Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: US FBI

A San Bernardino County man was sentenced Thursday for illegally possessing sensitive technologies that he downloaded from his Southern California-based employers and used to market his own competing company to a China-based company.

Liming Li, 66, of Rancho Cucamonga, was sentenced to 12 months in prison by United States District Judge John A. Kronstadt, who also fined Li approximately $14,000 and ordered him to pay an additional $17,000 in restitution. LI was ordered to self-surrender by August 12, 2025.

Li pleaded guilty to one count of possession of trade secrets in February.

According to his plea agreement, from 1996 to 2013, Li worked for a Southern California-based business identified in court documents as “U.S. Company #1,” which specialized in precision measuring instruments and metrological technology and equipment. The company designed and sold a range of products such as micrometers, calipers, coordinate measuring machines (CMMs), and optical measurement systems.

Li worked at U.S. Company #1 as a senior software engineer, then as a program manager. From 2013 to 2018, Li worked as chief technologist at a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Company #1. During his employment at U.S. Company #1 and its subsidiary, Li worked on the development of the source code for one of the company’s software programs, which was considered its proprietary information.

In July 2013, Li signed an employee handbook and confidentiality agreement with U.S. Company #1 that required him to turn over all writings, records, files, technology, trade secrets or data containing any proprietary information belonging to the company. The agreement also prohibited Li from copying the company’s proprietary information without written permission.

Li admitted in his plea agreement that he occasionally downloaded the company’s proprietary information onto his personal devices without permission. Li failed to return all the proprietary information belonging to U.S. Company #1 after its subsidiary terminated him in January 2018.

In February 2018, Li operated a consulting company named JSL Innovations Inc. and in March 2020, he signed an employment agreement with Suzhou Universal Group Technology Co. Ltd., a China-based chain-and-bearing manufacturer. Li continued to work for Suzhou Universal until his arrest in May 2023. During this period, Li continued to knowingly possess U.S. Company #1’s proprietary information and – more than once – accessed this information without that company’s authorization.

Li admitted that he used the proprietary information for his own economic benefit and that it would injure U.S. Company #1’s interests.

The FBI investigated this matter with substantial assistance from the Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement, Bureau of Industry and Security.

The case against Li was brought under the auspices of the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, which is co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce. The Strike Force seeks to counter efforts by hostile nation-states to illicitly acquire sensitive U.S. technology to advance their authoritarian regimes and facilitate human rights abuses.

Assistant United States Attorney Aaron B. Frumkin of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section, Solomon D. Kim of the Major Frauds Section, and David T. Ryan, Chief of the National Security Division are prosecuting this case.

Source: US FBI

WASHINGTON – Eric Council Jr., 26 of Athens, Alabama, was sentenced today to 14 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy that hacked into the X account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and published fraudulent posts in the name of the then-SEC Chairman, all to manipulate the value of Bitcoin.

The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Matthew R. Galeotti, SEC Inspector General Deborah Jeffrey, and FBI Assistant Director in Charge Steven J. Jensen of the Washington Field Office.

According to court documents, from at least January 2024, Council conspired with others to carry out Subscriber Identity Model (SIM) attacks, commonly referred to as “SIM swaps,” in exchange for money.

On or about Jan. 9, 2024, Council, and others, executed a SIM swap of the mobile phone account associated with the @SECgov X account, the official account of the SEC. The purpose was to gain unauthorized access to this government account in order to make fraudulent posts.

Council used his portable ID card printer to create a physical ID which he used to impersonate the victim at an AT&T store in Huntsville, Alabama. Council provided false information to the AT&T store employee to explain why he needed a replacement SIM card. Council obtained the SIM card linked to the victim’s phone line and walked to a nearby Apple store where he purchased a new iPhone. He inserted the SIM card to activate the phone, received the @SECGov X password reset codes on this new phone linked to the victim’s SIM card and used his personal cell phone to take a photo of the @SECgov X account reset code to share with his co-conspirators. After passing along the password reset codes, Council returned the iPhone for cash.  

A member of the conspiracy used the reset code to gain access to the @SECGov X account and issue a fraudulent post in the name of the then-SEC Chairman, falsely announcing SEC approval of Bitcoin (BTC) Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). The price of BTC increased by more than $1,000 following the post. Shortly after, the SEC regained control over their X account and confirmed that the announcement was unauthorized and the result of a security breach, which caused the value of BTC to decrease by more than $2,000.

