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Source: US FBI

Source: US FBI

Source: US FBI

I knew at the age of six that I wanted a career with the FBI. In 1996, I was fortunate enough to begin my career with the FBI in Detroit in a covert capacity, and I became a special agent in 2003. After 26 years with the FBI, my career continues to be exciting, and I enjoy working with intelligent and dedicated colleagues who fuel my passion for protecting and serving our country.

What is the best career or life advice you have to give?

Never get discouraged by the word NO. Reconsider the word NO to mean the Next Opportunity. I’ve been told no so many times in my life and career. People like to use the word because it’s easy and requires little effort. Have people explain the reason for their no. Once you explain your position, you may be surprised how often no will turn into yes.

Share the thing you’re most proud of from your FBI career.

I am most proud of being able to raise four children while building a career that I love. My children have witnessed my hard work and dedication and have seen my success as part of one of the greatest organizations in the world.

Source: US FBI

I often think of how crazy it was to begin my FBI career as an analyst in Puerto Rico, thousands of miles away from my family, but it was the beginning of what continues to be an amazing journey.

My analyst work sparked my desire to become an agent and prepared me for some of the toughest but most rewarding investigations into MS-13 gang members. Now being back in Puerto Rico, I get to share my knowledge and experience and hopefully inspire others to be great. I am truly blessed to be part of a great organization and to represent Latina women in the FBI.

Who made a difference in your career? How?

Everything I am and the successes I have had as an FBI analyst, agent, and now supervisor are all because of my amazing parents. My parents immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico and had to work extremely hard to make a living.

At a young age, they taught me the importance of getting an education, maximizing my potential, and identifying a career path that would lead me to a better life. They never allowed me to do the bare minimum or take the easy way out because they knew what I was capable of accomplishing, and they made sure to remind me of that every day. They also made sure I understood that nothing would be handed to me and that I would have to make sacrifices to accomplish my goals.

Source: US FBI

Asif Merchant, also known as Asif Raza Merchant, was indicted yesterday with attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries and murder-for-hire as part of a scheme to assassinate a politician or U.S. government official on U.S. soil. Law enforcement foiled the plot before any attack could be carried out. Merchant was previously arrested and charged by complaint in July 2024. Merchant was ordered detained and is currently in federal custody.

“The Justice Department will not tolerate Iran’s efforts to target our country’s public officials and endanger our national security,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.  “As these terrorism and murder for hire charges against Asif Merchant demonstrate, we will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against Americans.”

“This dangerous murder-for-hire plot was allegedly orchestrated by a Pakistani national with close ties to Iran and is straight out of the Iranian regime’s playbook,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “A foreign-directed plot to kill a public official, or any U.S. citizen, is a serious threat to our national security and will be met with the full might and resources of the FBI. Protecting Americans from terrorists remains our highest priority.”

“As alleged, Merchant orchestrated a plot to assassinate U.S. politicians and government officials,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “Today’s indictment is a message to terrorists here and abroad that my Office and the Department of Justice will continue to take all steps necessary to protect the country against foreign threats.”

As set forth in court filings, in approximately April, after spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the United States from Pakistan and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme to kill a politician or government official. That person reported Merchant’s conduct to law enforcement and became a confidential source (the CS).

In early June, Merchant met the CS in New York and explained his assassination plot. Merchant told the CS that the opportunity he had for the CS was not a one-time opportunity and would be ongoing. Merchant then made a “finger gun” motion with his hand, indicating that the opportunity was related to a killing. Merchant further stated that the intended victims would be “targeted here,” meaning in the United States. Merchant instructed the CS to arrange meetings with individuals whom Merchant could hire to carry out these actions. Merchant explained that his plot involved multiple criminal schemes: (1) stealing documents or USB drives from a target’s home; (2) planning a protest; and (3) killing a politician or government official.

