Month: November 2024

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New Jersey Postmaster Indicted on Civil Rights Charge for Sexual Assault of Postal Service Employee

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A two-count indictment was unsealed today charging a U.S. Postal Service Postmaster with a federal civil rights violation for sexually assaulting a victim while acting under color of law and assaulting the victim, a federal employee, during the course of her official duties.

According to the indictment, on Nov. 26, 2022, in Teaneck, New Jersey, Gabriel Ekram Pagabe Ali, 47, sexually assaulted the victim, an employee of the U.S. Postal Service while on duty as a Postmaster at the U.S. Post Office in Teaneck.

Count One of the indictment charges Ali with depriving the victim of her right to bodily integrity when he sexually assaulted the victim. Count Two of the indictment charges Ali with forcibly assaulting the victim while she was engaged in official duties.

If convicted, Ali faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for the civil rights count and eight years in prison for the assault count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey and Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General made the announcement.

The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Laura Gilson and Chloe Neely of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Gribko and Javon Henry for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Phobos Ransomware Administrator Extradited from South Korea to Face Cybercrime Charges

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Justice Department unsealed criminal charges today against Evgenii Ptitsyn, 42, a Russian national, for allegedly administering the sale, distribution, and operation of Phobos ransomware. Ptitsyn made his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on Nov. 4 after being extradited from South Korea. Phobos ransomware, through its affiliates, victimized more than 1,000 public and private entities in the United States and around the world, and extorted ransom payments worth more than $16 million dollars.

“The Justice Department is committed to leveraging the full range of our international partnerships to combat the threats posed by ransomware like Phobos,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Evgenii Ptitsyn allegedly extorted millions of dollars of ransom payments from thousands of victims and now faces justice in the United States thanks to the hard work and ingenuity of law enforcement agencies around the world — from the Republic of Korea to Japan to Europe and finally to Baltimore, Maryland. Together with our partners across the globe, we will continue to hold cybercriminals accountable and protect innocent victims.”

“The indictment alleges that Ptitsyn and his co-conspirators ran the Phobos ransomware group, whose members committed ransomware attacks against more than 1,000 public and private victims throughout the United States and the rest of the world,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Ptitsyn and his co-conspirators hacked not only large corporations but also schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and a federally recognized tribe, and they extorted more than $16 million in ransom payments. Ptitsyn’s indictment, arrest, and extradition reflect the Criminal Division’s commitment to leading the fight against the international scourge of ransomware. We are especially grateful to our domestic and foreign law enforcement partners, like South Korea, whose collaboration is essential to disrupting and deterring the most significant cybercriminal threats facing the United States.”

“It’s only a matter of time, cybercriminals will be caught and brought to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “According to the indictment, Ptitsyn facilitated the worldwide use of a dangerous ransomware strain to target corporations and various organizations, including government agencies, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, and critical infrastructure. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland is committed to bringing cybercriminals to justice and working with the private sector and the academic community to prevent and disrupt their activities.”

“The FBI is working tirelessly to ensure that ransomware actors, both developers and affiliates, face the consequences of their actions,” said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “We know it takes strong partnerships to disrupt cybercriminal networks, and the FBI must thank our partners for the important roles they play in carrying out this mission. The extradition announced today would not have been possible without their assistance.”

As alleged in the indictment, beginning in at least November 2020, Ptitsyn and others conspired to engage in an international computer hacking and extortion scheme that victimized public and private entities through the deployment of Phobos ransomware.

As part of the scheme, Ptitsyn and his co-conspirators allegedly developed and offered access to Phobos ransomware to other criminals or “affiliates” for the purposes of encrypting victims’ data and extorting ransom payments from victims. The administrators operated a darknet website to coordinate the sale and distribution of Phobos ransomware to co-conspirators and used online monikers to advertise their services on criminal forums and messaging platforms. At relevant times, Ptitsyn allegedly used the monikers “derxan” and “zimmermanx.”

