The Latest News about The Department of Justice

A forfeiture complaint and warrant were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that all petroleum-product cargo aboard four ships are subject to forfeiture based on the terrorism forfeiture statute. The documents name the “Bella” with international maritime organization (IMO) number 9208124, the “Bering” with IMO number 9149225, the “Pandi” with IMO number 9105073, and ...

A Seattle doctor was taken into custody today on allegations that he fraudulently sought over $3 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Dr. Eric R. Shibley, 41, of Seattle, Washington, was charged by criminal complaint, unsealed today upon his arrest, in the Western District of Washington with one count of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud.  He ...

In continued efforts to fight fraud connected to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Federal Trade Commission are partnering to alert the public of emerging threats to steal money and sensitive information through contact tracing scams. Contact tracing is a process underway to identify people who have come in contact ...

A Chinese national pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with laundering more than $4 million in drug proceeds generated by large-scale cocaine trafficking in the United States. According to court documents, Xueyong Wu, 40, cultivated relationships with Latin American drug trafficking organizations to transport and launder their United States-based drug proceeds.  Wu is scheduled to ...

Hao Zhang, 41, of China, was found guilty of economic espionage, theft of trade secrets, and conspiring to commit both offenses today, announced the Department of Justice. From 2010 to 2015, Zhang conspired to and did steal trade secrets from two companies: Avago and Skyworks. Avago is a designer, developer, and global supplier of a broad range of analog, digital, ...

A federal grand jury returned a second superseding indictment today charging Julian P. Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, with offenses that relate to Assange’s alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States. The new indictment broadens the scope of the conspiracy surrounding alleged computer intrusions with which Assange was previously ...

The Department of Justice announced today the unsealing of an indictment charging Ethan Melzer, 22, of Louisville, Kentucky, for allegedly planning an attack on his U.S. Army unit by sending sensitive details about the unit – including information about its location, movements, and security – to members of an extremist organization named Order of the Nine Angles (O9A), an occult-based neo-Nazi ...

Team Telecom today recommended to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), based on national security concerns, that the FCC partially deny the Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN) subsea cable system application, to the extent it seeks a direct connection between the United States and Hong Kong. Team Telecom, which is formally known as the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation ...

A former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) public affairs officer pleaded guilty today to defrauding at least a dozen companies of over $4.4 million by posing falsely as a covert officer of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). According to court documents, Garrison Kenneth Courtney, 44, of Tampa, Florida, falsely claimed to be a covert officer of the CIA involved in a ...

The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (collectively, the Departments) submitted a proposed rule change to help immigration officials more effectively separate baseless claims for asylum from meritorious ones. The proposal suggests the following changes to the Departments’ regulations: Amend the regulations governing credible fear determinations so that individuals found to have such a fear will have ...

The former Chair of Harvard University’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department was indicted today on charges of making false statements to federal authorities regarding his participation in China’s Thousand Talents Program. Dr. Charles Lieber, 61, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of making false statements and will be arraigned in federal court in Boston at ...

A criminal complaint issued today charged Wesley Somers, 25, of Hendersonville, Tennessee, with malicious destruction of property using fire or explosives. “The Department of Justice will vindicate the First Amendment rights of all Americans to speak, assemble and seek a redress of grievances from their government,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers.  “We cannot tolerate, however, ...

The Department of Justice today filed a statement of interest in a Michigan federal court in support of a lawsuit filed by seven businesses challenging the restrictions imposed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement of interest is part of Attorney General William P. Barr’s April 27, 2020 initiative directing Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband ...

Governors across the United States have issued orders during the coronavirus pandemic that restrict or prohibit religious services. The Department of Justice and Attorney General William Barr have fought back against such restrictions on multiple occasions. “Even in times of emergency,” Barr warned in April, federal law prohibits religious discrimination. Governors and mayors across the United States have issued orders ...

A Calexico City, California councilman and mayor pro tem, along with a commissioner on the city’s Economic Development and Financial Advisory Commission, were charged in federal court today with accepting cash bribes in exchange for promises of official action by the city. According to a charging document, David Romero 36, and Bruno Suarez Soto, 28, both of Calexico, California, accepted ...