At that meeting, Merchant began planning potential assassination scenarios and quizzed the CS on how he would kill a target in the various scenarios. Specifically, Merchant asked the CS to explain how the target would die in different scenarios. Merchant told the CS that there would be “security [] all around” the person.

Merchant stated that the assassination would occur after he left the United States, and he would communicate with the CS from overseas using code words. The CS asked whether Merchant had spoken to the unidentified “party” back home with whom Merchant was working. Merchant responded that he had and that the party back home told him to “finalize” the plan and leave the United States.

In mid-June, Merchant met with the purported hitmen, who were in fact undercover U.S. law enforcement officers (the UCs) in New York. Merchant advised the UCs that he was looking for three services from them: theft of documents, arranging protests at political rallies and for them to kill a “political person.” Merchant stated that the hitmen would receive instructions on who to kill either the last week of August or the first week of September, after Merchant had departed the United States.

Merchant then began arranging means to obtain $5,000 in cash to pay the UCs as an advance payment for the assassination, which he eventually received with assistance from an individual overseas. On June 21, Merchant met with the UCs in New York and paid them the $5,000 advance. After Merchant paid the $5,000 to the UCs, one of the UCs stated, “now we’re bonded,” to which Merchant responded “yes.” The UC then stated “Now we know we’re going forward. We’re doing this,” to which Merchant responded “Yes, absolutely.”

Merchant subsequently made flight arrangements and planned to leave the United States on Friday, July 12. On July 12, law enforcement agents placed Merchant under arrest before he could leave the country.

If convicted, Merchant faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The FBI Dallas, Houston, Tampa, Boston, Washington, Chicago, and Albany Field Offices investigated the case. The New York City Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection provided assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara K. Winik, Gilbert Rein and Douglas Pravda for the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorneys David Smith and Joshua Champagne of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism 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

Between Aug. 20 and Sept. 5, four Delaware men were arrested and/or self-surrendered in Delaware on federal charges relating to an alleged international “sextortion” scheme that targeted thousands of victims throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

According to a superseding indictment unsealed today, Sidi Diakite, 30; Almamy Diaby, 22; Abdul Aziz Sangare, 26; and Abdoul Aziz Traore, 31; all residents of Wilmington, and other co-conspirators allegedly operated an international, financially motivated “sextortion” and money laundering scheme in which the conspirators engaged in cyberstalking, interstate threats, extortion, money laundering, and wire fraud. As part of the scheme, the conspirators, utilizing multiple payment methods, attempted to extort approximately $6.9 million from thousands of potential victims, and they successfully extorted approximately $1.9 million from these victims through CashApp and Apple Pay alone.

The superseding indictment also charges Hadja Kone, 28, of Wilmington, Delaware, who was previously arrested in April; and Siaka Ouattara, 22, of Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, whom the Ivorian authorities separately arrested in February in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, on Ivorian charges stemming from the same scheme.

As alleged in the superseding indictment, the conspirators posed as young females online and initiated communications with thousands of potential victims, who were primarily young men and included minors from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The conspirators allegedly offered to provide and/or provided victims with sexual photographs, video recordings, and/or “web cam” or “live video chat” sessions depicting what they falsely portrayed to be a young female, when in fact the conspirators were the ones operating the accounts. Unbeknownst to the victims, during the web cam/live video chats, the conspirators surreptitiously recorded the victims as they exposed their genitals and/or engaged in sexual activity. The conspirators thereafter sent the victims copies of the victims’ fraudulently obtained sexual images and threatened to distribute the victims’ sexual images to the victims’ friends, family members, significant others, employers, and co-workers, and to publish the victims’ sexual images widely online, unless the victims transferred funds to designated recipients. Ouattara, Kone, Diakite, Diaby, Sangare, Traore, and others also operated infrastructure to transfer the funds illegally obtained from the victims to conspirators located in Côte d’Ivoire and elsewhere overseas.

