Category: MIL-OSI

Posted on

FBI Cleveland Warns of Romance Scams

Source: US FBI

Perpetrators Are Predominately Men Targeting Women Over 40 Who Are Divorced, Widowed, Elderly, or Disabled

[Cleveland, OH]  As Valentine’s Day approaches, FBI Cleveland reminds the public to remain aware when engaging in online relationships and warns about the hidden dangers when striking up a relationship with someone they have not met in real life. 

Romance scams, also known as confidence scams, continue to rise, and typically occur when a criminal creates a fake profile on a dating site or social media platform. The scammer tricks victims into believing they’re in a loving and trusting relationship with that online persona. Fraudsters then leverage that relationship and concoct stories of financial hardships, persuading victims to send money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or other items of value. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) most recent figures from 2022 reflect 19,000 complaints about confidence and romance scams with reported losses of at least $739 million.

Most commonly, the perpetrators are men targeting women over 40 who are divorced, widowed, elderly, or disabled.  The scam usually starts with an “innocent” contact online and builds from there. Romance scammers often use well-rehearsed scripts which have been previously used successfully. 

These criminals actively search dating websites, apps, chat rooms, and social networking sites in their efforts to build a relationship with the goal of accessing financial assets or personally identifiable information.  Romance scammers often spend hours honing their skills and sometimes maintain detailed journals, describing their targeted victims, to better understand how to manipulate and exploit them.

FBI Cleveland encourages people to do their due diligence about the person they are communicating with, just as you would when meeting in person; ask a lot of questions and don’t take everything at face value. Even if the person sends casual ‘at-home’ images that appear normal, oftentimes, scammers will steal the identity of another person and use those photos as bait.

To avoid meeting in person, romance scammers often claim to live or work in other parts of the country or world.  Eventually, when they feel they have gained the trust of their victims, these criminals will request money, oftentimes for a medical emergency, an unexpected legal fee, or some other false purpose. The crime is borderless and anyone of any age can be targeted. The scammers’ goal is to financially exploit the victim. If someone you meet online needs your bank account information to deposit money, they are most likely using your account to carry out other theft and fraud schemes.

If you find yourself beginning to develop a relationship with someone you meet online, remember these tips to help protect yourself:

  • Be careful with sharing too much personal information online across all social media sites. Scammers can and often use those details to target you and build commonalities.
  • If you’re on dating sites, only use platforms with a well-known reputation, and research photos and profiles online to see if anyone has used that name or image elsewhere. It may take a little time on your part but will be well worth the effort in the long run.
  • Beware of online suitors who try to isolate you from your family or friends, or those who ask you to send inappropriate photos or financial information that could be later used to extort you.
  • Don’t send money to someone you’ve never met in person. Scammers often use emotional pleas and stories of despair to trick you into believing their story of need. No amount is too large or small to report to the FBI whether it’s a request to wire money, send gift cards, or transfer other items of value. You are the victim and reporting is the only way the FBI can connect the dots and stop these criminals from targeting other people or further exploiting you and your network.

If you suspect your online relationship is a scam, whether you are involved or someone you know may be falling victim to the scam, call 1-800-CALL-FBI to file a report, or visit ic3.gov to submit a tip. You should also contact your financial institution if you’ve already sent money.

Find more resources about romance scams at FBI.gov/romancescams

###

Editor’s Note:

FBI Resources:

Romance Scams — FBI – will give an overall view of what constitutes a Romance Scam

2022_IC3Report.pdf -the IC3 report shows all types of scams nationwide, broken down, and from there, you can see how Romance Scams add up total number of victims and dollar losses.

2022 IC3 Ohio Annual Report – this report is for Ohio and shows the breakdown of the type of fraud/scam. You’ll see Romance Scams and the losses and the number of people affected.

A few recent prosecutions:

District of Utah | Final Defendant in Online Romance Scam Sentenced to 72 Months’ Imprisonment, Ordered to Pay $6.4M in Restitution Jointly | United States Department of Justice
Northern District of Texas | Romance Scammer Convicted at Trial of Money Laundering, Wire Fraud Conspiracies | United States Department of Justice
Eastern District of Missouri | Romance Scammer who Helped Steal Nearly $1.2 Million from Missouri Woman Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison | United States Department of Justice
District of Massachusetts | Former New Bedford Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud and Money Laundering Arising From “Romance Scam” | United States Department of Justice
Southern District of Ohio | 7 defendants sentenced for conspiring to launder more than $11.8 million of online romance scam proceeds | United States Department of Justice

Oftentimes, while the subject was prosecuted in another state as noted in the articles above, their reach included victims across the country.

