Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced an agreement with the University of Virginia (“UVA”) that will protect UVA’s students, faculty, and employees from violations of federal civil rights laws, including from discrimination based on race, sex, or national origin.

As part of the agreement, the University of Virginia agrees to be bound by the Department of Justice’s “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination,” ensuring that UVA does not engage in unlawful racial discrimination in its university programming, admissions, hiring, or other activities. UVA will provide relevant information and data to the Department of Justice on a quarterly basis through 2028. The President of UVA will personally certify each quarter that UVA is in compliance with the agreement. The Department will pause its pending investigations into the university’s admissions policies and other civil rights concerns. The United States shall treat UVA as eligible for future grants and awards. If UVA completes its planned reforms prohibiting DEI at the university, the Department will close its investigations against UVA.

“This notable agreement with the University of Virginia will protect students and faculty from unlawful discrimination, ensuring that equal opportunity and fairness are restored,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division. “We appreciate the progress that the university has made in combatting antisemitism and racial bias, and other American universities should be on alert that the Justice Department will ensure that our federal civil rights laws are enforced for every American, without exception.”   

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson Urges the Public to Safely Dispose of Unused, Unwanted, or Expired Prescription Medications

Source: United States Department of Justice

Defendants are alleged to have physically and psychologically abused the victim, exploiting her intellectual disability to compel her to panhandle, engage in fraudulent and criminal activities, and perform domestic chores for the defendants

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Memphis, TN – Michael Dunavant was sworn in on October 10, 2025, as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. In a brief ceremony, U.S. District Judge Mark S. Norris administered the oath of office at the Odell Horton Federal Building in Memphis.

Dunavant was nominated by President Donald J. Trump on June 30, 2025, and was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 7, 2025. Dunavant is currently serving for the second time as the Presidentially Appointed, Senate Confirmed United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. In that role, he is the 50th and 54th person to serve as the chief federal prosecutor and legal representative of the United States for the 22 counties and approximately 1.6 million citizens of West Tennessee. Mr. Dunavant is the first person to serve the district twice as the Presidential appointee, having previously served as U.S. Attorney from 2017–2021 during the first Trump administration.

“I want to thank President Trump for nominating and appointing me serve in this important role again, and I am appreciative of Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty for their strong support during the confirmation process. Because I have previously served in this role, I am fully prepared to immediately carry out the priorities of the Department of Justice in West Tennessee and to faithfully execute and enforce the laws of Congress. Together with the dedicated professionals in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners, we will make Memphis and West Tennessee safe again by pursuing justice for victims, imposing consequences for criminals, upholding and promoting respect for the rule of law, supporting law enforcement, protecting the United States Treasury, and delivering better public safety outcomes for our citizens. I am glad to be back and ready to get to work.”

In addition to his service as the U.S. Attorney, Mr. Dunavant has served as the Deputy Executive Director of Legal Services & Policy for the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference from 2023-2025; the Chief Investigative Counsel for the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Division of Investigations from 2021-2023; and the elected District Attorney General for the 25th Judicial District of Tennessee, where he served as the chief state criminal prosecutor for Lauderdale, Tipton, Fayette, Hardeman, and McNairy counties in West Tennessee from 2006-2017. Prior to his service as District Attorney, Mr. Dunavant was a partner in the law firm of Carney, Wilder & Dunavant in Ripley, Tennessee.

A native of Ripley, Mr. Dunavant holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a Doctor of Jurisprudence Degree with honors from the University of Mississippi at Oxford. He has been practicing law in Tennessee since 1995.

                                         

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

United States Attorney Kurt Wall announces support of DEA’s Annual Prescription Drug Take Back Day to be held on October 25, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is a bi-annual event that aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications. This service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

DEA and its partners will collect tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms. Liquids, including intravenous solutions, syringes and other sharps, and illegal drugs will not be accepted. Vaping devices and cartridges will be accepted as long as the lithium batteries are removed.

In addition to DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, prescription drugs can be disposed of at any of the 11,000 authorized collectors at any time throughout the year. For more information, visit www.dea.gov/takebackday.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Ashley Tellis, 64, a U.S. citizen residing in Vienna, Virginia, was arrested on Oct. 11 in connection with his alleged unlawful retention of classified national defense information. Tellis appeared today in the Eastern District of Virginia for a detention hearing.

“Safeguarding our country’s national defense information is a top priority,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Sue J. Bai of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “For those entrusted with our country’s most sensitive information, protecting it is a privilege and solemn responsibility. With the hard work and dedication of our prosecutors and agents, we will hold this defendant accountable for breaching that trust and exploiting his security clearance to unlawfully retain classified information detailing our military capabilities.”

“The FBI arrested Ashley Tellis, a senior advisor at the Department of State and a contractor within the Department of Defense, for allegedly removing over a thousand pages of classified national defense information from government facilities and storing them in his home,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “This arrest should serve as a stark warning to anyone thinking about undermining national security. The FBI and our partners will do everything within our power to find you and hold you accountable.”

