on Aug. 16, 2017, at or near Laredo, Texas. He is also charged with possessing a Ruger .45 auto semi-automatic pistol and eight rounds of ammunition while being unlawfully in the United States. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Rubens is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-423 Antonio Diaz Rodriguez-Razo. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Rodriguez-Razo, 59, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed on Sept. 5, 2014, at or near Del Rio, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Buscemi is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-424 Joaquin Guerroro Rodriguez. Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute; Possession of Heroin with Intent to Distribute; Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises. Rodriquez, 33, of Tulsa, is charged with possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and with possessing with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin on Oct. 21, 2022. The defendant is further charged with maintaining a place in Tulsa for the purpose of distributing methamphetamine and heroin. The Drug Enforcement Administration is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel-lyn McCormick is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-418 Luis Uvence Ulloa. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Ulloa, 31, a Honduran national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed on June 30, 2014, at or near San Antonio, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Rubens is prosecuting the case. 22-Cr-422 Federal Grand Jury A, Dec. 5-9, 2022 Jose Luis Reyes Alvarez, Lauro Estrada Cruz. Drug Conspiracy (Counts 1, 2); Use of a Communication Facility in Committing, Causing, and Facilitating the Commission of a Drug Trafficking Felony (Counts 3-34); Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute (Count 35); Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime (Count 36); Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises (37); Possession of a Firearm by an Alien Illegally in the United States (Count 38). From July 27, 2022, through Aug. 31, 2022, Alvarez, 30, a Mexican national, and others conspired to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. An unindicted coconspirator coordinated the shipments of multi-kilogram quantities of the drug from Mexico to Tulsa for redistribution. A separately charged defendant received bulk quantities of the cocaine and redistributed it. He and the unindicted coconspirator would coordinate the return of the sale proceeds to Mexico. Alvarez also retrieved proceeds from the sale of cocaine from the separately charged defendant and conducted wire transfers to Mexico. In Count 2, Alvarez; Cruz, 30, of Tulsa; and others conspired to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine from October 2022, to Nov. 15, 2022. The cocaine was shipped from Mexico to Tulsa, and the two men conducted their operations from a home located at 840 North Louisville Avenue in Tulsa. Cruz allegedly prepared the cocaine for distribution at the Tulsa residence, and Alvarez collected drug proceeds using CashApp then stored the proceeds at the residence. Cruz also allegedly possessed an Aero Precision semi-automatic pistol and a Fabrique Nationale Herstal rifle in furtherance of his drug trafficking crime. Alvarez also allegedly possessed a Mossberg rifle and a Kimber .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol while illegally residing in the United States. The Drug Enforcement Administration, Tulsa Police Department, and Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Nasar is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-394 Rodrigo Antonio-Torres. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Antonio-Torres, 35, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed on May 23, 2007, at or near Brownsville, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Buscemi is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-402 Timothy Lewis Cantrell. Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute; Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. Cantrell, 59, of Tulsa, is charged with possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. He is further charged with being a felon in possession of an Obera Hermanos .38 caliber revolver with an obliterated serial number and 34 rounds of ammunition. Finally, he is charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking crime. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Elmore is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-403 Lacey Dawn Deckard. Kidnapping in Indian Country. Deckard, 43, of Broken Arrow, allegedly held an elderly woman against her will in the woman’s home on September 19, 2022. The FBI and Broken Arrow Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Elmore is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-404 Ramon Dominguez-Arambula. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Dominguez-Arambula, 67, a Mexican national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after previously being deported on Sept. 17, 1999, at or near Paso Del Norte, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Rubens is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-40 Andy Cristiany Flores-Rosa. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Flores-Rosa, 22, a Honduran national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States on May 6, 2019, at or near Houston, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Rubens is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-406 James Cledtis Gregory Gillis. Coercion and Enticement of a Minor in Indian Country; Abusive Sexual Contact with a Minor in Indian Country; Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country. Gillis, 18, of Sapulpa, is charged with committing sex crimes against a minor between the ages of 12 and 16 from June 22, 2022, to July 8, 2022. The FBI is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chantelle D. Dial is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-397 Julio Vasquez Gonzalez. Distribution of Fentanyl (Counts 1, 2); Distribution of Methamphetamine (Count 3). Gonzalez, 39, of Bristow, is charged with distributing fentanyl on June 21, 2022, and Aug. 31, 2022. He is further charged with distributing more than 30 grams of methamphetamine on Oct. 27, 2022. The Drug Enforcement Administration is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel-lyn A. McCormick is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-400 Tara Alvita-Gourd Gutierrez. Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute. Gutierrez, 46, of Tulsa, is charged with possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Spencer Willson is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-407 Robert Ross Patton. Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country; Kidnapping in Indian Country; Assault by Striking, Beating, and Wounding (Misdemeanor). On Oct. 31, 2022, Patton, 46, of Claremore, allegedly threatened to kill his dating partner, confronted her with a knife, and stabbed at her, cutting her hand as she tried to defend herself. He also allegedly held the victim against her will. Finally, he is charged with repeatedly striking the victim. The FBI and Rogers County Sheriff’s Office are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven J. Briden is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-408 Ramon Edgar Perez-Nunez. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Perez-Nunez, 47, a Mexican national, is charge with unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed on May 14, 2016, at or near Hidalgo, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert T. Raley is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-409 Douglas Reyes. Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute; Carrying a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime; Interstate Travel to Aid Racketeering. Reyes, 43, a Mexican national, is charged with possessing with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. He is further charged with carrying a firearm during his drug trafficking crime. Finally, he is charged with traveling from Missouri to Oklahoma with the intent to distribute the drug. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Oklahoma Highway Patrol are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Tonkin is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-398 James Isac Snyder. First Degree Burglary in Indian Country; Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury in Indian Country. Snyder, 34,of Commerce, is charged with forcibly breaking into a residence with intent to assault a male in the home. He is further charged with assaulting the male victim, resulting in serious bodily injury. The FBI, Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, and Quapaw Nation Marshals Service are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon A. Skates is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-410 Alfonso Solis-Melendez. Transportation of Illegal Aliens. Solis-Melendez, 33, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is alleged to have knowingly transported and moved 10 individuals within the United States who had entered the country illegally. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Rubens is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-399 Bobby Ray Stevens. Kidnapping in Indian Country (Count 1); Assault of an Intimate/Dating Partner by Strangling, Suffocating, and Attempting to Strangle and Suffocate in Indian Country (Count 2); Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury in Indian Country (Count 3); Assault Resulting in Substantial Bodily Injury to an Intimate/Dating Partner in Indian Country (Count 4); Tampering with a Witness, Victim, and Informant by Corrupt Persuasion (Counts 5, 6). From Nov. 11, 2022, to Nov. 13, 2022, Stevens, 33, of Bartlesville, held a dating partner against her will. During that time, he strangled the victim and assaulted her repeatedly, causing serious bodily injury and substantial bodily injury. On Dec. 13, 2022, he also tried to stop the victim from communicating with law enforcement, and later that month he successfully persuaded the victim not to appear at federal grand jury proceedings, to which she had been summoned. The FBI and Washington County Sheriff’s Office are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Jiang is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-395 Carlos Ventura Grave. Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien. Grave, 36, a Guatemalan national, is charged with unlawfully reentering the United States on Aug. 12, 2016, at or near Harlingen, Texas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Buscemi is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-411 Ricky Leroy White. Abusive Sexual Contact with a Minor Under 12 Years of Age in Indian Country (Counts 1,2); Abusive Sexual Contact with a Minor in Indian Country (Count3). White, 32, of Pryor, is charged with abusive sexual contact against a minor from Oct. 9, 2014, to Oct. 8, 2015. He is also charged with abusive sexual contact against a second child from June 7, 2010, to June 6, 2017. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Paisner is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-401 John Dillion Wroblewsi. Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition; Possession of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. Wroblewski, 30, of Muskogee, is charged with being a felon in possession of a Glock 9x19mm caliber semi-automatic pistol and 11 rounds of ammunition. He is also charged with possessing with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of fentanyl and with possessing a firearm to further his drug trafficking crime. Homeland Security Investigations and the Tulsa Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam C. Baily is prosecuting the case. 22-CR-412

