Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: US FBI

Brown Was One of 17 Defendants to Steal $341,205 Combined in Pandemic Relief Money

Source: US FBI

Correction:  Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, especially the New Orleans Gang Task Force, the New Orleans Police Department, Sulphur Police Department, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Louisiana State Police, and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter.  Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth Privitera, David Haller and Sarah Dawkins are in charge of the prosecution.

NEW ORLEANS – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Simpson announced that TERRAN WILLIAMS, a/k/a “Funky” (“WILLIAMS”), TYRONE BOVIA, a/k/a “Sixx” (“BOVIA “), and JAVONTA DOLEMAN, a/k/a “Dutt” (“DOLEMAN “), all from New Orleans, were found guilty on April 21, 2025 after a two-week jury trial before United States District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo.  They were found guilty of various violations, including RICO conspiracy, drug trafficking conspiracy, firearms conspiracy and Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering (VCAR) murder.

All three defendants were members of the Byrd Gang, which operated primarily out of the former Magnolia Housing Development, but additionally had ties to the Westbank.  Its members daily distributed drugs, including heroin, fentanyl, crack cocaine and marijuana, and always possessed firearms. WILLIAMS, BOVIA and DOLEMAN participated in numerous drug trafficking activities and violent crimes and acted as gunmen for the Byrd Gang.

On January 31, 2017, Lawrence Williams, IV, and Wynston Jackson, a/k/a “Ghost,” were shot and killed by the three defendants shortly after leaving an Edna Karr High School basketball game.  Jackson was a member of the rival group, Ghost Gang, while Williams was an associate. Byrd Gang member, Briyan Love, attended the basketball game, and when she saw Jackson enter the auditorium, she communicated with Terran WILLIAMS and informed him that Jackson was at the game. WILLIAMS, BOVIA and DOLEMAN, and other Byrd Gang members and associates, drove across the river to Edna Karr School to kill rival Jackson.

When Williams and Jackson left the basketball game and sat in a car in front of the school,  WILLIAMS, BOVIA and DOLEMAN approached the car with two rifles and a handgun and unloaded a torrent of bullets.  Jackson attempted to return fire with his nine-millimeter handgun but was shot and killed on the scene.  Williams, who was also shot, later died at the hospital.

TYRONE BOVIA was also convicted for his role in another shooting that he committed in May 2017 at the Bernmas Apartments, where M.I., another Ghost Gang member, resided and was the intended target. BOVIA’S companion and fellow Byrd Gang member, Terrence Augustine, was shot and killed during this incident by return fire.  Byrd Gang member, James Alexander, has additionally pled guilty to this shooting.

During the trial, evidence was presented that showed back-and-forth retaliatory shootings between the Byrd Gang and the Ghost Gang, much of which was fueled by social media posts, rap music and videos.  Numerous individuals have been shot and killed on both sides, and many innocent bystanders have likewise been shot during these inner-city rivalries.

During the investigation, dozens of firearms, most with large-capacity magazines, as well as hundreds of rounds of ammunition, have been recovered from Byrd Gang members, including from the three defendants.   

WILLIAMS, BOVIA and DOLEMAN all face a mandatory life sentence for the VCAR murders.  Sentencing in this matter will be held before Judge Milazzo on July 30, 2025.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, especially the New Orleans Gang Task Force, and the New Orleans Police Department in investigating this matter.  Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth Privitera, David Haller and Sarah Dawkins are in charge of the prosecution. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Source: US FBI

SAN FRANCISCO – Nicholas Addleman was sentenced today to 84 months in federal prison for unlawful possession of a firearm.  U.S. District Judge James Donato handed down the sentence.

According to court documents, Addleman, 38, of Vallejo, Calif., a longtime member of the San Francisco Mission District Norteños, previously served five years in state custody following convictions for assault with a deadly weapon and shooting at an inhabited dwelling.  Addleman was released on parole in July 2022.  A few months after his release, on Oct. 14, 2022, police officers conducted a parole search of Addleman’s vehicle and recovered two Glock firearms, including one with a loaded extended magazine, in a hidden compartment behind the center console.  Addleman admitted to officers that the firearms were his, and his DNA was found on the grip of one of the guns.  

Addleman was charged by complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) in November 2022.  He pleaded guilty to the offense in September 2023, and was originally scheduled to be sentenced on his federal firearms conviction in February 2024.  Days before the sentencing, Addleman absconded from pretrial supervision, and the Court issued a bench warrant for his arrest.  At the time of his arrest in December 2024, a search of his Vallejo residence found multiple assault rifles, large capacity magazines, and suspected gun silencers.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Donato ordered Addleman to serve three years of supervised release and to forfeit the firearms and ammunition seized by police.  

Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani made the announcement.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  In May 2021, the Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This prosecution was brought by the Violent Crime Strike Force and is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Leif Dautch prosecuted this case, with the assistance of Nina Burney.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI, the San Francisco Police Department, and Vallejo Police Department.  
 

Source: US FBI

WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced to 151 months in prison for distributing child exploitation sexual abuse materials. 

According to court documents, Zachary Charles Hiskey, 27, of Hutchinson pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography. 

In June 2021, Hiskey used his account on a messaging app called Kik to share videos depicting adult males engaged in sexually explicit activities with prepubescent children. Kik detected the videos and reported the account to law enforcement through a cyber tipline. This led to the discovery of other child exploitation sexual abuse materials connected to Hiskey’s email account and to IP logs at his home in Hutchinson. 

