Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

An Ohio man today pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and attempting to murder U.S. military service members based on his efforts to help the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) to attack and kill U.S. soldiers in the Middle East.

Cole Bridges, aka Cole Gonzales, 22, of Stow, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman. According to court documents, Bridges joined the U.S. Army in approximately September 2019 and was assigned as a cavalry scout in the Third Infantry Division based in Fort Stewart, Georgia. Beginning in at least 2019, Bridges began researching and consuming online propaganda promoting jihadists and their violent ideology. Bridges also expressed his support for ISIS and jihad on social media. In or about October 2020, Bridges began communicating with an FBI online covert employee (the OCE), who was posing as an ISIS supporter in contact with ISIS fighters in the Middle East. During these communications, Bridges expressed his frustration with the U.S. military and his desire to aid ISIS. Bridges then provided training and guidance to purported ISIS fighters who were planning attacks, including advice about potential targets in New York City. Bridges also provided the OCE with portions of a U.S. Army training manual and guidance about military combat tactics, for use by ISIS.

In or about December 2020, Bridges began to supply the OCE with instructions for the purported ISIS fighters on how to attack U.S. forces in the Middle East. Among other things, Bridges diagrammed specific military maneuvers intended to help ISIS fighters maximize the lethality of attacks on U.S. troops. Bridges further provided advice about the best way to fortify an ISIS encampment to repel an attack by U.S. Special Forces, including by wiring certain buildings with explosives to kill the U.S. troops. Then, in January 2021, Bridges provided the OCE with a video of himself in his U.S. Army body armor standing in front of a flag often used by ISIS fighters and making a gesture symbolic of support for ISIS. Approximately a week later, Bridges sent a second video in which Bridges, using a voice manipulator, narrated a propaganda speech in support of the anticipated ambush by ISIS on U.S. troops.

Attempting to provide material support to ISIS carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and attempting to murder U.S. military service members carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Bridges is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 2.

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 Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI Counterterrorism Division made the announcement.

The FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which primarily consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the New York City Police Department, and over 50 other federal, state and local agencies, is investigating the case. The U.S. Army Counterintelligence, the FBI Washington Field Office, the FBI Atlanta Field Office and its Savannah Resident Agency, the FBI Cleveland Field Office, the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and the U.S. Army Third Infantry Division provided valuable assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg and Matthew Hellman for the Southern District of New York and Trial Attorney Michael Dittoe of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Remarks as Delivered

Good [afternoon]. In just a few minutes, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and I will be meeting with all 93 of our U.S. Attorneys, and with the heads of the Department’s law enforcement components, to discuss our summer anti-violent crime strategy.

Among other things, we will be reinforcing the importance of identifying, investigating, and prioritizing the prosecution of those who are responsible for the greatest violence in our communities. 

We will discuss the U.S. Marshals’ upcoming launch of the next phase of Operation North Star. The last two phases resulted in the capture of more than 2,300 fugitives wanted for violent crimes across the country. Our Deputy U.S. Marshals will conduct this next phase together with our state and local task force partners to target the most dangerous criminals in communities with the highest levels of violence.

We will also discuss DEA’s plans to launch the third phase of Operation Overdrive. So far, the first two phases of that operation have resulted in the seizure of over 13 million deadly doses of fentanyl and over 1,300 illegal guns, as well as over 1,700 arrests. The next phase will build on that work to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking networks and the violent crime associated with them.

A little over two years ago, we issued a Department-wide strategy to leverage the resources of our federal prosecutors, agents, investigators, criminal justice experts, and grant programs to combat violent crime.

Since then, every one of our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country has worked alongside our state and local partners to implement district-specific violent crime reduction strategies.

Each of our law enforcement components has worked with its state, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement partners to seize illegal guns and deadly drugs and to prosecute those who commit acts of violence in our communities.

In 2023 alone, we have already prosecuted more than 6,000 individuals for violent crimes.

