Source: United States Navy
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Franchetti, and Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Eric Smith testified before the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Defense, April 10, 2024. Below is a transcript of the hearing:
Source: United States Navy
When most people hear the term “U.S. Navy Special Operations,” they typically think of Navy Sea, Air, and Land Teams (SEALs), as the elite, unconventional warfare experts who endure the hardest training the U.S. military has to offer. But while SEALs are deserving of the high esteem in which they are held, the team often overshadows the other exclusive roles that comprise the Navy Special Ops community – Aviation Rescue Swimmers, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians, Hospital Corpsmen-Advanced Technical Field, Divers, and Special Warfare Combat Crewmen.
Source: United States Navy
The U.S. Navy and the Pearl Harbor National Memorial will begin placing containment buoys and anchors in the waters surrounding the USS Arizona Memorial site May 19 as a precautionary measure and in preparation for the upcoming removal of the two mooring platforms constructed on the hull of the sunken battleship.
Source: United States Navy
Adm. Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations discusses the Navy’s 2024 Navigation Plan at the Atlantic Council in Washington D.C., October 16, 2024. The moderator is Dan Lamothe, National Security Writer, the Washington Post. General James L. Jones, Executive Chairman Emeritus, Atlantic Council, gives the introduction.
Source: United States Navy
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti participates in a media availability following the Paris Naval Conference with Chief of the French Navy Adm. Nicolas Vaujour; Royal Navy First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff of the United Kingdom Adm. Sir Ben Key; Vice-Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command, Indian Navy.
Source: United States Navy
SAN DIEGO – The U.S. Navy is strengthening maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region through a $125 million initiative designed to enhance India’s maritime domain awareness. Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific is playing a central role in the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) program, a flagship effort under the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy.
Source: United States Navy
NAPLES, Italy – U.S. 6th Fleet Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) and USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) conducted two separate live-fire events as part of exercise At Sea Demonstration (ASD) / Formidable Shield (FS) 25. U.S. Navy destroyers are equipped with the Aegis weapons systems designed for ballistic missile defense.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Two California men pleaded guilty yesterday to not paying over employment taxes to the IRS.
The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: Lalo Valdez and Matthew Olson, both of Northern California, operated a San Jose-based health informatics and product development company that provided clinical care and technology services to clients in healthcare and academia. Valdez was the CEO and Olson the CFO. As such, both were responsible for the company’s operations, managed its internal books and records, signed checks on behalf of the company, and hired and fired employees. Both men also were responsible for withholding Social Security, Medicare, and federal income taxes from employees’ wages and paying those funds over to the government each quarter. The timely payment of quarterly employment taxes is critical to the functioning of the U.S. government, because, for example, they are the primary source of funding for Social Security and Medicare. The federal income taxes that are withheld from employees’ wages also account for a significant portion of all federal income taxes collected each year.
For every calendar quarter from the first quarter of 2017 through the second quarter of 2021, Valdez and Olson withheld these taxes from employees’ wages but did not pay them over to the IRS or report them on quarterly tax forms. Instead of paying over the taxes, Valdez and Olson used the company’s money to pay for country club memberships and season tickets to the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League.
During this same period, Olson also was one of the owners and operators of a day spa located in Saratoga, California. There, Olson was responsible for collecting and paying Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes to the IRS. From the second quarter of 2017 through the fourth quarter of 2020, however, Olson collected but did not pay them over to the IRS or report them on quarterly tax forms.
In total, Olson caused a tax loss to the IRS exceeding $2.1 million.
Valdez caused a total tax loss to the IRS of nearly $1.5 million.
