Category: Security

Source: US FBI

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Francisco Ortiz, age 50, the former chief operating officer of a Morgantown medical practice, was sentenced today to 36 months in federal prison for bank fraud.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Ortiz, of Vacaville, California, defrauded Wedgewood Physicians, Inc. by diverting more than $650,000 for his own benefit. Ortiz used the funds to pay for personal items such as travel, home improvements, and online purchases. Ortiz also diverted some of the money for the benefit of co-defendant, James Mersing, a physician formerly employed by the practice. Mersing pled guilty to his role and was sentenced in October 2024.

Ortiz was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $692,176.19.

Ortiz will serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Cogar prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.

Source: US FBI

Source: US FBI

John Harold Rogers, 63, of Vienna, Virginia, a former Senior Adviser for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (FRB), was arrested today on charges that he conspired to steal Federal Reserve trade secrets for the benefit of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

In furtherance of the conspiracy, allegedly made false statements to the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (FRB-OIG), and those false statements had a material impact on its investigation.

“As alleged, the defendant violated the trust placed in him by the Federal Reserve Bank by putting U.S. trade secrets in the hands of his PRC co-conspirators, knowing full well that such information would benefit the PRC Government and PRC instrumentalities,” said Devin DeBacker, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will continue to use all the tools at its disposal to disrupt economic espionage and protect our national security.”

“President Trump tasks us with protecting our fellow Americans from all enemies, foreign and domestic. As alleged in the indictment, this defendant leveraged his position within the Federal Reserve to pass sensitive financial information to the Chinese government, a designated adversary,” said U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. for the District of Columbia. “Let this indictment serve as a warning to all who seek to betray or exploit the United States: law enforcement will find you and hold you accountable.”

“As alleged in the indictment, Rogers betrayed his country while employed at the Federal Reserve by providing restricted U.S. financial and economic information to Chinese government intelligence officers,” said Assistant Director Kevin Vorndran of the FBI Counterintelligence Division. “This information could allow adversaries to illegally gain a strategic economic advantage at the expense of the U.S. This indictment sends a clear message that the FBI and our partners will hold accountable those who threaten our national security.”

“The Chinese Communist Party has expanded its economic espionage campaign to target U.S. government financial policies and trade secrets in an effort to undermine the United States and become the sole superpower,” said Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office. “Today’s indictment represents the FBI’s unwavering commitment to protect U.S. national security interests and U.S. jobs and bring to justice those who are willing to betray their country for personal gain.”

“This indictment sends a clear message that those who deliberately misuse sensitive Federal Reserve information for their own personal gain and lie about it to investigators will be held accountable for their actions,” said Special Agent in Charge John T. Perez of the FRB-OIG, Headquarters Operations.

According to the indictment, Rogers, a U.S. citizen with a Ph.D. in economics, worked as a Senior Adviser in FRB’s Division of International Finance of the FRB from 2010 until 2021, where he was entrusted with confidential FRB information. The confidential information that Rogers allegedly shared with his Chinese co-conspirators, who worked for the intelligence and security apparatus of China and who posed as graduate students at a PRC university, is economically valuable when secret.

China holds a large amount of U.S. foreign debt (approximately $816 billion as of October 2024). The data Rogers shared with his co-conspirators could allow China to manipulate the U.S. market, in a manner similar to insider trading. Gaining advance knowledge of U.S. economic policy, including advance knowledge of changes to the federal funds rate, could provide China with an advantage when selling or buying U.S. bonds or securities.

The indictment alleges that, from at least 2018, Rogers allegedly exploited his employment with the FRB by soliciting trade-secret information regarding proprietary economic data sets, deliberations about tariffs targeting China, briefing books for designated governors, and sensitive information about Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) deliberations and forthcoming announcements. He passed that information electronically to his personal email account, in violation of FRB policy, or printed it prior to traveling to China, in preparation for meetings with his co-conspirators.

Under the guise of teaching “classes,” Rogers met with his co-conspirators in hotel rooms in China where he conveyed sensitive, trade-secret information that belonged to the FRB and the FOMC. In 2023, Rogers was paid approximately $450,000 as a part-time professor at a Chinese university.

On Feb. 4, 2020, in response to questioning by the FRB-OIG, Rogers lied about his accessing and passage of sensitive information and his associations with his co-conspirators.

Rogers is charged with conspiracy to commit economic espionage and with making false statements.

The FBI Washington Field Office and FRB-OIG are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorneys Nicholas Hunter and Steve Marzen of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Section are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: US FBI

At Least 17M U.S. Victims Affected

Source: US FBI

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on April 25, 2025, to one count of production and attempted production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

Matthew Trax, 25, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge W. Scott Hardy.

