Specifically, the indictment alleges that one of the individual defendants emailed Hyteras CEO about aligning his story . . The FBI and our partners in law enforcement will hold any individual willing to defraud investors and financial institutions accountable in the criminal justice system, stated Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll. It may be unlikely that all of the defendants will actually be punished for their alleged crimes, as any defendants who have returned to China are outside of the DOJs jurisdiction and cannot be arrested. Instead, the indictment alleges the actors were demanding to be paid themselves," the official said. Jonathan Kellys practice focuses on substantial English and international commercial litigation and arbitration. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Konoshchenok who is suspected to be an FSB officer would ship or physically smuggle U.S.-origin items from Estonia to Russia, including dual-use electronics, military-grade tactical ammunition and other export-controlled items. A 16-count superseding indictment was unsealed yesterday in Brooklyn charging five Russian nationals, Yevgeniy Grinin, Aleksey Ippolitov, Boris Livshits, Svetlana Skvortsova and Vadim Konoshchenok with conspiracy and other charges related to a global procurement and money laundering network on behalf of the Russian government. Notably, to satisfy the requirement of overt acts taken in the U.S. in furtherance of the conspiracy, the indictment cites actions taken by Hytera in connection with the civil lawsuit. Todays indictment demonstrates the reach of those controls and the United States commitment to choking off access to military grade equipment by the Russian regime. As alleged, the defendants were affiliated with Serniya Engineering and Sertal LLC, Moscow-based companies that operate under the direction of Russian intelligence services to procure advanced electronics and sophisticated testing equipment for Russias military industrial complex and research and development sector. Had the full $45 million investment occurred as intended, $6million of the $45million would have been paid to Watson personally. Age: 52 The Department of Justice unsealed indictments Thursday against four Russian government employees in two separate cases who prosecutors allege engaged in a hacking campaign targeting energy. Driving the news: The defendants are accused of "exploiting known or publicly disclosed vulnerabilities in commonly used network devices and software programs to get access to victims' computer networks," per a senior DOJ official. Bryan Kohberger, seen during a court hearing in January, has been arrested for the murders of four University of Idaho students in November 2022. The FBI will remain relentless against illegal transfers that support such industries in hostile nations, while we also continue to focus on protecting strategic technology innovation here at home.. As the indictment today alleges, Watson repeatedly attempted to entice both investors and lenders through a series of deliberate deceptions and fabrications. For additional information and case event updates, please visit www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/case/united-states-v-terren-s-peizer. Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was later released in September 2021 after being detained for three years in Canada, after striking a deal with the U.S. in which she admitted to lying about the companys business activities in Iran. United States Attorneys Office Lev L. Dassins practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, white-collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement matters and internal investigations. CARLOS WATSON Mountain View, California, John Marzulli After the engineers allegedly accessed and downloaded thousands of sensitive files containing information on Motorolas DMR technology, they went to work for Hytera and helped the company develop DMR products that recycled the stolen Motorola technology. His scheme undermined U.S. foreign policy and national security interests, and Eastern District of New York Kohberger faces first-degree murder charges in the killings of four students Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernel, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21. Todays coordinated DOJ and Commerce enforcement actions demonstrate our vigilance in uncovering Russian tactics to illicitly acquire the items they need to keep their brutal war going., From the outset of the Task Force, robust enforcement of U.S. export controls and restrictions on the transfer of sensitive technology has been a key strategic priority, said Task Force KleptoCapture Director Adams. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce our economic sanctions and export controls against those who enable the Russian government to continue its unjust war in Ukraine. New Durham Indictments! The defendants, who were allegedly intelligence officers working on behalf of the Chinese government, allegedly orchestrated a scheme starting in 2019 to steal information from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, which indicted Huawei and its subsidiaries for fraud and racketeering in 2019 and 2020. The big picture: The new indictments and cybersecurity advisory is a part of the Biden administrations continuing efforts to crack down on both Iranian cybercriminal and nation-state hacking groups. A Federalist review of Justice Department press releases in 2022 revealed not a single announcement of the arrest or indictment of a pregnancy center arsonist. Serniya and Sertal operated a vast network of shell companies and bank accounts throughout the world, including in the United States, that were used in furtherance of the scheme to conceal the involvement of the Russian government and the true identity(s) of Russian end users of U.S.-origin equipment. Go deeper Why Albania's cyberattacks matter to the U.S. Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from FBI Director Christopher Wray. The Justice Department announced charges Monday against 13 people allegedly involved in attempts by the Chinese government to influence U.S. operations, including two Chinese nationals who were. The combined grand juries returned 32 unsealed and four . We continue to protect military and dual-use technologies from adversaries seeking to undermine the United States or bring harm to our allies. The 21-count indictment against Hytera and former Motorola employees was filed in May 2021 by a special grand jury empaneled in November 2019. They allegedly defrauded a county in Wyoming,regional electric power utilities in Mississippi and Indiana, a public housing authority in Washington state and a statewide bar association in an unnamed U.S. state. As this case shows, we have embraced the use of data to proactively identify and investigate fraud as we continue to ensure that ordinary investors are on an equal playing field with corporate insiders.. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Posted: Feb 28, 2023 / 04:42 PM EST. FBI Director Christopher Wray, speaks to reporters at the Department of Justice in Washington on October 23. They did not succeed, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday. In January the Department of Justice unsealed two indictments against Charles McGonigal, Former Special Agent in Charge of the FBI New York Counterintelligence Division. You may opt-out by. Mr. A lock ( Serniya and Sertal operated a vast network of shell companies and bank accounts throughout the world, including the United States, that were used in furtherance of the scheme to conceal the involvement of the Russian government and the true Russian end users of U.S.