“Schemes of this nature threaten the health and integrity of our market system,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “SIM swap schemes threaten the financial security of average citizens, financial institutions, and government agencies.  Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can’t be caught. You will be caught, prosecuted, and will pay the price for the damage your actions create.”

“Council and his co-conspirators used sophisticated cyber means to compromise the SEC’s X account and posted a false announcement that distorted important financial markets,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Prosecuting those who seek to enrich themselves by threatening the integrity of digital assets through fraud is critical to protecting U.S. interests. The Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable individuals who commit cyber fraud and harm investors.”

“Council brazenly used SIM-swapping and identity theft to manipulate the bitcoin market in an attempt to line his and his co-conspirators’ pockets,” said FBI Washington Field Office Assistant Director in Charge Jensen. “Today’s sentencing shows that those who use the perceived anonymity of digital fraud to exploit public markets will be unmasked and brought to justice by the FBI.”

“Today’s sentencing exemplifies SEC OIG’s commitment to holding bad actors accountable and maintaining the integrity of SEC programs and operations through thorough investigative oversight,” said SEC OIG Special Agent in Charge Amanda James. “We are committed to working with the SEC and other law enforcement partners to help the SEC effectively and efficiently deliver on its critical mission.”

Council admitted to attempting to perform additional SIM swaps in June 2024 in Alabama. In June 2024, the FBI executed a search warrant at an Athens, Alabama, apartment where he resided. Agents recovered a fake identification card and a portable ID card printer. They also recovered a laptop computer. 

Pursuant to the search warrant, agents searched the laptop and discovered templates for additional fake IDs along with internet searches for “SECGOV hack,” “telegram sim swap,” “how can I know for sure if I am being investigated by the FBI,” “What are the signs that you are under investigation by law enforcement or the FBI even if you have not been contacted by them,” “what are some signs that the FBI is after you,” “Verizon store list,” “federal identity theft statute,” and “how long does it take to delete telegram account.”

Council, aka “Ronin” and “Agiantschnauzer,” was arrested Oct. 17, 2024, and admitted to receiving about $50,000 to perform SIM swap. He pleaded guilty Feb. 10, 2025, in the District of Columbia to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered forfeiture of $50,000 and three years of supervised release with the condition that he not use computers to access the dark web or commit further identity fraud.

A SIM card is a chip that stores information identifying and authenticating a cell phone subscriber and connects a physical cell phone to a mobile carrier’s cellular and data network. A SIM swap attack fraudulently induces a mobile carrier to reassign a mobile phone number from a victim’s SIM card to a SIM card and telephone controlled by a criminal actor attempting to access valuable information associated with the victim’s telephone. SIM swapping groups conduct SIM swaps for the purpose of defeating multifactor authentication and/or two-step verification security features for social media and virtual currency accounts.

After convincing a mobile carrier to reassign a phone number to a new SIM card, members of the conspiracy generated password reset security authentication codes for online accounts and those codes were in turn sent to the telephone in the control of the criminal actor. Members of the SIM swap groups shared the security reset codes with one another to unlawfully access a victim’s internet connected accounts and complete the fraud.

This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, the SEC-Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Fraud Section’s Market Integrity and Major Frauds Unit of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. Significant assistance was provided by the FBI’s Birmingham Field Office.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Rosenberg, CCIPS Trial Attorney Ashley Pungello, and Fraud Section Trial Attorney Lauren Archer. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Hundscheid from the Northern District of Alabama. Substantial assistance was provided by Cyber Fellow Paul M. Zebb III.

For more information on SIM swapping, go to: https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2024/PSA240411

24cr457           

Source: US FBI

Defendant Admitted that He Was Accountable for 1.2 to 3.9 Kilos of Fentanyl, as well as Cocaine, Boot, and PCP

Source: US FBI

            WASHINGTON – Admiral Robert Burke (USN-Ret.), 62, of Coconut Creek, Florida, was found guilty of bribery today in connection with accepting future employment at a government vendor in exchange for awarding that company a government contract.   

          Following a five-day trial, a federal jury found Burke guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, performing acts affecting a personal financial interest, and concealing material facts from the United States. U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden scheduled sentencing for August 22, 2025. 

          The verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Matthew R. Galeotti Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Economic Crimes Field Office, Assistant Director in Charge Steven J. Jensen of the FBI Washington Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Stanley Newell of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s (DoD OIG) Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Transnational Field Office.   

      “When you abuse your position and betray the public trust to line your own pockets, it undermines the confidence in the government you represent,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Our office, with our law enforcement partners, will root out corruption – be it bribes or illegal contracts – and hold accountable the perpetrators, no matter what title or rank they hold.”

