Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Memphis, TN – After a two-day trial, a federal jury found Carroll Mobley, 50, of Memphis, guilty of one count of possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. United States Attorney D. Michael Dunavant, of the Western District of Tennessee, announced the verdict today. According to information presented in court…
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 29, of Alexandria, Virginia, a former IT specialist for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), pleaded guilty yesterday to transmission of national defense information to a foreign government.
“U.S. government employees entrusted with our nation’s secrets must always protect our nation’s security, not cavalierly toss aside this responsibility out of disagreement, selfishness or greed,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Laatsch faces serious consequences for violating his position of trust. This case shows that if you unlawfully disclose national defense information, we will find you and hold you accountable to the fullest extent the law allows.”
“Laatsch’s animus toward the U.S. government gave him no license to betray the oath he took to the Constitution of the United States nor the duty he had to the men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect our Nation,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Unlawfully disclosing national defense information to a foreign government is a serious crime, not a form of principled dissent.”
“Political disagreement is not a justification for jeopardizing the security of the United States and the lives of those who protect it,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Theophani K. Stamos for the Eastern District of Virginia. “No one is entitled to break the law or violate the public trust, no matter their motivations, and this office will aggressively prosecute those who recklessly and illegally compromise national security.”
“By his own admission, Laatsch betrayed his oath by offering classified information to a foreign government, the very thing he was supposed to prevent as an employee of DIA’s Insider Threat Division,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “Those entrusted with our nation’s most sensitive information must not exploit their access for personal gain – in this case offering to sell American secrets to buy foreign citizenship. The FBI and our partners will continue to hold accountable all those who betray the trust of the American people.”
According to court documents, Laatsch became a civilian employee of the DIA in 2019, where he worked with the Insider Threat Division and held a Top Secret security clearance. In March 2025, the FBI learned that Laatsch offered to provide classified information to a friendly foreign government. Soon thereafter, Laatsch began communicating with an individual who he thought was affiliated with that foreign government but was actually an FBI agent.
In late April 2025, Laatsch began transcribing classified information to a notepad at his desk and, over the course of approximately three days, repeatedly took the information from his workspace. After those three days, Laatsch deposited the classified information on a thumb drive at a public park in northern Virginia for the foreign government to retrieve. The FBI retrieved the drive, which contained multiple typed documents, each containing information up to the Secret or Top Secret level. It also contained a message from Laatsch, in which he indicated that he had chosen to include “a decent sample size” of classified information to “decently demonstrate the range of types of products” to which he had access.
After receiving confirmation that the drive had been received, Laatsch communicated that he was interested in “citizenship” to the foreign country. Laatsch also stated that, though he was “not opposed to other compensation,” from a financial standpoint, he did not need “material compensation.”
A week later, in mid-May 2025, the FBI agent advised Laatsch that the agent was prepared to receive additional classified information. Between May 15 and May 27, 2025, Laatsch again repeatedly transcribed multiple pages of notes while logged into his classified workstation and took the classified information away from his workstation hidden in his clothing.
On May 29, 2025, Laatsch arrived at a prearranged location in northern Virginia, where he again transmitted multiple classified documents. Laatsch was arrested upon the FBI’s receipt of the documents.
Laatsch is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 27, 2027. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. 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, with valuable assistance provided by the FBI’s Global Counterespionage Unit and U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations and with thanks to the Defense Intelligence Agency for its cooperation.
Trial Attorney Mark Murphy of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Kromberg for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.
Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:25-cr-156.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Porcupine, South Dakota, man convicted of one count of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, three counts of Wire Fraud, and three counts of Money Laundering. The sentencing took place on August 24, 2026.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Tallahassee, Florida – Christopher Adams Jr., 34, of Tallahassee, Florida, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker to seven years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute synthetic cathinone, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Source: United States Spaceforce
More than 1000 Airmen at the 104th Fighter Wing are ensuring compliance of a new Air Force body composition requirement ahead of the Aug. 31 deadline for the Guard and Reserves during their drill from Aug. 21-23 at Barnes Air National Guard Base.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Greenbelt, Maryland – The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced, today, that authorities arrested and charged a Maryland father and son with illegally distributing more than a kilogram of fentanyl. Rashad Deondre Hicks, 36, of Largo, is charged by complaint with distribution of 400 grams or more of fentanyl. Lawrence Alonzo Hicks, 62, of District Heights, is also charged with possession with intent to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
KKR Will Pay Largest-Ever Penalty for Repeatedly Violating the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act by Withholding and Altering Documents and Failing to Make Required Filings
The Justice Department filed a proposed settlement today requiring KKR & Co. GP LLC to pay a civil penalty of $250,000,000 to resolve allegations that KKR repeatedly flouted the premerger antitrust review process. The United States’ Complaint alleged KKR evaded antitrust scrutiny for at least 16 separate transactions by failing to comply with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act).
“This historic $250 million civil penalty – more than 20 times any prior HSR penalty obtained by the DOJ – sends a powerful message: the Department is committed to vigorous enforcement of the Act,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. “The Act’s requirements protect competition by giving the Justice Department an opportunity to investigate potentially unlawful transactions. Companies that disregard their legal obligations will face serious consequences.”
The HSR Act requires parties to a merger, acquisition, or other transaction above a certain size to submit a premerger filing to the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission to facilitate the agencies’ enforcement of Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which prohibits mergers and acquisitions that threaten to harm competition. As a sophisticated private equity firm in the business of buying and selling companies, KKR is familiar with the HSR Act and its requirements. Since 2021, KKR was required to make more than 100 premerger filings under the HSR Act.
The Division’s Complaint alleged that in 2021-2022, KKR failed to make complete and accurate premerger filings for at least 16 transactions. Specifically, KKR violated the HSR Act by altering documents in HSR filings for at least eight of those transactions, failing to make any HSR filing for at least two of those transactions, and systematically omitting required documents in HSR filings for at least 10 of those transactions.
The HSR Act authorizes civil penalties for violations of the Act at more than $50,000 per day per violation. The proposed $250 million penalty is the largest civil penalty ever assessed for violating the HSR Act.
KKR is a global investment firm headquartered in New York, New York. It is one of the world’s largest investment firms with over $744 billion in total assets under management.
Note: See the Proposed Final Judgment here, the Stipulation and Order here, and the Explanation of Procedures here.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment today charging Jazzamin Clark with health care fraud after she allegedly submitted fraudulent claims to Utah Medicaid for therapy services that were either not rendered; rendered by unqualified, unlicensed providers; or non-covered therapy services. This resulted in Utah Medicaid paying over $4 million in claims.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A former tribal police officer with the San Carlos Apache Police Department (SCAPD) was charged in an indictment today with two federal crimes arising out of his use of excessive force against a handcuffed arrestee and his falsification of another officer’s report.
The indictment charges Jacob Christopher Slawson, 29, with deprivation of rights under color of law, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242, and falsification of records, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519. According to the indictment, after an arrestee was handcuffed and secured in the back of a police vehicle, Slawson punched the arrestee in the face, knocking him unconscious, and then yanked him out of the vehicle causing N.G. to split his head open on the concrete, resulting in bodily injury. The indictment further alleges that when Slawson learned he was under investigation for excessive force, he falsified the report of a fellow detective by adding false and misleading information to the report with the intent to obstruct the investigation. If convicted of both charges, Slawson faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine for the District of Arizona, and Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Phoenix Field Office made the announcement.
This case was investigated by agents with the FBI’s Tuscan Resident Agency and Phoenix Field Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Davenport III for the District of Arizona and Special Litigation Counsel Christopher J. Perras of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Fredis Ramos-Serrano, an illegal alien from Honduras, has been sentenced for violation of re-entry into the U.S. This individual has had multiple federal convictions, including his role in a meth conspiracy. Additionally, he has previously been deported from our country back to Honduras on two separate occasions.