Source-FBI

DES MOINES, IA – A federal grand jury in Des Moines returned an indictment on December 14, 2022, charging Adair Chief of Police Bradley Wendt with unlawfully obtaining and possessing machine guns.

According to unsealed court documents, Wendt, age 46, exploited his position as the Adair Chief of Police to acquire 10 machine guns purportedly for the official duties and responsibilities of the Adair Police Department, but later resold several of those machine guns at a significant profit.  Wendt also acquired 13 machine guns for his Denison-based gun store, BW Outfitters, through false statements to the ATF that the machine guns were being demonstrated for future potential purchase by the Adair Police Department.

Wendt also exploited his position as the Chief of Police to obtain 10 machine guns for Williams Contracting LLC, a federal firearms licensee operated by his friend, Robert Williams, age 46, of Manning. Williams solicited false documentation from Wendt indicating the Adair Police Department wanted a demonstration of each of the machine guns for future potential purchase by the Adair Police Department.

Between July 2018 and August 2022, Wendt sought to demonstrate or purchase approximately 90 machine guns for the Adair Police Department, which serves a town of less than 800 people.  Wendt and Williams hosted public machine gun shoots, where they charged patrons money to shoot machine guns registered to their gun stores and the Adair Police Department. Wendt and Williams intended to stockpile machine guns to later sell at a personal profit.

FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel said “Brad Wendt is charged with exploiting his position as chief of police to unlawfully obtain and sell guns for his own personal profit. The FBI is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to investigate and hold accountable those who violate their oath of office to enrich themselves.”

“This case demonstrates the importance of ATF’s vigilance in regulating federal firearms licensees and bringing to justice those who willfully circumvent federal law in favor of personal profit and abuse public trust. Today’s indictment is the result of seamless collaboration by ATF and our law enforcement partners,” said Fred Winston, Special Agent in Charge, ATF - Kansas City Field Division.

Both defendants are charged with conspiracy to make false statements and defraud the ATF.  Wendt is charged with 18 counts of making a false statement to the ATF and one count of illegal possession of a machine gun. Williams is charged with three counts of making a false statement and aiding and abetting a false statement to the ATF. The Indictment is attached below.