“We are fully focused on protecting the American people from all threats, foreign and domestic. The charges as alleged in this case represent a grave risk to the safety and security of our citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Halligan for the Eastern District of Virginia. “The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”

“U.S. government security clearance holders are entrusted to keep our nation’s most sensitive secrets safe,” said Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the FBI Washington Field Office. “By allegedly removing classified documents from government facilities and storing them in his basement, Mr. Tellis betrayed that trust. The FBI and our federal partners acted quickly to execute a court-authorized search warrant and arrest Tellis to protect our national security and prevent highly classified defense information from falling into the wrong hands.”

According to court documents, Tellis held a Top Secret security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access. He has worked for the U.S. Department of State since 2001 and currently serves in addition as a contractor for the Department of Defense’s Office of Net Assessment. He also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

As alleged, Tellis accessed classified documents on multiple occasions from secured facilities, including a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) at the Department of Defense and a secure computer system at the Department of State. In one instance, Tellis altered the filename of a classified document, printed portions of it under the altered title, and then deleted the re-named file. In another incident, he was observed placing classified materials into a notepad and concealing them within his personal briefcase before leaving a secured government facility.

During a court-authorized search of Tellis’s residence, investigators recovered over 1,000 pages of documents with classification markings, including materials labeled SECRET and/or TOP SECRET. These documents were found in locked filing cabinets, in a basement home office, and in trash bags stored in a basement utility area.

The FBI Washington Field Office is investigating the case, with valuable assistance from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Schlessinger for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Leslie Esbrook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – About one week ago, many of our fellow Alaskans witnessed devastation at a level that many of us will never experience. Flooding caused by the remnants of Typhoon Halong hit our western coastline causing at least one known death, destroying residences, and leaving more than 1,500 victims with no place to stay, food to eat, or clean water to drink. While rescue operations have been ongoing at a feverish pace and likely saved many lives, Alaskans affected by this disaster are in a situation where they can see no hope for a return to their normal lives on the horizon. Sadly, it is at this precise time when fraudsters located across the globe seek to satisfy their own heartless greed by depriving victims of assistance that they may receive either through government channels and/or charitable contributions.

As a warning to fraudsters thinking of targeting our flood victims, such people should know that Title 18 United States Code, Section 1040, punishes those who commit fraud in connection with major disaster and emergency benefits with up to 30 years in federal prison and that we will aggressively investigate and prosecute such criminal conduct.

The National Center for Disaster Fraud (“NCDF”), a national coordinating agency, was created by a partnership between the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and various law enforcement and regulatory agencies. Its goal is to improve and further the detection, prevention, investigation, and prosecution of fraud related to natural and man-made disasters, and to advocate for the victims of such fraud.

Experience has shown that criminals exploit disasters for their own selfish gain by sending fraudulent communications through email or social media and by creating deceiving websites designed to solicit contributions. These fraudsters will engage in phishing, which involves deceiving individuals to provide their personal identifiers, credit card numbers, and bank account information. They will also engage in spoofing, which involves disguising their own phone numbers and websites to appear as being from known and trusted entities such as federal relief agencies and non-profit organizations to fraudulently obtain funds.

I unfortunately expect that criminals will target flood victims and individuals wanting to make charitable contributions to those victims. The following examples of disaster-related fraud are based on over 300,000 complaints submitted to the NCDF, and are provided to help victims avoid being victimized twice — by the storm and then by criminals:

• Fake charities immediately soliciting donations using the names of well-known charities or appearing reasonable as related to a disaster (to include email, website, and caller ID spoofing)
• Individuals impersonating government officials, non-profit organization representatives, and insurance company representatives advising that disaster assistance will be made available should the potential victim provide a sum of money or personal identifiers such as date of birth, social security number, and bank account information (name of financial institution, routing number, and account number)
• Individuals soliciting victims to invest in non-existent businesses and ventures offering recovery efforts such as cleanup, rebuilding, and making structures (homes) more resistant to future disasters, for example, elevating structures to minimize future flood risks)
• Individuals overcharging for goods and services needed by victims of disaster, also known as price-gouging
• Theft of property from businesses and residences abandoned because of a disaster (either evacuation pre-disaster or to obtain living accommodations because of damaged apartments and homes)

Recommended Measures to Avoid Becoming a Victim:

• Only make donations to known charities and only after contacting the charity directly and not in response to an email, instant message, phone call, text, etc. A recommended step is to research the charity by visiting recognized charity information/rating websites such as the www.Give.org, CharityNavigator.org, and CharityWatch.org
• Never click on a link in an unsolicited email, instant message, text, etc.
• Never assume that charity solicitations posted on the internet and social media are legitimate
• Avoid cash donations to charities – use a credit card or pay with a check. Never transmit donations to a named individual
• Charities do not seek donations via electronic fund (financial institution)/wire transfers, so do not wire donations
• Avoid being victimized by impersonators of government officials, insurance companies, investment companies, etc., by terminating the phone call or other exchange of information (e.g., email, texts) and calling the actual government agency, insurance company, and/or investment company directly using a well-advertised phone number or email address

Individuals who have been targeted by fraudsters, been the victim of disaster-related fraud, or suspect that someone is engaging in disaster fraud are encouraged to contact law enforcement at any of the following: (1) the NCDF at (866) 720-572 or online at www.justice.gov/DisasterComplaintForm; or  (2) the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI; tips.fbi.gov; or  ic3.gov, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) for internet-based fraud.

