Category: MIL-OSI

Source: US FBI

           WASHINGTON – An Ohio man was sentenced to prison today after he was previously convicted of assaulting law enforcement with a Trump billboard and other offenses during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. 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.

           Jonathan Joseph Copeland, 29, of Lima, Ohio, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich to 71 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.

           Copeland was previously convicted of six felonies, including two counts of civil disorder, and one count each of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon,  entering and remaining in a restricted building or ground with a deadly and dangerous weapon, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly and dangerous weapon, and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or ground with a deadly and dangerous weapon. Copeland was also convicted of misdemeanors of act of physical violence in the Capitol building or grounds and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

           According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial, Copeland traveled from Ohio to to Washington, D.C., where he attended a rally on the night of January 5, 2021, and then portions of the “Stop the Steal” rally on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, at the Ellipse. After the rally, Copeland marched with others to the Peace Circle, located on U.S. Capitol grounds, where he walked around the downed barriers at the Peace Circle and moved towards the front of a line of rioters behind a bike-rack-style barrier manned on the opposite side by several U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers protecting the U.S. Capitol complex.

           At approximately 12:52 p.m., a group of rioters, including Copeland, advanced on the manned bike rack barricade. They pushed through the officers and the barricade to move closer to the building. Specifically, Copeland, with his arms outstretched, pushed on the backs of other rioters as those rioters pushed on the barricade. After the rioters overwhelmed the officers and trampled over the barricade, Copeland and his fellow rioters charged forward toward the West Plaza.

           At approximately 1:40 p.m., Copeland participated in pushing a large metal frame holding an oversized “TRUMP” sign into a defensive line of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and USCP officers, who were attempting to prevent a further advance toward the Capitol building. Copeland placed both hands onto the sign and forcefully pushed it into the line of officers.

           Court documents and trial testimony reflect that the all-metal frame was approximately eight feet tall and ten feet wide, welded with screws, and supported by large casters and wheels that were approximately the size of a person’s head. As described by one MPD officer who was a member of the defensive police line, the sign frame was heavy, with sharp metal angles jutting towards the officers.

           Also, on the West Front, Copeland began arguing with a photographer within the crowd. Copeland yelled at the cameraman and shoved him several times, and then a group of rioters attacked the photographer and pushed him off a ledge.

           Court documents and trial testimony reflect that Copeland entered the Capitol building at 2:25 p.m. via the Senate Wing Door. Once inside, he traveled through the Crypt and to the Capitol Visitor Center, repeatedly waving at other rioters to join him further inside the Capitol building. He finally exited the building at approximately 2:41 p.m. through a window next to the Senate Wing Door.

           The FBI arrested Copeland in Fort Shawnee, Ohio on Aug. 25, 2022.

           This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.

           This case was investigated by the FBI’s Cleveland and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

           In the 46 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,561 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 590 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.

Source: US FBI

Source: US FBI

New Zealand Security Innovation Service Director-General of Security and Chief Executive Andrew Hampton said the coalition members have a common desire to use partnerships to tackle the threat—whether that looks like their governments exchanging threat intelligence or means trading notes with private-sector innovators to increase mutual understanding and collectively brainstorm threat response.

“For us, the key thing is awareness: Having your eyes open and being able to share that best practice to manage the threat,” Hampton said.

Canadian Security Intelligence Service Director David Vigneault echoed this dedication to using teamwork to protect innovation.

“What we are trying to do here … is to take the knowledge and the awareness that we have and bring it to you in your own respective way as experts working with government to find the right frameworks so that we can enable that openness, transparency and innovation, but at the same time, do it in a way that, you know, will protect what is important for us: freedom, democracy, you know, freedom from interference and coercion, as well,” he said.

MI5 Director Ken McCallum concurred.

“The stakes are now incredibly high on emerging technologies; states which lead the way in areas like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and synthetic biology will have the power to shape all our futures,” he said. “We all need to be aware, and respond, before it’s too late.”

The outlook for this kind of teamwork seems to be bright. During pre-summit meetings, Wray said he’s observed that businesses are more open than ever to learning how to immunize themselves against the threat of innovation theft. Whereas private sector players once needed to be sold on the existence of a threat in the first place, he explained, they’re now hungry to learn how they and the FBI can fight back together.

“We’re arming the private sector with information that enables them to take better steps to protect themselves, and so, in that sense, we’re tapping into an alignment of interests,” Wray said.

From there, he noted, businesses can decide whether or not to act on that intelligence. In any case, the shared information can help companies stop intellectual property theft and strengthen their cyber defenses.

Source: US FBI

CLEVELAND – Basheer Jones, 40, of Cleveland, Ohio, has been charged in a two-count information with conspiring to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud for using his role as a public official for personal financial gain by seeking to defraud multiple community stakeholders out of more than $200,000. He previously served as an elected Cleveland city council member representing Ward 7.

