Category: Security News

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

On Nov. 15, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York returned an indictment charging Noor Nabi Chowdhury, 56, of Cheektowaga, New York, and his brother, Mohammad Rahman, 36, of Dhaka, Bangladesh, with conspiracy to provide to the public an illicit digital transmission service; providing an illicit digital transmission service; conspiracy to commit wire fraud; and aggravated identity theft. The charges stem from their operation of 247TVStream, an online subscription-based service that permitted users to stream copyrighted content, such as live sports programming and television shows, without the permission of the relevant copyright owners.

According to court documents, Chowdhury and Rahman allegedly ran the illegal scheme for years and collected more than $7 million in subscriber fees from 247TVStream subscribers. The estimated harm to legitimate copyright owners caused by 247TVStream is more than $100 million. Chowdhury and Rahman also allegedly used a victim’s identification to facilitate the infrastructure for the scheme.

The indictment was unsealed earlier today, following Chowdhury’s arrest, and he appeared for his arraignment in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York this afternoon. An arrest warrant was issued for Rahman, who remains at large.

“According to the indictment, Chowdhury and Rahman ran an illicit digital streaming site that infringed upon more than a hundred million dollars of intellectual property owned by legitimate copyright owners,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Thanks to the work of our prosecutors, along with our domestic and international law enforcement partners, the illicit digital streaming site no longer exists, and Chowdhury is in custody. These actions demonstrate the Criminal Division’s commitment to protecting intellectual property rights by vigorously enforcing the laws against illicit digital transmission services.”

“As alleged, the defendants operated a bootleg online streaming service that distributed copyrighted television programs that they stole for their personal enrichment,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “My office and the Justice Department are committed to protecting the rights of intellectual property holders from digital pirates like these defendants.”

“Noor Nabi Chowdhury and Mohammad Rahman are accused of committing copyright infringement to the tune of over $100 million,” said Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Field Office. “As alleged and in furtherance of their criminal scheme, the defendants stole an unsuspecting victim’s identity to exploit major American businesses, in pursuit of illicit wealth. HSI New York proudly stands alongside our law enforcement and private sector partners, both domestic and abroad, to thwart criminal organizations who seek to financially capitalize on their wrongdoing.”

Also today, HSI executed a seizure order from the Eastern District of New York against website domain names used by Chowdhury and Rahman to operate 247TVStream. The seizure of these domains by the government will prevent the owners and third parties from using the sites to operate 247TVStream. Individuals, including subscribers, visiting those sites now will see a message indicating that the site has been seized by the federal government. In addition, in coordination with international law enforcement partners to enforce criminal copyright laws, United Kingdom authorities have seized the servers hosting a portion of the 247TVStream infrastructure.

If convicted, Chowdhury and Rahman each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy to provide the illicit digital transmission service charge; three years in prison on the providing the illicit digital transmission service charge; 20 years in prison for the conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge; and a mandatory penalty of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft, to run consecutive to the other sentences.

The HSI New York Field Office is investigating the case, with assistance from the HSI Buffalo Field Office and their Attaché Offices in Ottawa, The Hague, and London.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also assisted. The Justice Department appreciates the additional assistance provided by the Surrey and City of London Police of the United Kingdom and Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Trial Attorneys Vasantha Rao and Jeff Pearlman of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Schuman for the Eastern District of New York 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.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Dell Technologies Inc. and Dell Federal Systems L.P. (collectively Dell), located in Austin, Texas, have agreed to pay $2,300,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting and causing the submission of non-competitive bids to the Army and thereby overcharging the Army under the Army Desktop and Mobile Computing 3 (ADMC-3) contract. Iron Bow Technologies LLC (Iron Bow), located in Herndon, Virginia, also agreed to pay $2,051,000 for its role in the scheme.

The settlements resolve allegations that from May 2020 to April 2024, Dell operated a deal registration program, whereby it gave advantageous pricing to Iron Bow to sell certain Dell computer hardware products to the Army in response to solicitations under the AMDC-3 contract. The United States alleged that Dell also submitted its own direct bids to the Army on the same solicitations, knowing that its prices would be higher than Iron Bow’s, thereby creating a false appearance of competition. The United States further alleged that Dell’s practice of providing higher direct bids influenced the Army’s source selection process and enabled Iron Bow to overcharge the Army for certain Dell products.

“The United States relies on competition to get the best value and price for the American taxpayers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This settlement demonstrates the department’s commitment to hold accountable those who overcharge the government through collusion or other unlawful conduct.”