Posted on

Akil Davis, Named Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office in May, Reports to Los Angeles

Source: US FBI

In May, FBI Director Christopher Wray named Akil Davis as the new assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles Field Office. Mr. Davis has now arrived to oversee the Los Angeles Field Office. 

Mr. Davis most recently served as the special agent in charge of the Phoenix Field Office.

Mr. Davis has previously served in the Los Angeles Field Office several times. He joined the FBI as a special agent in 2005 and was assigned to the Palm Springs Resident Agency—a satellite of the Los Angeles Field Office. He investigated violent crime, organized crime, and narcotics trafficking, and was a member of the Los Angeles Field Office’s SWAT team.

In 2008, Mr. Davis deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan, and worked with the U.S. Army’s 10th Special Forces Group. In 2011, he was promoted to supervisory special agent and transferred to the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Davis returned to the Los Angeles Field Office in 2014 and managed the Transnational Organized Crime Program. In 2017, Mr. Davis served as the FBI’s acting assistant legal attaché to The Hague, Netherlands. He was named assistant special agent in charge of the Los Angeles office in 2019 and was responsible for the violent crimes, crimes against children, human trafficking, violent gangs, and organized crimes programs.

FBI Los Angeles Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis

Posted on

Canadian Man Sentenced to 3½ Years in Prison for Role in Penny Stock Scheme That Caused More Than $215 Million in Losses

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – A former trader for a group of hedge funds was sentenced today to 42 months in federal prison for participating in a scheme that manipulated penny stock prices to inflate the hedge fund’s reported profits – fraudulent gains that generated millions of dollars in management and performance fees – and caused investors to lose more than $215 million when the funds collapsed.

Colin Heatherington, 49, of Vancouver, Canada, was sentenced by United States District Judge John A. Kronstadt, who also ordered him to pay $215,815,031 in restitution – jointly and severally with co-defendant Todd Michael Ficeto, 57, a former Beverly Hills stockbroker who also was convicted in this case following a jury trial.

Heatherington pleaded guilty on February 1 to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud. He has admitted his role in the scheme run out of Absolute Capital Management Holdings (Absolute Funds), a Cayman Island-based company that managed eight hedge funds from offices in Mallorca, Spain.

Heatherington was a securities trader who worked closely with the founder and chief investment officer of Absolute Funds, Florian Wilhelm Jürgen Homm, 64, a German financier who was indicted in March 2013 and is currently a fugitive from justice.

As part of the scheme, which lasted from 2004 to June 2008, Heatherington oversaw the purchase of billions of shares of United States-based penny stocks, which were then traded using various manipulative practices, such as cross trading, which fraudulently inflated the value of the stocks and, in turn, the value of the Absolute Funds.

Heatherington and others in the scheme also reaped millions in profits through self-dealing trades in which they sold their own shares of artificially inflated penny stocks to the Absolute Funds.

After this case was indicted, Heatherington was in Canada, and the United States sought his extradition. After fighting extradition, Heatherington agreed in 2021 to come to the United States.

Ficeto was sentenced to six years in federal prison after being found guilty by a jury in July 2019 of 18 felonies relating to his managerial role in the scheme to manipulate penny stock prices, which garnered him many millions of dollars from fees and commissions and self-dealing trades. Ficeto also allowed Heatherington and other members of the conspiracy to trade the manipulated penny stocks through his company, among other fraudulent acts.

The FBI investigated this matter. The Department of Justice’s Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, IRS Criminal Investigation, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) provided assistance.

Assistant United States Attorneys Cassie D. Palmer of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, Scott Paetty of the Major Frauds Section, and Ian V. Yanniello of the General Crimes Section prosecuted this case.