Diakite, Diaby, Sangare, Traore, Kone, and Ouattara are each charged with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and to send interstate threats, conspiracy to engage in money laundering, money laundering, and wire fraud. If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each conspiracy count and money laundering count, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney David C. Weiss for the District of Delaware, and Acting Assistant Director James C. Barnacle Jr. of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case, with assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the government of Cote d’Ivoire.

Trial Attorney Austin M. Berry of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Briana Knox for the District of Delaware are prosecuting the case.

If you, your child, or someone you know is being exploited via sextortion, contact your local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or report it online at the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Additional resources can found at Financially Motivated Sextortion — FBI.  For more information about this particular financially motivated sextortion case and if you believe you are a victim in this particular case, please also visit justice.gov/criminal/criminal-vns/case/united-states-v-hadja-fanta-kone-siaka-ouattara-sidi-diakite-almamy-moustapha-diaby.

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

The FBI on September 9 released its Cryptocurrency Fraud Report for 2023. In 2023, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 69,000 complaints from the public regarding cyber-enabled crime and financial fraud involving the use of cryptocurrency, with over $5.6 billion in reported losses. 

Criminal actors exploit cryptocurrencies for all schemes, to include tech support, confidence and romance, investment, and government impersonation scams. Investment fraud was the most reported cryptocurrency scheme in 2023 and also saw the most reported losses, with about $3.9 billion lost.

“Scams targeting investors who use cryptocurrency are skyrocketing in severity and complexity,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The best way to help stop these crimes is for people to report them to ic3.gov, even if they did not suffer a financial loss. The information allows us to stay on top of emerging schemes and criminals’ use of the latest technologies, so we can keep the American public informed and go after those who commit these crimes.”

In 2022, the FBI formed the Virtual Assets Unit (VAU), a specialized team dedicated to investigating cryptocurrency-related crimes. The VAU centralizes the FBI’s cryptocurrency expertise, providing technological equipment, blockchain analysis, virtual asset seizure training, and other sophisticated training for FBI personnel.

The FBI, along with the Department of Justice’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and other partners, works hard to investigate and prosecute those who abuse cryptocurrency to defraud the American people.

The FBI encourages the public to submit complaints through ic3.gov, even if a financial loss did not occur.  

Below are some tips to protect yourself from cryptocurrency schemes: 

• Criminals will seek to instill a sense of urgency and isolation.
• When receiving an unsolicited call by an unknown caller claiming to work for a well-known company or government agency, hang up and independently research the company or agency’s publicly published phone number and call it to confirm authenticity of the original call. 
• No legitimate law enforcement or government official will call to demand payment via a cryptocurrency kiosk. 
• Never give personally identifying information to anyone without verifying the person is who they say they are. 
• Verify the validity of any investment opportunity strangers or long-lost contacts offer on social media websites. If you have never met an individual in real life, even if you have spoken on the phone or video chatted, be very cautious of accepting investment advice or opportunities. 
• Be on the lookout for domain or website names that impersonate legitimate financial institutions, especially cryptocurrency exchanges. 
• Fraudulent businesses often use website addresses that mimic real financial institutions, but are often slightly different, to convince people the fraudulent website is legitimate. 
• Do not download or use suspicious-looking apps as a tool for investing unless you can verify the legitimacy of the app.
• If an investment opportunity sounds too good to be true, it likely is. Be cautious of get-rich-quick schemes.
• Investment involves risk. Individuals should invest based on their financial objectives and financial resources and, if in any doubt, should seek advice from a licensed financial adviser. 

If you believe you are a victim of fraud or someone you know—regardless of financial loss—and you are not under imminent threat, please report the fraud to FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

You can view the full 2023 Cryptocurrency Fraud Report at ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2023_IC3CryptocurrencyReport.pdf.

Source: US FBI

The Justice Department announced today that Dallas Humber, 34, of Elk Grove, California, and Matthew Allison, 37, of Boise, Idaho — leaders of the Terrorgram Collective, a transnational terrorist group — were charged with a 15-count indictment for soliciting hate crimes, soliciting the murder of federal officials, and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. Humber and Allison were arrested on Friday by law enforcement officials.

