Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
ROANOKE, Va. – EBI LLC (“EBI”), a Virginia company with its principal place of business in Danville, Virginia, has agreed to pay $2,541,742.12 to resolve allegations that it fraudulently obtained a Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) for which it was not eligible.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Ryan Raybould, announced that on Aug. 19, a federal grand jury indicted two individuals for allegedly orchestrating a multiyear scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program of more than $11 million.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Today, the Department of Justice released an opinion for the Department of State’s Legal Advisor finding that the Foreign Service Grievance Board (FSGB)’s unchecked power over the U.S. Foreign Service violates the Constitution.
“Accountability for American foreign policy flows from the people to the foreign service through the President, our elected official charged by the Constitution to conduct foreign affairs, and his Secretary of State,” said Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser. “Our advice today restores that essential through-line.”
Since 1980, the Foreign Service Act has empowered the FSGB to reverse disciplinary measures and reinstate members of the Foreign Service who had been terminated by the Secretary of State. A 2013 decision of the Board, for example, reinstated a Foreign Service member who had been terminated for downloading and viewing pornography on his government-issued computer. Under the statute, the President and the Secretary of State were powerless to overrule the Board’s decision.
The opinion published today by the Office of Legal Counsel and signed by Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser concludes that the statutory provisions that gave the FSGB final decision-making authority violate Article II and cannot be enforced. The political accountability written into our Constitution requires that the President maintain control over the Executive Branch. This control is nowhere more critical than in the realm of foreign policy. To restore constitutional order in the Foreign Service, final decision-making power must be vested in a presidentially accountable Executive Branch officer — here, the Secretary of State.
Going forward, DOJ has advised that the FSGB may continue to hear grievances as before, but the Secretary will retain final decision-making authority, as the Constitution requires.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A self-proclaimed “sovereign diplomat” from Michigan, who had been living in a makeshift camp site in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, and was convicted for not registering as a convicted sex offender as required under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), was sentenced yesterday to 33 months in federal prison. Deon Andre Green, 38, a.k.a. “Dalayah Assir Yahar’al” was convicted of failing to register as a convicted sex offender following a jury trial in May 2026.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Jay Sunilbharthi Goswami, 21, of Gujarat, India, and Jersey City, NJ, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Marlin Leon Nez, 45, and Megan Ashley Yarber, 36, both of Chinle, Arizona, were sentenced on Aug. 17, 2026, by United States District Judge Michael T. Liburdi to time-served sentences, after serving more than 16 months in prison for their roles in concealing the murder of a Navajo man.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Memphis, TN – Quineshia Townsel, 29, has pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm after shooting her boyfriend in a domestic violence incident. United States Attorney D. Michael Dunavant, for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the guilty plea today. According to the evidence, on December 30, 2025, officers responded to a shooting at North Watkins Street and Burnham Avenue. Officers located a vehicle that had been struck…
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Linda Laird, 62, of Cordova, Maryland, was found guilty yesterday by a federal jury in connection with a scheme to abuse her position as the co-guardian and co-conservator of an 81-year-old vulnerable adult, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Baltimore, Maryland – A convicted sex offender received a federal-prison sentence for escaping from a Baltimore halfway house and then failing to register as a sex offender. United States Chief District Judge George L. Russell, III, sentenced Ronnie Holmes, 42, of Washington, D.C., to 15 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for escaping from federal custody and failing to register as a sex offender.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
In a significant victory for President Trump’s efforts to unleash American energy, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California affirmed the federal government’s authority to protect national energy security under the Defense Production Act. The ruling ensures that domestically produced oil can reliably reach California refineries and safeguards the continued operation of critical pipeline infrastructure on the California coast.
“Energy security is national security,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. “And the Department of Justice will continue unleashing American energy to support an affordable and reliable supply of energy necessary for our national and economic security.”
“This ruling upholds decisive federal action to protect national security by restarting the flow of 50,000 gallons of oil per day when the stability of America’s energy supply is threatened,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Energy and Natural Resources Division. “The Department of Justice, together with our parters at the Energy, Interior, and Transportation Departments will not allow California or environmental groups to undercut American energy.”
In a comprehensive decision, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California rejected the State of California’s radical attempt to shut down the Santa Ynez Pipeline and dismissed efforts by California and environmental groups to impose state‑level barriers designed to obstruct federally mandated operations during a declared national energy emergency. The court’s decision ensures that sound federal energy policy — not California’s disruptive anti-energy measures — governs operation of this critical infrastructure.
This ruling comes at a time when state and local energy policies on the West Coast continue to destabilize regional supply and threaten broader national energy resilience. The Santa Ynez Pipeline transports more than one million barrels of domestically produced crude oil per month from offshore wells into California — providing a reliable domestic supply to offset foreign imports and reinforcing the Nation’s energy independence. Its continued operation is also essential to maintaining stable fuel supplies for more than 32 U.S. military installations across the West Coast, supporting operational readiness and ensuring these facilities can meet critical national defense requirements.
The court confirmed that a Defense Production Act order — issued by Secretary of Energy Chris Wright under delegated authority from the President — lawfully preempts state actions aimed at blocking or delaying Sable Offshore Corporation (Sable)’s operations of the Santa Ynez Pipeline. The court held that the only agency with authority to oversee the safety of the pipeline is the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and California’s efforts to shut down the pipeline amounted to an attempt to override federal authority and undercut essential national energy priorities.
Key components of the court’s rulings include:
The decision makes clear that attempts by California and environmental groups to impose new obstacles to critical energy infrastructure — despite clear federal findings of urgent national security needs — cannot override federal law.
The Department of Justice remains committed to enforcing federal law, defending national energy security, and ensuring that vital infrastructure remains free of unlawful state‑imposed barriers. This case was litigated by the Energy and Natural Resources Division.