Posted on

Riverton Man Found Guilty of First-Degree Murder on the Wind River Indian Reservation

Source: US FBI

Burdick Nelson Seminole Sr., 59, of Riverton, Wyoming, was convicted by a federal jury on Nov. 15 of first-degree murder, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and causing death with a firearm during a crime of violence. The trial lasted four days before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl in Casper.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in the early morning of Aug. 8, 2023, Seminole drove to the victim’s residence, entered the residence without permission, confronted the victim and an argument ensued. The defendant left the residence to retrieve a pistol and re-entered the residence where he continued to argue with the victim, who was sitting in his wheelchair. Seminole pistol-whipped the victim, disarmed him, and shot him three times, killing him. In response, another resident shot at Seminole, hitting him in the back of the neck, causing him to flee. Seminole drove himself to the hospital and was diagnosed with a minor flesh wound. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS.

Sentencing has been set for Feb. 6, 2025. Seminole faces mandatory life imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment. The Bureau of Indian Affairs Wind River Police Department and FBI investigated the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence and make our neighborhoods safer. 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. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

Case No. 24-CR-00017

Posted on

Former Colorado Springs Area Man Sentenced to 168 Months of Imprisonment After Sex Abuse of a Minor Conviction

Source: US FBI

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Mitchel Crow, 32, was sentenced to 168 months of imprisonment and 12 years of supervised release after being found guilty by a federal jury on three counts of sexual abuse of a minor.

According to facts established at trial, between May of 2020 and mid-December of 2020, Crow engaged in several sexual acts with a minor within a residence located on Fort Carson, an Army post near Colorado Springs. Crow was a civilian living on post and was responsible for the care of the minor at the time.

“There is nothing more important than protecting children in our society,” said Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Matt Kirsch. “This long sentence reflects the seriousness of the defendant’s abuse of a minor he was supposed to be protecting.”

“Child sex offenders prey on the most vulnerable victims. This sentence will not erase the harm inflicted upon the victim, but we hope it is a step towards recovery,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek.  “The FBI and our law enforcement partners such as U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division will continue to work together to put predators who harm children in prison.”

United States Senior District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore presided over the sentencing. The FBI Denver Field Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorneys Tom Minser and Al Buchman handled the prosecution.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.  

Posted on

Arapahoe Woman Sentenced to 121 Months in Federal Prison for Child Abuse

Source: US FBI

Kandace Sitting Eagle, 34, of Arapahoe, Wyoming, was sentenced to 121 months’ imprisonment for aggravated child abuse, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and assault with a dangerous weapon. These crimes arose from abuse of Sitting Eagle’s 13-year-old child. 

According to trial evidence and statements made at the sentencing, Kandace Sitting Eagle and her husband, Truman Sitting Eagle, who was sentenced to 108 months in prison in August 2024, abused the child for weeks in late 2023. The abuse included beatings with a metal rod, isolation, and starvation. A school resource officer discovered the abuse during a welfare check made after the child had not been to school in over a month. During the visit, Kandace and Truman repeatedly lied to the officer regarding the whereabouts and welfare of the child. The officer eventually found the child in a crawl space under the Sitting Eagles’ trailer where his parents were hiding him.

Kandace Sitting Eagle was indicted on Jan. 12, 2024, and convicted by a federal jury on June 13, after a four-day trial. In addition to the 121 months in prison, the sentence includes five years of supervised release and $33,000 in restitution to Wyoming Medicaid for medical expenses related to the victim’s care. U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence on Sept. 24, in Cheyenne.

This crime was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Wind River Police Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook.

Posted on

Cincinnati Man Pleads Guilty to Committing Federal Hate Crime by Physically Assaulting Asian American Student Based on Race

Source: US FBI

CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court here today to committing a federal hate crime by physically assaulting a victim based on the victim’s race.

Darrin Johnson, 27, admitted to physically attacking an Asian American victim on Calhoun Street at the University of Cincinnati on Aug. 17, 2021.

“I remain steadfast in the belief that hate has no place in our society,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “We will continue to use our federal law enforcement authority to investigate and prosecute hate crimes like the one committed by Johnson.”

According to court documents, Johnson made racist comments toward the victim, including, “Go back to your country…You brought the kung flu here…You’re going to die for bringing it.”

After threatening to kill the victim, Johnson punched the victim on the side of his head. The force of the punch caused the victim to fall and hit his head on the bumper of a parked car. Johnson continued his attack on the victim, who was bleeding on the ground, until two bystanders intervened and restrained Johnson.

