Security News in Brief: Nigerian hacker and a repeat offender sentenced to federal prison for unemployment fraud and tax fraud scheme

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Bamidele Muraina, a Nigerian national who hacked into tax preparation firms and filed fraudulent unemployment benefit claims and tax returns using stolen personally identifiable information, and Gabriel Kalembo, a previously convicted fraudster who laundered the fraudulent assets, have been sentenced to federal prison.

Security News in Brief: Capital One CEO to Pay Civil Penalty for Violating Antitrust Pre-Transaction Notification Requirements

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, at the request of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, against Richard D. Fairbank, the CEO of Capital One Financial Corporation, for violating the pre-transaction notification and waiting period requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act of 1976 (HSR Act) when he acquired voting securities of Capital One in 2018. At the same time, the department filed a proposed settlement, subject to approval by the court, under which Fairbank has agreed to pay a $637,950 civil penalty to resolve the lawsuit.

9/11 Attacks 20 Years Ago Shaped Today’s FBI

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News

Immediately after the attacks, the FBI’s top job was to identify the attackers and prevent another incident. Experts in terrorism, evidence collection, and other specialties worked feverishly to determine what had happened and who was responsible. The FBI also coordinated with its partners in law enforcement and the intelligence community domestically and abroad as it launched its most ambitious investigation ever.

Within minutes, officials at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., activated the Strategic Information and Operations Center. By the end of the day, the FBI had established command posts for each of the three crash sites.

Thousands of agents interviewed witnesses and sources. They tracked down clues and tips worldwide to determine what had happened, who did it, and how future acts could be prevented. The FBI started identifying the 19 terrorists within hours.

Then-FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III broke with routine and based the massive investigation out of FBI Headquarters instead of a field office. The PENTTBOM Team—short for Pennsylvania, Pentagon, and Twin Towers Bombing—coordinated the investigation out of a basement office, where dozens of agents would build a case against those responsible. 

The case, which remains open, revealed extraordinary acts of courage and selflessness among the spectrum of responders. And it forever changed the way the FBI works with law enforcement and intelligence community partners to keep Americans safe in the U.S. and abroad.

“Because of that terrible day, starting in 2001 under the leadership of Director Mueller, the FBI transformed itself in ways that have made us stronger and better—and our country safer,” Director Christopher Wray said in 2019 during a visit to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.

Security News in Brief: Justice Department Settles with Newark Public Schools to Protect English Learner Students

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Today the Justice Department announced a settlement agreement with Newark Public Schools to resolve the department’s investigation into the school district’s programs for its English learner students. The agreement ends the district’s longstanding and common practice of removing students from English learner programs before they become fluent in English. The district has agreed to improve services for English learner students so they can access the same educational opportunities as other students in the Newark Public Schools.