            “Burke tarnished his reputation and position as a four-star admiral by steering a lucrative contract toward a government vendor in exchange for future employment,” said Steven J. Jensen, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office. “Today’s verdict shows that no one is above the law. The FBI and our federal law enforcement partners remain committed to exposing fraud in the government and bringing corrupt officials to justice for abusing their positions of power.”          

            According to court documents and as the evidence proved at trial, from 2020 to 2022, Burke was a four-star Admiral who oversaw U.S. naval operations in Europe, Russia, and most of Africa, and commanded thousands of civilian and military personnel. The two co-defendants Kim and Messenger were the co-CEOs of a company (Company A) and provided a workforce training pilot program to a small component of the Navy from August 2018 through July 2019. The Navy terminated a contract with Company A in late 2019 and directed Company A not to contact Burke. 

          Despite the Navy’s instructions, the co-defendants met with Burke in Washington, D.C., in July 2021, to reestablish Company A’s business relationship with the Navy. At the meeting, the charged defendants agreed that Burke would use his position as a Navy Admiral to steer a contract to Company A in exchange for future employment at the company. They further agreed that Burke would use his official position to influence other Navy officers to award another contract to Company A to train a large portion of the Navy with a value one of the co-defendants allegedly estimated to be “triple digit millions.” 

          In December 2021, Burke ordered his staff to award a $355,000 contract to Company A to train personnel under Burke’s command in Italy and Spain. Company A performed the training in January 2022. Thereafter, Burke promoted Company A in a failed effort to convince another senior Navy Admiral to award another contract to Company A. To conceal the scheme, Burke made several false and misleading statements to the Navy, including by falsely implying that Company A’s employment discussions with Burke only began months after the contract was awarded and omitting the truth on his required government ethics disclosure forms. 

          In October 2022, Burke began working at Company A at a yearly starting salary of $500,000 and a grant of 100,000 stock options. 

          This case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the FBI’s Washington Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca G. Ross for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorneys Trevor Wilmot and Kathryn E. Fifield of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. It was investigated and indicted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Rothstein.

24cr265

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – An entertainment-production company president was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison for embezzling more than $400,000 from a television production and from defrauding investors in various other television productions.

David Ozer, 59, of Roslyn Heights, New York, was sentenced by United States District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr., who also ordered him to pay $399,344.52 in restitution.

Ozer, who is free on $25,000 bond, was charged in two separate federal criminal cases. He pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of wire fraud in the first case, then later pleaded guilty on January 28 to an additional wire fraud count in a separate case.

Ozer was the president of Strong Studios Inc., a production company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. He also was the producer of “Safehaven,” a supernatural thriller television series. From February 2023 to January 2024, Ozer defrauded Ravenwood-Productions LLC, the principal financial backer of “Safehaven” by misappropriating approximately $214,486 in production funds from bank accounts for the production.

To create the false appearance that the funds he embezzled were spent on legitimate production costs, Ozer created fraudulent accounting records, including falsified invoices, and forged a letter purportedly from his accountant. In fact, Ozer’s accountant did not write the letter, the contents of the letter were false, and Ozer used his accountant’s name without his accountant’s authorization.

Ozer provided these falsified documents to a lawyer for Strong Studios and caused him to transmit them in an email on January 3, 2024, to a lawyer for Ravenwood-Productions.

In a separate scheme, from March 2023 to June 2024, Ozer enticed two victims to loan him money in connection with a television series titled “Endangered.” In return, Ozer’s victims were promised executive producer credits. He also solicited funds from another victim in connection with drafting a script. Despite Ozer’s claims that the script development was in progress, the victim learned from the screenwriter that the script had not been written nor had the screenwriter been paid by Ozer. Instead, Ozer misappropriated the three victims’ funds, along with two others, for a total of approximately $207,100.

To create the false appearance that the misappropriated funds had been used for their intended purpose, Ozer created fraudulent documents, including falsified bank records, as well as forged correspondence from another producer.

“[Ozer] is an experienced businessman in the entertainment industry,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “He knew it was wrong to embezzle funds from his company’s principal financial backer, and he knew it was wrong to misappropriate funds from individual investors. [Ozer] did these things anyway.”

The FBI investigated these matters.

Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander B. Schwab of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and Matt Coe-Odess of the General Crimes Section prosecuted these cases.

Source: US FBI

           WASHINGTON – Kenneth Watts, 57, of Upper Marlboro, Md., and James Kinard, 47, of Temple Hills, Md., were found guilty by a federal jury today for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed large amounts of cocaine, fentanyl and PCP in the DMV. The conspiracy also used firearms to protect their narcotics and the proceeds from their trafficking operation.

