District of Columbia

            WASHINGTON – Angelita Aipoalani, 42, of Waianae, Hawaii, pled guilty on April 1, 2021 in federal court to conspiring with her husband, Hanalei Aipoalani, to embezzle $69,000 from AmeriCorps and to fraudulently obtain more than $11,000 in AmeriCorps education grants.

            The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips, Deborah Jeffrey, Inspector General of AmeriCorps, and Eli S. Miranda Special Agent in Charge, FBI Honolulu Field Office.

            Angelita Aipoalani pled guilty to conspiracy to embezzle from AmeriCorps. That charge carries a statutory maximum of five years and financial penalties. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, Angelita Aipoalani faces a likely recommended sentence of between six and 12 months in prison. The Honorable Reggie B. Walton took the plea and scheduled sentencing for June 24, 2021.

            Hanalei Aipoalani previously pled guilty on March 26, 2021 to embezzlement from AmeriCorps and agreeing to take a bribe relating to CARES Act funds. Both charges carry a statutory maximum of ten years and financial penalties. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, Aipoalani faces a likely recommended sentence of between 70 and 87 months in prison. Hanalei Aipoalani’s sentencing is set for June 24, 2021.

            AmeriCorps is a federally funded network of national service programs that address critical community needs like increasing academic achievement, mentoring youth, fighting poverty, sustaining national parks, preparing for disasters, and more.  AmeriCorps’ national service members commit to service for a set period of time, usually a year, in exchange for a living allowance, funding to be used for college tuition, and other benefits.

            As part of her plea, Angelita Aipoalani admitted to fraudulently enrolling as an AmeriCorps member for multiple years, even though she did not perform the required AmeriCorps service activities. Angelita Aipoalani also admitted to conspiring with Hanalei Aipoalani to fraudulently obtain AmeriCorps education awards for herself even though she had not performed the required AmeriCorps service.

            The Inspector General for AmeriCorps, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals who defraud the AmeriCorps program. If you are aware of fraud, waste, or abuse affecting AmeriCorps or any of its programs, contact the AmeriCorps Office of Inspector General Hotline at 1-800-452-8210 or [email protected].

            In announcing the plea, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips, Inspector General Jeffrey, and Special Agent in Charge Miranda commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Inspector General for AmeriCorps and the FBI’s Honolulu Field office. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leslie A. Goemaat and Peter Lallas of the Fraud Section, Amanda Vaughn of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Bianca Forde and Paralegal Specialists Mariela Andrade, Stephanie Frijas, and Joseph McClanahan.

WASHINGTON – Paul Michael Guertin (“Guertin”), 40, of Arizona and former resident of Washington, DC, was indicted on March 29, 2021 by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia for wire fraud and obstructing an official proceeding. The indictment was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Special Agent in Charge Elisabeth Heller, of the U.S. Department of State, Office of Inspector General. 

            Guertin was a Foreign Service Officer who served on multiple State Department assignments, including overseas postings to U.S. diplomatic missions in Shanghai, China and Islamabad, Pakistan, and a posting to the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at State Department headquarters in Washington, DC. As a condition of his employment, Guertin was required to apply for and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.  According to the indictment, Guertin intentionally concealed information on his SF-86 background investigation questionnaires and in interviews with State Department background investigators. He withheld information about several categories of conduct, including an undisclosed sexual relationship with a Chinese national, whose U.S. visa application was adjudicated by Guertin while he was serving as a consular officer in Shanghai, China; undisclosed gambling debts; and an undisclosed $225,000 loan from two Chinese nationals, who were directed by Guertin to provide $45,000 of the initial disbursement in the form of cash in $100 bills. 

            An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. 

            This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of State, Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Brown and Thomas Gillice, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Chad Byron.

WASHINGTON – Valerie Nicole Williams, 31, was arrested on March 22, 2021 and charged via criminal complaint with felony Financial Exploitation of an Elderly Person and Financial Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult, in violation of D.C. Code § 22-933.01.  On March 23, 2021, Mechille R. Akinkuotu (a.k.a. Mechille R. Tate), 53, was arrested and charged via criminal complaint with felony Financial Exploitation of an Elderly Person, in violation of the same code provision.

            The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips; Karl Racine, Attorney General for the District of Columbia; and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.

            According to Court records, Williams was the Business Officer Coordinator at Transitions Healthcare Capital City, a skilled nursing facility in the District.  Between October 2018 and August 2019, she used her position to steal $7,421 from seven elderly residents and four vulnerable adult residents at the facility.  Williams forged the signatures of these residents to withdraw funds from the residents’ accounts managed by the facility.  In two instances she also redirected money orders intended for residents into her own account.

            Also according to Court records, Akinkuotu was the home health aide for an elderly man with limited mobility.  Between January and April 2020, she stole $8,076.78 from the victim by using his debit card for unauthorized transactions including purchases at Target, Mary Kaye Cosmetics, and nail salons, as well as ATM withdrawals.  Status hearings for both Williams and Akinkuotu have been scheduled for late August 2021.

            A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

            In announcing the relevant charges on March 22 and 23, 2021, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips, Attorney General Racine, and Inspector General Lucas commended the work of those who investigated the cases from the District of Columbia’s Office of the Attorney General and Office of the Inspector General. They also cited the efforts of Special Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer C. Mika, on detail from the Office of the Attorney General to handle financial crimes cases involving elderly victims, who investigated and is prosecuting both cases for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

            This prosecution is part of the Office’s wider efforts to combat crimes against seniors and vulnerable adults. In 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia simultaneously launched initiatives to address the abuse and exploitation of older adults. The Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Initiative at the U.S. Attorney’s Office expanded its response to criminal and civil violations targeting older adults. The initiative has enabled the U.S. Attorney’s Office to develop and coordinate further its prosecution of these cases and enhance its overall support of older or vulnerable victims. The team consists of experienced prosecutors and victim advocates from across the Office, to include the Superior Court, Criminal, and Civil Divisions, as well as the Victim Witness Assistance Unit. This prosecution is indicative of the continued collaboration between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General to prosecute cases of this kind.

WASHINGTON – Katherine Emma Ross, 29, formerly of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from a D.C. law firm. The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips, Matthew S. Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, and Metropolitan Police Department Acting Chief Robert J. Contee III.

            According to the Statement of Facts filed in conjunction with Ross’ guilty plea, Ross was employed by the Victim-Law-Firm as an hourly employee in a non-lawyer capacity. Without permission of the Victim-Law-Firm or its owner, Ross wrote checks to herself in amounts that she was not owed, forged signatures on those checks, and cashed the checks at bank branches in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland. She acknowledged that she stole at least $320,000 from the Victim-Law-Firm and its owner through her scheme.

            Ross pled guilty to one count of bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344. The maximum sentence for bank fraud is thirty years of imprisonment. Under federal sentencing guidelines, however, she faces a likely recommended sentence of between 30 and 41 months in prison. The Honorable Reggie B. Walton, who accepted Ross’ guilty plea, scheduled sentencing for June 29, 2021.

            In announcing the guilty plea, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips, Special Agent in Charge Miller, and Acting Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Secret Service’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Michon Tart, Forensic Accountant Bryan Snitselaar, and Assistant United States Attorney Kondi Kleinman.

Note: A full copy of the indictment can be viewed

WASHINGTON — Two individuals associated with the Oath Keepers, a large but loosely organized collection of individuals who explicitly focus on the recruitment of current and former military, law enforcement and first responder personnel, were indicted yesterday in federal court in the District of Columbia for conspiring to obstruct Congress, among other charges. James and Minuta are the 11th and 12th defendants to be charged in this case.

Joshua James, 33, of Arab, Alabama, was arrested on March 9, 2021 in Arab, Alabama; and Roberto Minuta, 36, of Prosper, Texas, was arrested on March 7, 2021, in Newburgh, New York. Both individuals were charged by superseding indictment with conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. If convicted, James and Minuta each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

According to the charging documents, James and Minuta communicated with co-conspirators in advance of the Jan. 6, 2021, incursion on the U.S. Capitol. The indictment alleges frequent and consistent communication leading up to the attack, such as in reserving hotel rooms and making phone calls to co-conspirators the morning of the breach.

According to the indictment, in response to a call for individuals to head to the Capitol after the building was breached, James and Minuta drove to the Capitol in a golf cart, at times swerving around law enforcement vehicles with Minuta stating, “Patriots are storming the Capitol…so we’re en route in a grand theft auto golf cart to the Capitol building right now…it’s going down guys; it’s literally going down right now Patriots storming the Capitol building…”

Once they arrived, Minuta aggressively berated and taunted law enforcement officers in riot gear guarding the perimeter of the Capitol near the East side of the building. At 3:15 p.m., Minuta and James forcibly entered the Capitol building through the same east side Rotunda doors through which their alleged co-conspirators had entered earlier.

They then stormed the building, wearing military gear.  Minuta additionally wore hard-knuckle tactical gloves, ballistic goggles, a radio with an earpiece and bear spray. Video captures Minuta yelling at an officer: “All that’s left is the Second Amendment!” as he exited the building at 3:19 p.m. Not long after 4:00 p.m., individuals who breached the Capitol – including James, Minuta and many of their alleged co-conspirators – gathered together approximately 100 feet from the Capitol near the northeast corner of the building.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of New York, Eastern District of Texas and Northern District of Alabama. The case is being investigated by the FBI’s New York, Dallas, Birmingham and Washington Field Offices.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

The charges contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

            WASHINGTON – Hanalei Aipoalani, 42, of Waianae, Hawaii, pled guilty in federal court today to embezzling more than $500,000 from AmeriCorps and to agreeing to accept a bribe for the administration of grants under the CARES Act.

            The announcement was made by Channing D. Phillips, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Columbia; Eli S. Miranda, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Honolulu Field Office; and Deborah Jeffrey, Inspector General of AmeriCorps.

            Aipoalani pled guilty to embezzlement and agreeing to take a bribe. Both charges carry a statutory maximum of 10 years and financial penalties. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, Aipoalani faces a likely recommended sentence of between 70 and 87 months in prison. The Honorable Reggie B. Walton took the plea and scheduled sentencing for June 24, 2021.

            “The United States Department of Justice will prosecute, to the fullest extent of the law, those individuals who choose to abuse their positions of power to enrich themselves at the cost of the American people,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips.

            “The defendant conspired to enrich himself with taxpayer dollars intended to support at-risk communities in Hawai’i, he victimized legitimate volunteers and others by stealing their identities to perpetrate multiple fraud schemes, and he submitted falsified documentation and certifications to the government, all to the detriment of their community.  Our investigation also disrupted an ongoing scheme to steal much-needed pandemic relief funds.  I commend U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their partnership on this case,” said Deborah Jeffrey, Inspector General of AmeriCorps

            “Programs such as AmeriCorps are designed to impact the nation in the most positive ways. Their goal is to help others and to meet the critical needs of the communities they serve”, said Special Agent in Charge Eli S. Miranda. “AmeriCorps trusted Hanalei Aipoalani with their mission in the State of Hawai’i and were ultimately betrayed. Aipoalani exploited his position and intentionally stole funds meant for the betterment of the community for his own selfish entitlements. The FBI will never stand for this and will enthusiastically identify and pursue anyone who violates the public’s trust.”

            AmeriCorps is a federally funded network of national service programs that address critical community needs like increasing academic achievement, mentoring youth, fighting poverty, sustaining national parks, preparing for disasters, and more.  AmeriCorps’ national service members commit to service for a set period of time, usually a year, in exchange for a living allowance, funding to be used for college tuition, and other benefits.

            From December 2014 through May 2019, Aipoalani embezzled more than $527,000 from a non-profit that hosted an AmeriCorps program, by submitting false claims for payments to AmeriCorps members and directing those payments into his own bank accounts and by creating fraudulent invoices from non-profits for reimbursement by AmeriCorps.  As part of his embezzlement, Aipoalani used at least nine inactive or former AmeriCorps’ members’ names, without their knowledge or consent, to fraudulently claim living allowances and other payments, which he then diverted to his own use.

            As part of his plea, Aipoalani admitted to conspiring with his wife, Angelita Aipoalani, to enroll Angelita Aipoalani as an AmeriCorps member, even though she did not perform AmeriCorps service activities, and to cause a second non-profit to pay Angelita Aipoalani more than $69,000 for no compensable work. Aipoalani also admitted to engaging in a scheme to fraudulently obtain AmeriCorps education awards for Angelita Aipoalani.

            Angelita Aipoalani has been separately charged with conspiring to embezzle from Americorps.

            The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law in or about March 2020, provided financial relief to individuals, businesses, states, and localities suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other relief programs, the CARES Act created a $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund ("CRF") to be distributed to states, localities, and tribal governments to support expenditures incurred due to COVID-19. Government entities that received money from the CRF could use the funds, among other things, to make grants to small businesses to reimburse the costs of business interruption caused by required closures and to provide economic relief for those suffering employment interruption.

            In August 2020, Aipoalani was hired to serve as Honolulu City and County’s Department of Community Service’s CARES Program Administrator and was responsible for administering CRF programs. In that capacity, Aipoalani agreed to accept a financial benefit from an applicant who filed two fraudulent applications for CARES Act Funds under the agreement that Aipoalani would influence the approval of the grant applications and would receive a financial benefit in return for the approvals.

            The FBI, the Inspector General for AmeriCorps, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals who defraud the AmeriCorps program and programs under the CARES Act. If you are aware of fraud, waste, or abuse affecting AmeriCorps or any of its programs, contact the AmeriCorps Office of Inspector General Hotline at 1-800-452-8210 or [email protected].

            In announcing the plea, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips, Special Agent in Charge Miranda, and Inspector General Jeffrey commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Honolulu Field office and the Inspector General for AmeriCorps. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leslie A. Goemaat and Peter Lallas of the Fraud Section, Amanda Vaughn of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Bianca Forde, and Paralegal Specialists Mariela Andrade, Stephanie Frijas, and Joseph McClanahan.