Michael J. Heyman

United States Attorney

District of Alaska

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

           WASHINGTON – Laurence Cotton-Powell, 19, of the District, and Anthony Taylor, 18, of Temple Hills, Maryland, have been charged in Superior Court  for their roles in the August 3 attempted carjacking, robbery, and beating of a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer. Cotton-Powell made his initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court on Friday, October 17, and Taylor made his initial apperance in D.C. Superior Court on Saturday, October 18, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

           Both men also are charged in connection with a separate attack and robbery of a male victim at a gas station that immediately preceded the attack on the DOGE staffer.

           Cotton-Powell was arrested on October 16; Taylor was arrested on October 17. Both are charged with attempted unarmed carjacking, two counts of robbery, and two counts of assault with intent to commit robbery.

           Joining in the announcement were Commander Don Snider of the United States Marshals Service and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

           “We are leaving no stone unturned to bring to justice criminals who perpetrate random, unprovoked, and brutal attacks on people who are unlucky enough to be in their path,” U.S. Attorney Pirro. “This is about the safety of individuals in this community – make no mistake, the rights of victims are paramount, and we will pursue justice, swiftly and vigorously on their behalf.”

           According to court documents, Cotton-Powell and Taylor were members of a large group that approached a male victim and his friends outside of a Sunoco gas station on the 1400 block of U Street at about 2:53 a.m. The group began to assault the victim and his friends. Cotton-Powell allegedly stomped on the victim’s head, and Taylor participated in the assault. The victim briefly escaped, but group members followed and knocked him to the ground and continued their attack. They robbed the victim of his watch and one of his shoes. Several of the victim’s friends also were assaulted by the group.

           After the assaults and robbery, surveillance footage showed the group walking towards the 1400 block of Swann Street, NW.

           Less than ten minutes later, about 3 a.m., the group encountered the DOGE employee on Swann Street, NW as he walked a woman to her car. The DOGE employee pushed the woman into her car to protect her from the group. The group allegedly attacked the DOGE employee, punching him and hitting him repeatedly. Members of the group demanded the car, banged on it, and pulled on the car doors. The woman had locked the doors, so they were unable to gain entry.

           An MPD officer on patrol pulled into the block and witnessed the group as it assaulted the DOGE employee. When the group spotted the officer, they immediately fled. Police stopped and arrested two 15-year-old juveniles.

           Following his arrest on Thursday, October 16, Cotton-Powell was interviewed by Metropolitan Police Officers and admitted to assaulting the victim at the gas station. He also admitted to kicking and punching another victim later that night, which law enforcement tied to the assault on the DOGE employee.

           Following his arrest on Friday, October 17, Taylor was interviewed by police, and also admitted to taking part in both offenses. He admitted that he was the person who approached the DOGE staffer and demanded the keys to the car and admitted to punching and kicking the DOGE staffer, and he also admitted to taking part in the earlier assault of the victim at the gas station. 

           This case is being investigated by the MPD and the United States Marshals Service. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Defendant Sold Fentanyl to His Victim and Delayed Calling 911 While He Tried to Cover Up His Crime

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BILLINGS — 13.5% of Montana high school youth report using a prescription medication without a prescription, according to the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey by the Montana Office of Public Instruction.  National Prescription Drug Take Back Day narrows this gateway to opioid addiction.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana joins the Drug Enforcement Administration in support of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 25. The biannual event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at sites across Montana. The event is an effort to rid homes of potentially dangerous, expired, and unused prescription drugs.

Medicines that languish in homes are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses from these drugs.

“We all know unused prescriptions, particularly opioids, pose a danger to Montanans, especially to children. We encourage everyone to participate in the DEA’s Drug Take Back Day by cleaning out their medicine cabinets. It’s a quick and easy way to help make our communities safer,” U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Numerous sheriff’s offices, police departments and federal agencies across Montana are participating in Take Back Day. Information about collection sites and more information about the event is available here: https://www.dea.gov/takebackday. Montana also offers year-round collection at many locations, including pharmacies, hospitals, and health centers, which can be found at these two websites: https://dphhs.mt.gov/BHDD/SubstanceAbuse/dropboxlocations, and https://www.dea.gov/everyday-takeback-day. 

During the last Take Back Day held on April 26, 2025, 4,472 law enforcement participants at 4,590 collection sites across the country brought in a total weight of 620,321 pounds, or 310 tons, of drugs. This brings the total weight collected to 19.8 million pounds, or more than 9,910 tons, of prescription drugs collected in the history of the program. Collection results may include materials other than prescription drugs.

During the April 2025 event, Montanans turned in 1,229 pounds of prescription drugs at 20 collection sites. Nineteen law enforcement agencies participated. Total all time weight collected in Montana is 59,506 pounds.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the October 25 Take Back Day event, go to www.DEATakeBack.com.