Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Edward Wilkie, 31, of Tonawanda, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, which carries a minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum penalty of 40 years, and a $5,000,000 fine.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney Kurt L. Wall announced that U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson sentenced Hannah Kinchen, age 41, of Gonzales, Louisiana, to 125 months in federal prison following her conviction for receiving child sexual abuse material produced by a photographer she arranged to take the images.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
TUCSON, Ariz. – Jesus Guillermo Valenzuela-Ramirez, 30, of Imuris, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced on Feb. 17, 2026, by Chief U.S. District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to 90 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Valenzuela-Ramirez was convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine.As part of this conspiracy, on July 1, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona, Valenzuela-Ramirez and his co-conspirators possessed approximately 100 pounds of methamphetamine, which they intended to deliver to another individual that evening.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Larry Johnson, 26, a previously convicted felon residing in the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 50 months in prison in connection with his illegal possession of a 9mm pistol that he fired twice inside of an apartment where a woman and her two children were present, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
PHOENIX, Ariz. – A Polacca woman convicted of drunk driving and killing her 14-year-old son was sentenced on Feb.17, 2026, in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine. Marian Marsha Josytewa, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven P. Logan to 51 months in prison followed by 36 months of supervised release. In August 2025, following a six-day trial, a federal jury found Josytewa guilty of one count of Involuntary Manslaughter, one count of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, two counts of Child Abuse, and one count of Driving Under the Influence.
Source: United States Airforce
AFSOC opened the 2026 Special Air Warfare Symposium with senior leaders underscoring the command’s enduring focus on people and rapid adaptability to win the future fight in a complex and ever-changing global security environment.
Source: United States Army
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DAKAR, Senegal — U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Daniel Cederman, engaged with Senegalese senior military leaders, U.S. Department of State officials, and U.S. service members in late January as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen professional military relationships and maintain close coordination with regional partners.
During the visit, Cederman, the deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), met with Senegalese army Gen. Mbaye Cissé, chief of the General Staff for Senegalese Armed Forces, and Senegalese air force Brig. Gen. El Hadji Niang, chief of staff for the Senegalese air force. Discussions focused on military-to-military cooperation, professional engagement and the importance of clear communication and coordination between partner forces.
Discussions Cederman held with State Department officials and U.S. military personnel in Senegal featured ongoing collaboration and the role of integrated diplomatic and military efforts in supporting shared objectives.
Cederman also attended a ceremony at Dial Diop Barracks recognizing Cissé’s induction into the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College International Hall of Fame, located in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This distinction honors international graduates who have reached senior leadership positions in their respective military organizations.
“Our relationship with the Senegalese Armed Forces is built on professionalism, mutual respect and consistent engagement,” Cederman said. “Visits like this allow us to maintain open dialogue and strengthen the professional relationships that support effective cooperation between our forces.”
Senegal is scheduled to participate in African Lion 2026, U.S. Africa Command’s largest annual exercise, taking place April 20 to May 8, 2026, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia. In addition to hosting a medical readiness exercise, Senegalese soldiers will participate in a combined forces exercise in Morocco as part of a broader multinational training event, supporting continued collaboration between U.S. forces and African partners.
Through visits like this, U.S. Army leaders reinforce trust, promote shared understanding and maintain strong professional ties with partner nations. These relationships support both countries’ goals of developing capable, professional forces prepared to work together effectively through routine engagement, training and dialogue.
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About African Lion
U.S. Africa Command’s premiere and largest annual joint and combined exercise, African Lion brings together thousands of military personnel across four countries to increase interoperability while strengthening shared defense capabilities and cooperation.
About SETAF-AF
U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) prepares Army forces, executes crisis response, enables strategic competition and strengthens partners to achieve U.S. Army Europe and Africa and U.S. Africa Command campaign objectives.
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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A federal jury convicted a former vice president of Corsa Coal Corporation (Corsa) for his role in a multi-year scheme to bribe Egyptian government officials in connection with nearly $140 million in coal supply contracts.
“Charles Hunter Hobson won business for his company by paying bribes — and he even took a cut for himself,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Businessmen and companies that pay bribes to foreign government officials to win contracts undermine the rule of law and distort competition, which hurts American business interests worldwide. The Criminal Division will continue its commitment to vindicating our national interests by combatting foreign corruption in violation of U.S. law.”
“Bribing officials of foreign governments to obtain business, and then laundering that money, is illegal, corrupts the global marketplace, and disadvantages law-abiding U.S. companies,” said U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti for the Western District of Pennsylvania. “Along with our law enforcement colleagues at the FBI and other agencies, we will continue to investigate and bring to justice defendants such as Charles Hobson who seek to enrich themselves while engaging in flagrant, fraudulent conduct.”
“Hobson used his leadership position at Corsa to bribe Egyptian government officials and secure millions of dollars in sales contracts for the company,” said Assistant Director in Charge Darren Cox of the FBI Washington Field Office. “Through this bribery scheme, he violated American and Egyptian laws and robbed law-abiding coal companies of the chance to compete for profits. His conviction is the latest result of the FBI’s work to investigate individuals who resort to corrupt practices to increase international business.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Charles Hunter Hobson, 50, of Knoxville, Tennessee, agreed to bribe Egyptian government officials to obtain and retain business with Al Nasr Company for Coke and Chemicals (Al Nasr), which was then a state-owned and state-controlled chemical manufacturing company in Egypt. Hobson, together with others, paid the bribes through purported sales commissions and laundered the bribes through bank accounts in the United States and the United Arab Emirates. Hobson also secretly received kickback payments as part of the scheme.