If convicted, Wendt faces a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years. Williams faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The investigation remains ongoing.

U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mikaela Shotwell and Ryan Leemkuil are prosecuting the case.

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

For decades, the FBI has served as the primary agency responsible for investigating allegations of federal election crimes, including campaign finance violations, ballot/voter fraud, and civil rights violations.

With the approaching midterm election, the FBI Springfield Field Office is providing information to voters regarding federal election crimes and how to avoid them and encouraging voters to report suspected violations to FBI Springfield.

“While individual states have primary responsibility for conducting fair and free elections, the FBI plays an important role in protecting federal interests,” said FBI Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge David Nanz. “Our teams of investigators, including election crimes coordinators in each of our 56 field offices, remain vigilant in detecting those trying to undermine our political process and we will aggressively investigate any allegations of voter fraud or other election crimes. Our focus is on protecting elections from potential threats so the American people can have confidence in their democratic process.”

Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against elected officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).

An election crime becomes a federal crime when there are one or more federal candidates on the ballot and one or more of the following occurs:

Election or polling place officials abuse their office;

The conduct involves voter or ballot fraud;

The crime is motivated by hostility toward protected minority groups;

The activity violates federal campaign finance law.

Voter or ballot fraud is one of the more common election crimes and can include:

A voter intentionally giving false information when registering to vote (e.g. false citizenship claims);

An ineligible person votes (e.g., all non-citizens and some convicted felons);

An individual votes more than once in a federal election (e.g., schemes to obtain absentee ballots and or vote in the name of others);

Election officials who inappropriately use their office to benefit a candidate or party (e.g., letting unqualified voters cast ballots, stuffing a ballot box with illegal ballots, or changing ballot tallies); and

A voter receives something of value (e.g. money, cigarettes, drugs) in exchange for voting for a specific candidate or party in a federal election or for registering to vote.

The FBI is standing watch assessing election-related threats, tracking significant complaints, and identifying trends indicative of a coordinated nationwide effort to disrupt the election process. FBI Springfield will have special agents available throughout the coverage area to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. FBI Springfield can be reached at 217-522-9675 or via email at springfield@fbi.gov. In the instance of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places and faster reaction capacity in an emergency.

Source-FBI

 GRAND RAPIDS – A federal jury today convicted two men charged in connection with a conspiracy to kidnap the Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer.

          Adam Fox, of Wyoming, Michigan, and Barry Croft Jr., of Bear, Delaware, were found guilty of conspiracy to kidnap the governor and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against persons or property. Croft was additionally convicted of knowingly possessing an unregistered destructive device, specifically an improvised explosive wrapped in pennies for shrapnel.

          According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Fox and Croft intended to kidnap Governor Whitmer from her vacation cottage near Elk Rapids, Michigan and use the destructive devices to facilitate their plot by harming and hindering the governor’s security detail and any responding law enforcement officers.

          “Today’s verdict confirms this plot was very real and very dangerous,” said former U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge for the Western District of Michigan, appointed to oversee the trial. “These men posed a threat not only to the Governor personally but also to bystanders. No elected leader should have to contend with what Governor Whitmer faced here. She deserves to live in safety, not in fear, just like everyone else in our State. All of our elected leaders deserve that, and the Justice Department will not tolerate violent extremist plots of this nature seeking to undermine our democracy”

          “These defendants believed their anti-government views justified violence,” said Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “Today’s verdict sends a clear message that they were wrong in their assessment. Violence is never the answer. The FBI will continue to investigate anyone who seeks to engage in violence in furtherance of any ideological cause and hold them accountable.”

          Co-conspirator Ty Garbin was sentenced to six years in prison in August 2021 after pleading guilty to the original indictment charging him with conspiracy to kidnap Governor Whitmer. Co-defendant Kaleb James Franks also pleaded guilty to the conspiracy to kidnap charge in February 2022 and is awaiting sentencing. Co-defendants Daniel Joseph Harris and Brandon Michael-Ray Caserta were acquitted of charges at trial earlier this year.

          The kidnapping conspiracy and the conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction are punishable by up to life in prison. Possession of an unregistered destructive device and the possession of an unregistered short barrel rifle are each punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The presiding judge, Judge Robert Jonker, will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

          The FBI’s Detroit Field Office investigated the case with valuable assistance provided by the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, including Michigan State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

          Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nils Kessler and Chris O’Connor conducted this retrial with valuable assistance provided by Trial Attorneys Justin Sher and Taryn Meeks of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Source-Federal Bureau of Investigation

MINNEAPOLIS – A Rochester man has pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization., announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, Muhammad Masood, 30, a licensed medical doctor in Pakistan, was formerly employed as a Research Coordinator at a medical clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, under an H-1B Visa. Between January 2020 and March 2020, Masood made several statements to others, including pledging his allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (“ISIS”) and its leader, and expressing his desire to travel to Syria to fight for ISIS. Masood also expressed his desire to conduct “lone wolf” terrorist attacks in the United States. On Feb. 21, 2020, Masood purchased a plane ticket from Chicago, Illinois to Amman, Jordan, and from there planned to travel to Syria. On March 16, 2020, Masood’s travel plans changed because Jordan closed its borders to incoming travel due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Masood then planned to fly from Minneapolis to Los Angeles to meet up with an individual who he believed would assist him with travel via cargo ship to deliver him to ISIS territory.