Affiliates would then allegedly hack into the victims’ computer networks, often using stolen or otherwise unauthorized credentials; copy and steal files and programs on the victims’ networks; and encrypt the original versions of the stolen data on the networks by installing and executing Phobos ransomware. Affiliates then extorted the victims for ransom payments in exchange for the decryption keys to regain access to encrypted data by leaving ransom notes on compromised victims’ computers and by calling and emailing victims to initiate the ransom payment negotiations. Affiliates also threatened to expose victims’ stolen files to the public or to the victims’ clients, customers, or constituents if the ransoms were not paid.

After a successful Phobos ransomware attack, criminal affiliates paid fees to Phobos administrators like Ptitsyn for a decryption key to regain access to the encrypted files. Each deployment of Phobos ransomware was assigned a unique alphanumeric string in order to match it to the corresponding decryption key, and each affiliate was directed to pay the decryption key fee to a cryptocurrency wallet unique to that affiliate. From December 2021 to April 2024, the decryption key fees were then transferred from the unique affiliate cryptocurrency wallet to a wallet controlled by Ptitsyn.

Ptitsyn is charged in a 13-count indictment with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse, four counts of causing intentional damage to protected computers, and four counts of extortion in relation to hacking. If convicted, Ptitsyn faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count; 10 years in prison for each computer hacking count; and five years in prison for conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Baltimore Field Office is investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with the International Criminal Affairs Division of the Korean Ministry of Justice to secure the arrest and extradition of Ptitsyn. The Justice Department extends its thanks to international judicial and law enforcement partners in South Korea, the United Kingdom, Japan, Spain, Belgium, Poland, Czech Republic, France, and Romania, as well as Europol and the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center, for their cooperation and coordination with the Phobos ransomware investigation. The Justice Department’s National Security Division also provided valuable assistance.

Senior Counsel Aarash A. Haghighat of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron S.J. Zelinsky and Thomas M. Sullivan for the District of Maryland are prosecuting the case. CCIPS Trial Attorney Riane Harper and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey J. Izant for the District of Maryland provided substantial assistance.

Additional details on protecting networks against Phobos ransomware are available at StopRansomware.gov, including Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Advisory AA24-060A.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Lisa L. Lambert Appointed as U.S. Trustee for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Lisa L. Lambert has been appointed by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland as the U.S. Trustee for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas (Region 6) effective today. Lambert replaces Kevin M. Epstein, who filled the Region 6 role in an interim capacity and who continues to serve as the U.S. Trustee for the Southern and Western Districts of Texas (Region 7).

Lambert joined the U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) in 1998 as a trial attorney in the field office in Tyler, Texas. She has since served the USTP in a variety of capacities. After three years in three of the USTP’s New York offices, Lambert returned to Texas in 2009 as a trial attorney in the Dallas field office, and she has served as the Assistant U.S. Trustee in charge of that office since 2012. In addition to her extensive service to the USTP, Lambert has held several leadership positions in the Federal Bar Association’s bankruptcy section, and she coached oral advocacy and briefing skills to Texas Tech University law students competing in the Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition for more than a decade.

Lambert received a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law. After law school, she clerked for Chief Bankruptcy Judge Houston Abel for the Eastern District of Texas and worked at a boutique law firm focused on bankruptcy.

The Executive Office for U.S. Trustees made the announcement.

The USTP’s mission is to promote the integrity and efficiency of the bankruptcy system for the benefit of all stakeholders – debtors, creditors and the public. The USTP consists of 21 regions with 89 field offices nationwide and an Executive Office in Washington, D.C. Learn more about the USTP at www.justice.gov/ust.  

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Defense News: New F-35 storage solutions set to boost efficiency at FRCE

Source: United States Navy

The Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) F-35 Lightning II aircraft modification line continues to grow with the recent addition of a new storage system that will improve safety and efficiency.

