Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

FBI Washington Field Office Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono delivered the following remarks during a press call regarding the January 6, 2021, violent activity at the U.S. Capitol. Remarks prepared for delivery.

Good afternoon. I’m Steven D’Antuono, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to provide an update on our progress in the investigation of the January 6 breach and insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Since the events of that day, the FBI has been working day and night to find answers to the questions the American people deserve to know, including how the attack happened, who was responsible for the siege, and what we are doing in this investigation now that we are almost three weeks into this case.

You’ve all seen the Wanted posters we’ve been plastering everywhere, from digital billboards on America’s highways to bus shelters in D.C. to your social media feed. But I wanted to tell you what you haven’t seen.

Behind the walls of every FBI field office throughout the country are scores of dedicated agents, analysts, and other specialized personnel, who are working with our law enforcement partners.

They are chasing down leads, reviewing evidence, and combing through digital media to identify, charge, and arrest anyone who was behind the siege we all saw on the sixth.

Now, one question being asked is: Who are we looking for? Not only are we focused on finding those who breached the Capitol, damaged the building, or stole government property but we are also looking to find those who violently assaulted the law enforcement officers who were trying to protect the Capitol and prevent the disruption of our democratic process.

As part of this investigation, we are also continuing to try to identify and arrest the person (or persons) responsible for placing pipe bombs outside the offices of the Democratic and Republican National Committees. Together with ATF, we are offering a $75,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest, and prosecution of the perpetrator or perpetrators.

As you can imagine, this is an enormous endeavor. But let me assure you, we are up to the task. This case is challenging. It is complex and it is big—both in size and scope. But at the FBI, we do big, and we do challenging, and we do complex.

We’ve been here before. The FBI, and the Washington Field Office in particular, has led major complex investigations—including the terrorist attack on the Pentagon on 9/11, the D.C. sniper case, and the Navy Yard shooting, to name just a few.

However, this case is unique in its magnitude and the number of subjects.

My pledge to anyone listening to this is that the FBI will carry out the investigative process with rigor and due diligence, following the facts and following the evidence wherever it takes us.

We are in lockstep with our partners at the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office and our other law enforcement partners here and around the country.

I want to stress that we have had—and continue to have—another enormously powerful partner in this case, and that is the American people.

Spurred by the public outrage and disgust at what occurred on January 6, we have seen an outpouring of tips and information from citizens around the country that has been nothing short of remarkable. We received more than 200,000 digital media tips from the public.

Some of you have recognized that this was such an egregious incident that you have turned in your own friends and family members.

We know that those decisions are often painful—but you picked up the phone because it was the right thing to do. We are grateful you made that choice. America is grateful you made that choice.

I want to thank you all—on behalf of the FBI and our law enforcement partners—for your help.

With your assistance, we have identified more than 400 suspects in the breach of the Capitol and assault on law enforcement officers. Of those, the FBI has arrested approximately 135 to date, with many more being identified and charged every day.

We continue to seek the public’s help in identifying additional perpetrators of these heinous acts. You can see photos of additional suspects and help us find them by viewing our Seeking Information posters at fbi.gov.

If you have tips—no matter how small—please call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit tips online at tips.fbi.gov.

What happened at the Capitol on January 6 has not occurred in over 200 years. We owe it to the American people to find out how and why it did. We are committed to seeing this through—no matter how many people it takes, how many days it takes us, or the resources we’ll need to get it done. We will get to the bottom of this. The American people, and this country, deserve no less.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

The FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force and Arvada Police Department need your help identifying an individual who robbed the Wells Fargo Bank, located at 7375 West 52nd Avenue, Arvada, Colorado, at 3:10 p.m. on Tuesday, February 2, 2021.

The suspect is described as a Caucasian male in his 30s, approximately 5’4” with a medium build and tattoos on his face and hands. He was last seen wearing a tan widebrimmed hat, dark sunglasses, a light-colored vest over a long-sleeved gray or brown shirt, and dark-colored pants and shoes. He wore a white covering as a face mask and was carrying a dark-colored bag.

Please be on the lookout for anyone matching the suspect’s description. Be aware of anyone similar who might have recently changed their spending habits or discussed coming into money suddenly.

Bank robbery is punishable up to a 20-year prison sentence for each offense and increases if a dangerous weapon is used in the commission of the crime. The FBI continues to provide financial institutions with the best practices for security to make them less vulnerable to robberies.

If anyone has any information on the bank robberies above, or any bank robbery, please call the FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force at 303-629-7171; or, you can remain anonymous and earn up to two thousand dollars ($2,000) by calling CRIMESTOPPERS at 720-913-STOP (7867).