Note: Thompson's

WASHINGTON – A Minnesota woman pleaded guilty today to one count of delivering national defense information to aid a foreign government.  

According to court documents, Mariam Taha Thompson, 63, formerly of Rochester, Minnesota, worked as a contract linguist at an overseas U.S. military facility where she was entrusted with a top secret government security clearance. Thompson pleaded guilty to transmitting highly sensitive classified national defense information to a foreign national who she believed would provide the information to Lebanese Hizballah, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

“Thompson jeopardized the lives of members of the U.S. military as well as other individuals supporting the United States in a combat zone when she passed classified information to a person she knew was connected to Lebanese Hizballah, a foreign terrorist organization which intended to use the information to hurt this country,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the Justice Department's National Security Division. “To describe this conduct is to condemn it. She will now be held to account for this disgraceful personal and professional betrayal of country and colleagues.”

“The United States entrusted the defendant with highly-sensitive classified information regarding one of its most critical tools — human intelligence in an active combat zone,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips for the District of Columbia. “The defendant’s complete betrayal of that trust placed the lives of American men and women on the battlefield, and their allies, in grave danger. Thompson’s arrest and prosecution demonstrate that those who intentionally compromise classified information that is entrusted to them will face swift and dire consequences.”

“It’s astounding that an American working for the U.S. military overseas would abandon her country in favor of terrorists,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. for the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “The FBI and its partners placed a high priority on this case because the defendant provided classified defense information to a foreign terrorist organization, information that put members of the U.S. military in harm’s way.”

“Today’s plea is an example of the FBI’s work and commitment to protecting the United States and our national defense information,” said Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono for the FBI Washington Field Office. “Holding a top secret government security clearance bears a responsibility and commitment to our nation, and betrayal of that trust will not be tolerated. The FBI is charged with safeguarding our nation’s information and will work diligently, along with our partners, to protect intelligence and national security information and relentlessly pursue those who choose to betray their country."

During today’s plea hearing, Thompson admitted that, beginning in 2017, she started communicating with her unindicted co-conspirator using a video-chat feature on a secure text and voice messaging application. Over time, Thompson developed a romantic interest in her co-conspirator. Thompson learned that the unindicted co-conspirator had a family member who was in the Lebanese Ministry of the Interior, and that the unindicted co-conspirator claimed to have received a ring from Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Lebanese Hizballah.

In December 2019, while Thompson was assigned to a special operations task force facility in Iraq, the United States launched a series of airstrikes in Iraq targeting Kata’ib Hizballah, an Iranian-backed foreign terrorist organization. These airstrikes culminated in a Jan. 3, 2020, strike that resulted in the death of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qasem Suleimani, as well as the founder of Kata’ib Hizballah, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Following Suleimani’s death, the unindicted co-conspirator started asking Thompson to provide “them” with information about the human assets who had helped the United States to target Suleimani. Thompson admitted that she understood “them” to be Lebanese Hizballah, including an unnamed high-ranking military commander.

After receiving this request for information in early January 2020, Thompson began accessing dozens of files concerning human intelligence sources, including true names, personal identification data, background information and photographs of the human assets, as well as operational cables detailing information the assets provided to the U.S. government. Thompson used several techniques to pass this information on to the unindicted co-conspirator, who told her that his contacts were pleased with the information, and that the Lebanese Hizballah military commander wanted to meet Thompson when she came to Lebanon.

When she was arrested by the FBI on Feb. 27, 2020, Thompson had used her access to classified national defense information to provide her co-conspirator with the identities of at least eight clandestine human assets; at least 10 U.S. targets; and multiple tactics, techniques and procedures. Thompson intended and had reason to believe that this classified national defense information would be used to the injury of the United States and to the advantage of Lebanese Hizballah.

Thompson faces a maximum sentence of up to life imprisonment. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only. The sentencing of a defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Today’s guilty plea was the result of the significant cooperation between law enforcement, the Department of Defense and the intelligence community in the successful resolution of this investigation led by the FBI Washington Field Office.

National Security Division Trial Attorneys Jennifer Kennedy Gellie of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Jennifer Levy of the Counterterrorism Section, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia John Cummings are prosecuting the case.

WASHINGTON – A Minnesota woman pleaded guilty today to one count of delivering national defense information to aid a foreign government. 

            According to court documents, Mariam Taha Thompson, 63, formerly of Rochester, Minnesota, worked as a contract linguist at an overseas U.S. military facility where she was entrusted with a Top Secret government security clearance. Thompson pleaded guilty to transmitting highly sensitive classified national defense information to a foreign national who she believed would provide the information to Lebanese Hizballah, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

            “The United States entrusted the defendant with highly-sensitive classified information regarding one of its most critical tools — human intelligence in an active combat zone,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips for the District of Columbia. “The defendant’s complete betrayal of that trust placed the lives of American men and women on the battlefield, and their allies, in grave danger. Thompson’s arrest and prosecution demonstrate that those who intentionally compromise classified information that is entrusted to them will face swift and certain consequences.”

            “Thompson jeopardized the lives of members of the U.S. military as well as other individuals supporting the United States in a combat zone when she passed classified information to a person she knew was connected to Lebanese Hizballah, a foreign terrorist organization which intended to use the information to hurt this country,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the Justice Department's National Security Division. “To describe this conduct is to condemn it. She will now be held to account for this disgraceful personal and professional betrayal of country and colleagues.”

            “It’s astounding that an American working for the U.S. military overseas would abandon her country in favor of terrorists,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “The FBI and its partners placed a high priority on this case because the defendant provided classified defense information to a foreign terrorist organization, information that put members of the U.S. military in harm’s way.”

            “Today’s plea is an example of the FBI’s work and commitment to protecting the U.S. and our national defense information,” said Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “Holding a Top Secret government security clearance bears a responsibility and commitment to our nation, and betrayal of that trust will not be tolerated. The FBI is charged with safeguarding our nation’s information and will work diligently, along with our partners, to protect intelligence and national security information and relentlessly pursue those who choose to betray their country."

            During today’s plea hearing, Thompson admitted that, beginning in 2017, she started communicating with her unindicted co-conspirator using a video-chat feature on a secure text and voice messaging application. Over time, Thompson developed a romantic interest in her co-conspirator. Thompson learned that the unindicted co-conspirator had a family member who was in the Lebanese Ministry of the Interior, and that the unindicted co-conspirator claimed to have received a ring from Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Lebanese Hizballah.

            In December 2019, while Thompson was assigned to a Special Operations Task Force facility in Iraq, the United States launched a series of airstrikes in Iraq targeting Kata’ib Hizballah, an Iranian-backed foreign terrorist organization. These airstrikes culminated in a Jan. 3, 2020, strike that resulted in the death of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qasem Suleimani, as well as the founder of Kata’ib Hizballah, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

            Following Suleimani’s death, the unindicted co-conspirator started asking Thompson to provide “them” with information about the human assets who had helped the United States to target Suleimani. Thompson admitted that she understood “them” to be Lebanese Hizballah, including an unnamed high-ranking military commander.

            After receiving this request for information in early January 2020, Thompson began accessing dozens of files concerning human intelligence sources, including true names, personal identification data, background information, and photographs of the human assets, as well as operational cables detailing information the assets provided to the U.S. government. Thompson used several techniques to pass this information on to the unindicted co-conspirator, who told her that his contacts were pleased with the information, and that the Lebanese Hizballah military commander wanted to meet Thompson when she came to Lebanon.

            When she was arrested by the FBI on Feb. 27, 2020, Thompson had used her access to classified national defense information to provide her co-conspirator with the identities of at least eight clandestine human assets; at least 10 U.S. targets; and multiple tactics, techniques and procedures. Thompson intended and had reason to believe that this classified national defense information would be used to the injury of the United States and to the advantage of Lebanese Hizballah.

            Thompson faces a maximum sentence of up to life imprisonment. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only. The sentencing of a defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            Today’s guilty plea was the result of the significant cooperation between law enforcement, the Department of Defense and the intelligence community in the successful resolution of this investigation led by the FBI Washington Field Office. National Security Division Trial Attorneys Jennifer Kennedy Gellie of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Jennifer Levy of the Counterterrorism Section, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia John Cummings are prosecuting the case.

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that Sonia Tabizada, 36, of San Jacinto, California, was sentenced to 15 months and 13 days for intentionally obstructing persons in the enjoyment of their free exercise of religious beliefs by threatening to bomb the Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, D.C. 

In May 2019, school officials announced that Visitation Prep, the oldest Catholic school for girls in the country, would begin publishing same-sex wedding announcements in its alumni magazine to advance its teaching that “we are all children of God ... worthy of respect and love.”  According to the plea agreement, Tabizada learned of this announcement and made multiple calls threatening violence in response to the school’s decision.  On May 15, 2019, Tabizada left a voice message stating that she was going to burn and bomb the church.  Tabizada also stated that she was going to kill school officials and students.  Several minutes later, Tabizada left a second voice mail stating that she was going to blow up the school and warned that she would commit “terrorism.”

“No school and no child should be subjected to death threats, because of their religious beliefs,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pamela S. Karlan for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously prosecute violent threats motivated by bias.” 

“The citizens of the District of Columbia and our country are entitled to freely exercise their religious beliefs and to be free from threats of violence based on bias—be it against religion, race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, and other protected characteristics.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is committed to protecting the civil rights of all our citizens and will do so by vigorously enforcing both federal and local hate crime laws.” said Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips for the District of Columbia.

“The free exercise of religion is one of our nation’s most sacred constitutional rights," said Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D'Antuono of the FBI Washington Field Office. "The FBI will continue to prioritize threats of violence and civil rights violations to ensure every citizen and community is free to exercise all of their protected liberties without fear and threats of violence.”

Tabizada was also sentenced to two years of supervised release with special conditions. If Tabizada wants to leave the country she must contact the court and request a modification of the special conditions.

The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kendra Briggs of the District of Columbia’s Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and Trial Attorney Michael J. Songer of the Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case.

            WASHINGTON –The Justice Department announced today that Sonia Tabizada, age 36, of San Jacinto, California, was sentenced to time served of 15 months and 13 days for intentionally obstructing persons in the enjoyment of their free exercise of religious beliefs by threatening to bomb the Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, DC, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 247. 

            In May 2019, school officials announced that Visitation Prep, the oldest Catholic school for girls in the country, would begin publishing same-sex wedding announcements in its alumni magazine to advance its teaching that “we are all children of God ... worthy of respect and love.”  According to the plea agreement, Tabizada learned of this announcement and made multiple calls threatening violence in response to the school’s decision.  On May 15, 2019, Tabizada left a voice message stating that she was going to burn and bomb the church.  Tabizada also stated that she was going to kill school officials and students.  Several minutes later, Tabizada left a second voice mail stating that she was going to blow up the school and warned that she would commit “terrorism.”

            “No school and no child should be subjected to death threats, because of their religious beliefs ” said Pamela S. Karlan, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, “and the Department of Justice will continue to vigorously prosecute violent threats motivated by bias.” 

            “The citizens of the District of Columbia and our country are entitled to freely exercise their religious beliefs and to be free from threats of violence based on bias—be it against religion, race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, and other protected characteristics.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is committed to protecting the civil rights of all our citizens and will do so by vigorously enforcing both federal and local hate crime laws” said Channing D. Phillips, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.

            “The free exercise of religion is one of our nation’s most sacred Constitutional rights," said Steven M. D'Antuono, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office. "The FBI will continue to prioritize threats of violence and civil rights violations to ensure every citizen and community is free to exercise all of their protected liberties without fear and threats of violence.”

            Tabizada was also sentenced to two years of supervised release with special conditions. If Tabizada wants to leave the country she must contact the Court and request a modification of the special conditions.

            The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kendra Briggs of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia’s Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Michael J. Songer.

WASHINGTON – After nearly two years of legal proceedings, Mun Chol Myong (“Mun”), 55, a national of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), has been extradited to the United States.   This case represents the first ever extradition to the United States of a DPRK national.  Mun is accused of laundering money through the U.S. financial system as part of a scheme to provide luxury items to the DPRK.   

            “The indictment alleges that Mun defrauded banks and laundered money in an effort to evade counter-proliferation sanctions imposed on North Korea by the United States and the United Nations,” said John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.  “He is the first North Korean intelligence operative—and the second-ever foreign intelligence operative—to have been extradited to the United States for violations of our laws.  We will continue to use the long reach of our laws to protect the American people from sanctions evasion and other national security threats.”

            “We are pleased that Mun has been extradited and will stand trial for the offenses alleged in the indictment,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips for the District of Columbia.  “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia will always be prepared to protect our nation’s financial system and pursue those who violate our laws, regardless of where they might hide.”

            “One of the FBI’s biggest counterintelligence challenges is bringing overseas defendants to justice, especially in the case of North Korea,” said Alan E. Kohler, Jr. Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “Thanks to the FBI’s partnership with foreign authorities, we’re proud to bring Mun Chol Myong to the United States to face justice, and we hope he will be the first of many.”

            “It is important to underscore the relevance of this first-ever extradition of a North Korean national,” said Michael F. Paul, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis field office. “Our Minneapolis agents worked this case closely with international partners highlighting how FBI special agents are persistent and have an international impact wherever they are.”

            According to the indictment and other court documents unsealed today, between Apr. 2013 and Nov. 2018, Mun and others conspired to covertly and fraudulently access the U.S. financial system.  Mun is alleged to have defrauded U.S. banks and violated both U.S. and U.N. sanctions as part of his money laundering activities in transactions valued at over $1.5 million.  The indictment further alleges that Mun was affiliated with the DPRK’s primary intelligence organization, the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), which is the subject of U.S. and U.N. sanctions.