The victim suffered multiple injuries, including an orbital contusion, facial lacerations and acute head injury.       

In October 2021, Johnson pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and criminal intimidation for the incident and was sentenced to serve 360 days in county jail.

Johnson was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2022.

The parties involved in this case have recommended a sentence of up to 22 months in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Cheryl Mimura, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the guilty plea entered today before Senior U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott. Assistant United States Attorney Megan Gaffney Painter is representing the United States in this case.

# # #

Posted on

Owner of Online Luxury Baby Boutique Sentenced to 90 Months for Defrauding COVID-19 Relief Programs

Source: US FBI

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Shambrica Washington, 39, now a resident of Parker, Texas, was sentenced to 90 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and restitution of $542,924.45 after being found guilty by a federal jury on 31 counts including wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and false claims offenses.

According to facts established at trial, Washington obtained loans from the Small Business Administration for two Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and from JP Morgan Chase for two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for a total of $485,749.00 between March of 2020 and July of 2020. During that time, Washington obtained the loans under two business names.  One was “Tiny Toes and Tiaras,” which was an online luxury baby boutique based in Colorado Springs. To obtain the fraudulent loans, Washington misrepresented how many people were employed by her businesses and the businesses’ wages, revenues, and costs of operation.  She used the funds to purchase a car, a custom-built home, pay for elective surgery, and pay credit card debt and other bills.  She then applied for millions of dollars in additional loans, grants, and tax credits, including by applying for advance tax credits from the Internal Revenue Service and a $6 million grant through a Small Business Administration program intended for shuttered concert venues.

“People who steal taxpayer dollars for personal benefit can and will pay the price,” said Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Matt Kirsch. “Our office has and will continue to find people who have abused Covid-19 funds and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Shambrica Washington fraudulently obtained PPP and EIDL designated to provide Americans financial relief during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Tom Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation Denver Field Office. “Washington’s sentence demonstrates the federal government’s commitment to holding individuals accountable who defrauded critical programs that served to provide aid for families and small businesses.”

United States District Court Judge William J. Martinez presided over the trial. IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI Denver Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Craig Fansler and Taylor Glogiewicz handled the prosecution.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

On July 11, 2023, the Attorney General selected the District of Colorado’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of five national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud.  The Strike Force combines law enforcement and prosecutorial resources and focuses on large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors, as well as those who committed multiple instances of pandemic relief fraud. The Strike Force uses prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds. Additional information regarding the Strike Force may be found at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-results-nationwide-covid-19-fraud-enforcement-action.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Posted on

Ohio Man Arrested for Assaulting Law Enforcement and Other Charges for Actions During January 6 Capitol Breach

Source: US FBI

            WASHINGTON — An Ohio man has been arrested for assaulting law enforcement and other charges during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

            Cleophus Dulaney, 63, of Columbus, Ohio, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with felony offenses of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers.

            In addition to the felonies, Dulaney is charged with multiple misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly or disruptive conduct in the Capitol grounds or buildings, act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.

            Dulaney was arrested by the FBI today in Columbus and will make his initial appearance in the Southern District of Ohio.

            According to court documents, Dulaney was identified in an open-source video among a crowd of rioters gathered to the West of the U.S. Capitol building around the Peace Monument on Jan. 6, 2021. At about 12:50 p.m., rioters bypassed the first line of barricades and approached a second line of barricades that were manned by uniformed U.S. Capitol Police Officers.

            The second line of barricades was constructed of metal bike rack barriers, physically linked end to end, and reinforced with dark-colored plastic mesh safety fencing behind the metal bike racks. The fence was clearly marked with large white “AREA CLOSED” with bold red lettering clearly marked the fence.

            Upon approaching the barricades, the crowd, with Dulaney at the front, immediately became confrontational with the officers in the area. The crowd pushed and pulled on the barricades as the now vastly outnumbered officers attempted to keep the crowd back. At about 12:54 p.m., rioters broke through the barricades, driving the bike racks directly into the police officers. One officer was driven to the ground and suffered a concussion. Another officer was pressed down under the barricade and struggled to avoid being pulled out into the mob. With the police officers under attack, Dulaney, for his part, picked up and moved a metal bike rack to the side, opening a pathway for the mob behind him to surge forward.