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Johnnie Sharp, Jr. and Huntsville Police Chief Mark McMurray today announced rewards totaling $18,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the individual responsible for the vandalizations of the Etz Chayim Synagogue on April 9, 2020, and the Chabad of Huntsville on April 10, 2020. The announcement was made at a press conference held at Huntsville Police Headquarters this afternoon.

The FBI is providing a $15,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the individual responsible.

Huntsville Area Crime Stoppers is offering a separate reward of $1,000, and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is offering a separate reward of $2,000. These two rewards are subject to their individual rules and are not administered by the FBI.

In addition, this reward campaign will include digital billboards that will be displayed across north Alabama and southern Tennessee. The FBI would like to express its thanks to Lamar Advertising for their contribution to the digital billboard campaign.

In the early morning hours of April 9, 2020, the Etz Chayim Synagogue, located at 7707 Baily Cove Road, Huntsville, Alabama, was vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti.

The following day, in the early morning hours of April 10, 2020, the Chabad of Huntsville, located at 1908 Parkhill Road SE, Huntsville, Alabama was vandalized with similar anti-Semitic graffiti. Surveillance camera footage indicated that the vandalisms were perpetrated by the same individual.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News

The National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force (NCIJTF) has released a new joint-seal ransomware fact sheet. This educational product is intended to provide the public important information on the current ransomware threat and the government’s response, as well as common infection vectors, tools for attack prevention, and important contacts in the event of a ransomware attack.

The NCIJTF has the primary responsibility to coordinate, integrate, and share information in support of cyber threat investigations; supply and support intelligence analysis for community decision-makers; and provide value to other ongoing efforts in the fight against cyber threats to the nation.

To address the growing ransomware problem, the NCIJTF has convened an interagency group of subject matter experts from over 15 different government agencies to specifically focus on the prevention of and response to ransomware attacks. The interagency group developed the new ransomware fact sheet to increase awareness and public education surrounding this threat, equipping the public with tools to prevent ransomware attacks and reduce the overall threat to the United States.

Ransomware is a type of malicious software, or malware, deployed by criminal actors that encrypts data on a computer system, making it unusable for the end user. The criminal cyber actors hold the data hostage until a ransom is paid. If the ransom is not paid, victim data could remain unavailable indefinitely, or it could be released to the public at large. Between 2013 and 2019, it is estimated at least $144.35 million in Bitcoin have been paid out as ransomware ransom.

While ransomware attacks can impact any industry or organization, the federal government is particularly concerned about ransomware attacks on the networks of police and fire departments; state, local, tribal, and territorial governments; municipalities; hospitals; and other critical infrastructure. These types of attacks can delay first responders in responding to emergencies or prevent a hospital from accessing lifesaving equipment. It is imperative these organization be prepared in the face of the ransomware threat. The NCIJTF’s ransomware fact sheet provides the basic information necessary to help protect the United States’ infrastructure.

The joint-seal product can be found at https://www.ic3.gov/Content/PDF/Ransomware_Fact_Sheet.pdf.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News

Director Christopher Wray has named Jeffrey S. Sallet as the associate deputy director of the FBI. Mr. Sallet oversees all FBI personnel, budget, administration, and infrastructure, as well as the inspections and insider threat programs. He most recently served as the executive assistant director of the Human Resources Branch.

Mr. Sallet started his FBI career as a special agent in 1997 in the New York Field Office, investigating crimes across several areas. During the 9/11 investigation, he was responsible for identifying how the attacks were funded and for tracking al Qaeda’s financial assets.

In 2005, Mr. Sallet transferred to the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., to manage La Cosa Nostra investigations in the northeastern United States. In 2007, he moved to the Providence Resident Agency in Rhode Island. The next year, he was promoted to supervisory senior resident agent, in charge of all counterterrorism, public corruption, civil rights, government fraud, and organized crime investigations in Rhode Island.

Mr. Sallet was promoted again in 2012, to an assistant special agent in charge in the Boston Field Office, overseeing white-collar crime, public corruption, health care fraud, and civil rights matters. He also led the coordinated law enforcement response and investigation of the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013.

Mr. Sallet was named chief of the Public Corruption/Civil Rights Section in the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters in 2014. He was promoted to special agent in charge of the New Orleans Field Office in 2015 and moved to lead the Chicago office in 2017. He was promoted to associate executive assistant director of the Finance and Facilities Division in 2019.

In 2020, Mr. Sallet was promoted to executive assistant director of the Human Resources Branch, where he oversaw the Human Resources, Training, Security and the Finance and Facilities divisions.

Prior to joining the FBI, Mr. Sallet worked as an auditor and forensic accountant in the private sector. He is a certified public accountant and a certified financial forensics professional.