Source: United States Department of Justice
In the Eastern District of Texas, three defendants were sentenced to a total of 386 months in federal prison during the month of August as part of the Homeland Security Task Force, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs. Additionally, another defendant was convicted by a jury of drug trafficking violations and faces life in federal prison at sentencing.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A Nevada tax preparer was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for operating two false tax return schemes.
“Michael Moore lied to his clients and lied to the IRS all while lining his own pockets,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “To conceal his involvement in his criminal conduct, Mr. Moore impermissibly used a former employee’s identity to file fraudulent returns. Return preparers like Mr. Moore who abuse their clients’ trust and undermine the integrity of the internal revenue laws will continue to be brought to justice by the Fraud Division’s Tax Section, our U.S. Attorneys, and our law enforcement partners like IRS-CI.”
“Today’s sentence sends a clear message that those who manufacture fake wage records for personal enrichment will face severe federal prison time,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada.
“Moore’s schemes were designed to cheat the tax system while shifting the resulting burden onto law abiding taxpayers,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge David Lowe of the IRS Criminal Investigation San Francisco Field Office. “Today’s sentence underscores that IRS-CI will aggressively pursue those who exploit the tax system for personal gain, and it should serve as a reminder that financial crimes carry serious consequences.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2015 through 2025, Michael J. Moore, of Las Vegas, was a former CPA who operated a tax preparation, bookkeeping and accounting business that advertised itself as specializing in clients from the adult entertainment industry. Moore promoted a fraudulent tax avoidance scheme called the “Special Tax Shelter Strategy.” As part of the scheme, Moore promised clients that in exchange for a fee he could prepare a tax return that eliminated the taxes they owed to the IRS and, in most cases, create a large tax refund. The fees Moore required as part of this “Special Tax Shelter Strategy” were paid by the clients using the refund money received from the IRS. In many instances, clients were required to pay tens of thousands of dollars in fees.
To carry out the “Special Tax Shelter Strategy,” Moore made up false and fraudulent entries on the clients’ tax returns. In many cases, he did this by including on the returns false business expenses frequently amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses. In some instances, Moore prepared and filed the tax returns using a former employee’s name and personal identifying information without their permission or knowledge.
After he had been charged for his role in the “Special Tax Shelter Strategy,” Moore engaged in a separate scheme involving preparation of false returns for clients. As part of this second scheme, Moore again reported totally false items on client tax returns. In the second scheme, Moore typically reported false losses from one or more corporate entities, most of which were defunct, dormant or carried on no business. These reported losses were false because the clients had not incurred these expenses.
In total, Moore caused a tax loss to the IRS of more than $3.5 million.
Moore pleaded guilty to one count each of tax evasion, helping a client file a false tax return, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
IRS Criminal Investigation San Francisco Field Office investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Patrick Burns of the National Fraud Enforcement Division’s Tax Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Lopez for the District of Nevada prosecuted the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the 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
Trinidadian foreign national and lawful permanent resident, Chad Barclay, 33, pleaded guilty today to sex trafficking and admitted to kidnapping six additional victims.
During the plea hearing, Barclay admitted that on Sept. 13, 2022, he enticed the victim to his residence to engage in commercial sex, where he robbed and sexually assaulted her. As part of plea agreement, Barclay stipulated to kidnapping six additional women between 2022 and 2023. For targeting five victims, Barclay was charged in a 20-count superseding indictment with interstate prostitution, Hobbs Act robbery, kidnapping, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, and witness tampering and obstruction of an official proceeding in August 2023. Barclay was charged with a sex trafficking count for one of the original five victims and interstate prostitution, Hobbs Act robbery, kidnaping, and other related charges for two additional victims in a second superseding indictment in May 2026.
Chad Barclay has now admitted that he kidnapped, violently raped, and robbed multiple female victims,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This prosecution demonstrates that we will always seek justice for survivors of trafficking and abuse to prevent more of these heinous crimes. This type of exploitation and violence has no place in our civilized society.”
“This defendant is a dangerous predator who used force and intimidation to sexually assault a victim and has admitted to additional conduct including kidnapping six other women,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York. “Today’s guilty plea holds him accountable for the devastating harm he inflicted on his victims and sends a clear message that our Office will vigorously prosecute those who use violence, enticement, and coercion to facilitate sex trafficking. We remain committed to protecting victims of this scourge, pursuing justice on their behalf, and ensuring that perpetrators like Barclay are held responsible for their crimes.”
“Chad Barclay’s brutal and predatory actions inflicted profound harm on his victims and demonstrated a clear disregard for their safety and humanity,” said Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle of the FBI’s New York Field Office. “The FBI and NYPD’s joint investigation ensured his conduct was exposed and he was brought before the justice system to answer for his crimes. We will continue working closely with our partners to protect victims and ensure offenders are held fully accountable for their actions.”
Barclay faces a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI New York Field Office and the New York Police Department are investigating the case as part of the Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.