As part of the F-35 modification line’s transformation efforts, FRCE has installed three new vertical lift modules – also referred to as vertical stackers – that act as a centralized storage unit for aircraft parts and components. The system effectively consolidates items that have traditionally been stored in various areas throughout the facility.

According to F-35 Branch Head Ike Rettenmair, the vertical stackers offer additional storage, safety improvements and time savings benefits, all of which allow FRCE to support the fleet more efficiently.

“Our main goal is to support our nation’s warfighters by providing quality, combat-ready aircraft,” said Rettenmair. “With the F-35 platform continuously growing, we need to do everything we can to deliver on our promise. That means constantly looking for ways to maximize efficiency, which is exactly what the vertical stackers do.”

FRCE’s F-35 modification line installed its first set of vertical stackers in 2020. Rettenmair said going up instead of out in search of storage solutions allows for more effective use of the limited space in the aircraft hangars, a strategy that proved successful with the initial set of stackers.

“Real estate is prime around here, so the only place we can really store is up,” said Rettenmair. “The vertical stackers help us make the most out of the space we have in our hangars. We saw how well they worked in our other hangar, so we put in a request for more. Now, instead of having parts stored throughout the area, we can put them all in one, organized place. They truly are a worthwhile investment.”

The vertical stackers feature a welded frame, integrated tray locating system and trays with a maximum load of up to 1,000 pounds each.

Measuring 13.5 feet wide by 27 feet tall, each stacker contains 18 trays set at varying heights, customized to their contents. The flexible configuration allows artisans to store aircraft parts and hardware, big and small, with their locations documented in a database that is updated whenever items are added or removed. This makes it easy to quickly locate items as needed. Artisans can access the tray retrieval system using a touchpad located on the front of the module. Once a specific tray is selected, the system directs the lift platform to the appropriate height to retrieve the tray and position it in the retrieval window, similar to the way a vending machine functions. Artisans can then move the tray clear of the column using the column’s pick and delivery system, an integrated carriage that facilitates convenient access to the tray and its contents.

F-35 Overhaul and Repair Supervisor Brent Ward said not only will the vertical stackers remedy a good portion of the line’s storage constraints, but they will also save time.

“The lack of storage space in the hangar forced us to store most of our aircraft parts and panels in another building, while keeping some larger components and engines in the hangar,” said Ward. “The engines and larger components took up a good amount of space in the hangar, making things quite difficult at times. We basically had to shift everything in the hangar just to move one thing, which is a very time-consuming and laborious task for our artisans.

“Now, we can consolidate many of those parts and panels into the stackers, giving us the room we need to move the larger components, engines and landing gear out of the hangar,” Ward continued. “The stackers make it much easier to access commonly used parts and panels and allow us to avoid using extra time and manpower to move things around just to work a task.”

The vertical stackers will also bolster safety, said Rettenmair.

“With the limited space available, the hangar could easily become cluttered with tools and aircraft parts,” Rettenmair said. “The stackers mitigate that; they optimize our hangar space, creating a more efficient environment for our aircraft mechanics and artisans. With the additional room, they can maneuver more freely and perform maintenance tasks more effectively.”

F-35 Overhaul and Repair Supervisor Rusty McCoy added that the vertical stackers will also improve parts management.

“Previously, we didn’t have a designated space to store some of our tools and smaller aircraft parts or panels,” said McCoy. “With the stackers, everything will have a home; we will be able to assign designated spaces for all of our parts, making them easier to locate every time we need them.”

According to Rettenmair, there are plans to incorporate the vertical stackers throughout the depot’s F-35 facilities.

“We are planning to add more stackers as we continue to build and renovate,” said Rettenmair. “We want other people to see how helpful the stackers are and hope to convince folks that this is the way to go for parts storage. They aren’t just for aircraft parts – they can be for side shops, too. They really are so helpful.”