“Today’s indictment charges the defendants with leading a transnational terrorist group dedicated to attacking America’s critical infrastructure, targeting a hit list of our country’s public officials, and carrying out deadly hate crimes — all in the name of violent white supremacist ideology,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Today’s arrests are a warning that committing hate-fueled crimes in the darkest corners of the internet will not hide you, and soliciting terrorist attacks from behind a screen will not protect you. The United States Department of Justice will find you, and we will hold you accountable.”

“We allege that the leaders of Terrorgram charged today are a threat to public safety and the rule of law,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Using the Telegram platform, they advanced their heinous white supremacist ideology, solicited hate crimes, and provided guidance and instructions for terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure and assassinations of government officials. Today’s action reaffirms that the Department of Justice will not tolerate this alleged abhorrent conduct. It has no place in America or anywhere else. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to identify, apprehend, and hold accountable anyone who engages in such activity, no matter where they are located.”

“These defendants are alleged to be the leaders of Terrorgram Collective, a transnational terrorist group that our investigation found is responsible for soliciting hate crimes and the murder of government officials and providing support to terrorists,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Whether motivated by racial bias or antagonism toward government and societal norms, such behavior will not be tolerated. Terrorism is still the FBI’s number one priority, and working with our partners we are committed to investigating and holding accountable those who break the laws and assist violent actors in lethal plots.”

“Hate crimes fueled by bigotry and white supremacy, and amplified by the weaponization of digital messaging platforms, are on the rise and have no place in our society,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This indictment charges the leaders of a transnational terrorist group with several civil rights violations, including soliciting others to engage in hate crimes and terrorist attacks against Black, immigrant, LGBT, and Jewish people. Make no mistake, as hate groups turn to online platforms, the federal government is adapting and responding to protect vulnerable communities. The Justice Department is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Americans, and we will resolutely strive to bring to justice those who seek to threaten, undermine, or extinguish it.”

“As alleged, Humber and Allison, the leaders of Terrorgram, conspired to provide material support and solicited attacks on federal officials and critical government infrastructure, including federal buildings and energy facilities,” said Matthew G. Olsen of the National Security Division. “Today’s charges demonstrate the Justice Department’s resolve to bring every available tool to bear in countering threats of violent extremists and protecting Americans.”

“The defendants solicited murders and hate crimes based on the race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, and gender identity of others,” said U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert for the Eastern District of California. “They also doxed and solicited the murder of federal officials, conspired to provide material support to terrorists, and distributed information about explosives that they intended to be used in committing crimes of violence. My office will continue to work tirelessly with our partners in law enforcement and in the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute those who commit such violations of federal criminal law. I would like to thank the FBI and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and National Security Division for their partnership in support of the common mission to keep our people and public officials safe from hate-fueled crimes of violence.”

According to the indictment, which was unsealed today, Humber and Allison are the leaders of the Terrorgram Collective, a transnational terrorist group that operates on the digital messaging platform Telegram, where it promotes white supremacist accelerationism: an ideology centered on the belief that the white race is superior; that society is irreparably corrupt and cannot be saved by political action; and that violence and terrorism are necessary to ignite a race war and accelerate the collapse of the government and the rise of a white ethnostate. 

The indictment alleges that Humber and Allison, as leaders of the Terrorgram Collective, contributed to and disseminated several Terrorgram videos and publications that provide specific advice for carrying out crimes, celebrate white supremacist attacks, and provide a hit list of “high-value targets” for assassination. The hit list included U.S. federal, state, and local officials, as well as leaders of private companies and non-governmental organizations, many of whom were targeted because of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Humber and Allison are alleged to have operated Terrorgram channels and group chats, where they solicited Terrorgram users to commit attacks in order to achieve Terrorgram’s goals of accelerationism and white supremacy and provided instructions and guidance to equip Terrorgram users to carry out those attacks. These attacks include but are not limited to:

• Bias-motivated attacks against those deemed by Terrorgram to be enemies of the white race;
• Terrorist attacks on government infrastructure, such as government buildings and energy facilities, which Terrorgram believes will ignite a race war and help accelerate the collapse of government and society; and
• Attacks on “high-value targets” — like politicians and government officials — whose murders Terrorgram believes would sow chaos and further accelerate the government’s downfall.

