#federal-crimes

#federal-crimes

'This was a senseless, premediated, and brutal act of gun violence that took the life of a security guard who was simply doing his job,' stated United States Attorney Nocella.

"Today's plea means the defendant has been held accountable for a calculated scheme that siphoned off nearly $10 million from the very employers who trusted her."

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton framed the verdict as a clear message to anyone thinking about silencing witnesses. 'New Yorkers know justice and they will not tolerate witness intimidation, let alone the street gang violence central to today's conviction,' he said.

Jason Thompson, a guard at HMP Isis, was suspended as the Metropolitan Police investigated his involvement in smuggling drugs and contraband into the prison. He was sentenced to four years and six months for conspiracy and misconduct.

Volkov, 26, has been accused of taking part in Yanluowang ransomware attacks that caused more than $9 million in losses - the cybercriminals attempted to extort $24 million in ransom from targeted organizations.

The scheme began in March 2023, when Rambhai Patel, then 36, carried out staged armed robberies with co-conspirators at at least six convenience stores, liquor stores, and fast food restaurants in Massachusetts and other states. Prosecutors said the robberies were designed to help store clerks falsely claim they were victims of violent crimes in applications for U nonimmigrant status, commonly known as a U visa.

Federal authorities say in court documents that the two were on duty in the 115th Precinct the evening of July 19, 2024, when they responded to a call about prostitution at a building on 89th Street near Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights. When they arrived, according to the court filings, they noted the situation as resolved, shut off their body cameras and told a woman who was leaving to go back inside, where they stole a key to the building and cash from her purse.

"What's most problematic is that the extraordinary has become ordinary. It's just a matter of course now that when you issue an opinion that some people don't like, you're going to get threats, you're going to get death threats, and that is obviously problematic on many levels."

The Attorney General's office is accusing the alleged gun-runner, Khyle Williams, of making at least nine illegal firearms sales between May and October of 2025 both inside and outside of New York state, according to the indictment. It was the purpose of this conspiracy to obtain, possess, control, transport and sell firearms in Kings County and elsewhere inside and outside the State of New York, and to collect the proceeds from the sale of those firearms.

The 38-count superseding indictment names defendants whom prosecutors identified as members or affiliates of the Anti-Tren gang that emerged from Tren de Aragua, which federal authorities on Jan.20, 2025 designated a foreign terrorist organization. Prosecutors used racketeering conspiracy or RICO statutes, tying groups to crimes, for a wide range of actions, including some linked to an April 15, 2024 double murder in the Bronx.

DOWNTOWN - In Brooklyn federal court, Pushpesh Kumar Baid, also known as "PK Jain," was sentenced to 20 years for his role in schemes to defraud investors in Tradepay Capital LLC, a purported factoring company, and in Luxestreet, Inc., a purported luxury goods pawn shop. Baid pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in April 2025, approximately one week before the trial was scheduled to commence.

According to his eight-count indictment, the ex-cop took more than $30,000 in exchange for transporting drugs, including approximately eight kilograms of cocaine; providing unauthorized armed protection for a drug trafficking enterprise; and submitting false reports to the NYPD to help a co-conspirator avoid repayment of a drug-trafficking-related debt. Nguyen entered a guilty plea to three of the indictment's eight counts bribery and narcotics distribution conspiracy, and a firearm charge before U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres Thursday.

Over in the U.K., law-enforcement officials have arrested former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and former ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson. (Technically, both have been arrested but not yet formally charged, under a wrinkle in British legal procedure.) The putative defendants reportedly face potential charges of "misconduct in public office" for allegedly providing confidential government documents, including sensitive financial information about investment opportunities, to Epstein.

Federal prosecutors have unveiled a betting ring involving NCAA and Chinese Basketball Association game fixing, charging 26 people, including current and former college basketball players. The case involves gamblers placing bets and bribing players with large cash payouts for underperforming during a game, even texting players pictures of stacks of money if they complied. U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said the investigation is ongoing and shows a "significant corruption of the integrity of sports," according to coverage in APNew.com.

The unexpected gravitas occurred in one of the thousands of habeas cases currently swamping trial courts. The Department of Homeland Security recently discovered that 8 USC § 1225(b)(1)(B)(iii)(IV) requires mandatory detention of asylum seekers, including those who were released in the country decades ago and given work permits. Hundreds of judges across the country - but not the Fifth Circuit! - have scoffed at this discovery and ordered DHS to either grant immigrants a bond hearing or release them.

A Lexington man who secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds through false claims is headed to federal prison, after authorities said he funneled part of the money into gambling and other personal expenses. John A. Hopkins, 48, was sentenced Tuesday to 24 months behind bars by U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove in Frankfort. Hopkins previously admitted he took part in a fraud and money laundering scheme involving federal pandemic relief programs designed to keep struggling small businesses afloat.

As predicted on last week's episode, Brad Karp left the top post at Paul Weiss following the disclosure of friendly correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein. But Karp wasn't the only Biglaw lawyer in the files, nor were his conversations the most troubling. A former Clifford Chance trainee drafted a sex contract with Epstein, Goldman Sachs GC Kathy Ruemmler made a joke with Epstein that normally you wouldn't make with someone who already pleaded guilty to child prostitution charges,

Law enforcement began investigating Pagnoni after a man arrested in a child exploitation sting told them that Pagnoni had distributed child sexual abuse material to him in March 2023, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Investigators determined that Pagnoni had sent thousands of child pornography files to the man using the online cloud storage platform MEGA. Pagnoni's cell phone was seized during a search of his Provincetown home in May 2023, prosecutors said.