Month: January 2023

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Tucson Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Abuse

Source: United States Department of Justice News

TUCSON, Ariz. – On Monday, Orlando Miguel Valenzuela, 28, of Tucson, Arizona, pleaded guilty to Abusive Sexual Contact. Sentencing is scheduled for April 10, 2023, before United States District Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson.

Valenzuela, an enrolled member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, admitted that when he was 18 or 19 years old and living on the Pascua Yaqui reservation, he engaged in sexual acts with a minor who was 11 or younger.

The plea agreement requires Valenzuela to serve 5-10 years in federal prison. After completing his prison sentence, Valenzuela will be placed on lifetime supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

The Pascua Yaqui Police Department and the FBI conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Micah Schmit, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:            CR-22-0682-TUC-CKJ (DTF)
RELEASE NUMBER:    2023-009_Valenzuela

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/

Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

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U.S. Attorney Breon Peace Speaks at a Naturalization Ceremony in Brooklyn

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Remarks as Delivered:

“Good morning.  My name is Breon Peace and I am the United States Attorney here in the Eastern District of New York, which covers Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and all of Long Island and is home to more than 8 million people.  Welcome! 

It is my honor to speak to you all today, a day that you will surely treasure for the rest of your lives.  Let me be among the first to congratulate you on this wonderful milestone!  I am proud to be united with you today in a bond of citizenship that transcends all racial, religious, ethnic, cultural, gender-based, political, language and economic boundaries and proud that we have found a common purpose in being called American citizens.

As the United States Attorney, I have the privilege of leading an office that is responsible for prosecuting all federal criminal cases and for handling federal civil cases in this vast district in which you live.  So my job is to keep the community safe and enforce the law on behalf of the United States to improve the lives of the people of the district, particularly our most vulnerable residents.

One of the best parts of my job is being able to work on behalf of and interact with the citizens of this great district—a district that was created in 1865 by President Abraham Lincoln.  This district has a long and storied history, but to me, it is perhaps best characterized by its rich and vibrant diversity.  This diversity is exemplified by the people in this room.  People born on continents around the globe.  People of different races and religions, ethnicities and educations.  People from widely disparate walks of life. 

With all of these differences, how does America come together?  To me, the answer is clear.  We, as Americans, are united by the philosophy that all people are created equal, and with a goal to make this country better, a more perfect union.

You should have received a packet that contains the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.  These documents speak to the origin of American citizenship and the country’s founding principles in establishing its democratic form of government.

The Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal.  But at the time it was drafted in 1776, neither the Declaration of Independence nor the later drafted United States Constitution recognized all people as equal.  These documents, despite their central role in structuring a government of, by and for the people, did not contemplate that I, a black man and descendant of slaves, would one day be responsible for: protecting the 8.5 million residents of this district from crime; promoting civil rights, justice and equality for all; and safeguarding the very ideals of democracy and the rule of law enshrined in these documents.   

Yet, we are together today as U.S. citizens.  How did we move from the exclusion of the past to the welcoming inclusion reflected in the present moment?

History teaches that it took generations, as well as strength, determination and sustained, unyielding courage to ensure that the nation’s promise of equality was extended to all of its people.

A week and a half ago as we do every January, we honored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  We commemorate the day of Dr. King’s birth and his legacy with a day of service in our communities, in recognition of his unshakeable faith and unrelenting quest for human dignity and civil rights. 

On August 28, 1963, Dr. King stood before the largest crowd ever gathered in support of civil rights at the Lincoln Memorial and boldly talked about his dream in the iconic “I Have A Dream” speech.  Sixty years ago, he dreamed of today, where we sit shoulder-to-shoulder basking in the joy and excitement of being citizens from all walks of life, blending cultures, religions, races and gender in celebration of the promise, hope, and yes, future of democracy.  In an Independence Day sermon he delivered on July 4, 1965, Dr. King spoke poignantly of this dream, saying “… America is essentially a dream.  It is a dream of a land where men of all races, of all nationalities, and of all creeds, can live together as brothers.  The substance of the dream is expressed in these sublime words, ‘we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’”  With your sworn oath this morning, these timeless words now belong to you.

In the fight for civil rights, Dr. King identified the precursor to the American dream as the Emancipation Proclamation, which he referred to as the “offspring” of the Declaration of Independence.  Although I do not intend to give a history lesson here, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865 to end the Civil War and unify the nation.  Dr. King wrote eloquently that the Emancipation Proclamation, “resurrected and restated the principle of equality upon which the founding of the nation rested.” 