They also incited Terrorgram users to commit attacks in furtherance of white supremacist accelerationism, including the following individuals who were allegedly inspired or guided by Humber, Allison, and other members of the Terrorgram Collective to carry out attacks or were planning to do so when they were arrested by law enforcement:

• An individual who shot three people (killing two) outside of an LGBT bar in Slovakia;
• An individual who planned an attack on energy facilities in New Jersey; and
• An individual who stabbed five people near a mosque in Turkey.

The indictment charges Humber and Allison with a total of 15 counts, including one count of conspiracy, four counts of soliciting hate crimes, three counts of soliciting the murder of federal officials, three counts of doxing federal officials, one count of threatening communications, two counts of distributing bombmaking instructions, and one count of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.

If convicted of all charges, Humber and Allison each face a maximum penalty of 220 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Sacramento Field Office and FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, Boise Resident Agency, investigated the case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and a variety of foreign and domestic law enforcement agencies.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, National Security Division, and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California 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.

View the indictment here.

Source: US FBI

A federal jury convicted four pharmacy owners yesterday for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Raef Hamaed, of Maricopa County, Arizona; Kindy Ghussin, of Greene County, Ohio; Ali Abdelrazzaq, of Macomb County, Michigan; and Tarek Fakhuri, of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, all licensed pharmacists, billed Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for prescription medications that they did not dispense at pharmacies they owned in Michigan and Ohio. The defendants collectively caused over $13 million of loss to Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Hamaed, Ghussin, Abdelrazzaq, and Fakhuri were convicted of conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud. Abdelrazzaq was also convicted of two counts of health care fraud and Fakhuri was convicted of one count of health care fraud. Sentencing hearings will be set at a later date. 

Hamaed, Ghussin, Abdelrazzaq, and Fakhuri face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the conspiracy count, and Abdelrazzaq and Fakhuri face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each health care fraud count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson of the FBI Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Mario Pinto of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement. 

The FBI Detroit Field Office and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Claire Sobczak, Kelly M. Warner, and S. Babu Kaza of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

Source: US FBI

Director Christopher Wray has named Ashley Johnson as the special agent in charge of the St. Louis Field Office.

Ms. Johnson most recently served as section chief of the International Operations Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Johnson joined the FBI as a special agent in 2007 and was assigned to the New Orleans Division, where she investigated civil rights and white-collar crime violations.

In 2011, Ms. Johnson was promoted to supervisory special agent in the Cyber Division. While there, she worked on the assistant director’s executive staff as the communications specialist and oversaw national cyber investigations for five field offices.

In 2013, Ms. Johnson joined the Atlanta Division, where she supervised the civil rights and law enforcement corruption squad. She would later supervise the division’s domestic terrorism squad, chiefly accountable for all domestic terrorism threats in the state of Georgia.

In 2017, Ms. Johnson was selected to create and sustain an airport squad at the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International. As leader of the squad, she was responsible for all criminal, domestic and international terrorism, cyber, and counterintelligence investigations.

In 2018, Ms. Johnson was appointed assistant special agent in charge of the Atlanta Division’s Criminal Branch. In that role, she led the criminal and administrative branches. During her tenure, she founded the Atlanta Development and Leadership Council with the intent to create professional development opportunities for current and aspiring leaders.

In 2020, Ms. Johnson joined the Human Resources Division at FBI Headquarters.

Ms. Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, a masters in sociology, and a master of social work in public policy and social welfare. Prior to joining the FBI, Ms. Johnson worked as a probation officer and psychiatric social worker.