-origin equipment. Watson was arrested this morning and will be arraigned later today before United States Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak. Konoshchenok discussed fabricating business records with Livshits to conceal the ammunition shipments, on one occasion describing them as auto parts. Incident to Konoshchenoks arrest, Estonian authorities searched a warehouse held in the name of Konoshchenoks son and recovered approximately 375 pounds worth of ammunition. The FBI, along with its U.S. and international partners, remains committed to disrupting and dismantling these networks, regardless of where they are.. Four Russian nationals . A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is taking concurrent enforcement action. As alleged in the indictment, Ippolitov received requests from Russian end users and relayed them to Grinin and Skvortsova, who were both employees of Sertal. Ahmadi, Aghda and Ravari were among those sanctioned, and the two tech sanctioned companies are where the defendants work. Really big. Amlie Champsaurs practice covers a broad range of financial regulatory, compliance and enforcement matters, at French and EU level. Charges in Connection with Task Force KleptoCaptures Mission to Hold Accountable Corrupt Russian Oligarchs and Enforce Robust Export Restrictions. All Rights Reserved. United States Attorney Brian J. Kuester on Monday announced the results of the August and September 2020 Federal Grand Juries. [4] Nearly two years later, in October 2020, UMC entered into a plea deal with the government in which it agreed to pay a $60 million criminal fine and cooperate with the government in the investigation against Fujian Jinhua. The interplay between parallel actions is most apparent in the Hytera matter, where events in the civil litigation actually became incorporated into the indictment as overt acts taken in furtherance of the conspiracy. Essential Cookies are always on; to accept Analytics Cookies, click "I agree to all cookies. Main Office Shortly after the call, one of the employees of the financial institution contacted the actual media executive of the online video service, who confirmed that he had not been on the call and that the online video service had no role in the production of The Carlos Watson Show. The Justice Departments Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance. Several hours after the Justice Department unsealed the indictments, the Treasury Department announced new sanctions against 10 Iranian nationals and two Iranian tech companies. The indictment alleges that Peizer later learned that the customer informed Ontrak of its intent to terminate the contract. sanctioned the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence. The three men allegedly defrauded a township in New Jersey, a county in Wyoming,a regional electric power company in Mississippi and another in Indiana, a public housing authority in Washington state and a statewide bar association in an unnamed state. We will continue the steady pace of seizures, indictments and arrests, while the Kremlin shopping for spare parts in North Korea.. Have a question about Government Services? WASHINGTON The Department of Justice on Wednesday unsealed an August indictment of three Iranian nationals who officials said are behind an international ransomware conspiracy that has. The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday unsealed two indictments charging four Russian nationals with crimes related to attempted hacks of critical infrastructure both abroad and within the United States, including use of the malware known as Trisis or Triton. Justice Department accuses China of spying on, intimidating dissidents living in U.S. Official websites use .gov Attempted Fraudulent Investment and Impersonation of Another Media Executive. In the New Jersey case, defendants face up to five years in prison for conspiracy, along with a maximum fine of $250,000. STROUDSBURG, Pa. (AP) Law enforcement officials seized dark clothing, medical gloves, a flashlight and other items from a Pennsylvania home where they arrested a graduate student charged with . From approximately November 2020 through February 2021, Watson and his co-conspirators attempted to induce a financial institution to invest up to $45 million in Ozy by means of material misrepresentations and omissions regarding Ozys historical and projected financial results, debts, and business relationships. The powerful export controls weve put in place have been successful in isolating Russia from the global economy, stated Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod. Watson is also charged with aggravated identity theft for his role in the impersonation of multiple media company executives in communications with Ozys lenders and prospective investors in furtherance of the fraud schemes. The indictment charged Vladimir Voronchenko, a Russian who is a permanent U.S. Fall trial planned for man charged with killing mom at sea By LISA RATHKE February 7, 2023 Written by AJ Vicens and Joe Warminsky Mar 24, 2022 | CYBERSCOOP. NEW YORK (AP) An associate of a Russian billionaire was charged in an indictment unsealed Tuesday with violating U.S. sanctions and money laundering. The three men are affiliated with Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Read the unsealed DOJ documents underpinning search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago Read the unsealed version of the search warrant and an accompanying receipt below. No. Lock Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Two of the defendants charged in the Operation Fox Hunt case have been arrested, while the others remain at large, including He and Wang. 4 min read. 08/12/2022 04:15 PM EDT. Sam Bankman-Fried was hit with new criminal charges on Thursday, in an expanded indictment accusing the founder of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange of conspiring to make more than 300 . These operations are often conducted using proxy groups, which Western security experts identify with nicknames like "Phosphorous" and "Charming Kitten.". As alleged in the indictment, on October 27, 2022, Konoshchenok was stopped at the Estonian border with 35 different types of semiconductors and other electronic components ordered by Livshits, as well as thousands of U.S.-made 6.5mm bullets, which are used in military sniper rifles. [2] Motorola Solutions Inc. v. Hytera Communications Corp. Ltd., et al., 1:17-cv-1972 (N.D. Ill); Motorola Solutions Inc. v. Hytera Communications Corp. Ltd., et al., 1:17-cv-1973 (N.D. Ill). The governments case is being handled by the Offices National Security and Cybercrime Section. An official website of the United States government. On or about January 28, 2021, Rao, with Watsons agreement, created a fake email address in the name of the media executive, which he used to correspond with representatives of the financial institution. Instead, the indictment alleges that Peizer later learned that the customer informed Ontrak of its intent to the. 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