In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, on or about November 30, 2023, Trax employed, used, and enticed a 14-year-old female to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purposes of producing a visual depiction of such conduct, knowing that the visual depiction would be transported in and affect interstate commerce or created using a means and facility of interstate commerce. Specifically, Trax sent the minor nine images and one video of himself engaged in sexual intercourse with the minor, which Trax had recorded on his phone.

Judge Hardy scheduled Trax’s sentencing for August 21, 2025. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Trax remains detained pending sentencing.

Assistant United States Attorney Nicole A. Stockey is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Mt. Lebanon Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Trax.

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 Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.

Source: US FBI

WILLIAMSPORT – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Jamal Townsend, age 35, an inmate at FCI Schuylkill, was indicted on March 27, 2025, by a federal grand jury on a charge of possessing a weapon in prison.

According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, the indictment alleges that on February 20, 2025, Townsend possessed a piece of plastic, approximately 7 inches in length, sharpened to a point at one end with a cloth handle.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Zenzinger is prosecuting the case.

The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 5 years and a fine.  A sentence would also include a period of supervised release following imprisonment.  A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged by indictment are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

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Source: US FBI

FBI St. Louis Special Agent in Charge Ashley Johnson has announced the arrest of Donald Eugene Fields, II. He was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in May 2023. He is facing child sex trafficking and child rape charges in federal and state court, respectively. 

On the morning of January 25, the Lady Lake Police Department arrested Fields, II, after a routine traffic stop. The license plate was not registered to the vehicle he was driving. It happened at 9:15 a.m. (Eastern Time) at U.S. Highway 27/441 at Rolling Acres Road. Lady Lake is northwest of Orlando, Florida. The FBI praised the work of the department, whose police chief is an FBI National Academy graduate. “Thanks to proactive policing by the Lady Lake Police Department, one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted fugitives has been captured,” said Special Agent in Charge Johnson.

Fields, II will be scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court in Florida. 

Fields, II, 60, was federally indicted in St. Louis on December 7, 2023 on one count of child sex trafficking. The indictment accuses Fields, II, of knowingly attempting to recruit, entice, provide, patronize, and solicit a minor into engaging in a commercial sex act from about January 2013 until June 2017.  
 
Fields II is also facing charges including statutory rape, statutory sodomy, child molestation, and witness tampering in Franklin County Circuit Court in Missouri. A warrant for his arrest was issued by that court after Fields II vacated his home and failed to show up for a March 3, 2022, hearing, court records show. 
 
Fields II is the fifth fugitive investigated by the FBI St. Louis Field Office to be named as an FBI Top Ten Most Wanted fugitive. More than 60 years ago, Thomas Edward Galloway was placed on the list in June 1964.  The FBI arrested Galloway in July 1964 at a golf course in Danville, Virginia, after a citizen recognized him from a newspaper article. 
 
The FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list was established in March of 1950. Fields, II, was the 531st fugitive added to the list. Of the total, 495 fugitives have now been apprehended or located—163 of them as a result of citizen cooperation. 

Source: US FBI

Director Christopher Wray has named David K. Porter as the special agent in charge of the Honolulu Field Office. Mr. Porter most recently served as the chief of staff for the Deputy Director at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Porter began his career with the FBI as a special agent in 2006, initially assigned to the Pittsburgh Field Office Joint Terrorism Task Force. In 2010, Mr. Porter transferred to the Detroit Field Office, where he investigated counterterrorism matters. In addition to his work as a special agent in the Pittsburgh and Detroit Field Offices, Mr. Porter also served as an operator on the FBI Pittsburgh and Detroit SWAT Teams.

In 2013, Mr. Porter was promoted to associate division counsel in the Detroit Field Office and later promoted to supervisory special agent of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights programs in 2015.

Mr. Porter was selected as an assistant section chief to the Cyber Division at FBI Headquarters in 2019. He was detailed full-time to the Counterintelligence Division’s Foreign Influence Task Force, where he led investigative operations, intelligence production, and interagency policy engagement with the National Security Council.

Mr. Porter returned to Detroit in May 2021 as the crisis response supervisory special agent. In July 2021, he was then selected as an assistant special agent in charge of the Detroit Field Office, with operational responsibility for the Western District of Michigan and oversight of six resident agencies spanning 49 counties.

Immediately prior to joining the FBI, Mr. Porter served as counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. He also has previous experience practicing law as a corporate litigation attorney, and he served as a high school history teacher. Mr. Porter earned bachelor’s degrees in American history and literature from Calvin University and a juris doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School.

Source: US FBI

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Walter Tharrington, aka “Black” and “Roaadblock,” 32, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was convicted this week at trial of sex trafficking and child pornography offenses.

Tharrington was charged by indictment in August of 2024, and convicted on Wednesday, April 9, of sex trafficking of a minor, advertising child pornography, and possession of child pornography.

As detailed in court filings and proven at trial, in or about the summer of 2023, the defendant asked Minor 1, then 14 years old, to help him make money. In order to do so, Tharrington directed Minor 1 to engage in commercial sex, with the defendant facilitating the commercial sex by soliciting customers through online advertisements.