            Mun has been detained in a foreign country since his arrest by local authorities on May 14, 2019.  He made his initial appearance today in federal court in the District of Columbia, where he was indicted on May 2, 2019.  Mun faces six counts of money laundering, including conspiracy to commit money laundering.

            According to the indictment, Mun and his conspirators went to great lengths to avoid detection of their sanctions-busting operation.  They used a web of front companies and bank accounts registered to false names and removed references to the DPRK from international wire transfer and transactional documents.  By intentionally concealing that their transactions were for the benefit of DPRK entities, Mun and his conspirators deceived U.S. correspondent banks into processing U.S. dollar transactions for the benefit of DPRK entities, which the correspondent banks would have otherwise not processed.           

            This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office and coordinated by the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. The Department of Justice would also like to thank the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Investigative Operations Division (IOD) for providing analytical support during the investigation.

            Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael P. Grady and Tejpal S. Chawla of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney David C. Recker of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.  The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing Mun’s arrest and extradition. The FBI’s Washington Field Office also provided essential support during the extradition process.

            An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Note: A copy of the indctment can be viewed

WASHINGTON – After nearly two years of legal proceedings, Mun Chol Myong (Mun), 55, a national of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), has been extradited to the United States. This case represents the first ever extradition to the United States of a DPRK national. Mun is accused of laundering money through the U.S. financial system as part of a scheme to provide luxury items to the DPRK.

“The indictment alleges that Mun defrauded banks and laundered money in an effort to evade counter-proliferation sanctions imposed on North Korea by the United States and the United Nations,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the Justice Department’s National Security Division. "He is the first North Korean intelligence operative — and the second ever foreign intelligence operative — to have been extradited to the United States for violation of our laws. We will continue to use the long reach of our laws to protect the American people from sanctions evasion and other national security threats.”

“We are pleased that Mun has been extradited and will stand trial for the offenses alleged in the indictment,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips for the District of Columbia. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia will always be prepared to protect our nation’s financial system and pursue those who violate our laws, regardless of where they might hide.”

“One of the FBI’s biggest counterintelligence challenges is bringing overseas defendants to justice, especially in the case of North Korea,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “Thanks to the FBI’s partnership with foreign authorities, we’re proud to bring Mun Chol Myong to the United States to face justice, and we hope he will be the first of many.”

“It is important to underscore the relevance of this first-ever extradition of a North Korean national,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael F. Paul of the FBI’s Minneapolis field office. “Our Minneapolis agents worked this case closely with international partners highlighting how FBI special agents are persistent and have an international impact wherever they are.”

According to the indictment and other court documents unsealed today, between April 2013 and November 2018, Mun and others conspired to covertly and fraudulently access the U.S. financial system. Mun is alleged to have defrauded U.S. banks and violated both U.S. and United Nations (U.N.) sanctions as part of his money laundering activities in transactions valued at over $1.5 million. The indictment further alleges that Mun was affiliated with the DPRK’s primary intelligence organization, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, which is the subject of U.S. and U.N. sanctions.

Mun has been detained in a foreign country since his arrest by local authorities on May 14, 2019. He made his initial appearance today in federal court in the District of Columbia, where he was indicted on May 2, 2019. Mun faces six counts of money laundering, including conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to the indictment, Mun and his conspirators went to great lengths to avoid detection of their sanctions-busting operation. They used a web of front companies and bank accounts registered to false names and removed references to the DPRK from international wire transfer and transactional documents. By intentionally concealing that their transactions were for the benefit of DPRK entities, Mun and his conspirators deceived U.S. correspondent banks into processing U.S. dollar transactions for the benefit of DPRK entities, which the correspondent banks would have otherwise not processed.  

This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office and coordinated by the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. The Department of Justice would also like to thank the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the FBI’s Investigative Operations Division for providing analytical support during the investigation. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing Mun’s arrest and extradition. The FBI’s Washington Field Office also provided essential support during the extradition process.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael P. Grady and Tejpal S. Chawla of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney David C. Recker of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, with support from Paralegal Specialist Brian Rickers and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick, are prosecuting the case. 

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that the International Rescue Committee (“IRC”) has agreed to pay $6.9 million to settle allegations under the False Claims Act related to United States Agency for International Development (“USAID”)-funded programming for beneficiaries affected by the conflict in Syria. The settlement announced on March 16, 2021, is part of a civil resolution involving the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, USAID, and the USAID Office of Inspector General (OIG).   

            IRC is a global humanitarian aid, relief and development nongovernmental organization that provides emergency aid and long-term assistance to refugees. It is headquartered in New York, New York. In the early years of the conflict in Syria, IRC received USAID funding for humanitarian assistance programming, specifically to provide emergency cross-border humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons located within Syria.   

            USAID’s OIG conducted investigations in Turkey into allegations that IRC staff participated in a collusion and kickback scheme with a Turkish supply ring, which included bid-rigging activities in the selection of goods and services contracts for cross-border humanitarian relief into Syria. USAID OIG and the USAO-DC Civil Division also investigated allegations that IRC staff received kickbacks, steered bid procurement tenders, and allowed conflicts of interest between staff and suspect vendors. The investigation revealed that conduct by IRC staff resulted in the procurement of goods at unreasonably high prices, which were subsequently invoiced to USAID from October 2012 to December 2015.

            USAO-DC Civil Division and USAID OIG thoroughly examined all source documents including contracts, proposals, contract terms, and invoices, in the lead-up to IRC’s agreement to pay the United States $6,934,500 to settle the False Claims Act allegations.  

            We are happy to bring this case to resolution and will continue to work with Offices of Inspectors General to ensure that humanitarian aid dollars that are targeted for humanitarian assistance for displaced persons are not compromised by lax oversight controls but are used appropriately to help those in dire need,” said Acting United States Attorney Channing D. Phillips.

            Acting USAID Inspector General Thomas J. Ullom stated, “This settlement sends a strong message that USAID-funded implementers must have systems in place to detect, deter, and prevent fraud in humanitarian assistance programming. Aid organizations that lack proper monitoring and oversight controls over their procurement processes put taxpayer dollars at risk and compromise the delivery of critical assistance to those in need. USAID OIG’s global investigative operations will continue to shine a light on and drive consequences for fraud affecting USAID programming.”

WASHINGTON - As the District of Columbia and this nation have faced the unprecedented public health emergency posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we also have witnessed, in some areas across our nation, an unsettling rise in crime that has targeted Asian-Americans.  These acts are reprehensible and tear at the fabric of our society.  Hate and bias-related crime have no place in our community, and any attack on Asian-Americans is an attack on us all.  While we are making sacrifices and living and working in unusual conditions, we must continue to act responsibly and with compassion towards one another.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia stands in solidarity with the community in seeking to root out hate- and bias-related crime.

The United States Attorney’s Office urges the community to be vigilant and to report any suspected hate- or bias-related crime to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) by dialing 9-1-1 in an emergency or contacting the MPD Hate Crimes Hotline by calling (202) 727-0500 or e-mailing [email protected].

WASHINGTON – Tiara Langston, 29, of District Heights, Maryland, was sentenced Thursday in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to 15 months of incarceration for her role in a scheme that bilked Wells Fargo customers of $124,000 from their accounts.  United States District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth imposed the sentence, also ordering Langston to pay restitution to Wells Fargo which incurred losses on behalf of its customers.

            Langston pleaded guilty on November 30, 2020.  In entering her plea, Langston admitted to participating in a scheme to steal from Wells Fargo’s customers while she was employed at the bank as a teller during 2017.  According to the government’s evidence, Langston used Wells Fargo’s systems to check the account balances of customers without customers’ knowledge.  Langston would then share with a confederate the customer’s name and account balance.  The confederate then entered the bank and withdrew funds from the customer’s account by presenting a forged signature for the customer.  The conspirators used this scheme to steal $124,000 in cash and an $80,000 cashier’s check from two of the bank’s customers.  Wells Fargo was able to detect the theft and stop payment of the $80,000 cashier’s check, thus incurring total losses on behalf of its customers in the amount of the $124,000 in cash that Langston and others stole. 

            In announcing the sentence, Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips commended the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington Field Office, which investigated the case.  He also acknowledged the work of those who are handling the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Stephanie Frijas and Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Borchert. 

WASHINGTON – Lucia Rose DiEmidio, 28, a former background investigator who did work under contract for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), pled guilty today to a charge stemming from her falsification of work on background investigations of federal employees and contractors, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips.

            DiEmidio, of Bohemia, New York, pled guilty in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to making a false statement.  The Honorable Trevor N. McFadden scheduled sentencing for June 1, 2021.  The charge carries a statutory penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

            According to the government’s evidence, DiEmidio was employed by a private contractor that had a contract to supply background investigations on behalf of OPM’s Federal Investigative Services, which subsequently became known as OPM’s National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB).   DiEmidio admitted that, between approximately March 2017 and August 2017, she submitted Reports of Investigation for background investigations in which she falsely represented, about 26 times, that she had interviewed a source or reviewed a record regarding the subject of the background investigation.  In fact, DiEmidio had not conducted the interviews or obtained the records of interest.  These reports were utilized and relied upon by the agencies requesting the background investigations to determine whether the subjects were suitable for positions having access to classified information, for positions impacting national security, for receiving or retaining security clearances, or for positions of public trust.

              On October 1, 2019, the functions and personnel of National Background Investigations Bureau were transferred to the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA).  DeEmidio’s conduct occurred prior to the transition and while conducting work on behalf of OPM. 

            The false representations by DiEmidio have required OPM and DCSA to reopen and rework numerous background investigations that were assigned to her during the time period of her falsifications, at an estimated cost of at least $86,562 to the federal government.

            OPM’s Federal Investigative Services and National Background Investigations Bureau had a robust integrity assurance program which utilizes a variety of methods to ensure the accuracy of reported information.  The falsification of investigative case work by the defendant was detected through the program.

            This is one of numerous cases prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia since 2008 involving false representations by background investigators and record checkers working on federal background investigations.  In addition to DiEmidio, more than 30 other background investigators have been convicted of charges.

            In announcing the plea, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the efforts of Special Agent Christopher J. Sulhoff, Office of the Inspector General, OPM; and Dale A. Walker, Office of the Inspector General, Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.  He also acknowledged the work of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Angeline Thekkumthala, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Rothstein, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Bianca Forde, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.

WASHINGTON – A Pennsylvania and West Virginia man were arrested Sunday on criminal charges related to their alleged conspiring to injure officers and assaulting federal officers, among other charges.

            According to court documents, Julian Elie Khater, 32, of State College, Pennsylvania, and George Pierre Tanios, 39, of Morgantown, West Virginia, were arrested on Sunday in connection with a complaint filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., charging them with conspiring to injure officers and assaulting federal officers, among other charges, on Jan. 6.  Khater was arrested as he disembarked from an airplane at Newark Airport in New Jersey.  Tanios was arrested at his residence in West Virginia.

            Khater and Tanios are each charged with one count of conspiracy to injure an officer; three counts of assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon; one count of civil disorder; one count of obstructing or impeding an official proceeding; one count of physical violence on restricted grounds, while carrying dangerous weapon and resulting in significant bodily injury; and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct, act of physical violence on Capitol grounds.

            According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Khater and Tanios were at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and were observed in video footage working together to assault law enforcement officers with an unknown chemical substance by spraying officers directly in the face and eyes.  During the investigation, it is alleged that law enforcement discovered video that depicted Khater asking Tanios to “give me that bear s*it.” Tanios replied, “Hold on, hold on, not yet, not yet… it’s still early.”  Khater then retrieved a canister from Tanios’ backpack and walked through the crowd to within a few steps of the police perimeter.  The video shows Khater with his right arm up high in the air, appearing to be holding a canister in his right hand and aiming it at the officers’ direction while moving his right arm from side to side.  The complaint affidavit states that Officers Sicknick, Edwards, and Chapman, who were all standing within a few feet of Khater, each reacted to being sprayed in the face.  The officers retreated, bringing their hands to their faces and rushing to find water to wash out their eyes.

            The FBI’s Washington Field Office, with assistance from the FBI Pittsburgh and Newark Field Offices, the United States Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department are investigating the case.

            The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with valuable assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case.

           Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov

        A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct for purposes of establishing probable cause, not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. 

WASHINGTON – A Pennsylvania and West Virginia man were arrested Sunday on criminal charges related to their alleged conspiring to injure officers and assaulting federal officers, among other charges.

According to court documents, Julian Elie Khater, 32, of State College, Pennsylvania, and George Pierre Tanios, 39, of Morgantown, West Virginia, were arrested on Sunday in connection with a complaint filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., charging them with conspiring to injure officers and assaulting federal officers, among other charges, on Jan. 6.  Khater was arrested as he disembarked from an airplane at Newark Airport in New Jersey.  Tanios was arrested at his residence in West Virginia.

Khater and Tanios are each charged with one count of conspiracy to injure an officer; three counts of assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon; one count of civil disorder; one count of obstructing or impeding an official proceeding; one count of physical violence on restricted grounds, while carrying dangerous weapon and resulting in significant bodily injury; and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct, act of physical violence on Capitol grounds.

According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Khater and Tanios were at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and were observed in video footage working together to assault law enforcement officers with an unknown chemical substance by spraying officers directly in the face and eyes.  During the investigation, it is alleged that law enforcement discovered video that depicted Khater asking Tanios to “give me that bear s*it.” Tanios replied, “Hold on, hold on, not yet, not yet… it’s still early.”  Khater then retrieved a canister from Tanios’ backpack and walked through the crowd to within a few steps of the police perimeter.  The video shows Khater with his right arm up high in the air, appearing to be holding a canister in his right hand and aiming it at the officers’ direction while moving his right arm from side to side.  The complaint affidavit states that Officers Sicknick, Edwards, and Chapman, who were all standing within a few feet of Khater, each reacted to being sprayed in the face.  The officers retreated, bringing their hands to their faces and rushing to find water to wash out their eyes.

