Month: September 2022

Posted on

Defense News: Navy Reserve Recognizes Outstanding Civilian Employers at NERE 2022

Source: United States Navy

Vice Adm. John B. Mustin, Chief of Navy Reserve and Commander, Navy Reserve Force recognized 27 civilian employers from across the nation for their exceptional support of Navy Reserve Sailors during the annual Navy Employer Recognition Event (NERE) September 21, 2022.

The event recognized employers who provide outstanding support to Navy Reserve Sailors who work for their organizations in a civilian capacity. The all-day event included tours of Navy ships, aircraft and facilities and concluded with a dinner reception with Mustin, as well as other flag officers and representatives from Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR).

“We honor and recognize the many employers who support our Citizen Sailors, who are often called upon to leave their families and civilian jobs on short notice,” Mustin said, during the opening ceremonies at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, before inviting guests to take part in several hands-on events provided by Maritime Expeditionary Security Group (MESG) 2.”

Visiting executives from various employer organizations had the opportunity to experience virtual small-arms combat simulators, tour static displays of Navy patrol craft, and meet special-warfare operators from SEAL Team 18. After lunch, they toured destroyers USS Cole (DDG 67) and USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79), followed by a walking tour of Navy Reserve aircraft at Chambers Field, including the F/A-18 Super Hornet, F-5N Tiger Phantom, E2-C Hawkeye, C-130 Hercules and CH-53 Sea Stallion. NERE 2022 concluded with an evening reception at the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel.

NERE 2022 was an opportunity for employers to get better acquainted with the military commitments of their employees who are members of the Navy Reserve, providing a deeper understanding of the importance of employer support to Navy warfighting readiness.

“You really start to realize what people sacrifice to do this job,” said Carrie Stanbridge, district maintenance engineer for the Florida Department of Transportation, whose Navy Reserve employee recently returned from an overseas deployment. “So it really means something, and between the employer and the employee, it’s a huge exercise in teamwork.”

The event also provided Navy Reserve Sailors an opportunity to thank their employers for supporting them and their families before, during and after mobilizations or deployments. 

“My boss has to step in and do a lot while I’m gone,” said Commander Andy Kirby,  operations officer for Naval Facilities Engineering Command Contingency Engineering Unit (NAVFAC CEU). “They say folks in the military take a lot on when they deploy–and we do–but the folks who stay behind are taking on a lot as well. I think it’s really great that my boss is willing to step up and take on the extra load to support me and my family while I’m away.” 

Mustin, whose Navy Reserve Fighting Instructions 2022 reinforced the urgency of maintaining Navy Reserve Sailor warfighting readiness in a changing global security environment, thanked each employer individually and encouraged them to continue to support their warfighters.

“I can assure you, the phenomenal support you provide is consequential and appreciated,” Mustin said. 

For more information on how Navy Selected Reserve Sailors can recognize their civilian employers, visit the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) webpage. ESGR is a DoD program that develops and promotes supportive work environments for service members in the Reserve Components through outreach, recognition, and educational opportunities. Navy Selected Reserve Sailors can also nominate their civilian employers for a Patriot award at: https://www.esgr.mil/

 

Posted on

Security News: Former Teacher Sentenced for Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Kansas man was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for impersonating a minor female on social media and enticing dozens of minors in the Topeka area to record and send him sexually explicit images and videos of themselves.

According to court documents, Jeffrey D. Pierce, 42, of Topeka, was a former teacher and basketball coach at Seaman High School in Topeka who impersonated a minor female on various social media platforms and induced minor males in the Topeka area to create and send him images of themselves engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Evidence recovered from Pierce’s phones and other electronic devices shows that his exploitative scheme lasted for at least several years and that he targeted minors in his own community, including his own students at the high school where he formerly taught.

“Soliciting the production of child sexual abuse material is a particularly disturbing crime, made even more egregious when committed by someone entrusted to teach and coach our children,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s sentence reflects the unwavering commitment of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners to stand up for victims and to hold offenders accountable for their conduct.”

“Pierce, an educator and coach, used deception, manipulation and threats to exploit the most vulnerable victims and those he was entrusted to protect, our children” said Special Agent in Charge Charles Dayoub of the FBI Kansas City Field Office. “The investigation into his actions and today’s sentencing demonstrate the unwavering dedication of law enforcement to seek justice for our most innocent victims and those who are unable to defend themselves.”

Pierce was also sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to pay $55,100 in special assessments.

To date, the FBI has identified over 80 minors who were victimized by Pierce. Pierce’s online communications with these victims established that he coerced at least one minor to send him additional sexually explicit material by threatening to distribute that minor’s images to others, distributed sexually explicit images of other minors, and encouraged another minor to engage in in-person sexual conduct with him while he was still impersonating a minor female. In total, law enforcement recovered from Pierce’s electronic devices several thousand images and videos depicting minor males engaged in sexually explicit conduct, as well as hundreds of screenshots of social media accounts belonging to other users and multiple images of nude and undressing minors that appear to have been taken in locker rooms at two Topeka high schools. 

