Month: January 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Cooper Morgenthau Embezzled More Than $5 Million and Caused False Statements to Be Made to Accountant and Auditor and in SEC Filings

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A New York man was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for conspiring to steal General Electric (GE) trade secrets, knowing or intending to benefit the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Xiaoqing Zheng, 59, of Niskayuna, New York, was convicted of conspiracy to commit economic espionage, following a four-week jury trial that ended on March 31, 2022. According to court documents, Zheng was employed at GE Power in Schenectady, New York, as an engineer specializing in turbine sealing technology. He worked at GE from 2008 until the summer of 2018. The trial evidence demonstrated that Zheng and others in China conspired to steal GE’s trade secrets surrounding GE’s ground-based and aviation-based turbine technologies, knowing or intending to benefit the PRC and one or more foreign instrumentalities, including China-based companies and universities that research, develop, and manufacture parts for turbines.

“This is a case of textbook economic espionage. Zheng exploited his position of trust, betrayed his employer and conspired with the government of China to steal innovative American technology,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will hold accountable those who threaten our national security by conniving to steal valuable trade secrets on behalf of a foreign power.” 

“Zheng sought to enrich himself, and benefit the People’s Republic of China, by stealing trade secrets developed and owned by his longtime employer, General Electric,” said U.S. Attorney Carla B. Freedman for the Northern District of New York. “We will continue to work with the FBI to hold criminals accountable when they seek to illegally exploit American ingenuity.”

“American ingenuity is an integral part of the United States economic security – it is what has guided the U.S. to become the global leader, even as China seeks to topple our status,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI Counterintelligence Division. “Xiaoqing Zheng was a Thousand Talents Program member and willingly stole proprietary technology and sent it back to the PRC. Let today’s sentencing serve as a reminder that the FBI remains dedicated in our pursuit of those who collaborate with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and steal American trade secrets.”

U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino also sentenced Zheng to pay a $7,500 fine and serve one year of post-imprisonment supervised release.

This case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Belliss and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Powers for the Northern District of New York, and Trial Attorney Matthew Chang of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Baltimore, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar today sentenced Dennis James Harrison, age 40, of Rocky Ridge, Maryland, to 45 years in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for the sexual exploitation of children to produce child pornography, related to the sexual exploitation of two minors who were between the ages of 10 and 12 at the time of the abuse.  Chief Judge Bredar also ordered that, upon his release from prison, defendant Harrison must continue to register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”). 

Harrison also had a conviction from August 12, 2009, in the Court of Common Pleas of Adams County, Pennsylvania, for possession of child pornography and was a registered sex offender at the time of his arrest in this federal case.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Frederick County Sheriff Charles A. “Chuck” Jenkins; and Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith III.

According to his guilty plea, between 2018 and 2021, Harrison sexually exploited two minor girls beginning when the one victim was twelve years old and when the other victim was 10 to 11 years old, to produce child pornography.  Specifically, from at least September 2020 through August 2021, Harrison engaged in sexual activity with Jane Doe 1, a 12-year-old girl who resided in Pennsylvania.  Harrison picked-up Jane Doe 1 from her residence and drove her to various locations in Maryland, including Harrison’s residence, where he engaged in illegal sexual activity with Jane Doe 1.  The defendant produced images and videos of his sexual abuse of Jane Doe 1 and enticed Jane Doe 1 to send him sexually explicit photographs of herself.

As detailed in his plea agreement, Harrison also used a hidden camera and a mobile phone in 2018 to produce a series of images depicting Jane Doe 2, a 10-to-11-year-old girl, nude and partially nude in a bedroom and bathroom in Pennsylvania and in a bathroom in Maryland.  The images were taken without the knowledge of Jane Doe 2. 

On August 12, 2021, investigators executed a search warrant at Harrison’s residence and recovered a cellphone used by Harrison to film his sexual abuse of Jane Doe 1, as well as several digital devices.  A forensic examination of all the devices located files depicting the sexual abuse of children on each one, including depictions of infants and toddlers.  In total, over 14,000 files of child pornography were found on Harrison’s devices. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HSI, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, and the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office their work in the investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joyce King, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

Attacks over the Christmas holiday caused $3 million in damage and cut power to thousands

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Frank James, 63, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty today to 10 counts of committing a terrorist attack or other violence against a mass transportation vehicle – one count for each gunshot victim – and one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of his attack. The charges relate to the defendant’s April 12, 2022, mass shooting on the New York City subway in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

According to court documents, during rush hour on the morning of April 12, 2022, James used a Glock 17 pistol he legally purchased in Ohio to conduct a mass shooting on an N subway train in Brooklyn, New York. As part of his attack, James – disguised in an orange reflective jacket and yellow hard hat to look like a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) employee – set off a smoke-emitting device in a subway car before opening fire on his captive victims. The smoke-emitting device caused panicked passengers to scramble to one end of the subway car, allowing James to more easily shoot at his victims. In total, 10 victims were struck by the defendant’s bullets. Even more passengers suffered from smoke inhalation and other mental and physical injuries due to the defendant’s attack.

“As described in court filings, the defendant set off a smoke bomb in a New York City subway car and then fired a handgun more than 30 times, striking ten innocent passengers,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that the Justice Department will work relentlessly to hold accountable those who engage in mass violence and terrorize our communities.”

“On the morning of April 12, 2022, Frank James cold-bloodedly shot innocent New Yorkers traveling on the subway in Brooklyn and brought terror to our great city. James’s crimes of violence have been met with swift justice,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “James’s admission of guilt to all eleven counts of the superseding indictment acknowledges the terror and pain he caused. This guilty plea is an important step towards holding James fully accountable and helping the victims of the defendant’s violence and our great city heal.”

“Frank James, as he admitted today, deliberately planned and carried out an attack of terror on everyday New Yorkers. The FBI’s JTTF and our law enforcement partners remain ever vigilant in our efforts to protect our city, and we will ensure those willing to commit acts of terror face the consequences of their actions,” said Assistant Director in Charge Michael J. Driscoll of the FBI New York Field Office.

The investigation reflects that the attack was the culmination of substantial planning. Beginning as early as 2017, James began purchasing items he could use in an attack, including smoke grenades, ammunition, weapons, and his disguise. In the months leading up to his attack, James conducted web searches for “MTA,” “New York,” “transit,” “stops on the N train,” and “311 kings highway brooklyn ny,” which is near where James parked his rented U-Haul van before entering the subway. The defendant also recorded and posted videos online foreshadowing his plans, including stating that “if you hear the name Frank James on the news, if something happens to a Frank James that’s sixty-something years old, chances are that’s me.”

Following James’s attack, law enforcement officers searched James’s apartment and storage unit and uncovered a stockpile of weapons, including, among other items, 9mm ammunition; a threaded 9mm pistol barrel, which allows for a silencer or suppresser to be attached; .223 caliber ammunition, which is used with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle; a taser; a high-capacity rifle magazine; and a blue smoke cannister.

James faces up to life in prison on each of the 11 counts. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

The FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of agents from the FBI and detectives from the NYPD are investigating the case. MTA provided valuable assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ian C. Richardson, Sara K. Winik, and Ellen H. Sise for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance provided by Paralegal Specialist Magdalena St. Surin and Trial Attorney David Cora of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.