It could not be more fitting for us to join in pledging our allegiance to this great country in a proud district created by President Lincoln and rooted in his proclamation of freedom. 

I will close with this:  Dr. King, former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama, often spoke of audacity and hope; the audacity to believe that each of us can make this country greater and stronger, and hope for a better and brighter tomorrow for all Americans. 

I share the audacity and hope, and trust that you do too.  In my life and career as a lawyer, and as United States Attorney today, I’ve had the audacity to believe that I could bend the “arc of the moral universe” towards justice, fairness and freedom, especially for the vulnerable and the marginalized.  And that I can, “keep making our streets safer and our criminal justice system fairer – our homeland more secure, our world more peaceful and sustainable for the next generation,” as President Obama once implored.

I urge you to make today your day of audacity, your day to use the voice you’ve been given to further our democracy and give meaning to its founding principles.  Each of you, have journeyed to this country, you have joined this country, you have judged its ideals your ideals.  You have elected to become citizens in a land of opportunity and dreams as proud heirs of the Declaration of Independence.  Hold fast to the belief that all men and women are created equal and pay it forward by bending the moral arc of this district and country towards justice, fairness, equity and inclusion.  Never forget what brought you here and made you Americans. 

I congratulate you once again on your becoming American citizens and welcome each and every one of you to share in our vibrant democracy.”

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Maryland Man Facing Federal Indictment for Filing Fraudulent Applications for COVID-19 CARES Act Unemployment Benefits and for Illegal Possession of a Firearm

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging Ryan E. Dales, age 34, of Baltimore, Maryland, with illegal possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon and with wire fraud, relating to the submission of fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. 

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Troy W. Springer, of the National Capital Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

According to the two-count indictment, Dales illegally possessed a firearm on January 20, 2023. 

The CARES Act, enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, created the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which expanded states’ ability to provide UI for workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including workers who otherwise wouldn’t be eligible for UI benefits.  The indictment alleges that beginning in December 2020 and continuing through about September 2021, Dales submitted applications for UI benefits that contained false statements, misrepresentations, and omissions related to his employment, his eligibility to received UI benefits, and his purported businesses, including their existence, operation, and profits.  Dales allegedly submitted a fictitious tax form in support of his applications. 

More information on the allegations against Dales may be found here.

If convicted, Dales faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  Dales is expected to have an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, but no date has been set.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

The District of Maryland COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force is one of three strike forces established by U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud, including fraud relating to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act.  The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors.  The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.  

For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.  Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and DOL-OIG for their work in the investigation.  United States Attorney Barron and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul A. Riley are prosecuting the case.  Mr. Barron also recognized the assistance of the Maryland COVID-19 Strike Force Paralegal Specialist Joanna B.N. Huber. 

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.

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U.S. Department of Justice Disrupts Hive Ransomware Variant

Source: United States Department of Justice News

FBI Covertly Infiltrated Hive Network, Thwarting Over $130 Million in Ransom Demands

The Justice Department announced today its months-long disruption campaign against the Hive ransomware group that has targeted more than 1,500 victims in over 80 countries around the world, including hospitals, school districts, financial firms, and critical infrastructure.

Since late July 2022, the FBI has penetrated Hive’s computer networks, captured its decryption keys, and offered them to victims worldwide, preventing victims from having to pay $130 million in ransom demanded. Since infiltrating Hive’s network in July 2022, the FBI has provided over 300 decryption keys to Hive victims who were under attack. In addition, the FBI distributed over 1,000 additional decryption keys to previous Hive victims. Finally, the department announced today that, in coordination with German law enforcement (the German Federal Criminal Police and Reutlingen Police Headquarters-CID Esslingen) and the Netherlands National High Tech Crime Unit, it has seized control of

“Last night, the Justice Department dismantled an international ransomware network responsible for extorting and attempting to extort hundreds of millions of dollars from victims in the United States and around the world,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Cybercrime is a constantly evolving threat. But as I have said before, the Justice Department will spare no resource to identify and bring to justice, anyone, anywhere, who targets the United States with a ransomware attack. We will continue to work both to prevent these attacks and to provide support to victims who have been targeted. And together with our international partners, we will continue to disrupt the criminal networks that deploy these attacks.”