The FBI investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Kaylynn N. Shoop, Austin M. Berry, and William G. Clayman of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) prosecuted the case.

This case is brought as 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 http://www.justice.gov/psc.

Posted on

GSA Announces Inaugural Acquisition Policy Advisory Committee Members

Source: United States General Services Administration

September 22, 2022

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced at the GSA Acquisition Policy Federal Advisory Committee’s (GAP FAC) first public meeting the 28 inaugural members selected from a candidate field of more than 100 highly experienced and knowledgeable experts to serve as its advisors. The GAP FAC will advise the GSA Administrator on emerging acquisition issues, challenges, and opportunities to support its role as America’s buyer.

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Federal Advisory Committee Act than by launching this advisory committee, which will help guide acquisition policy of the world’s largest buyer, the U.S. government,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan in her welcoming remarks to the new members. “GSA plays a leading role, through our Federal Acquisition Service. It’s our responsibility to bring together top experts from around the country with practical, on-the-ground experience to help generate ideas for how we can improve the way government buys things and leverage the government’s buying power to advance important policy goals.”

The Committee charged itself today with an initial focus on driving regulatory, policy, and process changes to embed climate and sustainability considerations in federal acquisition. This includes recommending steps GSA can take to support its workforce and industry partners in ensuring climate and sustainability issues are fully considered in the acquisition process.

“We are grateful that these highly experienced and knowledgeable experts have agreed to volunteer their time and talents to help us,” said Office of Government-wide Policy Associate Administrator Krystal J. Brumfield, who also serves as the agency’s Chief Acquisition Officer. “I look forward to their recommendations for acquisition policy that advance GSA’s mission as America’s buyer, an acquisition workforce that is ready for the future, and a domestic supplier base incentivized to supply innovative offerings to the federal government.”

The Committee members and their organizational affiliations are:

Committee Membership

Member

Organization

Chairperson

Troy Cribb

Partnership for Public Service

Co-Chairperson

Cassius Butts

Global Leader Group

Federal

Jennie Romer

Environmental Protection Agency

Antonio Doss

Small Business Administration

Non-Federal

Richard Beutel

George Mason University

Nigel Stephens

Phoenix Strategies, Inc.

Luke Bassis

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

David Malone

City of St. Petersburg, FL

Mark Hayden

State of New Mexico

Stacy Smedley

Building Transparency

Dr. David Wagger

Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries

Anish Tilak

Rocky Mountain Institute

Dr. Kimberly Wise White

American Chemistry Council

Ce-Vera Gail Bassette

Bowie State University

Nicole Darnall

Arizona State University

Steven Schooner

George Washington University

Amlan Mukherjee

Michigan Technological University

Farad Ali

Asociar LLC

Mamie Mallory

Mallory & Associates LLC

Anne Rung

Varis LLC

Keith Tillage

Tillage Construction LLC

Clyde Thompson

GovStrive LLC

Deryl Mckissack

Mckissack & Mckissack

Darryl Daniels

Jacobsen Daniels Assoc.

Susan Lorenz-Fisher

AmerisourceBergen Corporation

Kristin Seaver

General Dynamics Information Technology

Leslie Cordes

Ceres

Denise Bailey

Milligan Consulting, LLC

Earlier this year, GSA announced its intent to launch the Committee and received over 100 nominations in response. GSA’s Office of Government-wide Policy vetted the candidates and built the esteemed Committee whose members include representatives from industry, including small businesses; federal, state, and local governments; industry associations; and academia.

The GAP FAC will operate in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). Consistent with FACA and its requirements, each meeting of the GAP FAC will be open to the public unless otherwise notified, in accordance with the Government in the Sunshine Act, and those meetings will be fully accessible to individuals with disabilities.

###

About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet and overseeing approximately $75 billion in annual contracts. GSA’s mission is to deliver value and savings in real estate, acquisition, technology, and other mission-support services across government, in support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s priorities. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.

About FACA: The Federal Advisory Committee Act was enacted in 1972 to ensure that advice by the various advisory committees formed over the years is objective and accessible to the public. Federal advisory committees are guided by these statutes and regulations.

Posted on

Security News: U.S. Attorney Urges the Public to Report Suspected Hurricane Fiona Relief Fraud and Cautions Those Who Would Seek to Illegally Profit from this Disaster

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow of the District of Puerto Rico today urged the public to report suspected fraud schemes related to disaster relief operations and federal funding for victims of Hurricane Fiona by calling National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline (1-866-720-5721) or the NCDF’s on-line portal for complaints at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/webform/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

In coordination with our federal and local law enforcement partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will investigate and prosecute hurricane relief schemes. The NCDF Hotline can receive and enter complaints into a centralized system that can be accessed by all U.S. Attorneys, as well as Justice Department litigating and law enforcement components to identify, investigate and prosecute fraud schemes.

