Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Department of Justice

Former Agency Head Failed to Return for Trial and Now Faces a 10-Year Prison Sentence in Ghana

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

HONOLULU – United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that Daylyn Harris, 35, of Honolulu, Hawaii, was sentenced on June 5, 2026, to 24 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiring to commit wire fraud in connection with false claims he submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) seeking disaster relief related to the Lahaina and Pacific Palisades wildfire disasters, as well as a separate obstruction of justice charge.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A former Sergeant First Class in the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Recruiter has pleaded guilty to engaging in a fraudulent scheme to defraud a credit union by using her position to obtain the personally identifying information of U.S. Army recruits and recruit candidates and then submitting fraudulent bank account applications to the credit union on the recruits’ behalf.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Roberto Adams, 39, a former Metropolitan Police Department officer residing in Hyattsville, Maryland,  was found guilty today in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $18,000 in taxpayer-funded Covid-era disaster relief funds, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.  

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Passaic County man was charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIS).

Mohamed Sagha, 22, of Wayne, New Jersey was charged by complaint with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS. He made his initial appearance today in federal court. He was ordered detained. 

“As alleged, the defendant sought to support ISIS and expressed interest in violence directed at targets within the United States, including places of worship,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer for the District of New Jersey. “Those who seek to advance the objectives of foreign terrorist organizations should expect a swift and coordinated response from federal law enforcement. This Office will continue working relentlessly with our law enforcement partners to identify, disrupt, and prosecute individuals who support terrorism and threaten the safety of our communities.”

“The defendant allegedly wanted to attack targets in the United States in support of ISIS and its hateful ideology, but the FBI detected and put a stop to his violent plans,” said Assistant Director Donald Holstead of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “This should be a stark reminder to the American people of the FBI’s resolve to pursue anyone who tries to harm Americans and provide material support to terrorist organizations, and we will work with our Justice Department partners to make sure they face justice.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From approximately December 2025 to June 2026, Sagha participated in one or more online chat groups wherein ISIS supporters discussed, among other things, potential attacks on targets within the United States, including places of worship. In or around October 2025, he met a confidential human source (“CHS”) online, whom he believed to be a member of ISIS. 

In his discussions with the CHS, Sagha expressed an intent to assist one of the members of an ISIS-supporters online chat group with an attack on a place of worship. He also told the CHS he was contemplating carrying out an attack of his own, possibly on a National Guard location or on a Jewish place of worship. He then shared images and/or videos of both locations with the CHS, and stated that they were near his residence in Wayne, New Jersey.

During these conversations, the CHS repeatedly held himself out as an ISIS fighter, sending Sagha messages and photographs that indicated the CHS was in ISIS territory in Syria. These included a photograph of the CHS in the back of a truck holding an ISIS flag, as well as a photograph of the CHS leaning against a vehicle over which the ISIS flag was draped, holding what appeared to be an AK-47-style assault rifle. Sagha, in turn, repeatedly expressed a desire to travel to ISIS territory, and even made an unsuccessful attempt at doing so in early March, 2026.

Between on or about May 31 and June 2, Sagha and the CHS discussed the use of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for the CHS and other ISIS fighters referred to as “brothers.” VPN technology enables users to conceal their online activities, mask their locations and identities, and communicate with greater anonymity. In the hands of members of a foreign terrorist organization, the technology can assist efforts to evade detection, maintain communications, and further the organization’s activities. Sagha ultimately purchased a VPN, sent it to the CHS — whom he believed to be a member of a terrorist organization — and explained to the CHS how to use the VPN.

The count of attempt to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization has a maximum penalty of twenty years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of life of supervised release. 

U.S. Attorney Frazer and Assistant Attorney General Eisenberg made the announcement. U.S. Attorney Frazer credited the special agents of the FBI Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, officers of the New York City Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch, and the Wayne Police Department, under the direction of Chief Joseph Rooney, with the investigation leading to today’s charges.