The FBI’s Washington Field Office, with assistance from the FBI Pittsburgh and Newark Field Offices, the United States Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department are investigating the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with valuable assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov

A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct for purposes of establishing probable cause, not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. 

WASHINGTON – Rashad Liverpool, 28, and Robert Tillery, 45, were each sentenced on Friday, by the Honorable James A. Crowell IV, Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips.  The two former SunTrust Bank employees each pled guilty in February 2020 to financial exploitation of an elderly person, in violation of Title 22, D.C. Code, Section 933.01(a)(3), for defrauding a 72-year-old military widow with diminished capacity of $83,800.  The court ordered both defendants to pay restitution for the entire amount that they each stole.  The court suspended imposition of each defendant’s sentence to the maximum period of incarceration provided for under the D.C. Sentencing Guidelines, effectively sentencing each defendant to the maximum period of supervised probation.   The court may impose incarceration if a defendant violates the terms of probation.

            According to the government’s evidence, during the summer of 2018, Liverpool and Tillery each frequently visited the victim, a client of SunTrust Bank, after normal business hours and against bank policy.  They identified funds that the widow held at Bank of America and took advantage of her diminished capacity in order to move those funds into accounts that they controlled.  Liverpool moved $51,900 into a joint account that he created in his and the victim’s name at Capital One Bank.  He used all of the funds for his own benefit, including two trips to California and one trip to Miami.  During the trip to Miami, Liverpool used the victim’s funds to stay at a beachfront hotel, rent a red Ford Mustang, and purchase items from a mini bar.  Liverpool also made ATM withdrawals totalling $3,200 from the victim’s account while she was hospitalized.  Meanwhile, Tillery withdrew $3,000 in cash from one of the victim’s accounts and wrote himself a check for $25,700 from another.  He used these funds to make purchases at various outlet stores and finance a move to Chicago.  The scheme ended when the victim was hospitalized and a newly appointed attorney-in-fact discovered that the funds were missing.

            In announcing the sentence, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department, specifically Detective Phillipe Moore of the Financial and Cyber Crimes Unit, as well as the work of Investigator Jonathan Rich, of the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia at the time of investigation, who investigated the case together.  He also acknowledged the work of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Mika, Assistant U.S. Attorney Chimnomnso Kalu, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Romano, and Supervisory Victim Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark. 

     This prosecution is part of the Office’s wider efforts to combat crimes against seniors and vulnerable adults. In 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia simultaneously launched initiatives to address the abuse and exploitation of older adults. The Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Initiative at the U.S. Attorney’s Office expanded its response to criminal and civil violations targeting older adults. The initiative has enabled the U.S. Attorney’s Office to develop and coordinate further its prosecution of these cases and enhance its overall support of older or vulnerable victims. The team consists of experienced prosecutors and victim advocates from across the Office, to include the Superior Court, Criminal, and Civil Divisions, as well as the Victim Witness Assistance Unit. This prosecution is indicative of the continued collaboration between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General (from which an attorney is detailed to handle, as a special assistant United States attorney, financial crime cases involving elderly victims) to prosecute cases of this kind.

WASHINGTON – Sincere Howard (“Howard”), 20, and Garrett Hawkins (“Hawkins”), 21, both of Washington, D.C., have been indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia for conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, and cyber stalking. The indictment was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin, Acting Police Chief Robert Contee of the Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”), and Steven D’Antuono, Assistant Director in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”).

      The investigation began after officers from MPD’s Violence Reduction Unit became aware on January 24, 2021, of a live stream on the Instagram social media platform showing an injured and distressed adult male being held against his will and assaulted.  The defendants are alleged to have violently assaulted the victim, on January 23, 2021, with a variety of implements, including an electrical extension cord, all while broadcasting their actions on social media. MPD apprehended both defendants on scene and also recovered a firearm.

     An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. 

     In announcing the indictment, Acting U.S. Attorney Sherwin and FBI Assistant Director in Charge D’Antuono commended the work of MPD’s Violence Reduction Unit who investigated the case.  Finally, they acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emory V. Cole and William Hart, Paralegal Specialist Teesha Tobias, and Legal Assistant Kate Abrey of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON – William Robinson, 41, was sentenced on March 2, 2021, in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to two years of imprisonment for the interstate transportation of stolen property, announced former Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin and James A. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  

            Robinson was a former employee of a non-profit corporation that advocates for policies related to safe food, safe drinking water, and the climate.  Robinson was initially hired by the non-profit corporation in 2012 as a web developer.  After multiple promotions, he became its Chief Technology Officer in 2015.  While working at the non-profit corporation, Robinson devised a scheme to defraud by creating Vulcan Network & Data Security, LLC (“Vulcan”) and arranging a contract for Vulcan to provide web security services to his non-profit corporation employer.  Robinson then created false invoices on behalf of Vulcan and submitted them to his employer’s finance department, requesting payment for purported web security services, testing, and equipment.  In reality, Vulcan never provided any services to the non-profit corporation, which was already paying a separate company for those services.  From April 2017 to September 2019, Robinson submitted 13 false Vulcan invoices to his non-profit corporation employer.  The non-profit corporation paid Vulcan a total of $282,670 for services never provided.  Robinson received all of these funds and used them to pay for personal expenses.

            For the last payment made to Vulcan in the course of this scheme, on October 11, 2019, Robinson asked the non-profit corporation’s finance department to issue a check to Vulcan, along with two other unrelated checks, and give them to a particular employee so that Robinson could hand deliver them.  Robinson offered that employee $50 to deliver the checks to him from Washington, D.C. to Springfield, Virginia.  After the employee made the delivery, Robinson cashed the $22,500 check from Vulcan that same day.

            Robinson was charged via criminal information in October 2020 and entered a guilty plea before the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson on December 1, 2020. 

            In addition to sentencing Robinson to two years in prison, the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson ordered that Robinson serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution and a forfeiture money judgment.

           In announcing the sentence, Acting U.S. Attorney Sherwin and Special Agent in Charge Dawson commended the work of those from the FBI’s Washington Field Office who investigated the case.  They also expressed appreciation to Paralegal Specialists Quiana Dunn-Gordon, Amanda Rohde, and Michon Tart.  Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Macey, who prosecuted the case.

WASHINGTON – Folashade Adufe Horne, 51, of Laurel, Maryland, pled guilty on February 17, 2021 in federal court to defrauding the D.C. Medicaid program out of more than $370,000.

            The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin; James A. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Washington Field Office, Criminal Division; Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General for the region that includes Washington, D.C.; and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.

            Horne pled guilty to health care fraud in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison and financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Horne faces a likely recommended sentence of between 18 and 24 months in prison.  The Honorable Reggie B. Walton took the plea and scheduled sentencing for May 12, 2021.

            At various times between January 2014 and June 2020, Horne was employed by four different home health agencies to serve as a personal care aide for D.C. Medicaid beneficiaries. Horne also was employed full-time by Howard University during this same period. The home health agencies employed Horne to assist Medicaid beneficiaries in performing activities of daily living, such as getting in and out of bed, bathing, dressing, and eating. Horne was supposed to document the care she provided to the Medicaid beneficiaries on timesheets and then submit the timesheets to the home health agencies, which would in turn bill Medicaid for the services that she rendered.

            Horne acknowledged that between January 2014 and June 2020, she caused the D.C. Medicaid Program to issue payments totaling $373,564 for services that she did not render. As part of her fraud scheme, she submitted false timesheets to different home health agencies purporting that she provided personal care aide services that she did not provide. She claimed she provided such services during times when she actually was working her shift as a full-time employee at Howard University Hospital. She claimed to work more than twenty hours in a given day on more than 200 occasions, including 28 days when she asserted that she provided 32 hours of PCA services. She also claimed to provide personal care aide services in the District of Columbia on days when she was not even in the United States.

            The FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, the District of Columbia’s Office of the Inspector General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals who defraud the D.C. Medicaid program. Since October 2019, six former personal care aides have been sentenced in U.S. District Court for defrauding Medicaid. Cases against two other personal care aides remain outstanding. 

            The government counts on the public for tips and assistance in helping stop health care fraud. If you have information about individuals committing health care fraud, please call the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General hotline at (800) HHS‑TIPS [(800) 447-8477].

            Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman of the Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

WASHINGTON – Luis Miguel Teixeira-Spencer, 31, Olatunji Dawodu, 36, both of South Florida, were arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after being indicted on Monday by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia for illegal sales of opioids on the darknet.  The indictment charges the defendants with Conspiracy to Distribute More than 400 Grams of a Mixture and Substance Containing Fentanyl.  Additionally, Alex Ogando, 35, of Providence, Rhode Island, was also arrested February 23, 2021 and charged by complaint with Conspiracy to Distribute More than 400 Grams of a Mixture and Substance Containing Fentanyl.  All three defendants will have initial appearances before a federal magistrate judge today.

            The indictment alleges that, since early 2017, Spencer and Dawodu operated a vendor site that sold pills pressed with fentanyl on numerous darknet markets, including AlphaBay, Dream, Empire, and Wall Street, in exchange for bitcoin.  Spencer also used encrypted messaging services to communicate directly with customers and sold pills directly over messaging services.  Ogando was in communication with both Spencer and Dawodu as of the online drug trafficking conspiracy.  On several occasions, the defendants sold fentanyl pills that they shipped via the U.S. Postal Service to buyers in the District of Columbia.

             The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service executed multiple search warrants yesterday in South Florida and Rhode Island.  At the Rhode Island location, agents recovered over $350,000 in cash, approximately 2,000 grams of pills containing fentanyl, and packaging materials.  At the South Florida locations, agents recovered more than $12,000 in cash, approximately 1,400 grams of pills containing fentanyl, packaging material, and a firearm.

            “The use of sophisticated technology and virtual currency may raise unique challenges to investigating these cases, but this investigation demonstrates that law enforcement can nonetheless root out the sale of dangerous opioids on the darknet,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin.  “We will not let the use of sophisticated cyber technology impair our ability to combat the problem of opioid abuse.”

            “The three co-conspirators charged today exploited those suffering through an opioid epidemic to enrich themselves,” said James A. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division. “This case demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to working with our law enforcement partners around the country to show these criminals and others like them that they can no longer hide behind the dark web to operate their online, illicit marketplaces, because we will infiltrate their networks, shut them down, and bring them to justice, no matter where they are.”

            “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to shining a light on those trafficking fentanyl and other illicit drugs on the dark web”, said Inspector in Charge Peter R. Rendina, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Washington Division.  “Postal Inspectors, armed with advanced technology, digital forensics and data analytics, continue to work closely with law enforcement partners to thwart those using the U.S. Mail in furtherance of their crimes.”

            “As the opioid epidemic continues, IRS-CI will continue to lend our cyber expertise in tracing virtual currency transactions and dissolving the perceived anonymity of the dark web,” said Kelly R. Jackson, IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge.  “We look forward to continuing to work with our law enforcement partners to get these dangerous drugs and those who are trafficking them off our streets.”

            “The tragedy of the opioid crisis continues to be fueled by those who use every method available, including the Dark Web, to sell their illicit pills to those with substance abuse addictions,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark S. McCormack, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Metro Washington Field Office. “The FDA will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to protect the public health by disrupting and dismantling counterfeit prescription drug manufacturing and distribution.”

            The charges in the indictment and complaint are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.   The charges carry a mandatory 10 years up to life in federal prison.

            The FBI’s Hi-Tech Opioid Task Force, IRS-CI Cyber Crimes Unit (Washington, D.C.), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations investigated this case. The Hi-Tech Opioid Task Force is composed of FBI agents and task force partners, including special agents and officers of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Agency, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and detectives from local assisting police agencies. The task force is charged with identifying and investigating the most egregious Dark Web marketplaces, and the vendors operating on the marketplaces who are engaged in the illegal acquisition and distribution of controlled substances, to include fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other opioids. The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Crane and Rachel Fletcher of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Paralegal Specialist Katie Thomas, and Legal Assistant Peter Gaboton.  Additional assistance has been provided by the United States Attorney’s Offices for the District of Rhode Island and for the Southern District of Florida (Fort Lauderdale and Miami offices) and the FBI’s Miami and Boston Field Offices.

PORTLAND, Maine: A Maine man appeared yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine on charges stemming from his assault on local law enforcement officers, as well as other crimes, during the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 that disrupted a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress in the process of affirming Presidential election results.

Michael R. Sherwin, the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, and Halsey B. Frank, United States Attorney for the District of Maine, announced the charges.

Kyle Fitzsimons, 37, of Lebanon, Maine, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of assault on a federal officer, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a); one count of certain acts during a civil disorder, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 231(a); one count of unlawful entry in restricted building or on grounds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1752(a); and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, in violation of Title 40, United States Code, Section 5104(e)(2).

Fitzsimons made his initial appearance in the District of Maine on Friday afternoon where United States Magistrate Judge John H. Rich III ordered Fitzsimons held preliminarily pending a detention hearing scheduled for February 11.  

The affidavit in support of the criminal complaint against Fitzsimons alleges that on January 6, he pushed against and grabbed officers who were holding a police line in an arched entranceway on the lower west terrace of the U.S. Capitol building. Video surveillance footage captures Fitzsimons at the terrace archway, in the front of a group of rioters, charging the police line and swinging at Metropolitan Police Department officers.

“This case demonstrates that all levels of the federal government, in all areas of the country, are working together to hold responsible those who laid siege to the Capitol on January 6th,” said U.S. Attorney Frank. “Here in Maine, we are playing our part to bring to justice anyone who allegedly attempted to thwart the will of the American people as expressed in the 2020 election.”

This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the DOJ’s National Security Division, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine. The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Boston and Washington Field Offices, along with the Metropolitan Police Department and the United States Capitol Police.

A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct for purposes of establishing probable cause, not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.