            As the crowd surged forward, officers retreated towards the building, and Dulaney and the crowd of rioters approached another line of barricades. The crowd quickly broke through, allowing the mob to move forward and flood the West Plaza. Dulaney remained at the front of the mob as the crowd chanted “USA USA USA!” and “OUR HOUSE!”

            At about 1:35 p.m., court documents say that the situation between the rioters and police began to escalate. At one point, Dulaney charged forward as the rioters fought to obtain control of a bike rack. He reached over several rioters and grabbed the top of the barricade that was now raised in the air and, with the aid of his fellow rioters, pushed the barricade into the police officers.

            As Dulaney and the rioters forcefully pushed the bike rack forward, the bike rack made physical contact with several officers. After the mele, Dulaney continued to watch as rioters attacked police officers and, eventually, broke through the police line.

            The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting this case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio provided valuable assistance.

            The FBI’s Cincinnati and Washington Field Offices are investigating this case. The U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department provided valuable assistance.

            In the 37 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,313 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 469 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.

            Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

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

Posted on

U.S. Attorney Joins with Special Agents in Charge of FBI and DEA to Announce Law Enforcement Surge Combatting Nighttime Fentanyl Trafficking in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco

Source: US FBI

Law Enforcement Officials also Release Video Providing Update on “All Hands on Deck”

SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey joined with Special Agent in Charge Brian Clark of the Drug Enforcement Administration and Special Agent in Charge Robert Tripp of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to announce a surge in nighttime activities in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco. The surge is in furtherance of “All Hands on Deck,” a law enforcement initiative to address endemic drug dealing in the area. The law enforcement officials also released a video regarding the surge that can be seen here.

In November of 2023, U.S. Attorney Ramsey convened a press conference and circulated a press release announcing the new joint initiative. The press conference was attended by numerous federal, state, and local officials and dignitaries all of whom pledged to contribute resources to All Hands on Deck. The initiative, designed to change the basic cost/benefit analysis for fentanyl dealers throughout the Northern District of California, included several programmatic elements including the following:

•    ramping up arrests of street dealers and suppliers of fentanyl who sell fentanyl near federal buildings (including near the James R. Browning U.S. Courthouse at 7th and Mission Streets, the Nancy Pelosi Federal Building on 7th and Mission Streets, and the Phillip Burton Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse at 450 Golden Gate Avenue);
•    expanding efforts to track down and hold accountable suppliers of fentanyl;
•    bringing additional charges against persons operating money services operations who turn a blind eye to drug trafficking and money laundering transactions on their networks;
•    using targeted wiretaps, arrests, and searches throughout the Bay Area to enable drug seizures and to stem the flow of drugs and dealers coming into San Francisco from nearby counties;
•    conducting regular joint federal and SFPD “jump out” operations in the Tenderloin to make on-the-spot arrests for open-air drug dealing;
•    “fast-tracking” certain federal cases so that they take as little as a month from time of arrest to disposition; and
•    federal “adoption” of state cases to raise the stakes by holding drug dealers accountable in the federal system.

As part of today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ramsey confirmed that “since November, we have announced numerous lengthy sentences handed down to drug dealers, extraditions of alleged drug dealers from Honduras, the prosecution of persons operating money services operations who had turned a blind eye to drug trafficking and money laundering transactions on their networks, and the federalizing and fast tracking of certain cases traditionally handled by local governments.”

In addition, Special Agent in Charge Clark stated that in recent weeks, law enforcement officials have “ramped up night operations.” “Federal agents are now being deployed to hold drug dealers accountable regardless of the time of day. Our presence makes it clear there is no time to be safe from law enforcement in our neighborhoods,” he said. The night operations have resulted, thus far, in more than 20 federal criminal complaints as well as the seizure of pounds of drugs (including more than 11 lbs. of fentanyl and more than 5 lbs. of methamphetamine) and over $20,000 in seized cash.

Referring to the unveiling of All Hands on Deck, Special Agent in Charge Tripp stated, “As we stated last November, our objective is to change the equation for drug dealers. As the consequences of choosing to supply drugs in the Tenderloin become more severe, dealers and suppliers are going to have to reassess their risk. Is it worth it? We aim to show the answer is no.”

Since the inception of the initiative in November of 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged over 90 individuals for drug distribution activities in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco. As of this week, over 70 of those cases have resulted in federal convictions.