According to court documents, from about December 2018 to June 2021, Jones allegedly misrepresented and concealed material facts to induce nonprofit organizations to enter into a variety of arrangements that would benefit Jones and his romantic partner co-conspirator. Under the guise of working on projects to benefit the city of Cleveland and revitalize Ward 7, Jones fraudulently sought and obtained funds from local nonprofits while he concealed his connection to his romantic partner, through whom he benefited from these arrangements.

Jones’s schemes were devised to deceive nonprofit entities into making payments toward projects they thought were for the community’s benefit. Instead, the money ultimately went into bank accounts controlled by Jones’s romantic partner. Jones would then direct her to divert those funds to herself, Jones, and to other associates who were involved.

The information alleges that Jones deceptively advised nonprofits to provide funding to move community projects forward or to hire a purported “consultant,” with the full knowledge that the funds would flow back to himself. For example, Jones recommended that a nonprofit hire a consultant for community outreach. Unbeknownst to the nonprofit, the “consultant” who quickly submitted a proposal and whose business was ultimately contracted, was Jones’s co-conspirator and romantic partner. She submitted the proposal and requested $5,000 per month at Jones’s prompting. The investigation discovered that she did not provide the nonprofit with substantial services in exchange for payments she received.

Jones later defrauded the same nonprofit out of an additional $50,000, again through his romantic partner’s consulting business. Jones claimed that he needed $50,000 to plan a community event, which included buying backpacks for schoolchildren, and falsely promised that the city would reimburse the organization. Instead, after the funds were paid, no event was held, and Jones directed his romantic partner to divide the money amongst herself, Jones, and others associated with the scheme.

Some of the projects Jones pushed included seeking community funding to rehabilitate certain distressed properties while concealing his financial interest in them. In one instance, Jones devised a bribery scheme under which he arranged for co-conspirators, including his romantic partner, to acquire a dilapidated property on Superior Road, and used his position as councilperson to pass ordinances allocating city funds to buy that property from them. Jones arranged for a co-conspirator to buy the property a minimal cost. After asking a nonprofit to purchase and rehabilitate the property, and promising city funding, Jones sponsored an emergency ordinance to fund the nonprofit’s purchase and renovation of the property. When Jones was unable to convince the nonprofit to proceed, he arranged to transfer the property to his romantic partner’s consulting business, with the understanding that she too would share the proceeds of the sale with him. After sponsoring another ordinance to reauthorize city funding for the same project, Jones sought to finalize the nonprofit’s purchase of the property from his partner’s entity for $80,000. Ultimately the scheme failed when the nonprofit decided not to proceed with the purchase.

Jones and his partner did succeed in obtaining funds for the sale of a different property to another nonprofit. He misled them to believe that he was helping them to acquire the property from the original owner. Instead, he was simultaneously arranging for his romantic partner to acquire the property from the original owner in the name of another business entity, and then immediately to resell it to the nonprofit. Jones and his partner arranged to purchase the property for only $1, promising to pay a $40,500 city demolition bill. But without paying that bill or disclosing it, Jones’s partner immediately re-sold the property to the nonprofit for $45,000.

These charges are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial. It will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, their role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General, and the IRS – Criminal Investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erica Barnhill and Elliot Morrison for the Northern District of Ohio.

To report fraud, visit justice.gov/action-center/report-crime-or-submit-complaint.

Source: US FBI

With the world’s attention drawn to the crisis unfolding in the Middle East, he also offered condolences to the people of Israel and the innocent lives lost at the hands of Hamas.

Wray described the targeting of a community because of its faith as “totally unacceptable” and said the FBI remains committed to continue confronting such threats, both in the United States and overseas.

“In this heightened environment, there’s no question we’re seeing an increase in reported threats,” he said, urging partners to stay vigilant and continue sharing any intelligence or observations.

Wray headed an FBI team of approximately 75 executives and other employees at the four-day IACP conference, many of them participating in sessions focusing on mass violence and school shooting threats, today’s crisis negotiators, and gang-involved child sex trafficking, among other topics.

Surging resources, Wray explained, have been critical in tackling violent crime, and he cited several examples of successful partnerships, ranging from the deployment of FBI agents to Tucson to reduce a backlog of old state warrants and take criminals off the street to a violent gang crackdown in Houston.

Working together with state, local, and federal authorities in Houston, the FBI participated in a violent crime initiative that led to arrests and indictments against members of the 100% Third Ward Gang that operates in and around the city.

“By February,” Wray said, “the Houston Police Department reported a drop of more than 10% in overall crime in just five months.”

Working together has been just as critical outside of large cities. In September, Wray said the FBI began surging resources to tribal areas to focus on crimes affecting Native American women and children.

In Charleston, West Virginia, he said authorities seized more than 100 kilograms of methamphetamine and other dangerous drugs and made close to 50 arrests in one of the largest illegal narcotics investigations in state history.

Wray also recognized the work of an FBI-led task force operating out of Brunswick, Georgia, for arresting dozens of gang members and seizing a number of illegal guns and drugs in January.

Source: US FBI

“This case is one of the highest priorities for the San Francisco Field Office,” said FBI San Francisco Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp. “Law enforcement officers bear a tremendous responsibility to police our communities lawfully in keeping with the Constitution, and we must always be true to that guiding principle…The citizens of our communities deserve law enforcement personnel who practice what they enforce. Any breach to the public’s trust is absolutely unacceptable.” 