On March 19, 2020, Masood traveled from Rochester to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) to board a flight bound for Los Angeles, California. Upon arrival at MSP, Masood checked in for his flight and was subsequently arrested by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Winter, and Dmitriy Slavin and Stephanie Sweeten of the National Security Division.

Source : FBI

BOSTON – A Belgian and Lebanese national holding an Illinois law license has been convicted by a federal jury of fraud and money laundering charges in connection with multiple scams that defrauded victims in several states.

Hassan A. Abbas, 64, of Belgium, was convicted following a six-day jury trial of one count of money laundering conspiracy, one count of money laundering, two counts of unlawful monetary transactions and two counts of wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for Sept. 2022. Abbas was indicted in January 2020 and subsequently charged in a superseding indictment in November 2020.

Read-Helplessness in the Face of Dirt

“The defendant was part of a scheme that toyed with people’s emotions, deceiving them to take their money. The funds he swindled were supposed to be used as the down payment on a home or to fund a comfortable retirement. There are real victims in financial frauds and my office fights for victims. We always have and we always will.” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins.

- Legalizing Crime and Criminality

“Hassan Abbas should be ashamed of himself for using his law license as a shield to exploit the hopes and dreams of innocent victims to line his own pockets. He targeted, preyed upon, and systematically ripped them off without a second thought,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “Last year, Massachusetts residents reported losing more than $83 million due to romance and business email compromise scams, and the FBI is committed to holding the criminals behind these scams accountable for the harm they do to everyday citizens and our financial institutions.”

-Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

Between June 2017 and January 2019, Abbas and others defrauded victims through a series of romance, business email compromise (BEC), and other scams designed to trick victims into wiring monies to bank accounts they controlled. A BEC scheme is a sophisticated fraud often targeting individuals and businesses involved in wire transfer payments. The fraud is carried out by compromising and/or “spoofing” legitimate business email accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques, to cause victims to transfer funds to accounts controlled by the scammers. In romance scams, perpetrators generally create fictitious online personas to develop online romantic relationships with individuals in the U.S., and then leverage those relationships to obtain money and/or property. 

-Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

Abbas created sham corporate entities and opened bank accounts in the name of those entities. Under false pretenses, both individual and corporate victims were then instructed to wire funds into the accounts Abbas controlled. Some victims were in the process of buying homes and believed the funds were for that purpose, including two Massachusetts victims who were tricked into wiring money to an individual they believed was their real estate broker. Others, including a third Massachusetts victim, believed they were transferring funds on behalf of or for the benefit of their romantic partners. Corporate victims were targeted as part of the scheme as well and were deceived into remitting invoice payments to the accounts Abbas controlled. 

Shortly after receiving the victim funds, Abbas transferred the funds to overseas accounts, domestic personal accounts or spent the funds on personal expenses.  

-Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of money laundering provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000, or twice the value of the criminally derived property. The charge of unlawful monetary transaction provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the value of the criminally derived property. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

U.S. Attorney Rollins and FBI SAC Bonavolonta made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Essex County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mackenzie A. Queenin and David Holcomb of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.

Source : FBI

Obtained personal identifying information of more than 20,000 Americans to submit fraudulent claims for more than $2 million in federally funded payments since 2017

Tacoma – A 45-year-old resident of Lekki, Nigeria, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for using stolen identities to claim hundreds of thousands of dollars in pandemic-related unemployment benefits, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Abidemi Rufai has been in custody since his arrest at New York’s JFK airport in May 2021.  At the time of his arrest, Rufai was the Special Assistant to the Governor of Nigeria’s Ogun State. 

Read-Helplessness in the Face of Dirt

According to the plea agreement, since 2017, Rufai unlawfully obtained the personal identifying information for more than 20,000 Americans to submit more than $2 million in claims for federally funded benefits under a variety of relief programs.  The various agencies involved paid out more than $600,000.

The largest amount of fraud was committed against the Washington State Employment Security Department, which paid out $350,763 in fraudulent pandemic unemployment claims to accounts controlled by Rufai.  Rufai also submitted fraudulent pandemic unemployment claims in at least 17 other states. 

-Legalizing Crime and Criminality

Rufai also defrauded the Small Business Administration (SBA) by attempting to obtain Economic Injury Disaster loans (EIDL) tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Between April 8, 2020, and June 26, 2020, he submitted 19 fraudulent EIDL applications.  SBA paid out $10,000 based on the applications.

Between 2017 and 2020, Rufai attempted to obtain more than $1.7 million in IRS tax refunds by submitting 675 false claims.  The IRS paid out $90,877 on these claims.

-Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

Rufai’s efforts to enrich himself with false disaster claims did not start with COVID-19.  In September and October 2017, he submitted 49 disaster relief claims connected to Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma.  He filed $24,500 in false claims and was paid on 13 claims totaling $6,500.

Rufai has agreed to pay full restitution to the defrauded agencies.

-Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

Wire fraud in relation to a presidentially declared major disaster or emergency is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.  Aggravated identity theft is punishable two years in prison to follow any prison term imposed on another charge.  Prosecutors have agreed to recommend no more than 71 months in prison.  The recommendation is not binding on U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle, who will determine the appropriate sentence on August 15, 2022, after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, and the United States Small Business Administration Office of the Inspector General.  The Washington Employment Security Department is cooperating in the investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth Wilkinson and Cindy Chang of the Western District of Washington.

-Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form athttps://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form

Source-FBI

Four Russian Government Employees Charged in Two Historical Hacking Campaigns Targeting Critical Infrastructure Worldwide

Defendants’ Separate Campaigns Both Targeted Software and Hardware for Operational Technology Systems

The Department of Justice unsealed two indictments today charging four defendants, all Russian nationals who worked for the Russian government, with attempting, supporting and conducting computer intrusions that together, in two separate conspiracies, targeted the global energy sector between 2012 and 2018. In total, these hacking campaigns targeted thousands of computers, at hundreds of companies and organizations, in approximately 135 countries.

Read-Helplessness in the Face of Dirt

A June 2021 indictment returned in the District of Columbia, United States v. Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh, concerns the alleged efforts of an employee of a Russian Ministry of Defense research institute and his co-conspirators to damage critical infrastructure outside the United States, thereby causing two separate emergency shutdowns at a foreign targeted facility. The conspiracy subsequently attempted to hack the computers of a U.S. company that managed similar critical infrastructure entities in the United States.

An August 2021 indictment returned in the District of Kansas, United States v. Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, et al., details allegations about a separate, two-phased campaign undertaken by three officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and their co-conspirators to target and compromise the computers of hundreds of entities related to the energy sector worldwide. Access to such systems would have provided the Russian government the ability to, among other things, disrupt and damage such computer systems at a future time of its choosing.

-Legalizing Crime and Criminality

“Russian state-sponsored hackers pose a serious and persistent threat to critical infrastructure both in the United States and around the world,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Although the criminal charges unsealed today reflect past activity, they make crystal clear the urgent ongoing need for American businesses to harden their defenses and remain vigilant. Alongside our partners here at home and abroad, the Department of Justice is committed to exposing and holding accountable state-sponsored hackers who threaten our critical infrastructure with cyber-attacks.” 

“The FBI, along with our federal and international partners, is laser-focused on countering the significant cyber threat Russia poses to our critical infrastructure,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “We will continue to identify and quickly direct response assets to victims of Russian cyber activity; to arm our partners with the information that they need to deploy their own tools against the adversary; and to attribute the misconduct and impose consequences both seen and unseen.”

-Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

“We face no greater cyber threat than actors seeking to compromise critical infrastructure, offenses which could harm those working at affected plants as well as the citizens who depend on them,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “The department and my office will ensure that those attacking operational technology will be identified and prosecuted.”

“The potential of cyberattacks to disrupt, if not paralyze, the delivery of critical energy services to hospitals, homes, businesses and other locations essential to sustaining our communities is a reality in today’s world,” said U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard for the District of Kansas. “We must acknowledge there are individuals actively seeking to wreak havoc on our nation’s vital infrastructure system, and we must remain vigilant in our effort to thwart such attacks. The Department of Justice is committed to the pursuit and prosecution of accused hackers as part of its mission to protect the safety and security of our nation.”

-Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

In addition to unsealing these charges, the U.S. government is taking action to enhance private sector network defense efforts and disrupt similar malicious activity.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has already released numerous Technical Alerts, ICS Alerts and Malware Analysis Reports regarding Russia’s malign cyber activities, including the campaigns discussed in the indictments. These are located at: https://www.cisa.gov/shields-up

United States v. Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh – defendant installed backdoors and launched malware designed to compromise the safety of energy facilities

In June 2021, a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh (Евгений Викторович Гладких), 36, a computer programmer employed by an institute affiliated with the Russian Ministry of Defense, for his role in a campaign to hack industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) of global energy facilities using techniques designed to enable future physical damage with potentially catastrophic effects.

According to the indictment, between May and September 2017, the defendant and co-conspirators hacked the systems of a foreign refinery and installed malware, which cyber security researchers have referred to as “Triton” or “Trisis,” on a safety system produced by Schneider Electric, a multinational corporation. The conspirators designed the Triton malware to prevent the refinery’s safety systems from functioning (i.e., by causing the ICS to operate in an unsafe manner while appearing to be operating normally), granting the defendant and his co-conspirators the ability to cause damage to the refinery, injury to anyone nearby, and economic harm. However, when the defendant deployed the Triton malware, it caused a fault that led the refinery’s Schneider Electric safety systems to initiate two automatic emergency shutdowns of the refinery’s operations. Between February and July 2018, the conspirators researched similar refineries in the United States, which were owned by a U.S. company, and unsuccessfully attempted to hack the U.S. company’s computer systems.

-Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

The three-count indictment alleges that Gladkikh was an employee of the State Research Center of the Russian Federation FGUP Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics’ (Государственный научный центр Российской Федерации федеральное государственное унитарное предприятие Центральный научно-исследовательский институт химии и механики, hereinafter “TsNIIKhM”) Applied Developments Center (“Центр прикладных разработок,” hereinafter “ADC”). On its website, which was modified after the Triton attack became public, TsNIIKhM described itself as the Russian Ministry of Defense’s leading research organization. The ADC, in turn, publicly asserted that it engaged in research concerning information technology-related threats to critical infrastructure (i.e., that its research was defensive in nature).

The defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to cause damage to an energy facility, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of attempt to cause damage to an energy facility, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher B. Brown and Luke Jones for the District of Columbia, in partnership with the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, are prosecuting this case. The FBI’s Washington Field Office conducted the investigation.

The U.S.-based targets of the conspiracy cooperated and provided valuable assistance in the investigation. The Department of Justice and the FBI also expressed appreciation to Schneider Electric for its assistance in the investigation, particularly noting the company’s public outreach and education efforts following the overseas Triton attack.

United States v. Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov, and Marat Valeryevich Tyukov – defendants undertook years-long effort to target and compromise computer systems of energy sector companies

On Aug. 26, 2021, a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, returned an indictment charging three computer hackers, all of whom were residents and nationals of the Russian Federation (Russia) and officers in Military Unit 71330 or “Center 16” of the FSB, with violating U.S. laws related to computer fraud and abuse, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and causing damage to the property of an energy facility.

The FSB hackers, Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov (Павел Александрович Акулов), 36, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov (Михаил Михайлович Гаврилов), 42, and Marat Valeryevich Tyukov (Марат Валерьевич Тюков), 39, were members of a Center 16 operational unit known among cybersecurity researchers as “Dragonfly,” “Berzerk Bear,” “Energetic Bear,” and “Crouching Yeti.” The indictment alleges that, between 2012 and 2017, Akulov, Gavrilov, Tyukov and their co-conspirators, engaged in computer intrusions, including supply chain attacks, in furtherance of the Russian government’s efforts to maintain surreptitious, unauthorized and persistent access to the computer networks of companies and organizations in the international energy sector, including oil and gas firms, nuclear power plants, and utility and power transmission companies. Specifically, the conspirators targeted the software and hardware that controls equipment in power generation facilities, known as ICS or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. Access to such systems would have provided the Russian government the ability to, among other things, disrupt and damage such computer systems at a future time of its choosing.

According to the indictment, the energy sector campaign involved two phases. In the first phase, which took place between 2012 and 2014 and is commonly referred to by cyber security researchers as “Dragonfly” or “Havex,” the conspirators engaged in a supply chain attack, compromising the computer networks of ICS/SCADA system manufacturers and software providers and then hiding malware – known publicly as “Havex” – inside legitimate software updates for such systems. After unsuspecting customers downloaded Havex-infected updates, the conspirators would use the malware to, among other things, create backdoors into infected systems and scan victims’ networks for additional ICS/SCADA devices. Through these and other efforts, including spearphishing and “watering hole” attacks, the conspirators installed malware on more than 17,000 unique devices in the United States and abroad, including ICS/SCADA controllers used by power and energy companies.

In the second phase, which took place between 2014 and 2017 and is commonly referred to as “Dragonfly 2.0,” the conspirators transitioned to more targeted compromises that focused on specific energy sector entities and individuals and engineers who worked with ICS/SCADA systems. As alleged in the indictment, the conspirators’ tactics included spearphishing attacks targeting more than 3,300 users at more than 500 U.S. and international companies and entities, in addition to U.S. government agencies such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In some cases, the spearphishing attacks were successful, including in the compromise of the business network (i.e., involving computers not directly connected to ICS/SCADA equipment) of the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation (Wolf Creek) in Burlington, Kansas, which operates a nuclear power plant. Moreover, after establishing an illegal foothold in a particular network, the conspirators typically used that foothold to penetrate further into the network by obtaining access to other computers and networks at the victim entity.

During the Dragonfly 2.0 phase, the conspirators also undertook a watering hole attack by compromising servers that hosted websites commonly visited by ICS/SCADA system and other energy sector engineers through publicly known vulnerabilities in content management software. When the engineers browsed to a compromised website, the conspirators’ hidden scripts deployed malware designed to capture login credentials onto their computers.

The conspiracy’s hacking campaign targeted victims in the United States and in more than 135 other countries.

Akulov, Gavrilov and Tyukov are charged with conspiracy to cause damage to the property of an energy facility and commit computer fraud and abuse, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Akulov and Gavrilov are also charged with substantive counts of wire fraud and computer fraud related to unlawfully obtaining information from computers and causing damage to computers. These offenses carry maximum sentences ranging from five to 20 years in prison. Finally, Akulov and Gavrilov are also charged with three counts of aggravated identity theft, each of which carry a minimum sentence of two years consecutive to any other sentence imposed.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Rask, Christopher Oakley and Ryan Huschka forthe District of Kansas, and Counsel for Cyber Investigations Ali Ahmad and Trial Attorney Christine Bonomo of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting this case. The FBI’s Portland and Richmond field offices conducted the investigation, with the assistance of the FBI’s Cyber Division.