The evidence at trial showed that, between 2016 and 2020, Hobson, who was then a vice president at Corsa responsible for international sales, conspired to and did pay bribes to Egyptian government officials — whom Hobson referred to as “the Team” — in order to win contracts for Corsa to sell coal products to Al Nasr. The bribes were paid through an intermediary in Egypt, who, received more than $4.8 million in purported sales commissions. In addition to using the corrupt commissions to pay bribes, the intermediary paid Hobson over $200,000 in kickbacks from the scheme.
The jury convicted Hobson of one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), two counts of violating the FCPA, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, two counts of money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each of the FCPA and FCPA conspiracy counts, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the money laundering conspiracy, money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy counts, respectively. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Frederick Cushmore Jr., another Corsa executive, previously pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme and is awaiting sentencing. The department resolved its investigation into Corsa in March 2023 through a declination and the disgorgement of profits as defined in Part I of the Criminal Division’s Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy.
The FBI’s International Corruption Unit in Washington, D.C., and the Washington Field Office investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Natalie Kanerva and Ligia Markman of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Stockey for the Western District of Pennsylvania are prosecuting the case.
The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA and FEPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.
Source: United States Army
ELLINGTON FIELD JOINT RESERVE BASE, HOUSTON-75th U.S. Army Reserve Innovation Command’s Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment commander and first sergeant provided their fiscal year 2027 annual training brief to Maj. Gen. Michelle Link, commanding general, 75th USARIC, and to her command staff both virtually and in-person at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, in Houston, Texas, Jan. 24, 2026.
The HHD FY27 YTB allowed discussions to improve their detachment’s training, readiness and status, allowing for Link’s guidance and input to build long-range training plans.
Source: United States Army
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – With millions of soccer fans expected to descend on the Pacific Northwest for the FIFA World Cup 2026, the Washington National Guard and public safety leaders are preparing for the potential of drones falling into the wrong hands.
On Feb. 11 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the Washington National Guard supported a FIFA Field Ready Range Day focused on countering unmanned aerial system threats. The training brought together military, law enforcement and interagency partners to sharpen their ability to detect, track and respond to potentially hostile drones ahead of major international events, including multiple World Cup matches scheduled in Seattle.
“I spent the last two years as the I Corps chief of staff and I have been all over the Pacific Theater trying to ensure readiness for large-scale combat operations,” said Col. Phillip Lamb, senior Army advisor for the Washington National Guard. “And what I’ve come to determine is that we’ve defined readiness improperly up until this point in time. What we’re doing here now is the future of real readiness.”
Lamb said events like the range day promote the next level of readiness.
“As you look at defense of the homeland as the priority for this administration and for the Department of War, what we’re doing out here is the beginning of generating real readiness to defend critical infrastructure, like installations and ports, from flying unmanned systems while defending and protecting critical war fighting functions,” Lamb continued. “This is now becoming the priority of effort in what we really mean when we talk about generating readiness.”
The event built on momentum from a Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems Summit hosted by the Washington National Guard in November, which examined drone threats during large-scale public gatherings. Discussions during the February training reinforced the Guard’s role in supporting civil authorities, particularly in detection and monitoring, while operating within federal and state legal frameworks.
Those legal authorities were also a focus during recent testimony before state legislators, where National Guard leaders spoke in support of House Bill 2462. The bill is designed to clarify how the National Guard and Washington State Guard can assist law enforcement in responding to credible drone threats.
“It allows the governor, through the adjutant general, to set clear rules for how agencies respond to drone threats and authorizes the governor to use the National Guard to support law enforcement when needed,” said Lt. Col. Denny Frey, the adjutant general’s command action group lead. “In short, it improves coordination, closes capability gaps, and gives the state additional tools to protect the public.”
During the range day event, National Guard subject-matter experts outlined how counter-UAS support typically works during major events. Local law enforcement agencies remain responsible for establishing temporary flight restrictions through the Federal Aviation Administration, while requests for National Guard assistance are coordinated through the State Emergency Operations Center.
“The primary role of the National Guard during these missions is detection and monitoring of potentially hazardous drones,” said Lt. Col. Wes Watson, former commander of the 10th Civil Support Team. “That capability is critical when local agencies are stretched or facing a complex threat environment.”
The 10th CST has extensive experience supporting large-scale public events across the region, regularly working alongside the Seattle Police and Fire departments at professional sporting events and concerts at Lumen Field. That established relationship, officials said, will be essential as planning accelerates for World Cup security operations.
As drone technology becomes more accessible and adaptable, Washington National Guard leaders emphasized that training events like FIFA range days are vital to staying ahead of potential threats.
“We’re using FIFA as an example, as a springboard to generate that readiness. But there are other events coming up, like with Los Angeles hosting the Olympics in 2028,” said Lamb. “Defense of critical infrastructure around the entirety of this nation is so important and we are in the business of making sure that we can protect the homeland.”
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