“Fraud in the government contracting process costs taxpayers untold dollars each year,” said U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona for the Northern District of Alabama. “We will continue to work with our federal law enforcement partners to investigate and pursue those who commit government contracting fraud.”

The Dell settlement also resolves a lawsuit filed against Dell under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to sue on behalf of the government when they believe that a defendant has submitted false claims for government funds and receive a share of any recovery. The settlement in this case provides for the whistleblower, Brent Lillard, an executive of another IT reseller, to receive a $345,000 share of the recovery from Dell. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Lillard v. Dell Technologies Inc., No. 5:20-CV-1613-HNJ (NDAL).

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, with assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General, Army Criminal Investigation Division, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Inspector General and General Services Administration Office of Inspector General.

Trial Attorney Samson Asiyanbi of the Justice Department’s Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Blutter for the Northern District of Alabama handled the matter.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability. 

Dell Settlement

Iron Bow Settlement

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

John Chen, 71, of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Los Angeles, was sentenced today to 20 months in prison for acting as unregistered agents of the PRC and bribing an IRS agent in connection with a plot to target U.S.-based practitioners of Falun Gong — a spiritual practice banned in the PRC.

According to court documents, from at least approximately January 2023 to May 2023, Chen and co-defendant Lin Feng, 44, a PRC citizen and resident of Los Angeles, California, worked inside the United States at the direction of the PRC government, including an identified PRC government official PRC Official-1, to further the PRC government’s campaign to repress and harass Falun Gong practitioners. The PRC government has designated the Falun Gong as one of the “Five Poisons,” or one of the top five threats to its rule. In China, Falun Gong adherents face a range of repressive and punitive measures from the PRC government, including imprisonment.

As part of the PRC’s campaign against the Falun Gong, Chen and Feng engaged in a PRC government-directed scheme to manipulate the IRS’ Whistleblower Program in an effort to strip the tax-exempt status of an entity run and maintained by Falun Gong practitioners, the Shen Yun Performing Arts Center. After Chen filed a defective whistleblower complaint with the IRS (the Chen Whistleblower Complaint), Chen and Feng paid $5,000 in cash bribes and promised to pay substantially more to a purported IRS agent (Agent-1) who was, in fact, an undercover officer, in exchange for Agent-1’s assistance in advancing the complaint. Neither Chen nor Feng notified the Attorney General that they were acting as agents of the PRC in the United States.

In the course of the scheme, Chen, on a recorded call, explicitly noted that the purpose of paying these bribes, which were directed and funded by the PRC, was to carry out the PRC government’s aim of “toppl[ing] . . . the Falun Gong.” During a call intercepted pursuant to a judicially authorized wiretap, Chen and Feng discussed receiving “direction” on the bribery scheme from PRC Official-1, deleting instructions received from PRC Official-1 in order to evade detection, and “alert[ing]” and “sound[ing] the alarm” to PRC Official-1 if Chen and Feng’s meetings to bribe Agent-1 did not go as planned. Chen and Feng also discussed that PRC Official-1 was the PRC government official “in charge” of the bribery scheme targeting the Falun Gong.

As part of this scheme, Chen and Feng met with Agent-1 in Newburgh, New York, on May 14, 2023. During the meeting, Chen gave Agent-1 a $1,000 cash bribe as an initial, partial bribe payment. Chen further offered to pay Agent-1 a total of $50,000 for opening an audit on the Shen Yun Performing Arts Center, as well as 60% of any whistleblower award from the IRS if the Chen Whistleblower Complaint were successful. On May 18, 2023, Feng paid Agent-1 a $4,000 cash bribe at John F. Kennedy International Airport as an additional partial bribe payment in furtherance of the scheme.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York, and Executive Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch made the announcement.

In addition to the prison term, Chen was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $50,000. Feng was sentenced on Sept. 26, to a time-served sentence of 16 months in prison.

The FBI and Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Qais Ghafary, Michael D. Lockard, and Kathryn Wheelock for the Southern District of New York and Trial Attorney Christina Clark of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Remarks are Prepared for Delivery

Good morning. Welcome to the 19th Annual Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation. First, I want to extend my gratitude to our hosts, the Pueblo of Pojoaque and Governor Roybal, for their warm hospitality in hosting this significant gathering on these sacred Tribal lands.