Valdez and Olson are scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 20. Both men face a maximum penalty of five years in prison as well as a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Robbins for the Northern District of California made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Mahana Weidler of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina Green for the Northern District of California are prosecuting the case.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Defendant Did Not File Tax Returns and Falsified Documents to Obtain Mortgage Loan
A Washington, D.C., Certified Public Accountant (CPA) was sentenced yesterday to 20 months in prison for making a false statement on a mortgage loan application and not filing an income tax return.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Timothy Trifilo worked in tax compliance for several large accounting and finance firms. In recent years, he was managing director at a tax firm where he specialized in transaction structuring and advisory service, tax compliance, and tax due diligence. Nevertheless, for a decade, Trifilo did not file federal income tax returns or pay all the taxes that he owed despite earning more than $7.7 million during that time. He caused a tax loss to the IRS of more than $2 million.
In February 2023, Trifilo sought to obtain a $1.36 million bank-financed loan to purchase a home in D.C. and was working with a mortgage company to do so. After the mortgage company told Trifilo that the bank would not approve the loan without copies of Trifilo’s filed tax returns, Trifilo provided the mortgage company with fabricated documents to make it appear as if he had filed tax returns and provided copies of tax returns for 2020 and 2021 that he never filed with the IRS. On these returns and other documents that he submitted to the mortgage company, Trifilo listed a former colleague as the individual who prepared the returns and uploaded them for filing with the IRS. This individual did not prepare the returns, has never prepared tax returns for Trifilo, and did not authorize Trifilo to use his name on the returns and other documents that Trifilo submitted to the mortgage company. Based on Trifilo’s false representation, the bank approved the loan and Trifilo purchased the home.
In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan for the District of Columbia ordered Trifilo to serve two years of supervised release and pay $2,057,256.40 in restitution to the IRS.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind and Alexis Fleszar of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A New York man was sentenced yesterday in the Northern District of Georgia to 87 months in prison and ordered to pay over $45 million in restitution for his role in a scheme to defraud investors in connection with commercial real estate investments in Atlanta, Georgia and Miami, Florida.
According to court documents, beginning in May 2022, Elchonon “Elie” Schwartz, 46, of New York City, engaged in a scheme to defraud commercial real estate investors that invested through the crowdfunding investment website, CrowdStreet Marketplace. Schwartz raised over $62.8 million from hundreds of investors through CrowdStreet, including approximately $54 million for a large commercial real estate complex in Atlanta, Georgia, and approximately $8.8 million for a mixed-use building in Miami Beach, Florida. When soliciting investments, Schwartz represented to CrowdStreet investors that he would safeguard their funds in segregated bank accounts, not commingle the investors’ money, and only use it to fund the investment in each property.
Over the course of the scheme, however, Schwartz directed substantially all the CrowdStreet investor money into his personal bank account, personal brokerage account, and accounts for unrelated commercial real estate investments he controlled. He used the CrowdStreet investor funds to purchase luxury watches, invest in stocks and options in his brokerage account, and cover payroll expenses for his unrelated commercial real estate businesses. Ultimately, in mid-July 2023, the two corporate entities that Schwartz had formed to receive funds from CrowdStreet investors both filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
“Yesterday a federal judge sentenced Elchonon Schwartz to 87 months for defrauding investors out of more than 60 million dollars through lies and deceit as part of a real estate scheme,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Criminal Division. “The defendant made fraudulent representations to investors and misappropriated their money to buy luxury watches and to deposit into his brokerage and bank accounts instead of investing it as promised. The Criminal Division remains dedicated to prosecuting fraudsters who steal investors’ hard-earned savings to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Schwartz’s greed was boundless,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg for the Northern District of Georgia. “He callously abused the trust of hundreds of investors to line his own bank accounts, purchase expensive watches, and buy additional luxury items. Schwartz’s sentence reflects our office’s commitment to hold fraudsters accountable for exploiting investors who innocently rely on their false representations.”
“This sentencing underscores that those who exploit the trust of investors for personal gain will be held accountable,” said Paul Brown, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Field Office. “Mr. Schwartz’s actions caused significant financial harm to hundreds of individuals, and hopefully today’s outcome delivers a measure of justice for the victims.”
In February 2025, Schwartz pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
The FBI Atlanta Field Office investigated the case. The Justice Department appreciates the valuable assistance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement.
Trial Attorney Matthew F. Sullivan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Connors for the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case.