While executing a search warrant at Hiskey’s home, investigators found an electronic device with an Internet browser thumbnail of recently viewed child exploitation sexual abuse materials. A forensic examination revealed the Kik account in question had been installed and then deleted on his cell phone.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart prosecuted the case.

Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

###
 

Source: US FBI

Source: US FBI

Titan Shield participants are members of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Strategic Group (WMDSG), a crisis action team led by the FBI that brings federal agencies together to support information exchange and to deconflict WMD counterterrorism and law enforcement operations. 

The FBI, along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Countering WMD Office, led this year’s Titan Shield, developing the scenario and timeline of events, reviewing exercise objectives, organizing logistics and tools, and debriefing and evaluating the results at the exercise’s conclusion. The in-depth training requires a year-long planning cycle with interagency stakeholders who meet several times throughout the year to provide input. Each iteration of the exercise focuses on one or more WMD modalities—either chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear—but the scenario always involves terrorism. 

“Over the past four years, the FBI Titan Shield exercise has been the principal mechanism to examine and validate the planning, collaboration, and decisive actions necessary at the strategic and tactical levels,” said, Sean Hearns, training branch chief, Preparedness Division, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 

“The FBI WMDSG provides a structure to assess residual risk, while prioritizing federal interagency response capabilities,” he continued. “It is through this enhanced process that the WMDSG equips senior leaders with critical information to make informed decisions during a potential WMD crisis. Through Titan Shield, the Department of Homeland Security has enhanced its networks and fostered the relationships necessary to shape preparedness and response activities.” 

This year’s Titan Shield scenario presented a terrorist cell that stole radiological material and smuggled it into the United States with the intent to carry out attacks against sports stadiums using drones. During the exercise, WMDSG developed threat profiles and evaluated courses of action amid events rapidly unfolding in real-time.

Participants addressed various questions such as: What are the properties of the radioactive material and its effects on people and their surroundings? Which groups are best trained and equipped to appropriately respond? Do people need to be evacuated?  

“It is difficult to overstate the importance of what we are all gathered for this week,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate, who kicked off the training exercise. “If the United States was to encounter a complex WMD threat or incident, the safety of the nation would rest on our shoulders. Titan Shield presents an invaluable opportunity for all of us to practice our roles and responsibilities in response to such a threat.” 

Streamlining communications between senior decision makers, as well as outreach to foreign, state, local, tribal, and territorial officials, were additional factors WMDSG needed to consider. They also looked at strategies for crafting public messaging and determining how to disseminate information.  

At the conclusion of the exercise series, participants debriefed on what worked best and how they could improve future trainings. 

“Titan Shield helps us find ways to build on our successes and lessons learned to improve our coordination effectiveness and to become even more connected across all of our departments and agencies,” said Abbate. “The collaboration made possible by the exercise is a testament to the resilience of our partnerships and to our shared commitment to carrying out our responsibilities to the American people.” 

Source: US FBI

Among the biggest threats Director Wray emphasized at the event is the counterintelligence threat from the Chinese Communist Party. “I’ve been very vocal since early in my tenure that there is no country—underline no country—that represents a broader, more severe counterintelligence threat to the United States than the People’s Republic of China,” Director Wray said.

Key to the FBI’s ability to continue to keep Americans safe from these threats, including terrorism, espionage, and cyber attacks, Director Wray said, is renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

“702 authority is vital, absolutely vital—not important, not nice-to-have—vital,” Director Wray said, explaining that Section 702 is authority that allows the Intelligence Community to conduct targeted surveillance of non-U.S. persons located abroad in national security investigations.

The government uses the information collected under Section 702 to protect the United States and its allies from hostile foreign adversaries, including terrorists, spies, and malicious foreign nation-state cyber actors.

Source: US FBI

Source: US FBI

On August 29, the FBI and the Justice Department announced a multinational operation to disrupt and dismantle the malware and botnet known as Qakbot.   
 
The action, which took place in the U.S., France, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Latvia, and the United Kingdom, represents one of the largest U.S.-led disruptions of a botnet infrastructure used by cybercriminals to commit ransomware, financial fraud, and other cyber-enabled criminal activity.  
 
“The FBI neutralized this far-reaching criminal supply chain, cutting it off at the knees,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The victims ranged from financial institutions on the East Coast to a critical infrastructure government contractor in the Midwest to a medical device manufacturer on the West Coast.”

Source: US FBI

“The Safe Online Surfing program is a great way for teachers and families to prepare students for their journey through cyberspace,” said Ken Hoffman, who leads the FBI’s national community outreach program. “The interactive platform helps kids build a digital defense against predators and bullies while teaching them how to be responsible cyber citizens.” 

While taking the course, students guide a robot avatar through six thematic areas, answering true/false, multiple choice, and matching questions along the way. After completing all levels, students will take a final exam.  

Since the program’s launch in 2012, more than 1.6 million students have participated in the SOS challenge. 

The SOS website and its activities are open year-round, both at home and in the classroom. The challenge opens on September 1 and runs through May. Each month during this timeframe, the classes with the top exam scores nationwide will receive an FBI-SOS certificate and, when possible, receive a congratulatory visit from FBI personnel.  

To participate in the challenge, teachers must register their classes at sos.fbi.gov. Teachers manage their students’ participation in the program; the FBI does not collect or store any student information.

Learn more and register your class at sos.fbi.gov.