           The verdicts were announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Steven J. Jensen of the Washington Field Office, DEA Special Agent in Charge Ibrar A. Mian of the Drug Enforcement Administration Washington Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.

           The jury found both defendants guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of PCP. The jury also found defendant Kinard guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Jia M. Cobb scheduled sentencing for August 7, 2025. Watts and Kinard each face a minimum-mandatory sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

           Watts has two prior felony drug convictions. Kinard has a prior 1995 conviction for second-degree murder while armed and a prior 2016 conviction assault with intent to commit robbery while armed and related offenses. Kinard was on supervised release during the investigation in this case.

           Three co-defendants pleaded guilty before the case went to trial on May 7.

           Melvin Grayson, 51, of District Heights, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute a detectable amount of cocaine, more than 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and more than one kilogram or more of PCP. Grayson faces a minimum-mandatory sentence of ten years. He  has two prior felony drug convictions from 1993.

           Tyrone Ragland, 56, aka “Tech,” of the District, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute one kilogram of PCP. Charles Cunningham, 58, of the District, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. According to their plea agreements, Ragland and Cunningham will be required to serve 15 years in prison. Cunningham has four prior felony drug convictions.

           According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, officers with the Prince George’s County Police Department intercepted a package containing six kilos of PCP at a FedEx facility in Maryland. The officers set up a controlled delivery of the package and stopped defendant Kenneth Watts after he picked it up. In Watts’ cell phone, investigators found text messages linking Watts to the package and to co-defendant Melvin Grayson.

           Through controlled purchases and wiretaps, evidence showed that Grayson distributed PCP, fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The investigation also showed that defendants Ragland, Cunningham, Kinard and others conspired with Grayson to distribute the narcotics. In search warrants conducted at various residences, agents recovered four firearms, more than 2.5 kilos of PCP, more than 100 grams of fentanyl, and approximately $50,000 in cash. 

           This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office Cross Border Task Force and the DEA Washington Field Office, with assistance from MPD’s Violent Crime Suppression Division and the Prince George’s County Police Department. The Cross Border Task Force is a part of the FBI’S Safe Streets Initiative and targets the most egregious and violent street crews operating in the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland and the Baltimore/Washington High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program.

           This investigation was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

           The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nihar R. Mohanty and Iris Y. McCranie of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

23cr007

Source: US FBI

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal jury in Hartford has found DAVID MARSHALL, also known as “Saint,” 40, of Bristol, guilty of sex trafficking, obstruction of justice, and violation of a protective order offenses.

According to the evidence presented during the trial, between January and April 2022, Marshall compelled a victim into performing commercial sex for his financial benefit and repeatedly raped and beat her if she did not follow his orders.  He also controlled the victim by other means, including getting her addicted to fentanyl and threatening to harm her family.  In March 2022, the victim attempted to escape from Marshall and obtained an order of protection against him after he was arrested by Cromwell Police for threatening to kill her.

On April 27, 2022, Marshall was arrested by police in Freeport, Maine, after he severely beat the victim.  While in jail, Marshall contacted the victim in violation of the protection order, and attempted to convince her not to cooperate with the police and to continue to prostitute herself to earn money to bail him out of jail.  Marshall also contacted another person from jail in an attempt to remotely erase the evidence on his cell phone, but he was unable to do so because the FBI had already secured the phone.

On May 10, 2023, while he was detained in federal custody, Marshall again attempted to obstruct the investigation and prosecution of this matter by writing a letter to a family member with instructions to “harass” the victim to keep her from testifying.

Marshall forcibly sex trafficked at least one other woman between 2017 and 2022.  With his second victim, Marshall similarly used beatings, rapes, and other means to coerce her into engaging in commercial sex acts for his financial benefit for almost two years.

The trial began on April 30, 2025.  Yesterday, Marshall was convicted of two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; two counts of attempted obstruction of sex trafficking enforcement; and one count of interstate violation of a protection order, causing serious bodily injury to the victim.  The jury found Marshall not guilty of one count of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion.

At sentencing, which is not scheduled, Marshall faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.

Marshall has been detained since April 27, 2022.

This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Newington Police Department, Cromwell Police Department, Freeport (Maine) Police Department, and Connecticut Department of Correction.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angel Krull, Shan Patel, and Alexis Beyerlein.

U.S. Attorney Sullivan thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine for its assistance in this case.