The FBI is looking for individuals who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.

            WASHINGTON, D.C. –A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia has returned an indictment charging a Hawaii man who purports to have founded the Honolulu chapter of the Proud Boys and a Texas man with conspiring to obstruct the United States Congress’ certification of the results of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, as well as other crimes they committed to achieve that goal.  Together, and with others, the two men planned and raised money for their effort, and then traveled to Washington, D.C., where they joined a crowd that stormed past barricades and law enforcement officers to halt a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress on January 6.

            John C. Demers, the Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Michael R. Sherwin, the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Columbia; and Steven D’Antuono, the Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office announced the indictment.

            Nicholas DeCarlo, 30, of Burleson, Texas, and Nicholas R. Ochs, 34, of Honolulu, Hawaii, were each indicted for conspiring to commit an offense against the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 371, that is, to corruptly obstruct, influence, or impede an official proceeding, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2); one count of theft of federal government property, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641; one count of depredation against federal government property, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1361; and three counts of unlawful entry, disorderly conduct, or violent conduct in restricted buildings or grounds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1752(a)(1), (2), and (4).  

            The indictment was unsealed this afternoon.  DeCarlo and Ochs previously were taken into custody on January 26 and January 7, respectively.  The defendants will be arraigned before a United States District Judge.   

            The indictment against DeCarlo and Ochs alleges that prior to January 6, DeCarlo and Ochs agreed to travel to Washington, D.C., in order to stop, delay, and hinder the certification of the results of the November 2020 Presidential Election.  To advance and finance that effort, the indictment alleges, DeCarlo and Ochs, using the Internet, raised funds to support their travel and, on January 5, did travel from their respective locations in Texas and Hawaii to Washington, D.C.

            The indictment further alleges that on January 6, DeCarlo, Ochs, and other individuals entered the Capitol building behind an initial wave of individuals who had stormed the Capitol building unlawfully.  Thereafter, DeCarlo and Ochs traveled throughout and occupied the Capitol building, depicting their actions inside the building in real time through photographs and videos that they posted to social media.  While on U.S. Capitol grounds unlawfully, DeCarlo and Ochs defaced the U.S. Capitol by scrawling onto its Memorial Door the words “MURDER THE MEDIA[.]”

            Also, according to the indictment, DeCarlo and Ochs stole a pair of flexible handcuffs belonging to the United States Capitol Police.

            This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the DOJ’s National Security Division.  The indictment is the result of an ongoing investigation by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Honolulu Field Office, and Dallas Field Office, as well as the United States Capitol Police, along with the Media Assault Strike Force of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, a specialized team staffed by senior prosecutors highly experienced in investigating and prosecuting cases involving victims of violent crime and focused on potential assaults, threats, and property damage directed at members of the media.

            An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.  If convicted, DeCarlo and Ochs each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and 3 years of supervised release.

            The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.

            The FBI is looking for individuals who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.

            The FBI also urges anyone with information about or anyone who witnessed any unlawful action against any member of the media to contact the FBI’s Toll-Free Tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) to report potential leads.  In particular, the FBI seeks help in identifying persons depicted in photos taken during assaults on media members. The FBI has posted these photos on its website at https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/capitol-violence, which can be sorted by the label “Assault on Media”, and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/FBIWFO/status/1357062685461008385 and https://twitter.com/FBIWFO/status/1354991604663255045.

            The United States Attorney’s Office strongly encourages members of the press to report any instances where a reporter, journalist, photographer, videographer, or other media personnel was assaulted or threatened, or where their property was damaged or destroyed by the rioters on January 6. Such information will help secure the First Amendment rights of all press personnel.   Any information, including video and photographic evidence, can be emailed to [email protected].

A Washington, D.C., man was sentenced today to over 17 years in prison for advertising videos and images of children being sexually abused.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin of the District of Columbia and Special Agent in Charge James A. Dawson of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.

Simon Walker, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Walker pleaded guilty on Oct. 8, 2019, to one count of advertising child pornography.  In addition to his prison sentence, he was sentenced to 20 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to the victims.

According to admissions made in connection with his plea agreement and other court filings, Walker was the creator and administrator of online chat groups devoted to the trading of child pornography. In addition to uploading images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, Walker encouraged other members of the groups to distribute child pornography, warning them that they would be removed from the groups if they did not contribute to the online community of offenders, and encouraged the ongoing sexual abuse of an infant by a co-administrator.

Forensic examination of his electronic devices, pursuant to a federal search warrant executed at his residence in May 2018, uncovered hundreds of videos and images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Walker was arrested by the FBI on July 12, 2018, was ordered detained by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and has remained in custody since that time.

The FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, composed of FBI agents and local, state and federal partners, investigated the case.  Trial Attorney Jessica Urban of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jodi Lazarus of the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case. 

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

The United States filed a forfeiture complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that all oil aboard a Liberian-flagged vessel, the M/T Achilleas (Achilleas), is subject to forfeiture based on U.S. terrorism forfeiture laws.

The complaint alleges a scheme involving multiple entities affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the IRGC-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to covertly ship Iranian oil to a customer abroad. Participants in the scheme attempted to disguise the origin of the oil using ship-to-ship transfers, falsified documents, and other means, and provided a fraudulent bill of lading to deceive the owners of the Achilleas into loading the oil in question. 

The complaint alleges in part that the oil constitutes the property of, or a “source of influence” over, the IRGC and the IRGC-QF, both of which have been designated by the United States as foreign terrorist organizations. The documents allege that profits from oil sales support the IRGC’s full range of nefarious activities, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, support for terrorism, and a variety of human rights abuses, at home and abroad.

“The forfeiture complaint filed today serves as a reminder that the IRGC and IRGC-QF continue to exert significant control over the sale of Iranian oil,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the National Security Division. “As we have demonstrated in the past, the department will deploy all tools at its disposal to ensure that the IRGC and IRGC-QF cannot use profits from the sale of Iranian oil to fund terrorism and other activities that threaten the safety and security of all Americans.”

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia will continue working with our law enforcement partners to stem the flow of illicit oil from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Qods Force,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin. “We will use all available tools, including our jurisdiction to seize and forfeit assets located abroad, to combat funding for terrorists and those who would do harm to the United States.”

“This latest civil forfeiture action exemplifies the remarkable work of this multi-agency task force that works tirelessly toward furthering our shared goal of protecting the homeland from regimes that threaten our national security,” said Special Agent in Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York. “This investigation sends a message that the attempted circumvention of U.S. sanctions by the IRGC-QF will not be tolerated. HSI will continue to work with our partners and utilize the full scope of our authorities to disrupt the attempts of hostile countries and regimes to generate profits from oil sales used to support terrorism and the proliferation and delivery of weapons of mass destruction.”

“Iran uses profits from its petroleum sector to fund the malign activities of the IRGC-QF, a designated terrorist group,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael F. Paul of the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office. “The FBI will continue to prioritize the enforcement of sanctions, and we applaud the efforts of our agents and partners on this investigation.”  

A civil forfeiture complaint is merely an allegation. The United States bears the burden of proving that the oil in question is subject to forfeiture in a civil forfeiture proceeding. Funds successfully forfeited with a connection to a state sponsor of terrorism may in whole or in part be directed to the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (http://www.usvsst.com/) after the conclusion of the case.

HSI New York and the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office are leading the investigation of Iranian petroleum shipments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael P. Grady and Brian P. Hudak of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney David Lim of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the National Security Division are prosecuting the case. The Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section’s Program Operations Staff of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division has provided extensive assistance throughout the investigation.

WASHINGTON – The United States filed a forfeiture complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that all oil aboard a Liberian-flagged vessel, the M/T Achilleas (Achilleas), is subject to forfeiture based on U.S. terrorism forfeiture laws.

            The complaint alleges a scheme involving multiple entities affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the IRGC-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to covertly ship Iranian oil to a customer abroad.  Participants in the scheme attempted to disguise the origin of the oil using ship-to-ship transfers, falsified documents, and other means, and provided a fraudulent bill of lading to deceive the owners of the Achilleas into loading the oil in question. 

            The complaint alleges in part that the oil constitutes the property of, or a “source of influence” over, the IRGC and the IRGC-QF, both of which have been designated by the United States as foreign terrorist organizations. The documents allege that profits from oil sales support the IRGC’s full range of nefarious activities, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, support for terrorism, and a variety of human rights abuses, at home and abroad.

            “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia will continue working with our law enforcement partners to stem the flow of illicit oil from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Qods Force,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin. “We will use all available tools, including our jurisdiction to seize and forfeit assets located abroad, to combat funding for terrorists and those who would do harm to the United States.”

            “The forfeiture complaint filed today serves as a reminder that the IRGC and IRGC-QF continue to exert significant control over the sale of Iranian oil,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the National Security Division. “As we have demonstrated in the past, the department will deploy all tools at its disposal to ensure that the IRGC and IRGC-QF cannot use profits from the sale of Iranian oil to fund terrorism and other activities that threaten the safety and security of all Americans.”

            “This latest civil forfeiture action exemplifies the remarkable work of this multi-agency task force that works tirelessly toward furthering our shared goal of protecting the homeland from regimes that threaten our national security,” said Special Agent in Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York. “This investigation sends a message that the attempted circumvention of U.S. sanctions by the IRGC-QF will not be tolerated. HSI will continue to work with our partners and utilize the full scope of our authorities to disrupt the attempts of hostile countries and regimes to generate profits from oil sales used to support terrorism and the proliferation and delivery of weapons of mass destruction.”

            “Iran uses profits from its petroleum sector to fund the malign activities of the IRGC-QF, a designated terrorist group,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael F. Paul of the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office. “The FBI will continue to prioritize the enforcement of sanctions, and we applaud the efforts of our agents and partners on this investigation.”  

            A civil forfeiture complaint is merely an allegation. The United States bears the burden of proving that the oil in question is subject to forfeiture in a civil forfeiture proceeding. Funds successfully forfeited with a connection to a state sponsor of terrorism may in whole or in part be directed to the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (http://www.usvsst.com/) after the conclusion of the case.

            HSI New York and the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office are leading the investigation of Iranian petroleum shipments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael P. Grady and Brian P. Hudak of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney David Lim of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the National Security Division are prosecuting the case, with support from Paralegal Specialist Brian Rickers and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section’s Program Operations Staff of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division has provided extensive assistance throughout the investigation.

An indictment was unsealed this week charging Cheng Bo, also known as Joe Cheng, a 45-year-old national of the People’s Republic of China, with participating in a criminal conspiracy from 2012-2015 to violate U.S. export laws by shipping U.S. power amplifiers to China.

Cheng’s former employer, Avnet Asia Pte. Ltd., a Singapore company and global distributor of electronic components and related software, agreed to pay a financial penalty to the United States of $1,508,000 to settle criminal liability for the conduct of its former employees, including Cheng. As part of a non-prosecution agreement, Avnet Asia admitted responsibility for Cheng’s unlawful conspiracy to ship export-controlled U.S. goods with potential military applications to China, and also for the criminal conduct of another former employee who, from 2007-2009, illegally caused U.S. goods to be shipped to China and Iran without a license. This conduct violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) is also announcing today that Avnet Asia has agreed to pay an additional $1,721,000 as part of a $3,229,000 administrative penalty to resolve violations of the Export Administration Regulations.

“Avnet’s employees repeatedly falsified documentation in order to send export-controlled goods with potential military applications to China,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers of the National Security Division. “What China cannot develop itself, it acquires illegally through others. This is yet another example of a proxy acting to further China’s malign interests.”

“We will not abide individuals or business organizations that would seek to harm our national security by illegally providing coveted U.S. goods with potential military applications to Iran or China,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin for the District of Columbia. “We will pursue wrongdoers no matter where they are located in the world.”

"The People's Republic of China is relentless in its pursuit of U.S. technology, much of which can be used for military purposes,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division. “The FBI is just as relentless in identifying and stopping those who violate export controls while doing business with China. Let us be clear, this is not business as usual. It is illegal and individuals and companies will pay a price for such violations."

“The indictment unsealed today serves as a warning to those who violate export control laws designed to protect our national and economic security,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael F. Paul of the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office. “The settlement with Avnet Asia announced today represents years of hard work on one of the FBI’s highest priorities – stopping the illegal export of U.S. technology to China. Regardless of their location, global corporations have a responsibility to follow U.S. law when selling American technology. Criminal and civil penalties await companies and individuals who fail to adhere to laws protecting sensitive U.S. technologies.”

“The Office of Export Enforcement remains committed to enforcing our nation’s export control laws by investigating domestic and overseas companies who intentionally divert sensitive U.S.-origin dual-use commodities to prohibited end users and nations without the required licenses or license exceptions,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tambrini of DOC Office of Export Enforcement’s (DOC-OEE) Chicago Field Office.

“The export of sensitive technology items to China or anywhere else in the world is tightly regulated for good reason,” said Special Agent in Charge David A. Prince of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles. “One of HSI’s top enforcement priorities is preventing U.S. military and dual-use products and sensitive technology from falling into the hands of those who might seek to harm America or its interests. We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to aggressively target and investigate those who jeopardize our nation’s security – or the welfare of those devoted to protecting it.”

According to the indictment unsealed today, Cheng was a sales account manager with Avnet Asia, and he operated as a sales representative to a Hong Kong-based customer with whom Cheng had an ownership interest. Cheng submitted paperwork on behalf of the customer to purchase export-controlled U.S. goods, including power amplifiers. Cheng caused false statements to be made to the U.S. manufacturer of the power amplifiers that his customer would use the power amplifiers in Hong Kong when, in fact, Cheng knew that the goods would be illegally shipped from Hong Kong to China.

