Source: United States Navy
Elements of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (ABECSG), including Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), the embarked staffs of CSG-3, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9, and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 21, and the nine squadrons of CVW-9 arrived in Laem Chabang, Thailand, while Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) docked in nearby Sriracha, for scheduled port visits, Sept. 2, 2026.
Source: United States Department of Justice
The Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel has issued a legal opinion clarifying that when a state chooses to participate in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs, all agencies within that state — not only those that administer TANF or SSI benefits — must report individuals known to be not lawfully present in the United States to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“Congress wrote this requirement plainly,” said Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. “When a state chooses to participate in TANF, it accepts the obligation to report illegal aliens in the United States. Tax dollars intended to help vulnerable Americans should not perversely encourage illegal entry into the United States, but rather should reinforce our laws and our borders.”
“Our clarification does not impose new obligations on states,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Craddock of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel and author of the opinion. “It simply restores the original meaning of the statute Congress enacted and ensures that DHS receives the information it is legally entitled to. States that accept TANF funding must abide by federal law, and failure to comply may lead to serious consequences, including loss of program funding.”
The Office withdrew a Clinton-era opinion from 1998 that construed the reporting requirement much more narrowly. Under that prior interpretation, only the specific state agencies administering TANF or SSI were required to provide information to federal immigration authorities. All fifty states, the District of Columbia, and several U.S. territories currently participate in TANF and SSI, and federal TANF funding grants exceed $16.4 billion annually.
The Office of Legal Counsel’s Sept. 1 opinion explains that Congress defined “State” broadly in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. As a result, when a state accepts federal TANF or SSI funds, the entire state government — including all component agencies — is bound by federal law to share information with DHS about individuals the state knows to be not lawfully present.
The opinion applies prospectively. States will not face retroactive penalties for past reliance on the 1998 interpretation. Federal agencies may rely on OLC’s advice to update TANF and SSI grant agreements and compliance processes to reflect the correct legal standard moving forward.
Note: Read the full opinion here.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A Michigan man pleaded guilty yesterday to filing a false claim in connection with his $7 million scheme to defraud the IRS.
“Filing false returns isn’t a shortcut — it’s pure theft,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Fraudulent refunds steal millions from Americans who play by the rules, and we will pursue those who willfully cheat the tax system without fear or favor.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, Rodney Underwood, of Detroit, prepared and filed with the IRS more than 200 nearly identically false tax returns on behalf of clients from various locations in Detroit. Underwood “ghost prepared” these returns, meaning he left the paid preparer section blank so the returns appeared to be self-prepared. On each of the false tax returns, Underwood reported false dividend income amounts and false withholding amounts to generate refunds that the clients were not entitled to receive. Underwood did not report fees he received from the scheme as income on his own individual tax returns. The false tax returns filed by Underwood fraudulently claimed more than $7 million in refunds and caused an actual loss to the government of approximately $6.2 million.
Underwood pleaded guilty to making a false claim. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 6, 2027 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Shawn Noud and Alexis Hughes of the National Fraud Enforcement Division’s Tax Section are prosecuting the case.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Kamo Kirakosyan, an Armenian national, was sentenced to 26 months in federal prison for his participation in a criminal conspiracy to export goods from the United States to the Russian Federation through the Republic of Armenia without the requisite license or authorization from the U.S. government
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
LYNCHBURG, Va. – A Lynchburg man, who was in possession of more than 60 pressed fentanyl pills and over 850 grams of methamphetamine, as well as a 9 mm pistol when police pulled him over in June 2024, was sentenced this week to 210 months in federal prison.Cordero Antonio Trent, 36, pled guilty in May 2026 to one count of possessing with the intent to distribute and distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and fentanyl, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and using and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
SAN FRANCISCO – Mark Hanf, the founder and CEO of Pacific Private Money, and Nam Phan, the fund group’s COO, have been charged in an information filed by the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California with wire fraud conspiracy
Source: United States Department of Justice
The Department of Justice today announced a multinational operation involving actions in the United States, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania, in collaboration with private industry partners CrowdStrike and the Shadowserver Foundation, to disrupt the botnet and malware known as Sality and take down its infrastructure.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
LAS VEGAS – A registered sex offender was sentenced today by United States District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey to 121 months in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release for making available for download a large collection of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) utilizing a peer-to-peer network.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas man was sentenced today by United States District Chief Judge Andrew P. Gordon to 24 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release for unlawfully manufacturing and selling firearms and machinegun conversion devices and possession with the intent to sell methamphetamine. The government requested 57 months’ imprisonment.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Thomas Pauken II Sentenced to Federal Prison to be Followed by 36 Months of Supervised Release with No Overseas Travel
Thomas Weir Pauken II, 51, an American citizen who lived and worked in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), was sentenced today to two years in prison and 36 months of supervised release with no overseas travel for acting as an agent of a foreign government within the United States.
“Pauken exploited his U.S. citizenship and corresponding ability to travel to the U.S. without restriction in order to support Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) operations, recruiting, and gathering of sensitive information from potential assets,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Pauken betrayed his country for money. The National Security Division is committed to holding accountable anyone who aids or abets Chinese espionage efforts.”
“Thomas Pauken knowingly assisted a foreign adversary in actively subverting the government of the United States for his own financial gain,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Theophani K. Stamos for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This was not an isolated act; Pauken continued his course of conduct to aid China for seven years. It is unconscionable that an American citizen would not only undermine the interests of the United States, but also facilitate others in doing so.”
“Thomas Pauken admitted to working at the direction of China’s Ministry of State Security to attempt to infiltrate U.S. political circles while also providing new recruitment targets for his Chinese handlers,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “This case illustrates the lengths to which the Chinese Communist Party will go to undermine our democratic institutions, and it also demonstrates the FBI’s resolve to defend the homeland from threats to our national security. The sentencing provides a clear warning: anyone operating as an agent of a foreign government against the U.S. will be found by the FBI and held accountable.”
According to court documents, from at least 2019 until February 2026, Pauken worked at the direction and control of people he knew worked for the PRC, including a person he met in 2017 identified as “Cathy.” Cathy provided Pauken with taskings, including meeting with potential intelligence assets, providing them with devices such as a laptop and cellphone to communicate with Cathy, providing taskings for the assets on what information was required, and providing Cathy with reports from the assets.
Pauken received at least $100,000 for his work with Cathy. Cathy also paid for Pauken to travel several times between 2019 through 2025 from China to meet with individuals in the United States who could provide Pauken, and ultimately Cathy and the MSS, with information.
Pauken worked for two other people in China whom he met in 2017 and knew as “Richard” and “William.” They told Pauken that reports he wrote for them went to Japan, but Pauken believed they worked for the PRC government.
Pauken also sold reports to a group of Chinese individuals from Wuhan who sought information about technology and the U.S. Department of Justice. The Wuhan clients wanted Pauken to find an expert to help them engage in cyber espionage.
The FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office investigated the case with the assistance of the FBI Washington Field Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gavin R. Tisdale the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Eli Ross of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence & Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.