Numerous victims, including Wolf Creek and its owners Evergy and the Kansas Electric Power Cooperative, cooperated and provided invaluable assistance in the investigation.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Source-FBI

Press Statement

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

March 21, 2022

The Department of State is taking action against PRC officials for their involvement in repressive acts against members of ethnic and religious minority groups and religious and spiritual practitioners inside and outside of China’s borders, including within the United States.

Read-Helplessness in the Face of Dirt

The United States rejects efforts by PRC officials to harass, intimidate, surveil, and abduct members of ethnic and religious minority groups, including those who seek safety abroad, and U.S. citizens, who speak out on behalf of these vulnerable populations. We are committed to defending human rights around the world and will continue to use all diplomatic and economic measures to promote accountability.

-Legalizing Crime and Criminality

Today’s action imposes visa restrictions on PRC officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, policies or actions aimed at repressing religious and spiritual practitioners, members of ethnic minority groups, dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists, labor organizers, civil society organizers, and peaceful protestors in China and beyond.

-Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

We again call on the PRC government to cease its acts of transnational repression, including attempting to silence Uyghur American activists and other Uyghur individuals serving the American people by denying exit permission to their family members in China.

The United States reaffirms its support for those who bravely speak out despite the threat of retaliation. We call on the PRC government to end its ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, repressive policies in Tibet, crackdown on fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, and human rights violations and abuses, including violations of religious freedom, elsewhere in the country.

-Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

We will continue to work with the international community to promote accountability for PRC officials responsible for atrocities and human rights violations and abuses wherever they occur, including within China, the United States, and elsewhere around the world.

-Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

Source-FBI

Nigerian National Pleads Guilty To Participating In Scheme To Conduct Cyber Intrusions To Steal Payroll Deposits

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that CHARLES ONUS pled guilty to computer fraud in connection with a scheme to conduct cyber intrusions in order to steal payroll deposits from multiple user accounts maintained by a company that provides human resources and payroll services to employers across the United States. ONUS was previously arrested on April 14, 2021 in San Francisco while traveling to the United States from Nigeria and has been detained since his arrest. ONUS pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe.

Read-Legalizing Crime and Criminality

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Charles Onus admitted to participating in a scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of hard-earned dollars from workers across the United States by hacking into a payroll company’s system and diverting payroll deposits to prepaid debit cards he controlled. Our Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to zealously arrest and prosecute those who seek to commit cybercrimes targeting Americans from behind a keyboard abroad.”

-Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

According to the Indictment, public court filings, and statements made in court:

From at least in or about July 2017 through at least in or about 2018, ONUS participated in a scheme to conduct cyber intrusions of multiple user accounts maintained by a company that provides human resources and payroll services to employers across the United States (the “Company”), in order to steal payroll deposits processed by the Company.

-Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

During the course of the scheme, unauthorized access was obtained to over 5,500 Company user accounts through a cyber intrusion technique referred to as “credential stuffing.” During a credential stuffing attack, a cyber threat actor collects stolen credentials, or username and password pairs, obtained from other large-scale data breaches of other companies. The threat actor then systematically attempts to use those stolen credentials to obtain unauthorized access to accounts held by the same user with other companies and providers, to compromise accounts where the user has maintained the same password.

After a Company user account was compromised, the bank account information designated by the user of the account was changed so that ONUS would receive the user’s payroll to a prepaid debit card that was under ONUS’s control.

From at least in or about July 2017 through at least in or about 2018, at least approximately 5,500 Company user accounts were compromised and more than approximately $800,000 in payroll funds were fraudulently diverted to prepaid debit cards, including those under the control of ONUS. The compromised Company user accounts were associated with employers whose payroll was processed by the Company, including employers located in the Southern District of New York.

-Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

ONUS was arrested on April 14, 2021 at San Francisco International Airport after arriving on a flight from Abuja, Nigeria. According to statements ONUS made to U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the airport, ONUS was traveling to the United States for a two-week vacation in Las Vegas.

* * *

ONUS, 34, a resident and national of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, pled guilty to one count of computer fraud for unauthorized access to a protected computer to further intended fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

ONUS is scheduled be sentenced on May 12, 2022, by Judge Gardephe.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and IRS-CI. Mr. Williams also thanked the New York City Police Department, the FBI New York Cyber Task Force, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the FBI Field Office in San Francisco for their assistance in the investigation of this case.

The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Sagar K. Ravi is in charge of the prosecution.

Source-FBI

Drug Dealer Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Selling the Fentanyl that Resulted in Death of User; Longest Sentence to Date

SAN DIEGO – Jahvaris Lamoun Springfield was sentenced in federal court today to 300 months in prison for selling the fentanyl pills that resulted in the fatal overdose of U.S. Army veteran Brendan James Gallagher on February 5, 2019. This is the longest sentence to date in this district for this crime.

On August 27, 2021, following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Larry Alan Burns, a jury convicted Springfield of causing Gallagher’s death by distributing fentanyl to Gallagher on February 5, 2019.

Read-Legalizing Crime and Criminality

The evidence presented at trial showed that Gallagher was a U.S. Army veteran who served overseas in Afghanistan. Upon his return to the United States, Gallagher was honorably discharged. In 2018, Gallagher moved from Boston to San Diego in an attempt to break his addiction. However, Gallagher turned to opioid drugs in the form of counterfeit oxycontin pills later that year.

-Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

The evidence also showed that, on the afternoon of February 5, 2019, Gallagher sent text messages to Springfield seeking to purchase oxycontin pills. Later that day, Gallagher’s roommates called 911 to report that Gallagher was nonresponsive in his bedroom. When agents arrived at the residence, they found two counterfeit oxycontin pills that tested positive for fentanyl. Additionally, Gallagher’s autopsy showed a fatal concentration of fentanyl in his blood. In the investigation that followed, agents obtained evidence showing that Springfield sold Gallagher pills on February 5, 2019. When agents arrested Springfield, they found counterfeit oxycontin pills that tested positive for fentanyl in the vehicle Springfield had been driving.

DEA Narcotics Task Force Team 10 led the investigation in this case. Team 10 is a specialty unit, with investigators from HSI, FBI, San Diego Police Department, CA Department of Health Care Services, and the San Diego District Attorney’s Office, that investigates overdose deaths in San Diego.  Team 10 responds to the discovery of overdose victims and aggressively pursues criminal cases, up the distribution chain, against both the dealers and their sources of supply.

-Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

“This is the longest federal sentence to date in a case of a drug dealer being held responsible for the death of a customer in the Southern District of California, and it should put dealers and those who supply them on notice.  Every time we have an overdose death, law enforcement will come looking for you, because lives are at stake,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “We will not stop with the street-level dealers but will follow the supply chain as far up as necessary and will use every available criminal and civil tool to combat this deadly epidemic and stop these tragic losses.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team as well as DEA Team 10 investigators for their hard work on the case.

-Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

“Today’s sentencing of Jahvaris Springfield is a reflection of the hard work of the investigators assigned to DEA’s Team 10,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Shelly S. Howe.  “These dedicated men and women work tirelessly around the clock to hold drug dealers accountable for the deaths they are causing and to bring justice to families who have lost their loved ones. This 25-year sentence is proof that their efforts have paid off.”

The United States Attorney’s Office is working closely with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, the San Diego Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal, state and local law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute cases targeting those who supply drugs in fatal overdose cases.

Source-FBI

                                                                 Press Release

 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal judge sentenced two Nigerian nationals yesterday for their role in an international money laundering conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr. 

Read-Legalizing Crime and Criminality

U.S. District Court Judge Anna M. Manasco sentenced Paulinus Ebhodaghe, 40, of Clementon, New Jersey to 46 months in prison.  Ebhodaghe pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in September 2021. Ohimai Asikhia, 37, of Glassboro, New Jersey, was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Asikhia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in March 2021.

-Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

“The defendants helped cybercriminals obscure the source of their ill-gotten gains and squirrel away fraud proceeds in overseas accounts,” U.S. Attorney Escalona said.  “Citizens are urged to carefully scrutinize any email directing the transfer of money via wire. I would like to thank the FBI for their hard work in tracking down and bringing these defendants to justice.”

“Business email compromise is one of the most financially damaging online crimes,” SAC Sharp said. It exploits the fact that so many of us rely on email to conduct business—both personal and professional. If you or your company fall victim to BEC, it’s important that you act quickly and notify your financial institution. Then, immediately file a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, at www.ic3.gov.''

-Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

According to court documents, from June 2018 through November 2018, Ebhodaghe and Asikhia helped launder hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraud proceeds. During the course of the conspiracy, they would receive wire transfers from business email compromise, romance scam, and other fraud victims; move the fraud proceeds between bank accounts to disguise their origin and conceal their fraudulent nature; and then wire the proceeds to bank accounts in Nigeria or use them to purchase automobiles that were shipped overseas. Ebhodaghe and Asikhia typically received fees of twenty percent or more of the funds that they laundered.

The FBI investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Canter.

Source-FBI

-Government Workers-A Subject of Debate

Transcript 

Steve Lewis: Violent crime.  

The spike in violent crime has been felt in cities and towns throughout the country. But what can be done?

On this episode of Inside the FBI, Michael Kulstad sits down with FBI Executive Assistant Director Brian Turner to talk about the violent crime, why it’s on an increase, and what the FBI is doing about it. Read more here-An Interview with Executive Assistant Director Brian Turner

Source-FBI

Also read-Legalizing Crime and Criminality

               -Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

               -Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

               -Government Workers-A Subject of Debate  

                                                    Press Release

If you feel your systems have been compromised as a result of the Log4j vulnerability or are seeking remediation, we encourage you to employ all recommended mitigations and follow guidance from CISA.

If you think your organization has been compromised as a result of the Log4j vulnerability, visit fbi.gov/log4j to report to the FBI. Please include as much information as possible to assist the FBI and CISA in determining prioritization for victim outreach.

Due to the potential scale of this incident, the FBI and CISA may be unable to respond to each victim individually, but all information we receive will be useful in countering this threat. As always, we stand ready to assist any impacted entities.

Source-FBI

Also read-Legalizing Crime and Criminality

                 -Landlords and Tenants Associations, Crime and Criminality

                 -Law Enforcement: The Reactionary Approach

                 -Government Workers-A Subject of Debate