I also want to extend my deep gratitude to all of you for joining us here and participating in this consultation. It is truly inspiring to see such a remarkable turnout, with more than 500 gathered in this room and many more connecting online. Your presence speaks powerfully to the strength of our shared commitment in preventing and ending gender-based violence and the dedication to partnership, collaboration and meaningful progress. Each of you brings unique perspectives, experiences and insights that will shape our collective efforts.

This morning, it’s my honor to introduce a video message from Attorney General Merrick Garland. I know the Attorney General cherishes the partnership between our nations, and he continues to be an unwavering advocate in addressing issues surrounding public safety on Tribal lands, increased funding and enhancing efforts to solve the issue of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons.

[…]

Thank you, Attorney General Garland, for those words of support. I now want to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude to Sherriann Moore, Deputy Director of the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)’s Tribal Affairs Division and a citizen of the Rosebud Sicangu’ Lakota Nation. Sherriann’s tireless dedication alongside her exceptional team ensures a strong collaborative effort supporting Tribal governments and Tribal organizations in the effective implementation of resources allocated through the Violence Against Women Act to prevent and address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, sex trafficking and other interconnected forms of gender-based violence. This three-day consultation is a testament to the unwavering commitment of OVW and the Justice Department in honoring our federal trust responsibilities to Tribes.

We recognize that preventing and addressing gender-based violence demands a coordinated response. In fact, strengthening a coordinated community response is a hallmark of the Violence Against Women Act, which we know needs to be advanced at all levels. This includes strengthening a coordinated response among different components of the Justice Department, as well as a across the federal government. To that end, we are joined today by our colleagues from the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs, Office of Tribal Justice, FBI, Community Oriented Policing Services and U.S. Attorney Alexander M. M. Uballez for the District of New Mexico. I also extend my gratitude to representatives from the Department of the Interior, Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Housing and Urban Development for their participation in this year’s consultation.

In September, we commemorated the 30th anniversary of the VAWA, landmark bipartisan legislation that has transformed the federal response to gender-based violence, rooted in the lived experiences and leadership of survivors. Each reauthorization has provided an opportunity to assess what works, build on successes and address remaining gaps. As Tribal protections and grant programs under VAWA expanded, we recognize that this progress is due to your advocacy, with solutions shaped by Tribal voices and leadership.

For example, with your guidance, we implemented the provisions in VAWA 2022, which opened pathways for Tribes in Alaska and Maine to exercise special Tribal criminal jurisdiction or STCJ, expanded the recognition of covered crimes, and created a new federal reimbursement program to support Tribes’ efforts in exercising STCJ.

Additionally, in FY 2024, OVW awarded over $86 million to American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes to support the implementation of VAWA programs and initiatives. Also, we allocated additional resources to grow the Tribal Affairs Division to include 14 dedicated staff members, many of whom come from Tribes or have deep experience working on Tribal issues. Over the past year, we’ve also made meaningful strides by simplifying the grant application process, launching new initiatives to support the capacity of Tribal governments and Tribal organizations to effectively manage OVW funding. This included conducting extensive outreach, providing regional workshops and integrating program planning that is responsive to the unique needs of survivors.

Building on your invaluable guidance, OVW is establishing the Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women Tribal Leaders Council. Composed of 12 Tribal leaders from regions across the country, this council will serve as a vital forum for sharing perspectives, insights and recommendations on implementing federal programs to enhance the safety of American Indian and Alaska Native survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking and sex trafficking. As Attorney General Garland noted in his remarks, this council is a critical step toward deeper ongoing collaboration and progress, and I look forward to announcing the members of the Council later during the consultation.

I’d also like to take a moment to acknowledge the significance of holding this Tribal Consultation during National Native American Heritage Month. This month provides a meaningful opportunity to honor the resilience, rich cultures and invaluable contributions of American Indian and Alaska Native communities. This is also a time for reflection and reconciliation as we confront the systemic injustices inflicted upon Native communities and commit to addressing those historic wrongs. As many of us are aware, President Biden recently issued a formal apology for the Federal Indian Boarding School era, a painful era during which, for over 150 years, the federal government mandated the removal of Native children from their families and Tribes. To effectively address domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking and trafficking, we must understand the broader context of historical trauma and systemic oppression that continues to impact individuals, families and Tribal communities. Our work cannot exist in a vacuum; it must be grounded in the histories, challenges and, most importantly, the strengths of the communities we serve.