Four separate indictments were issued on August 17, 2023. In the first indictment, referred to as the “college degree benefits fraud indictment,” six defendants allegedly engaged in a conspiracy to defraud Antioch and Pittsburg police departments out of taxpayer dollars by claiming they had earned college credits toward degrees when, instead, they paid others to attend classes and take exams for them.

In June of 2019, an officer of the Pittsburg Police Department allegedly used a person identified as “Individual 1” to complete multiple college courses on his behalf that were credited toward the officer’s Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice. Once the officer allegedly received a degree, they applied for and received reimbursements and pay increases from the Pittsburg Police Department. The same officer allegedly promoted the services of Individual 1. Five other members of the police departments ended up paying Individual 1 to complete similar coursework towards their degrees. As with the initial officer, they also applied for reimbursements and pay increases from their law enforcement employer.  

In the second indictment, two officers from the Antioch Police Department allegedly conspired to illegally distribute anabolic steroids to an unnamed customer. One of the officers allegedly possessed the drugs, and the other officer attempted to delete incriminating evidence from their cell phone before handing it over to law enforcement for investigation. 

In the third indictment, a defendant from the Antioch Police Department received three charges, two involving alleged interference with a wiretap investigation, and the third involving the illegal seizure and destruction of a telephone. On March 23, 2021, the defendant was assigned to a wire room where they were supposed to monitor communications between a target and others who contacted the target by telephone. The defendant allegedly used his personal cellphone to call a target, covering up any evidence of the call. On May 6, 2021, the defendant was present when another officer used a deployed a police dog while making an arrest. When the defendant saw a witness recording the aftermath of the incident on a cell phone, they allegedly seized and destroyed it. 

The fourth indictment charges three Antioch police officers with conspiracy against rights and deprivation of rights under color of law. The indictment describes several incidents of excessive force, among others. Allegedly, the defendants deployed excessive force as “punishment” to subjects “beyond any punishment appropriated imposed by the criminal justice system.”   

For example, on August 24, 2021, one of the defendants, along with Antioch police officers, executed a search warrant at a residence, located a subject inside a locked bedroom holding a video game controller with a video game on a television screen. When the defendant and other officers entered the room, the subject raised his hands. The officers surrounded the subject, and while one of the officers held down the subject’s arm to arrest him, the defendant deployed the 40mm less lethal launcher, injuring the subject.  

“Color of law violations strike at the very heart of our justice system. They undermine public confidence in the law and law enforcement and erode the fundamental right of our citizens,” said Tripp.  

The indictment includes several other incidents of excessive force as well as the collection and sharing of pictures and munitions to memorialize the acts of violence. 

Note that an indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Source: US FBI

U.S. Seeks to Forfeit 947,883 Tether Cryptocurrency Valued at nearly $1M

Source: US FBI

The Operation Not Forgotten initiative, along with the FBI’s broader Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) strategy, emphasizes the FBI’s continued dedication to address the violence impacting Indigenous communities. When the initiative was announced, agents like Kay from across the Bureau volunteered for temporary assignments in Indian Country. 

On the Yakama Reservation, Kay worked a range of investigations, including those related to homicide, missing persons, gangs, and crimes against children.

“You might not work these kinds of violations anywhere else in the FBI,” he said. “For agents working in Indian Country, it’s the closest thing to being a local police detective.”

In another investigation, Kay tried to locate a child sexual assault victim to see if they would be pressing charges. He and a Yakama Police detective met to share updates on the case and went together to the interview. Unfortunately, the victim wasn’t home, so Kay left his phone number and hoped for a call back. He also drove around the reservation hoping to find the victim before heading back to the FBI office in Yakama.

The assignment to Indian Country has been eye-opening, he said. It’s given him an opportunity to work closely with Native American partners in a part of the country where the mission is so critical.

There are multiple tribal detectives Kay now works with regularly, having quickly established a rapport. “You investigate crime scenes, generate leads, conduct interviews, and make arrests,” Kay said. “All of this is done in partnership with the tribal and local law enforcement.”

Source: US FBI

TOLEDO, Ohio – A federal jury has convicted an Ohio man of possession and distribution of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), also known as child pornography. Derran Reebel, 52, of Toledo, was found guilty of committing crimes that violate federal laws regarding the sexual exploitation and abuse of children. According to court documents, Reebel knowingly received and distributed CSAM for nearly eight years, from about Jan. 1, 2014 through Aug. 17, 2022. During a search warrant execution conducted at his residence, investigators found numerous books, magazines, periodicals, films, and video tapes that contained visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct in his possession.

Law enforcement officials also discovered that Reebel used social media for a number of years to chat with minors and send them sexually explicit messages and photos of himself.

Sentencing has not yet been scheduled. Reebel faces a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI-Toledo. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara Al-Sorghali and Frank Spryszak for the Northern District of Ohio.

To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.org, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Source: US FBI