At the same time, our grantmaking components have worked closely with communities across the country to provide targeted support and assistance. That includes providing resources to give law enforcement agencies the tools and training they need to protect their communities and to build the public trust that is essential to effective law enforcement.

Over the coming year, the Department anticipates that our Office of Justice Programs and our Office of Community Oriented Policing Services will award over $1.3 billion to support state and local law enforcement efforts to combat violent crime.

We have also accelerated our efforts to fight gun violence on every front – from cracking down on criminal gun-trafficking pipelines, to updating regulations, to deepening our partnerships with state and local law enforcement.

Today, ATF is working more closely than ever with our state and local partners to turn the evidence they collect at crime scenes into concrete leads. Using its powerful forensic ballistics tool, known as NIBIN, ATF has generated nearly 200,000 leads on violent criminals – just since last summer.

As we build on this work this summer, we will also be putting important new tools to use thanks to the passage last year of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

Those include expanded background check requirements that require checking juvenile criminal history and mental health records before a firearm is sold to anyone under 21. 

Thanks to those requirements, more than 200 firearms have been kept out of the hands of young people who should not have had access to them.

These tools also include the Act’s new proscriptions against illegal firearms trafficking and straw purchases.

Thanks to the work of our U.S. Attorneys, we have already charged more than 100 defendants under the Act’s gun trafficking provisions and seized hundreds of firearms in connection with those cases.

That work will continue.

Before we begin our meeting, I want to take this opportunity to publicly recognize the Department’s prosecutors and law enforcement agents.

Often, the Department’s law enforcement agents are among the first to arrive on the scene of a mass shooting. There, they come face-to-face with the devastation and horror inflicted on victims that, thankfully, most people will never see.

And often, the Department’s prosecutors are on the ground, consoling families and communities that have been shattered by horrific acts of violence, and pursuing justice on their behalf.

The Department’s prosecutors and law enforcement agents do enormously difficult and demanding work on behalf of the American people. And in doing so, they conduct themselves with the utmost integrity.

I am grateful to them. And I could not be prouder to work with them.

I can now take a few questions.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a Mississippi company pleaded guilty today to willfully failing to report and pay over employment taxes withheld from employees’ paychecks.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Julian Russ of Houma, Louisiana, was the CFO of Community Construction Company LLC, a pipeline-maintenance and construction company based in Hazelhurst, Mississippi. From at least 2012 through October 2018, Russ did not file required quarterly employment tax returns or pay over the taxes withheld from employees’ wages to the IRS, despite knowing of his obligation to do so. In total, Russ caused a tax loss to the IRS of more than $6 million.

Russ faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory actors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi made the announcement. 

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Curtis Weidler of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kirkham for the Southern District of Mississippi are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

          WASHINGTON – A Superior Court jury, today, returned guilty verdicts against six men, from Washington, D.C., charged in the murder 10-year old Makiyah Wilson. The verdicts were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Interim Chief Ashan Benedict, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

          A jury found Isaiah Murchison, 23, Darrise Jeffers, 23, Gregory Taylor, 27, Qujuan Thomas, 24, and Quentin Michals, 25, guilty of first degree murder while armed, conspiracy to commit a crime of violence, participation in a criminal street gang, and multiple counts of assault with intent to kill while armed. Co-defendant Marquell Cobbs, 21, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit a crime of violence. All six are members of the “Wellington Park crew.”  Sentencing hearings are scheduled for October 6, 2023 and October 20, 2023.

          “On July 16, 2018, four men exited a vehicle in the courtyard of an apartment complex and indiscriminately fired over 50 shots at the residents because of a petty social media feud they had with individuals who associated with that community,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves. “Their rampage left multiple people shot and a 10-year old child dead. Today’s verdicts demonstrate that we will hold accountable both the shooters in these brazen attacks and the people who help them.”

            “This investigation was the result of great detective work by our homicide detectives, who worked tirelessly to track down evidence, follow up on leads and tips from the community, along with our federal law enforcement partnerships,” said Chief Benedict. “It was because of hard work between the Metropolitan Police Department, our law enforcement partners and most importantly the community.”