As part of the non-prosecution agreement, Avnet Asia admitted that from 2012-2015, Cheng caused at least 18 separate shipments of export-controlled goods to be sent from the United States to Hong Kong, knowing that the goods were intended to be subsequently shipped to China, and that the value of these illegal exports was at least $814,000. Avnet Asia also admitted that another sales account manager, this one based in Singapore, conspired to violate U.S. export control laws and economic sanctions from 2007 through 2009. The Singapore-based sales account manager helped two Singapore business organizations in their efforts to ship U.S. goods to Iran and China, including by helping to create documents falsely stating that the goods were destined only for Singapore. The Singapore-based sales account manager caused at least 29 separate Avnet Asia shipments of goods to be exported from the United States, knowing that the goods were intended to be subsequently shipped to Iran or China. The value of these goods was at least $347,000. Neither Avnet Asia nor anyone else applied for an export license from U.S. government authorities.

If convicted, Cheng would face up to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to twice the value of the property involved in the illegal transactions. The facts alleged in the indictment are allegations, and criminal defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office, DOC-OEE’s Chicago Field Office, and HSI Los Angeles investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Friedman and Thomas A. Gillice, and Justice Department National Security Division Trial Attorney David C. Recker, are representing the United States.

WASHINGTON – An indictment was unsealed this week charging Cheng Bo, also known as Joe Cheng, a 45-year-old national of the People’s Republic of China, with participating in a criminal conspiracy from 2012-2015 to violate U.S. export laws by shipping U.S. power amplifiers to China.

            Cheng’s former employer, Avnet Asia Pte. Ltd., a Singapore company and global distributor of electronic components and related software, agreed to pay a financial penalty to the United States of $1,508,000 to settle criminal liability for the conduct of its former employees, including Cheng. As part of a Non-Prosecution Agreement, Avnet Asia admitted responsibility for Cheng’s unlawful conspiracy to ship export-controlled U.S. goods with potential military applications to China, and also for the criminal conduct of another former employee who, from 2007-2009, illegally caused U.S. goods to be shipped to China and Iran without a license. This conduct violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

            The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) is also announcing today that Avnet Asia has agreed to pay an additional $1,721,000 as part of a $3,229,000 administrative penalty to resolve violations of the Export Administration Regulations.

            “We will not abide individuals or business organizations that would seek to harm our national security by illegally providing coveted U.S. goods with potential military applications to Iran or China,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin for the District of Columbia. “We will pursue wrongdoers no matter where they are located in the world.”

            “Avnet’s employees repeatedly falsified documentation in order to send export-controlled goods with potential military applications to China,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers. “What China cannot develop itself, it acquires illegally through others. This is yet another example of a proxy acting to further China’s malign interests.”

            "The People's Republic of China is relentless in pursuit of U.S. technology, much of which can be used for military purposes,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division. “The FBI is just as relentless in identifying and stopping those who violate export controls while doing business with China. Let us be clear, this is not business as usual. It is illegal and individuals and companies will pay a price for such violations."

            “The indictment unsealed today serves as a warning to those who violate export control laws designed to protect our national and economic security,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael F. Paul of the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office. “The settlement with Avnet Asia announced today represents years of hard work on one of the FBI’s highest priorities – stopping the illegal export of U.S. technology to China. Regardless of their location, global corporations have a responsibility to follow U.S. law when selling American technology. Criminal and civil penalties await companies and individuals who fail to adhere to laws protecting sensitive U.S. technologies.”

            “The Office of Export Enforcement remains committed to enforcing our nation’s export control laws by investigating domestic and overseas companies who intentionally divert sensitive U.S.-origin dual-use commodities to prohibited end users and nations without the required licenses or license exceptions,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tambrini of DOC Office of Export Enforcement’s (DOC-OEE) Chicago Field Office.

            “The export of sensitive technology items to China or anywhere else in the world is tightly regulated for good reason,” said Special Agent in Charge David A. Prince of the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles. “One of HSI’s top enforcement priorities is preventing U.S. military and dual-use products and sensitive technology from falling into the hands of those who might seek to harm America or its interests. We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to aggressively target and investigate those who jeopardize our nation’s security – or the welfare of those devoted to protecting it.”

            According to the indictment unsealed today, Cheng was a sales account manager with Avnet Asia, and he operated as a sales representative to a Hong Kong-based customer with whom Cheng had an ownership interest. Cheng submitted paperwork on behalf of the customer to purchase export-controlled U.S. goods, including power amplifiers. Cheng caused false statements to be made to the U.S. manufacturer of the power amplifiers that his customer would use the power amplifiers in Hong Kong when, in fact, Cheng knew that the goods would be illegally shipped from Hong Kong to China.

            As part of the Non-Prosecution Agreement, Avnet Asia admitted that from 2012-2015, Cheng caused at least 18 separate shipments of export-controlled goods to be sent from the United States to Hong Kong, knowing that the goods were intended to be subsequently shipped to China, and that the value of these illegal exports was at least $814,000. Avnet Asia also admitted that another sales account manager, this one based in Singapore, conspired to violate U.S. export control laws and economic sanctions from 2007 through 2009. The Singapore-based sales account manager helped two Singapore business organizations in their efforts to ship U.S. goods to Iran and China, including by helping to create documents falsely stating that the goods were destined only for Singapore. The Singapore-based sales account manager caused at least 29 separate Avnet Asia shipments of goods to be exported from the United States, knowing that the goods were intended to be subsequently shipped to Iran or China. The value of these goods was at least $347,000. Neither Avnet Asia nor anyone else applied for an export license from U.S. government authorities.

            If convicted, Cheng would face up to twenty years of imprisonment and a fine of up to twice the value of the property involved in the illegal transactions. The facts alleged in the indictment are allegations, and criminal defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

            The FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office, DOC-OEE’s Chicago Field Office, and HSI Los Angeles investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Friedman and Thomas A. Gillice, and Justice Department National Security Division Trial Attorney David C. Recker, are representing the United States.

WASHINGTON – Julien Richardson, 35, of New York, was sentenced on January 26, 2021, in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to 40 months of imprisonment for conspiring to commit money laundering, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin and James A. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Criminal Division.  

            From April 2016 through February 2018, Richardson conspired with Akeem Fields to launder money on behalf of others who had stolen from numerous victims. Richardson and Fields created aliases and shell companies, which were then used to open bank accounts. These newly created accounts were used to receive and launder fraud proceeds from a variety of schemes, including elder fraud by impersonating a relative, lottery fraud scams, and business email compromise schemes. When fraud proceeds were deposited into the accounts of Richardson and Fields, they executed an agreed-upon plan on how to distribute the fraudulent proceeds as quickly as possible to evade detection.

            In the course of the conspiracy, the victims lost over $549,000.  For their part in the scheme, Richardson and Fields each received 15% of the proceeds.  They provided the remaining 70% to the individuals perpetrating the underlying fraud schemes.

            Richardson was charged via criminal information in January 2020 and entered a guilty plea before the Honorable Amy Berman Jackson on February 27, 2020.  Fields has also pled guilty in a separate case.

            In addition to sentencing Richardson to 40 months in prison, the Honorable Amy Berman Jackson ordered that Richardson serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution and a forfeiture money judgment.

            In announcing the sentence, Acting U.S. Attorney Sherwin and Special Agent in Charge Dawson commended the work of those from the FBI’s Washington Field Office who investigated the case. They also expressed appreciation to Paralegal Specialist Amanda Rohde. Finally, they commended the work of former Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Misler and Anthony Saler, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Macey.

WASHINGTON – Earlier today in the District of Columbia, Haitham Isa Saado Sad, 42, pleaded guilty to several charges related to his role in a scheme to steal U.S. government records and defraud U.S. refugee programs. Defendant Sad remains held without bond pending sentencing.

            The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin for the District of Columbia, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Dr. Joseph V. Cuffari, and U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Assistant Director for Domestic Operations Ricardo Colón.

            Sad pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal records and defraud the United States, conspiracy to launder money, and computer fraud and abuse before U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras of the District of Columbia. Sad is one of three defendants charged in an indictment that was unsealed on Friday, January 22. The indictment charges Sad and two other foreign nationals, Aws Muwafaq Abduljabbar, 42, and Olesya Leonidovna Krasilova, 43, with conspiracy to steal U.S. government records and to defraud the United States, theft of U.S. government records, and conspiracy to launder money, all related to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and, in particular, the Iraq P-2 program, which allows certain Iraqis to apply directly for refugee resettlement in the United States. The indictment also charges Krasilova and Sad with computer fraud and abuse. Abduljabbar was previously arrested and remains held without bond. Krasilova remains at large.

            According to the indictment and the statement of facts agreed to by Sad as part of his guilty plea, Sad was employed in Amman, Jordan from 2007 to 2016 by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Krasilova held a similar position at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia.  As part of their duties, both defendants had access to the State Department’s Worldwide Refugee Admissions Processing System (WRAPS), a database containing sensitive, non-public information about refugee applicants and their family members, as well as the results of security checks and internal assessments by U.S. officials regarding applications. From approximately February 2016 until at least April 2019, the three defendants, led by Abduljabbar, conspired to steal U.S. government records related to hundreds of USRAP applications. Abduljabbar organized and led the conspiracy, and he relied on and paid Sad and Krasilova to steal WRAPS records and information so that Abduljabbar could assist applicants in gaining admission to the United States through fraudulent means. As outlined in the indictment and statement of facts, the theft of USRAP records creates a number of risks to public safety and national security while imposing significant costs on the U.S. government, its taxpayers, and otherwise legitimate refugee applicants negatively impacted by the scheme.

            The charges in an indictment are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit an offense or defraud the United States is five years; the maximum penalty for theft of government records is 10 years; the maximum penalty for conspiracy to launder money is 20 years; and the maximum penalty for the charged computer fraud and abuse is five years. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted of any offense, a defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            This case is being investigated jointly by the DHS Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Luke M. Jones and Erik M. Kenerson of the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs assisted.

WASHINGTON – An indictment charging three defendants was unsealed in the District of Columbia today.  The indictment charges Aws Muwafaq Abduljabbar, 42; Haitham Isa Saado Sad, 42; and Olesya Leonidovna Krasilova, 43, with conspiracy to steal U.S. government records and to defraud the United States, theft of U.S. government records, and conspiracy to launder money, all related to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).  The indictment also charges Sad and Krasilova with computer fraud and abuse.  The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael R. Sherwin, the Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security, Dr. Joseph V. Cuffari, and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Assistant Director for Domestic Operations Ricardo Colón.

            According to the indictment, Sad was employed in Amman, Jordan from 2007 to 2016 by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Krasilova held a similar position at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia.  Part of their duties included processing applications for refugee resettlement in the United States through the USRAP.  The indictment charges that, from approximately February 2016 until at least April 2019, the three defendants, led by Abduljabbar, conspired to steal U.S. government records related to hundreds of USRAP applications.  The records contained sensitive, non-public information about refugee applicants, their family members, their employment and military history, their accounts of persecution or fear of persecution, the results of security checks, and internal assessments by U.S. officials regarding applications. 

            As outlined in the indictment, the theft of USRAP records creates a number of risks to public safety and national security while imposing significant costs on the U.S. government, its taxpayers, and otherwise legitimate refugee applicants negatively impacted by the scheme.  Defendants Abduljabbar and Sad were previously arrested and remain held without bond.  Defendant Krasilova remains at large.

            “The charges unsealed today demonstrate the commitment of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to protect the integrity of critical government functions like the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, which exists to identify and admit qualified refugees for resettlement in the United States,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin for the District of Columbia.  “It is important to hold accountable those who would seek to defraud such programs, particularly when the crimes compromise our national security and public safety, when they impose such high costs on taxpayers, and when they negatively impact the prospects of qualified refugee applicants.”

            “This indictment sends a strong message: the Diplomatic Security Service is committed to making sure that those who are alleged to have stolen U.S. government records related to refugee admissions face consequences for their criminal actions,” said DSS Assistant Director for Domestic Operations Ricardo Colón. “This case demonstrates the collaborative efforts of our law enforcement partners, and showcases the forensic and investigative capabilities of DSS.”

            “Individuals like Ms. Krasilova and Mr. Sad are entrusted to protect the integrity of the U.S. immigration system and sensitive information vital to our national security interests,” said Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Dr. Joseph V. Cuffari.  “The Office of Inspector General remains committed to aggressively investigating DHS employees who abuse their positions, betray the public trust, and conspire with persons such as Mr. Abduljabbar to defraud the United States.”

            The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.  The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit an offense or defraud the United States is five years; the maximum penalty for theft of government records is 10 years; the maximum penalty for conspiracy to launder money is 20 years; and the maximum penalty for the charged computer fraud and abuse is five years.  The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes.  If convicted of any offense, a defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            This case is being investigated jointly by the DHS Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Luke M. Jones and Erik M. Kenerson of the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.  The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs assisted.

WASHINGTON – Janet Olatimbo Akindipe, 62, of Laurel, Maryland, was sentenced today to 13 months in prison for defrauding the D.C. Medicaid program out of more than a quarter million dollars.

            The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin; James A. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Washington Field Office, Criminal Division; Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General for the region that includes Washington, D.C.; and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.

            At various times between November 2014 and June 2020, Akindipe was employed by six different home health agencies to serve as a personal care aide for D.C. Medicaid beneficiaries. The home health agencies employed Akindipe to assist Medicaid beneficiaries in performing activities of daily living, such as getting in and out of bed, bathing, dressing, and eating. Akindipe was supposed to document the care she provided to the Medicaid beneficiaries on timesheets and then submit the timesheets to the home health agencies, which would in turn bill Medicaid for the services that she rendered.

            Between January 2015 and June 2020, Akindipe caused the D.C. Medicaid Program to issue payments totaling $269,808 for services that she did not render. As part of her fraud scheme, she submitted false timesheets to different home health agencies purporting that she provided personal care aide services that she did not provide. She claimed she provided such services during times when she actually was working her shift as a full-time employee at the National Institutes of Health. She claimed to work more than twenty hours in a given day on more than 300 occasions. She also claimed to provide personal care aide services in the District of Columbia on days when she was not even in the United States. As part of her fraud scheme, she paid kickbacks to get Medicaid beneficiaries to sign falsified timesheets.