United States Attorney Muldrow also cautioned those unscrupulous and predatory individuals and organizations who use this tragic event to take advantage of those in need and who seek to illegally profit from this natural disaster at the expense of the good and hard-working residents of Puerto Rico.

“The United States Attorney’s Office will aggressively prosecute those who commit disaster-related fraud, including those who willfully attempt to delay or disrupt the delivery of critical supplies to those in need, including water, gasoline, diesel fuel and other materials, so that they can unjustly enrich themselves,” said U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “We also take this opportunity to thank our first responders and those who have selflessly helped their neighbors and others in need. It is that spirit of resilience and compassion that typifies Puerto Rico.”

“Disaster Fraud and related acts of corruption hurt those who need it most in their time of greatest need. This should shock everyone’s conscience and move anyone who witnesses such acts to immediate action,” said Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Juan Field Office, Joseph González. “The FBI is on alert, and we encourage anyone with information on disaster fraud and/or any related acts of corruption, to call 787-987-6500 or leave a tip online by visiting Tips.FBI.Gov – Don’t let criminals steal Puerto Rico’s chance to recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Fiona.”

Some examples of disaster-related fraud schemes include:

  • Impersonation of federal law enforcement officials
  • Identity theft
  • Fraudulent submission of claims to insurance companies and the federal government
  • Fraudulent activity related to solicitations for donations and charitable giving
  • Fraudulent activity related to individuals and organizations promising high investment returns from profits from recovery and cleanup efforts
  • Price gouging
  • Theft, looting, and other violent crime

Members of the public are reminded to apply a critical eye and do their due diligence before giving contributions to anyone soliciting donations on behalf of disaster victims. Solicitations can originate from e-mails, websites, door-to-door collections, mailings and telephone calls, and similar methods.

###

Posted on

Security News: Spanish Fork Man and His Two Businesses Charged with Wire Fraud and Money Laundering Offenses.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SALT LAKE CITY – James Wolfgramm, aka Semisi Niu, aka James Vaka Niu, 43, of Spanish Fork, and two of his businesses, Bitex LLC (Bitex), and Ohana Capital Financial, Inc. (OCF), have been charged by a federal grand jury in the District of Utah with seven felony counts in connection with multiple financial fraud schemes. In the indictment, Wolfgramm is charged with five counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering. Bitex is named in two wire fraud counts. OCF is named in two wire fraud counts, as well as the two money laundering counts. 

According to the allegations contained in the indictment, since at least 2018, Wolfgramm represented himself on social media and in private communications as a multimillionaire who made his fortune in cryptocurrency. To gain trust with victims and attract them to his businesses, Wolfgramm used images of cryptocurrency wallets holding millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency, a suitcase full of cash, and social media posts of expensive sports cars Wolfgramm claimed to own. However, some of these images were believed to have been taken from websites and social media feeds of others 

The indictment further alleges that Wolfgramm and Bitex collected nearly $1.7 million from two victims by purporting to sell a high-powered cryptocurrency mining machine – the “Bitex Blockbuster” – that did not actually exist. According to the indictment, Wolfgramm and Bitex displayed one of these purported machines in Bitex’s office space, connected to a monitor that appeared to display the machine’s real-time mining operations. In reality, the machine was fake, and the monitor displayed a pre-recorded loop that simply gave the appearance of mining activity. 

The indictment also alleges that Wolfgramm and OCF marketed the business with the motto “Banking the Unbankable” and purported to offer financial services to entities ineligible for traditional bank accounts. According to the indictment, OCF’s websites falsely claimed to have a Board of Advisors and falsely promised that OCF customer funds were bonded. Under these pretenses, OCF received millions of dollars from customers who believed their money would be kept on deposit until the customers directed the release of their funds. Instead, Wolfgramm and OCF spent these funds on unrelated business expenses, including in one instance, providing a refund to a prior, unrelated depositor. 

In the final scheme alleged in the indictment, Wolfgramm fraudulently agreed to purchase the Sports City complex and land in Draper for $15 million in 2021.  Wolfgramm took possession of the property and took over billing for all Sports City customers – collecting close to $160,000 – without ever paying any utilities or expenses on the property and without making any of the promised payments to the seller on the sales contract. As part of the fraud, Wolfgramm gave the victims a $1 million check that bounced. Wolfgramm later claimed to have paid more than $255,000 in taxes for the property. According to the indictment, however, that payment failed, and Wolfgramm knew the account from which it was purportedly drawn had insufficient funds. 

Wolfgramm, Bitex, and OCF are set to be arraigned in federal court on these charges. 

If you believe you have been a victim of this crime, please call the FBI at (801) 579-1400.

Assistant United States Attorneys Aaron Clark and Stewart Young are prosecuting the case, and special agents from the FBI are conducting the investigation. 

Allegations are not findings of guilt, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty at trial.