            On July 16, 2018, defendants Isaiah Murchison, Gregory Taylor, Qujuan Thomas, and two other individuals drove to the Clay Terrace neighborhood armed with guns. They opened fire on the Clay Terrace courtyard, firing more than 50 shots, indiscriminately.  Makiyah Wilson, who was sitting on the front stoop of her home, was killed. Several other people were wounded.   Defendants Quentin Michals and Darrise Jeffers assisted the shooters by obtaining the weapons and vehicle used in the shooting.  Despite having witnessed the defendants preparing for the shooting, no witnesses were willing to provide information regarding the identity of the shooters. The government presented forensic evidence, statements the defendants made over social media, and motive evidence in presenting its case.

            In announcing the verdicts, U.S. Attorney Graves and Interim Chief Benedict commended the work of the detectives with the Metropolitan Police Department who investigated the case as well as members of the prosecution team, including: Paralegal Specialists Sharon Newman and Grazy Rivera and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Barker and Melissa Jackson, along with former Assistant U.S. Attorney John Timmer, who investigated the case.  Finally, they thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Bach and Lindsey Merikas who prosecuted the case. 

Source: United States Department of Justice News

An Oregon man pleaded guilty in federal court today for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) by producing and distributing propaganda and recruiting materials online in coordination with ISIS members overseas.

Hawazen Sameer Mothafar, 33, an Iraqi national residing in Troutdale, Oregon, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

According to court documents, Mothafar immigrated to the U.S. from Iraq in 2014 and, since his arrival, has resided in Troutdale. An ISIS supporter since 2014, Mothafar was the co-founder of the Sunni Shield Foundation, a pro-ISIS media organization that created and published violent propaganda promoting ISIS ideology and objectives. In this role, Mothafar created the Sunni Shield’s first media product, a video of ISIS battle footage obtained from an official ISIS online platform intended to promote ISIS. In subsequent videos produced by Mothafar, he encouraged viewers to travel to Iraq and Syria to fight for ISIS and conduct attacks on behalf of the organization.

Mothafar and other members of the Sunni Shield obtained ISIS Central Media’s permission to begin publishing Al Anfal, an online newspaper promoting the Islamic State’s goals and advocating violent jihad. Mothafar oversaw planning and production of the publication while also serving as one of its graphic designers. Graphics designed by Mothafar for the publication incited readers to attack and kill Westerners and conduct knife attacks against ISIS enemies.

Mothafar communicated directly with ISIS Central Media officials in Iraq, from whom he regularly took instructions about media production. He represented the Sunni Shield in a private online group comprised of ISIS Central Media officials and representatives of other ISIS supporter groups. In this group, ISIS media officials would pass instructions to the supporter groups about official ISIS media campaigns. The supporter groups, including the Sunni Shield, would then prepare media materials to publish in support of the campaigns.

In addition to his work with the Sunni Shield, Mothafar aided other pro-ISIS media organizations and conspired with numerous ISIS associates in furtherance of his support to the terrorist organization. Mothafar provided graphic designs to the Khattab Media Foundation, assisted in the production of the Youth of the Caliphate magazine, published ISIS news on Nashr News Agency channels, worked with Fursan al-Rafa’ (Knights of Uploading) to publish pro-ISIS material on various websites, and assisted the Saqri Foundation with designs. Mothafar also communicated with Abu Qaswara al-Shanqiti, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist imprisoned in West Africa, and connected Qaswara al-Shanqiti with two ISIS officials in hopes of aiding his release.

On Nov. 3, 2020, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a five-count indictment charging Mothafar with conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, providing and attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and making false statements in an immigration application and to a government agency.

Mothafar faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a life term of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 11, 2024 before U.S. District Court Judge Marco A. Hernández.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Natalie K. Wight, and Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI Counterterrorism Division made the announcement.

The FBI Portland Field Office is investigating the case.