            In addition to sentencing Akindipe to 13 months in prison, she was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution in the amount of $269,808 and a forfeiture money judgment for $119,773.

            The FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, the District of Columbia’s Office of the Inspector General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals who defraud the D.C. Medicaid program. Since October 2019, six former personal care aides, including Akindipe, have been sentenced in U.S. District Court for defrauding Medicaid. A seventh former personal care aide is expected to plead guilty. Cases against two other personal care aides remain outstanding. 

            The government counts on the public for tips and assistance in helping stop health care fraud. If you have information about individuals committing health care fraud, please call the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General hotline at (800) HHS‑TIPS [(800) 447-8477].

            Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman of the Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

            Mohammad Ezazul Hoque, 57, the owner of several Washington, D.C. restaurants, pled guilty today to one count of bribery for paying bribes to the former Chief of Collections of the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue (“OTR”) in exchange for the OTR official taking actions favorable to Hoque’s businesses.  Hoque also pled guilty to one count of wire fraud for his execution of a multi-year scheme to obtain credit cards in others’ names, without their knowledge or consent, to fund his personal and business expenses.

            The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin and Special Agent in Charge James A. Dawson of the FBI Washington Field Office, Criminal Division.

            As part of his plea, Hoque, of Alexandria, Virginia, admitted that from 2015 to 2017, as the unpaid tax liabilities on his businesses grew to be hundreds of thousands of dollars, Hoque paid more than $45,000 in bribes to the OTR official so that the official would change the status and limit the negative effects of the unpaid liabilities on the businesses.  Hoque further admitted that, in 2016, in exchange for the bribes Hoque was paying, the OTR official released a lien on one of his businesses and provided a false certification that it had no outstanding tax liabilities so that Hoque could sell the business to a third party.  In fact, Hoque still owed tens of thousands of dollars in taxes and related fees.  As a result of the OTR official’s actions, Hoque was able to sell the business and make a more than $84,000 profit.

            Hoque further admitted that, between 2013 and 2017, Hoque carried out a fraud scheme in which he obtained more than 15 credit cards from various financial institutions in the names of others without their knowledge or consent.  Hoque admitted that he charged more than $40,000 in personal and business expenses to the cards he fraudulently obtained.

            In announcing the plea, Acting U.S. Attorney Sherwin and Special Agent in Charge Dawson commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda R. Vaughn, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Bianca Forde, and Paralegal Specialist Joseph McClanahan.

WASHINGTON— A New Mexico County commissioner was charged today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for breaching the U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021.

            Couy Griffin, of New Mexico, was arrested today in Washington, D.C., and charged by criminal complaint with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful entry.

            As alleged in the charging documents, on Jan. 9, 2021, law enforcement received a tip that Griffin, an Otero County, New Mexico, Commissioner was present at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and had posted videos to his Facebook page indicating that he intended to return to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2021, and “plant our flag” on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk.

            An investigation into Griffin revealed that he is the founder of an organization called “Cowboys for Trump,” and that following the incident at the U.S. Capitol, Griffin posted a video to the Cowboys for Trump Facebook page in which he stated that he “climbed up on the top of the Capitol building and . . . had a first row seat.” In that same video, now removed, he states:

“You want to say that that was a mob? You want to say that was violence? No sir. No Ma’am. No we could have a 2nd Amendment rally on those same steps that we had that rally yesterday. You know, and if we do, then it’s gonna be a sad day, because there’s gonna be blood running out of that building. But at the end of the day, you mark my word, we will plant our flag on the desk of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and Donald J. Trump if it boils down to it.”

            On Jan. 14, 2021, Griffin spoke at an Otero County, New Mexico, council meeting about his experience at the Capitol and his plans to return to Washington, D.C., to protest President-Elect Biden’s Inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021. It is alleged that Griffin stated that he intended to bring his firearms with him when he traveled to Washington, D.C.

            The case is being prosecuted by the Assistant U.S. Attorneys Janani Iyengar and Jason Feldman of the District of Columbia United States Attorney’s Office, and Trial Attorney George Kraehe of the National Security Division of the Department of Justice. The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and the U.S. Capitol Police Department.

            The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.

            The FBI is looking for individuals who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.

           The charges contained in the complaint are allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Kentucky man was arrested and charged yesterday in connection with the riots at the U.S. Capitol last week during which he joined a crowd of individuals who unlawfully entered the U.S. Capitol and disrupted the conduct of business by the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.

            Chad Barrett Jones, 42, of Coxs Creek, Kentucky, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of assault on a federal officer, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a) and (b); one count of certain acts during a civil disorder, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 231(a)(3); one count of destruction of government property over $1,000, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1361; one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1521(c)(2); one count of unlawful entry on restricted building or grounds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1752(a) and (b); and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, in violation of Title 40, United States Code, Section 5104(e)(2).  Jones was arrested in Louisville.  His initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Colin H. Lindsay of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky is scheduled for January 19.

            The affidavit in support of criminal complaint alleges that video footage from inside the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, shows Jones in a red hooded jacket and gray skullcap among an aggressive crowd trying to breach a barricaded door to the Speaker’s Lobby, a hallway that connects to the House of Representatives chambers.  Members of the crowd were shouting and gesticulating at the Capitol Police officers guarding the door.  Seconds after the officers began moving toward the adjacent wall as other officers in tactical gear arrived, Jones forcefully struck the door’s glass panels at least 10 times with a long, wood flagpole, the affidavit alleges.  The affidavit also alleges that chants of “Break it down!” could be heard, and that a U.S. Capitol Police officer inside the Speakers’ Lobby, facing the door with a gun raised, can be seen at the side of the video in the close vicinity of the doorway. 

            The Superintendent of the Capitol has represented that the repair cost of the damaged glass will exceed $1,000.  Federal authorities were able to identify Jones as the man in the red hooded jacket and gray skullcap after receiving a tip on January 8. 

            A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct for purposes of establishing probable cause, not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

            The case is being prosecuted by the U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky.  The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Louisville Field Office and Washington Field Office, with assistance from the U.S. Capitol Police.   

            The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.

            The FBI is looking for individuals who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.

A global supplier of cigarette paper products, PT Bukit Muria Jaya (“BMJ”), has agreed to pay a fine of $1,561,570 and enter into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department for conspiring to commit bank fraud in connection with the shipment of products to North Korean customers.  BMJ, which is incorporated in Indonesia, has also entered into a settlement agreement with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”).

In entering the deferred prosecution agreement, BMJ admitted and accepted responsibility for its criminal conduct and agreed to pay a fine commensurate with the offense.  BMJ agreed to implement a compliance program designed to prevent and detect violations of U.S. sanctions laws and regulations and to regularly report to the Justice Department on the implementation of that program.  BMJ also committed to report violations of relevant U.S. laws to the Justice Department and to cooperate in the investigation of such offenses.

“Through a sophisticated and illegal multinational scheme, BMJ intentionally obfuscated the true nature of its transactions in order to sell its wares to North Korea,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers.  “BMJ duped U.S. banks into processing payments in violation of our sanctions on North Korea.  Strict enforcement of the sanctions regime pressures North Korea to move away from engaging in dangerous and belligerent activities, including weapons of mass destruction proliferation.  The Department is committed to taking such enforcement actions in the hope that one day North Korea will reintegrate itself into the community of nations.”

“BMJ intentionally deceived U.S. banks and undermined the integrity of our financial system in order to continue doing business with North Korea,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin for the District of Columbia.  “We want to communicate to all those persons and businesses who are contemplating engaging in similar schemes to violate U.S. sanctions on North Korea that using front companies and fraudulent invoices will not protect you.  We will find you and prosecute you.”

"Sanctions against North Korea are designed to protect the international community,” said Alan E. Kohler, Jr., Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.  “This company used smoke and mirrors to try to hide its illegal activity, but the FBI and its partners saw through the smokescreen and helped bring the defendant to justice."

Pursuant to the agreed statement of facts adopted in the deferred prosecution agreement, BMJ admitted in part that it sold products to two North Korean companies as well as a Chinese trading company while knowing that those products were destined for North Korea.  At the time, U.S. sanctions on North Korea prevented, among other things, correspondent banks in the United States from processing wire transfers on behalf of customers located in North Korea.  After learning that one of its North Korean customers was having difficulty executing payments to BMJ, BMJ personnel agreed to accept payments from third parties that were otherwise unrelated to the transactions.  Accepting these third-party payments evaded the sanctions monitoring and compliance systems of U.S. banks, inducing them into executing prohibited transactions.

Assuming BMJ’s continued compliance with the deferred prosecution agreement, the government has agreed to defer prosecution for a period of 18 months, after which time, the government would seek to dismiss the charges. 

The FBI is leading the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Grady from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney David C. Recker of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence & Export Control Section are prosecuting the case, with support from Paralegal Specialist Brian Rickers and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick.  The Department of Justice would also like to thank the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command for providing analytical support and the FBI for their assistance during the investigation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Texas man was charged yesterday and arrested today in Texas in connection with making threats regarding the riots at the U.S. Capitol last week.

            Troy Anthony Smocks, 58, of Dallas, Texas, was charged by criminal complaint with knowingly and willfully transmitting threats in interstate commerce, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 875(c).  He will make an initial appearance this afternoon in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

            The affidavit in support of criminal complaint alleges that Smocks traveled to the Washington, D.C., area on January 5, 2021, the day before the illegal rioting.  Smocks used a Parler social media account under the name “ColonelTPerez” or “@Colonel007,” to post threats on January 6 and 7 regarding the riots.  The threats included that he and others would return to the U.S. Capitol on January 19, 2021, carrying weapons and massing in numbers so large that no army could match them.  Smocks threatened that he and others would “hunt these cowards down like the Traitors that each of them are,” specifically threatening “RINOS, Dems, and Tech Execs.”  The threats issued by Smocks were viewed by other social media users tens of thousands of times.

            This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the DOJ’s National Security Division, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas. The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Dallas Field Office and Washington Field Office, and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct for purposes of establishing probable cause, not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

            The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.

            The FBI is looking for individuals who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A New York State man was taken into custody and charged today with unlawful entry, destruction of government property and obstruction of an official proceeding. 

            Dominic Pezzola, 43, also known as “Spaz” and “Spazzo,” of Rochester, New York, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512(c)(2); one count of destruction of government property, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1361; and one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section1752(a).  Following a hearing in the Western District of New York, Pezzola was ordered detained.

            The affidavit in support of criminal complaint alleges that Pezzola unlawfully gained entry to the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, by breaking a window in the U.S. Capitol with a U.S. Capitol Police shield, as an individual in the crowd yelled “Go Go Go,” before entering the Capitol building. 

            The affidavit also alleges that a video posted from inside the Capitol shows Pezzola smoking a cigar inside the building.  In that video, Pezzola can be heard saying words to the effect of, “Victory smoke in the Capitol, boys.  This is f***ing awesome.  I knew we could take this mother***er over [if we] just tried hard enough.” 

            The affidavit alleges that Pezzola was photographed in December, 2020, at rallies in Washington, D.C., that included individuals wearing clothing consistent with the “Proud Boys.”

            At some point after the incident at the Capitol had ended, the affidavit in support of criminal complaint alleges, Pezzola bragged about breaking the windows to the Capitol with a Capitol Police shield.  The affidavit also alleges that Pezzola and others stated that they would have killed anyone they got their hands on, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Michael Pence.  The affidavit alleges that, in the days after the event, members of the group said that the group would return to Washington, D.C., and kill every single “m-fer” they could. 

            A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct for purposes of establishing probable cause, not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

            The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division. The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Buffalo Field Office, Albany Field Office, and Washington Field Office.

            The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.

            The FBI is looking for individuals who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A California man was arrested and charged yesterday in connection with the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, 2021.

            Hunter Allen Ehmke, 20, of Glendora, California, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1521(c)(2); one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, in violation of Title 40, United States Code, Section 5104(e)(2); and one count of destruction of government property, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1361.  The defendant was arrested outside of Los Angeles, and made his initial appearance yesterday before Magistrate Judge John E. McDermott  of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

            The affidavit in support of criminal complaint alleges that during the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, Ehmke jumped onto a window ledge and smashed several panes out of a six-pane window that led to an office space inside the Capitol.  Officers with the United States Capitol Police were able to apprehend Ehmke on scene.  While the officers were in the process of placing Ehmke under arrest, the large crowd became very aggressive and menacing towards the officers and, faced with being outnumbered by a threatening crowd and having no realistic way to make a safe arrest, the officers made the decision to release the defendant, ordering him to leave the Capitol grounds.   The Architect of the Capitol estimated the damage to the window in excess of $2,400.

            A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct for purposes of establishing probable cause, not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

            The case is being prosecuted by the U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.  Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant United States Attorney David Ryan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.  The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and Washington Field Office, and the U.S. Capitol Police Department.  The Glendora (California) Police Department assisted in apprehending Ehmke in California and in serving court-authorized search warrants. 

            The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.

            The FBI is looking for individuals who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Utah man was charged today in federal court in the District of Columbia in connection with the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021.

            John Earle Sullivan was charged by complaint with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and one count of interfering with law enforcement engaged in the lawful performance of their official duties incident to and during the commission of civil disorder.  The defendant was arrested today in Utah.  

            The Complaint alleges that during the events at the U.S. Capitol, Sullivan, wearing a ballistics vest and gas mask, entered the U.S. Capitol through a window that had been broken out, pushing past U.S. Capitol Police once inside. The Complaint also alleges that Sullivan admits to filming and being depicted in video footage that shows him present, outside of the Speaker’s Lobby within the U.S. Capitol, at the shooting of a woman by a U.S. Capitol Police officer.