The government is represented by Senior National Security Counsel Sammi Malek of the National Security Unit, and Trial Attorneys Justin Sher and Jay Rezai of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas (USAO-KS) gives an update on cases prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood (PSC) during the months of March, April and May. PSC is a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A federal jury in the District of Colorado convicted four individuals today of conspiracy to defraud the United States for their operation of an abusive trust tax evasion scheme that caused approximately $40 million in losses to the United States.

“The defendants orchestrated an abusive trust tax scheme designed to help clients evade their tax obligations through a web of sham trusts, false representations, and fraudulent transactions,” said Colin M. McDonald, Assistant Attorney General for the National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Tax fraud schemes undermine the integrity of our tax system and deprive the government of resources, shifting the burden to honest Americans who follow the law. Today’s trial convictions underscore the Fraud Division’s commitment to holding accountable those who promote and profit from abusive tax shelters and other fraud schemes.”

“These defendants were repeatedly warned by attorneys, CPAs, financial professionals, and IRS guidance that this trust-based scheme was illegal, yet they chose to ignore those warnings. Their conspiracy was a deliberate attempt to conceal income and undermine the integrity of our nation’s tax system while lining their own pockets through their lies,” said Amanda Prestegard, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-CI Denver Field Office. “We appreciate the jury’s verdict and the message it sends to those who promote or engage in abusive tax schemes. IRS-CI will continue to partner with DOJ-Tax to pursue these criminal tax evaders.” 

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Marcia Predmore, Roderick Prescott, Suzanne Thompson and Weldon Wulstein promoted an illegal “layered” trust tax shelter to hundreds of high-net-worth business owners nationwide. The tax shelter was made up of four trusts called a business trust, family trust, charitable trust, and private family foundation. The four promoters taught clients how to use the layered trust tax shelter to evade paying federal income taxes on upwards of 98% of their business profits, in part by claiming a tax deduction for non-deductible personal living expenses and fraudulent charitable contributions. Some of the promoters marketed this tax shelter at seminars hosted across the country and advertised that using the tax shelter would allow clients to “own nothing, control everything.” The tax shelter cost between $25,000 to $50,000 to set up.

Wulstein, a CPA, prepared hundreds of false tax returns for clients who purchased the tax shelter. He did so in partnership with Thompson, who operated a bookkeeping firm and prepared financial statements for the clients’ trusts. Prescott, who had previously been convicted of tax evasion and permanently enjoined from promoting abusive tax shelters, promoted the so-called private family foundation, which was the final layer of the tax shelter. Prescott taught clients how to claim a tax deduction for funds donated to the foundation while maintaining control over those funds for their own personal benefit.

Predmore, a registered life insurance agent, promoted the tax shelter to clients through the business she operated with her spouse. In December 2025, Predmore’s spouse, Timothy McPhee, was sentenced to 151 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy, tax evasion, and wire fraud. Those charges stemmed from his role in this scheme and for his operation of a multi-million-dollar investment fraud scheme called the ROI Cash Flow Fund.

Suzanne Thompson and Weldon Wulstein were also convicted of six counts each of assisting in the preparation of false tax returns for clients who purchased and used the fraudulent tax shelter. Marcia Predmore was convicted of six counts of tax evasion for her personal use of the same tax shelter she promoted to others.

All four promoters each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States. Thompson and Wulstein also face a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. Predmore faces an additional maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count of tax evasion. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Lauren K. Pope and Patrick Burns of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section are prosecuting the case.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Linnell Shelton, 48, a previously convicted felon residing in the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 60 months in prison for his illegal possession of a stolen firearm that was discovered when a U.S. Capitol Police officer responded to a narcotics overdose, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Hadrian Crichlow was sentenced by United States District Judge Hector Gonzalez to 210 months in prison for sex trafficking a minor. In addition to the terms of imprisonment, Judge Gonzalez ordered Crichlow to pay $12,000 restitution to the victim. Crichlow pleaded guilty to the charge in December 2025.