It is by honoring Tribal sovereignty and self-determination and working in partnership with Tribal nations that we can move forward to ensure that VAWA funding and other resources can increase pathways to safety, healing, justice and well-being. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Thank you, Liz. It’s really great to be here and to help welcome everyone to this important conference — the first OJJDP national conference in over a decade.

I’m so glad we’re being joined today by our Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General, who we’ll hear from a little later. And very excited that we’ll have the privilege this morning of hearing from several champions of youth justice.

It is inspiring to see so many people gathered in one spot, representing so many different programs and perspectives — yet at the same time so unified in your determination to serve and support the youth of our country. That’s what this conference is all about — reinforcing our collective mission to expand opportunities for our nation’s young people.

This is very gratifying for me personally. I’ve spent my entire career working to bring opportunity to kids who have been excluded and counted out. I started my career as a teacher in South Los Angeles, before moving to New York City where I was a part of some groundbreaking work to reduce youth violence and to reduce the number of youth in locked facilities.

We were able to meet both of those goals, and we were successful in great part because we did what so many of you are doing, and what Liz and her team are supporting in cities and states across America — keeping kids connected to their communities, to their families, and to the best parts of themselves.

This work — the work we did in New York and the work you are all doing now — is possible because of a mindset that puts the focus squarely on youth, on identifying and meeting their needs and the best interests of their communities. It’s guided by what’s appropriate from a developmental standpoint, by what’s fair, and by what can help limit future contact with the system.

These principles were laid out in one place by the landmark National Academy of Sciences report, which was commissioned by OJJDP and released 12 years ago this month. If you haven’t read it, I strongly encourage you to do so. It consolidated everything we knew at the time about the adolescent brain and made an irrefutable case for juvenile justice policies and practices that follow the science.

The report turned the dial on juvenile justice reform and announced a new era of youth justice, where the needs of youth are paramount and their capacity for change and growth is recognized and respected.

And just to make the connection to OJJDP’s 50-year history that much stronger, the tide had turned before the NAS released its report. Many of you will recall the groundbreaking Pathways to Desistance study that followed more than 1,300 youth for seven years after their convictions for violent crimes. That study, which was funded by OJJDP, landed on two major findings. One, that young people who commit crimes, even serious crimes, naturally age out of criminal behavior in the vast majority of cases. And two — and this is critical — two factors can prevent this aging-out process: incarceration and exposure to trauma.

The findings from Pathways helped lay the groundwork for the NAS report and remain foundational to the evidence-based framework for juvenile justice that we are operating in today. That study — and a body of research that continues to grow — allowed us to level set and to think of juvenile justice as an opportunity to intervene early with treatment, mentoring, and other pro-social services that help address early trauma and exposure to violence.

It also helped us embrace a positive youth development model and it reinforced work long underway to build a fair and more effective juvenile justice system, one not modeled on the adult system but designed specifically for youth.

As a nation, we’ve moved forward with this model, and we’ve made great strides — and, let me be clear, we are safer because of this model. I’m really proud of the work that Liz and her team in OJJDP have done to solidify and extend those gains.

I’m also aware — as many of you are — that we can’t afford to rest on our laurels. We saw the damage of the pandemic on our youth, with school closures and broken social bonds and the toxic stress that came from isolation. The lesson we should have learned is the importance of community-based services that engage those at greatest risk and that build protective factors in our kids. Unfortunately, in some cases, what we’re seeing instead is states and local jurisdictions walking away from this responsibility. Some national leaders are even calling for a reversal of 30 years of progress; 30 years during which youth violence and youth incarceration dropped dramatically.

And while I’m disheartened by that, I’m not at all discouraged. And the reason I’m not discouraged is because there are more than 2,500 champions joining us at this conference who are committed to staying the course and building a nation where our young people are free from crime and violence. And there are many more people out there in communities across America working hard to expand opportunities for our youth.

In many ways, this is a tough moment for the field, but despite the challenges and the setbacks, I encourage us all to keep in mind the incredible progress we’ve seen over the years, and to be inspired by the innovations and reforms we’ve seen in recent years — driven by so many of you.

Now is not the time to roll back reform — now is the moment to press ahead, and to insist on a juvenile justice system that supports and empowers our kids. This is the right way to do youth justice, and we are counting on all of you to carry us forward.

Thank you for keeping us focused on the important work that lies before us. We are grateful for your leadership and for the difference you are making — for our youth, for your communities, for our nation.

Thank you for all that you do — and thank you for your time today.