FRCE is North Carolina’s largest maintenance, repair, overhaul and technical services provider, with more than 4,000 civilian, military and contract workers. Its annual revenue exceeds $1 billion. The depot provides service to the fleet while functioning as an integral part of the greater U.S. Navy; Naval Air Systems Command; and Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers.

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Defense News: Greatest Lady of the Seas, USS Nantucket Commissions

Source: United States Navy

“I want to thank all of you for your service and your dedication, I know it’s been a long journey to get to this point. In the past few weeks alone, you’ve traveled over 2,000 nautical miles through four Great Lakes and 15 locks to get here.” said the Honorable Michelle Wu, mayor of Boston, Massachusetts. “While we know the Charlestown Navy Ship Yard isn’t your final stop, it’s a source of great pride for this city and the people of Boston to be granted the privilege of sending you off to your homeport.”

Guest speakers for the event also included the Honorable Maura Healey, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, who delivered the commissioning ceremony’s principal address. Remarks were also provided by the Honorable Polly Spencer, ship’s sponsor; the Honorable Bill Keating, U.S. Representative, Massachusetts’ 8th District; the Honorable Meredith Berger, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment; Vice Adm. Michael Boyle, Director of Navy Staff; and Mr. Paul Lemmo, Vice President and General Manager, Lockheed Martin Integrated Warfare Systems and Sensors.

“Today we gather to celebrate a remarkable addition to our naval fleet, USS Nantucket. I’m honored to represent Lockheed Martin and we’re proud to partner with the U.S. Navy to build the Freedom-variant littoral combat ships,” said Lemmo. “USS Nantucket is not just a ship, it embodies innovation, resilience, and the spirit of our maritime forces.”

The ship’s sponsor, The Honorable Polly Spencer, wife of the 76th Secretary of the Navy, joined by her two daughters, Sarah Minella and Amy Ambrecht gave the order to “man our ship and bring her to life!”

“I’m so heartened to look out and see young boys and girls here and I hope they leave today inspired to answer the call to service,” said Healy. “The freedom – all the freedoms, all the privileges that we enjoy today as Americans are only possible because of those who have served and those who continue to serve.”

Nantucket is the 14th Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) commissioned in the United States Navy and the third to be commissioned in naval service to bear this namesake.

USS Nantucket (LCS 27) was built by the Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin. The ship was authorized on Oct. 10, 2017, and named on Feb. 13, 2018. It was christened Aug. 7, 2021, and completed acceptance trials the following year. The ship was delivered to the U.S. Navy on July 29, 2024.

“My journey began in September 2021 when I received word that I would be the first commanding officer of USS Nantucket and unveiled the crest on the island.” said Cmdr. Kari Yakubisin, Nantucket’s commanding officer. “Our mission on Nantucket is the same as the Constitution was in 1812, while technology has changed over the last 200 years, the mission of the United States Navy remains the same, keep the sea lanes open for commerce, deter piracy and promote peace around the world. I am proud of this crew and the hard work they put in for the last seven months.”

LCS class ships like Nantucket will be equipped with Over the Horizon – Weapons System (OTH-WS) Naval Strike Missile (NSM). The OTH NSM provides the U.S. and its allies with long range anti-surface offensive strike capability as well as increased coastline defense, deterrence, and interoperability. This will include the MK 70 Payload Delivery System (PDS) which uses combat proven MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) technology to provide mid-range precision fires capabilities. The MK 70 enables rapid deployment of offensive capability to non-traditional platforms and locations.

The ceremony featured early successes, milestones, fair wishes, and following seas while showcasing a weeklong series of events celebrating the ship, its crew, community and namesake city.

USS Nantucket will be homeported at Naval Station Mayport, Florida.

LCS is a fast, agile, mission-focused platform designed for operation in near-shore environments yet capable of open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft. They are capable of supporting forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence.

The mission of CNSP is to man, train, and equip the Surface Force to provide fleet commanders with credible naval power to control the sea and project power ashore.

For more news from Naval Surface Forces, visit DVIDS – Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.