            The details contained in the charging documents are allegations.  Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

            The case is being prosecuted by the U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.  The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Salt Lake City and Washington Field Offices, the U.S. Capitol Police Department, and the Metropolitan Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.

            The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.

            The FBI is looking for individuals who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.

            The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Kevin Seefried and Hunter Seefried were charged today in federal court in the District of Columbia in connection with the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021.

            Kevin Seefried and Hunter Seefried each were charged by complaint with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and one count of depredation of government property.  Both defendants were taken into custody in Delaware today.  It is alleged that during the events at the U.S. Capitol, Kevin Seefried and Hunter Seefried entered the Senate Building through a broken window and, shortly thereafter, Kevin Seefried was photographed holding a Confederate Battle flag inside the Capitol Building.

            The details contained in the charging documents are allegations.  Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

            The cases are being prosecuted by the U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division. The cases are being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the U.S. Capitol Police Department, and the Metropolitan Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant United States Attorney Adrienne Dedjinou of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware.

            The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.

            The FBI is looking for individuals who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.

            WASHINGTON, D.C. –A retired Pennsylvania firefighter was charged yesterday and arrested today in Pennsylvania in connection with the riots at the U.S. Capitol last week.

            Robert Sanford, 55, of Boothwyn, PA, was charged by criminal complaint with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly or disruptive conduct on capitol grounds, civil disorder, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers while engaged in the performance of official duties.

            It is alleged that during the events at the U.S. Capitol, Sanford struck three U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers with a fire extinguisher. A video, recorded by an individual who was present in the crowd, captures when a man throws what appears to be a fire extinguisher at a group of USCP officers protecting the lower west terrace of the Capitol.

            The fire extinguisher struck one officer, who was wearing a helmet, in the head; then, the fire extinguisher ricochets striking a second officer, who was not wearing a helmet, in the head; and ricochets a third time and strikes a third officer, wearing a helmet, in the head. After throwing the fire extinguisher at USCP, Sanford leaves the area in the opposite direction. Federal authorities were able to identify Sanford, after receiving a tip on January 12.

            This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the DOJ’s National Security Division, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The cases are being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the United States Capitol Police.

            The information contained in the charging documents are merely allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

            The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.

            The FBI is looking for individuals who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two off-duty Rocky Mount, Virginia police officers were charged yesterday in federal court in the District of Columbia in connection with the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021.

            Jacob Fracker and Thomas Robertson were charged by complaint with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Both defendants were arrested on January 13, 2021, in Virginia.  It is alleged that during the events at the U.S. Capitol, Fracker and Robertson were photographed in the Capitol building making an obscene gesture in front of the John Stark statue. 

            On social media, Robertson is quoted as saying, “CNN and the Left are just mad because we actually attacked the government who is the problem and not some random small business ... The right IN ONE DAY took the f***** U.S. Capitol. Keep poking us.” He also stated that he was “proud” of the photo on an Instagram post that was shared to Facebook, because he was “willing to put skin in the game.” On Facebook, Fracker posted a comment that read, “Lol to anyone who’s possibly concerned about the picture of me going around... Sorry I hate freedom? …Not like I did anything illegal…y’all do what you feel you need to.” The post has since been deleted.

            These cases are being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the DOJ’s National Security Division, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia. The cases are being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the United States Capitol Police.

            The information contained in the charging documents are merely allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

            The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.

            The FBI is looking for individuals who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Seven individuals have been charged in federal court in the District of Columbia in connection with crimes committed at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, January 6, 2021.

            The defendants and charges are outlined below:

1. Robert Keith Packer was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and violent entry or disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Packer was arrested today in Virginia.

1. Nicholas Rodean was charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without law authority; one count of knowingly, with intent to impede government business or official functions, engaging in disorderly conduct on capitol grounds; and one count of and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in the capitol buildings. Rodean was arrested today in Washington, D.C.

1. Aaron Mostofsky, was charged with one felony count of theft of government property. He was arrested in New York City yesterday.

1. William Pepe was charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without law authority. Pepe was arrested yesterday in New York.

1. Andrew Williams was charged with one count of unlawful entry of a restricted building and one count of disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Williams was arrested in Florida yesterday.

1. Josiah Colt, of Meridian, Idaho, was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Colt was arrested yesterday in Idaho.

1. Kevin Loftus was charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without law authority and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Loftus was arrested yesterday in Wisconsin.

            In addition, three defendants previously charged by criminal complaint have been indicted in federal court in the District of Columbia:

1. Lonnie Coffman
2. Jacob Chansley
3. Mark Leffingwell

            Defendant, Richard Barnett, who was arrested on Jan. 8, 2021, was charged in an amended complaint yesterday with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without law authority; one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on capitol grounds; and one count of theft of public money, property, or records.

            Additional complaints have been submitted in federal court and investigations are ongoing. As previously reported, approximately 40 individuals were arrested and charged in Superior Court with offenses including, but not limited to, unlawful entry, curfew violations, and firearms-related crimes.

            The cases are being prosecuted by the U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division. The cases are being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the U.S. Capitol Police Department, and the Metropolitan Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by: the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York; the FBI’s New York Field Office; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin; the FBI’s Milwaukee Field Office; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida; the FBI’s Tampa Field Office; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho; the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia; the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; the U.S. Attorney's Office for Maryland; and the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office.

            The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.

            The FBI is looking for individuals who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or s  ubmit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.

            The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

WASHINGTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, along with its law enforcement partners, is aware of reports of violence, including assaults, threats, and property damage, against members of the press while they were engaged in covering events unfolding at the United States Capitol on January 6. Such violence will not be tolerated. We are resolutely committed to upholding the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment, including speech, peaceful assembly, and press, and we will investigate, prosecute, and hold accountable anyone who attempts to obstruct or curtail these freedoms through violence or intimidation. 

            The United States Attorney’s Office invites members of the press to report any instances where a reporter, journalist, photographer, videographer, or other member of the press or broadcast media was the victim of an assault, threat, or property damage during the events of January 6 at the United States Capitol.   Such information, to include video and photographic evidence, can be emailed to [email protected]. As appropriate, a prosecutor or law enforcement agent may follow up for further information.

            We will spare no effort to bring to justice all those who committed lawless and violent acts of any kind, including against members of the media.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two men were charged today in federal court in the District of Columbia in connection with the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021.

            Larry Rendell Brock, of Texas, was charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Brock was arrested today in Texas.

            It is alleged that Brock was identified as one of the individuals who unlawfully entered the U.S. Capitol wearing a green helmet, green tactical vest with patches, black and camo jacket, and beige pants holding a white flex cuff, which is used by law enforcement to restrain and/or detain subjects.

            Eric Gavelek Munchel, of Tennessee, was charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Munchel was arrested today in Tennessee.

            It is alleged that Munchel was inside of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Photos depicting his presence show a person who appears to be Munchel carrying plastic restraints, an item in a holster on his right hip, and a cell phone mounted on his chest with the camera facing outward, ostensibly to record events that day.

            These cases are being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the DOJ’s National Security Division, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. The cases are being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the FBI’s Dallas Field Office, the FBI’s Memphis Field Office and the United States Capitol Police.

            The information contained in the charging documents are merely allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

            The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.

            The FBI is looking for individuals who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.

WASHINGTON - Three men were charged today in federal court in the District of Columbia in connection with the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021.

            Jacob Anthony Chansley, a.k.a. Jake Angeli, of Arizona, was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Chansley was taken into custody today.

            It is alleged that Chansley was identified as the man seen in media coverage who entered the Capitol building dressed in horns, a bearskin headdress, red, white and blue face paint, shirtless, and tan pants. This individual carried a spear, approximately 6 feet in length, with an American flag tied just below the blade.

            Adam Johnson, 36, of Florida, was charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; one count of theft of government property; and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Johnson was arrested yesterday and is currently in custody.

            It is alleged that on Jan. 6, 2021, Johnson illegally entered the United States Capitol and removed the Speaker of the House’s lectern from where it had been stored on the House side of the Capitol building. A search of open sources led law enforcement to Johnson, who is allegedly seen in a widely circulated photo inside the Capitol carrying the lectern.

            Derrick Evans, 35, of West Virginia, was charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol Grounds. Evans was taken into custody Friday.

            It is alleged that on Jan. 6, 2021, Evans, a recently elected member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, streamed live to his Facebook page a video of himself joining and encouraging a crowd unlawfully entering the U.S. Capitol. In the video, Evans is allegedly seen crossing the threshold of the doorway into the U.S. Capitol and shouting, “We’re in, we’re in! Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!”

            These cases are being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the United States Capitol Police.

            The information contained in the charging documents are merely allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

            The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.

            The FBI is looking for individuals who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.

            Thirteen individuals have been charged so far in federal court in the District of Columbia related to crimes committed at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C, on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. In addition to those who have been charged, additional complaints have been submitted and investigations are ongoing.

            “The lawless destruction of the U.S. Capitol building was an attack against one of our Nation’s greatest institutions,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin. “My Office, along with our law enforcement partners at all levels, have been expeditiously working and leveraging every resource to identify, arrest, and begin prosecuting these individuals who took part in the brazen criminal acts at the U.S. Capitol. We are resolute in our commitment to holding accountable anyone responsible for these disgraceful criminal acts, and to anyone who might be considering engaging in or inciting violence in the coming weeks – know this: you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

            “ATF is committed to the rule of law and the protection of all citizens’ Constitutional rights,” said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Deputy Director Regina Lombardo. “We continue to support our law enforcement partners to ensure those who violated the law during the events at the Capitol this week are brought to justice. ATF has dedicated all appropriate resources to complete these investigations as soon as possible.”

            “Today’s charges are just the beginning of the FBI’s ongoing efforts to hold those responsible for the criminal acts of violence and destruction that unfolded during the U.S. Capitol building breach on January 6th,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “To be clear, what took place that day was not First Amendment-protected activity, but rather an affront on our democracy. The FBI, along with our local, state and federal partners, is committed to ensuring that justice is served. We will continue to aggressively investigate each and every individual who chose to ignore the law and instead incite violence, destroy property, and injure others."

            “Deputy U.S. Marshals responded to support U.S. Capitol Police after the incursion into the Capitol building. Our deputies helped to clear the building and escorted members of Congress back to the main chamber for official business,” said U.S. Marshals Service Director Donald Washington. “US Marshals will now bring to bear our fugitive investigations expertise to ensure that individuals charged in federal warrants are brought to face justice. Respect for the rule of law is a foundational principle for our democracy and the freedoms that it provides.  Unlawful acts will not go unpunished.”

            “The events that happened at and around the United States Capitol were unconscionable, and those responsible will be held accountable for their attempts to thwart Democracy,” said Metropolitan Police Department Chief of Police Robert J. Contee III. “While these charges represent a positive step, there is still work to be done. Our collective intentions are to work diligently to identify all of the persons responsible for the insurrection at our U.S. Capitol.”

            Thirteen individuals have been charged with federal crimes. The defendants and charges are outlined below:

1. Cleveland Meredith was charged on Jan. 7, 2021, with making interstate threats to Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
2. Richard Barnett, of Arkansas, was charged on Jan. 7, 2021, with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful entry; violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and theft of public money, property, or records. Barnett allegedly entered a restricted are of the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
3. Lonnie Coffman, of Alabama, was charged on Jan. 7, 2021, with possession of an unregistered firearm (destructive device) and carrying a pistol without a license. It is alleged that Coffman’s vehicle contained 11 explosive devices known as Molotov cocktails and firearms. It is further alleged he was in possession of two firearms. Coffman was arrested and is currently being held. His detention hearing is scheduled for Jan. 12, 2021.
4. Mark Leffingwell, was charged on Jan. 7, 2021, with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; assault on a federal law enforcement officer; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Leffingwell allegedly entered the Senate side of the Capitol and when stopped by law enforcement, struck an officer in the helmet and chest. Leffingwell is currently being held and has a detention hearing in district court today.
5. Christopher Alberts, of Maryland, was charged on Jan. 7, 2021, with carrying or having readily accessible, on the grounds of the United States Capitol Building, a firearm and ammunition. Specifically a Taurus G2C, 9mm handgun and 9mm caliber ammunition. The defendant appeared in district court and was released. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 28, 2021.
6. Joshua Pruitt, was charged on Jan. 7, 2021, with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority. The defendant appeared in district court and was released. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 28, 2021.
7. Matthew Council, of Florida, was charged on Jan. 7, 2021, with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Council allegedly unlawfully entered the Capitol building, and when stopped by law enforcement, he pushed the officer.
8. Cindy Fitchett, of Virginia, was charged on Jan. 7, 2021, with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; or knowingly, with intent to impede government business or official functions, engaging in disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.  
9. Michael Curzio, of Florida, was charged on Jan. 7, 2021, with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; or knowingly, with intent to impede government business or official functions, engaging in disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. 
10. Douglas Sweet, of Florida, was charged on Jan. 7, 2021, with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; or knowingly, with intent to impede government business or official functions, engaging in disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. 
11. Bradley Ruskelas, of Illinois, was charged on Jan. 7, 2021, with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; or knowingly, with intent to impede government business or official functions, engaging in disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. 
12. Terry Brown, of Pennsylvania, was charged on Jan. 7, 2021, with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; or knowingly, with intent to impede government business or official functions, engaging in disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. 
13. Thomas Gallagher was charged on Jan. 7, 2021, with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; or knowingly, with intent to impede government business or official functions, engaging in disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. 

            In addition, approximately 40 individuals have been arrested and charged in Superior Court with offenses including, but not limited to, unlawful entry, curfew violations, and firearms-related crimes.

            The cases are being prosecuted by the U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and are being investigated jointly by the FBI; U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; United States Marshals Service; U.S. Capitol Police Department; and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.

            The FBI is looking for individuals who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.

            The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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