“The Department of Justice’s disruption of the Hive ransomware group should speak as clearly to victims of cybercrime as it does to perpetrators,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “In a 21st century cyber stakeout, our investigative team turned the tables on Hive, swiping their decryption keys, passing them to victims, and ultimately averting more than $130 million dollars in ransomware payments. We will continue to strike back against cybercrime using any means possible and place victims at the center of our efforts to mitigate the cyber threat.”

“The coordinated disruption of Hive’s computer networks, following months of decrypting victims around the world, shows what we can accomplish by combining a relentless search for useful technical information to share with victims with investigation aimed at developing operations that hit our adversaries hard,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI will continue to leverage our intelligence and law enforcement tools, global presence, and partnerships to counter cybercriminals who target American business and organizations.”

“Our efforts in this case saved victims over a hundred million dollars in ransom payments and likely more in remediation costs,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This action demonstrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to protecting our communities from malicious hackers and to ensuring that victims of crime are made whole.  Moreover, we will continue our investigation and pursue the actors behind Hive until they are brought to justice.”

“Cybercriminals utilize sophisticated technologies to prey upon innocent victims worldwide,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Thanks to the exceptional investigative work and coordination by our domestic and international law enforcement partners, further extortion by HIVE has been thwarted, critical business operations can resume without interruption, and millions of dollars in ransom payments were averted.” 

Since June 2021, the Hive ransomware group has targeted more than 1,500 victims around the world and received over $100 million in ransom payments.  

Hive ransomware attacks have caused major disruptions in victim daily operations around the world and affected responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In one case, a hospital attacked by Hive ransomware had to resort to analog methods to treat existing patients and was unable to accept new patients immediately following the attack.   

Hive used a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model featuring administrators, sometimes called developers, and affiliates. RaaS is a subscription-based model where the developers or administrators develop a ransomware strain and create an easy-to-use interface with which to operate it and then recruit affiliates to deploy the ransomware against victims. Affiliates identified targets and deployed this readymade malicious software to attack victims and then earned a percentage of each successful ransom payment.

Hive actors employed a double-extortion model of attack. Before encrypting the victim system, the affiliate would exfiltrate or steal sensitive data. The affiliate then sought a ransom for both the decryption key necessary to decrypt the victim’s system and a promise to not publish the stolen data. Hive actors frequently targeted the most sensitive data in a victim’s system to increase the pressure to pay. After a victim pays, affiliates and administrators split the ransom 80/20. Hive published the data of victims who do not pay on the Hive Leak Site.

According to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Hive affiliates have gained initial access to victim networks through a number of methods, including: single factor logins via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), virtual private networks (VPNs), and other remote network connection protocols; exploiting FortiToken vulnerabilities; and sending phishing emails with malicious attachments. For more information about the malware, including technical information for organizations about how to mitigate its effects, is available from CISA, visit https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/alerts/aa22-321a.

Victims of Hive ransomware should contact their local FBI field office for further information. 

The FBI Field Office, Orlando Resident Agency is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Christen Gallagher and Alison Zitron of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chauncey Bratt for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

The Justice Department also recognizes the critical cooperation of the German Reutlingen Police Headquarters-CID Esslingen, the German Federal Criminal Police, Europol, and the Netherlands Politie, and significant assistance was provided by the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Cyber Operations International Liaison also provided significant assistance. Additionally, the following foreign law enforcement authorities provided substantial assistance and support: the Canadian Peel Regional Police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, French Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire, Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, Norwegian National Criminal Investigation Service in collaboration with the Oslo Police District, Portuguese Polícia Judiciária, Romanian Directorate of Countering Organized Crime, Spanish Policia Nacional, Swedish Police Authority, and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency.

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Clinton Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison Related to a January 2022 Shooting in Davenport

Source: United States Department of Justice News

DAVENPORT, IA – A Clinton man was sentenced yesterday to eight years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of ammunition, related to his involvement in a January 2022 shooting in Davenport.

According to court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Timothy Eugene Angel, age 39, fired multiple shots in the area of 13th Street and Washington Street, a residential area, during the early morning hours of January 29, 2022. Evidence presented showed that Angel was involved in an altercation inside the Thunderguard Club, that the other involved party was kicked out of the club, and that Angel then left the club, retrieved a firearm, and fired numerous rounds, striking one person.

Leonard Fisher, age 32, of Davenport, was identified as another shooter involved. In January 2023, Fisher was convicted by a federal jury of possessing a firearm as a felon. Fisher’s sentencing is set for May 31, 2023. Fisher faces up to ten years in federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Davenport Police Department, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In May 2021, the Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.