Social Media Influencer Charged with Election Interference Stemming from Voter Disinformation Campaign Published: 01 February 2021 01 February 2021
New York - A Florida man was arrested Wednesday morning on charges of conspiring with others in advance of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election to use various social media platforms to disseminate misinformation designed to deprive individuals of their constitutional right to vote.
Douglass Mackey, aka Ricky Vaughn, 31, of West Palm Beach, was charged by criminal complaint in the Eastern District of New York. He was taken into custody this morning in West Palm Beach and made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart of the Southern District of Florida.
Businessman Charged in Scheme to Hoard Personal Protective Equipment and Price Gouge Health Care Providers Details Written by IVN
Jackson, Mississippi - A Mississippi businessman was charged with defrauding the United States and other health care providers in a $1.8 million scheme related to acquiring and hoarding personal protective equipment (PPE) and price gouging health care providers, including numerous U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals in critical need of PPE.
Nicholas L. McQuaid, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Darren J. LaMarca, Acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Mississippi, Michelle A. Sutphin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Jackson, Mississippi Field Office, Jeffrey A. Breen, Special Agent in Charge of the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) South Central Field Office, and Jack Stanton, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs En
Businessman Sentenced for Foreign Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme Involving PetroEcuador Officials Published: 01 February 2021 01 February 2021
Miami, Florida - An Ecuadorian businessman living in Miami was sentenced Thursday to 35 months in prison for his role in a $4.4 million bribery and money laundering scheme that funneled bribes to then-public officials of Empresa Pública de Hidrocarburos del Ecuador (PetroEcuador), the state-owned and state-controlled oil company of Ecuador.
Nicholas L. McQuaid, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement.
According to his plea, Armengol Alfonso Cevallos Diaz, 58, admitted that from 2012 through 2015 he conspired to solicit, intermediate, and pay bribes of $4.4 million from an oil services company and companies associated with or controlled by Cevallos to PetroEcuador officials by using U.S.-bas
Details Written by DOJ
Seattle, Washington - A Washington man pleaded guilty to perpetrating a scheme to fraudulently obtain COVID-19 relief guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Nicholas L. McQuaid, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Brian T. Moran, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington; J. Russell George, Inspector General of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA); Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General of the Social Security Administration (SSA); Hannibal “Mike” Ware, Inspector General of the SBA, and Cardell Morant, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), made the announcement.
Alleged Leaders of Gangster Disciples Indicted on Federal Racketeering Charges Details Written by IVN
Chicago, Illinois - Seven alleged members of the violent Gangster Disciples gang, including top national and state leaders, are in custody after multiple arrests this morning for their alleged participation in a years-long interstate racketeering conspiracy involving multiple murders, drug trafficking, and other crimes.
The case was unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
“The long list of violent crimes alleged in this indictment – including two murders and multiple violent assaults – make plain the threat to our communities posed by criminal organizations like the Gangster Disciples,” said Nicholas L. McQuaid, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This prosecution underscores that coordinated criminal activity will be met with a coordinated and focused l