Tharrington used his cellular phone to post explicit content of Minor 1 to accompany the online advertisements. The defendant set the prices for the encounters and instructed Minor 1 on what sexual acts to perform in exchange for money.

At the defendant’s direction, Minor 1 engaged in sexual encounters with buyers. The evidence established that Tharrington kept and controlled the profits from the encounters, while providing shelter for Minor 1, who lived at Tharrington’s house during the summer of 2023.

Tharrington physically assaulted Minor 1 on multiple occasions. Minor 1’s injuries were observed by another minor female, who corroborated Minor 1’s account and confirmed that the defendant had solicited her to work for him, as well.

The defendant will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.

“Walter Tharrington made money by sexually exploiting a child, advertising her for sex with strangers,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “Putting anyone through that, let alone a vulnerable minor, is unconscionable. Know that my office and the FBI are working every day to put traffickers like this defendant behind bars and ensure some justice for their victims.”

“Sex trafficking — especially when it involves a child — is among the most heinous crimes the FBI investigates,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office. “This conviction is a powerful testament to the tireless efforts of the FBI and our dedicated law enforcement partners to protect the most vulnerable among us. It reaffirms our unwavering commitment to pursuing justice for victims and holding predators accountable.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by the FBI Philadelphia Violent Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Task Force and the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Justin Ashenfelter and Amanda McCool.

Source: US FBI

A former CIA analyst pleaded guilty today to retaining and transmitting Top Secret National Defense Information to people who were not entitled to receive it, information which was publicly posted on a social media platform in October 2024.

According to court documents, Asif William Rahman, 34, of Vienna, was an employee of the CIA since 2016 and had a Top-Secret security clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).

“Mr. Rahman betrayed the trust of the American people by unlawfully sharing classified national defense information he swore an oath to protect,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that the Justice Department will spare no effort to swiftly find and aggressively prosecute those who harm the United States by illegally disclosing our national security secrets.”

“Asif Rahman is pleading guilty in federal court three months to the day that he disclosed top secret American documents in violation of his oath, his responsibility, and the law,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This District, in partnership with federal law enforcement and the intelligence community, exemplified dedication, skill, and speed to bring him to justice expeditiously. Mr. Rahman’s actions placed lives at risk, undermined U.S. foreign relations, and compromised our ability to collect vital intelligence in the future.”

“With today’s plea, Asif Rahman acknowledges he betrayed the trust of his country by sharing classified information in spite of the risk to the United States and our allies,” said Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch. “Government employees who are granted security clearances and given access to our nation’s classified information must promise to protect it. Rahman blatantly violated that pledge and took multiple steps to hide his actions. The FBI will use all our resources to investigate and hold accountable those who illegally transmit classified information and endanger the national security interests of our country.”

“Today’s plea demonstrates the FBI’s resolve to deploy the necessary tools and authorities to identify, locate, and bring to justice a government clearance holder who violated the oath he took to support and defend the U.S. Constitution,” said Assistant Director David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office. “This is a good reminder to all clearance holders that the FBI and our Intelligence Community partners will spare no resource to immediately find and hold accountable those who violate the law and disclose classified information without authorization, no matter where in the world they are located.”

According to court documents, on Oct. 17, 2024, Rahman accessed and printed two Top Secret documents containing National Defense Information regarding a U.S. foreign ally and its planned actions against a foreign adversary. Rahman removed the documents, photographed them, and transmitted them to individuals he knew were not entitled to receive them. By Oct. 18, 2024, the documents appeared publicly on multiple social media platforms, complete with the classification markings.

After Oct. 17, 2024, Rahman deleted and edited journal entries and written work product on his personal electronic devices to conceal his personal opinions on U.S. policy and drafted entries to construct a false narrative regarding his activity. Rahman also destroyed multiple electronic devices, including a personal mobile device and an internet router he used to transmit classified information and photographs of classified documents, and discarded the destroyed devices in public trash receptacles in an effort to thwart potential investigations into him and his unlawful conduct.

Beginning in the spring of 2024 and continuing through November 2024, Rahman repeatedly accessed and printed classified National Defense Information, including documents classified up to the Top Secret level, to take them to his residence. There, Rahman reproduced the documents and, while doing so, altered them in an effort to conceal their source and his activity. Rahman then communicated Top Secret information that he learned in the course of his employment to multiple individuals he knew were not entitled to receive it.

Rahman was indicted by a grand jury on Nov. 7, 2024, and was arrested by the FBI as he arrived to work on Nov. 12, 2024. He has remained in custody since his arrest.

Rahman pleaded guilty to two counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information related to the national defense. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15, 2025. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for both counts in the plea agreement. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Washington Field Office is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy A. Edwards Jr. for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Brett Reynolds of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.