Trial Attorney Olimpia E. Michel of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andy Palacio and Lorena Michelen for the Eastern District of New York and are prosecuting the case.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Richeline Anisso Fung, 46, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, and formerly of Maryland, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to making false, fictitious, or fraudulent claims while working as a full-time employee for the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (DHS-CISA), announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Zachary Babitz was sentenced to life plus 26 years in federal prison for a series of armed robberies and carjackings across New Mexico in 2024, including the fatal shooting of an 83-year-old Santa Fe man during a carjacking.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Alvin Ponson, 67, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 50 months in prison in connection with the armed robberies of two fast-food restaurants in Northeast Washington D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal jury indicted a Baltimore man, today, for firearm crimes in connection with the FBI’s Summer Heat 2.0 initiative. Larry Arntay Thompson, Jr., 25, is charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, Héctor Ramírez-Carbó, Acting United States Attorney, in conjunction with our partner agencies in the Homeland Security Task Force (“HSTF”) announce the following prosecutorial results for the week of August 24 through August 28, 2026. The HSTF is a permanent, interagency law enforcement task force created by executive order to combat transnational criminal organizations—including cartels, trafficking networks, and foreign terrorist organizations.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A coordinated, multi-agency law enforcement operation targeting the 10 most dangerous offenders identified by tribal and local law enforcement partners has resulted in federal charges against individuals accused of violent crime, firearms offenses and narcotics trafficking in northern New Mexico.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
Thank you all for attending. I will begin with opening remarks and then I will take questions. Next week we commemorate 25 years since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001. As we reflect upon the immeasurable tragedy endured that day, we honor the lives of those we lost that day and the heroism of those who responded in a time of unprecedented crisis, and the resilience of those who have been impacted by 9/11-related health effects.
Twenty-five years since that day, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund has served tens of thousands of victims and their families, and we continue to receive over 750 new claims each month – a clear indication of the ongoing importance of our mission.
The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) provides compensation to individuals (or a personal representative of a deceased individual) who were present at one of the three plane crash sites during the following timeframes, and who have since been diagnosed with a 9/11-related physical illness:
The VCF is not limited to first responders. Compensation is also available to those who work at the sites. This includes journalists, camera operators and others attached to the work, those that worked or volunteered in construction, clean-up, and debris removal; power lines and telephone work for example as well as people who lived, worked, visited, or went to school in the NYC Exposure Zone.
People do not have to be sick to register with the VCF. Registration preserves their right to file a claim in the event that they (and we hope not) do get sick with a 9/11 related illness.
Claimants do not need a lawyer to register or file their claim.
The President’s signing of the “Never Forget the Heroes, James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act” in July 2019, fully funded the VCF to pay all eligible claims and extended the claim filing deadline to October 1, 2090. This means our funding is secure.
In 2025 alone, the VCF notified claimants of over 9,800 awards determinations, with more than $1.8 billion awarded.
And as of August 31st, 2026, the VCF has received over 112,000 claims, awarding over $18.56 billion to over 77,000 claimants since reopening in 2011.
Twenty-five years since the events of September 11th, 2001, we know it has become increasingly challenging for claimants to find documents needed to prove their presence at an eligible location, which is one of the key requirements to be eligible for compensation.
In response to this challenge, and as part of our ongoing focus to make navigating the claims process as straightforward and supportive as possible, we launched an updated “How to Prove Presence” page on our website and a new Interactive Presence Guide.
This guide walks claimants step-by-step through a process to identify what type of documentation they need to submit with their claim or who they can contact for documentation.
Our team is committed to ensuring no claimant feels lost or overwhelmed when submitting a claim. We have a great Helpline with real live people who can answer or refer any questions that come in. They engage in over 4,000 calls a month on average. We encourage folks to call 1-855-885-1555 with any questions.
As Special Master for over the past three years, I am constantly looking for creative solutions and making policy decisions to ensure that processes and policies are fair and equitable for our claimants.
Expanding outreach efforts also remains one of my central priorities and we appreciate the role of the local and national media to help spread this critical message.
It is estimated that as many as 400,000 people – those who lived, worked, went to school, or visited the area within the VCF’s New York City Exposure Zone – may have been exposed to the toxins.
We’ve made tremendous progress in forging relationships with strategic partners who are working to amplify our message to their audiences across the country.
We are also working to build an informal network of ambassadors who can spread the word about the VCF.
We ask everyone to think about the people you may know who might have been present in the New York City Exposure Zone, the Pentagon site, or the Shanksville, PA site during the eligible time periods.
We ask that they share VCF information with their friends, family, community members or platforms, and visit our website at www.vcf.gov for information they can share.
We want to build this vast network, and everyone can be a partner.
It is an honor to lead the VCF team in this work, and to be in service to this incredible community, which I am a part of as a born and bred New Yorker.
If individuals have questions about the claims process, please call our toll-free Helpline at 1-855-885-1555 or visit www.vcf.gov. If it is not .gov it is not the VCF.
Thank you all for joining us as messengers in this vital effort to spread awareness to 9/11 victims.
I look forward to answering any questions.