North Carolina Man Sentenced to Prison for Assaulting Law Enforcement and Other Offenses During January 6 Capitol Breach

Source: US FBI

            WASHINGTON – A North Carolina man was sentenced to prison today after he was previously convicted of assaulting law enforcement other offenses during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

            Brett Alan Rotella, also known as Brett Ostrander, 35, of Kannapolis, North Carolina, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss to 38 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.

            A federal jury previously found Rotella guilty of three felony offenses, including obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder, two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, and several misdemeanors.

            According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial, on Jan. 6, 2021, at approximately 2:24 p.m., Rotella was identified among a crowd of rioters amassed on the West Plaza of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., wearing distinctive clothing that included a red skull cap, a black sleeveless puffy vest over a red sleeveless shirt, and white or gray long shorts. He carried a long pole with at least two flags affixed to it at various points during the day.

            According to police body-worn camera footage, just minutes after his arrival at the West Font, Rotella approached a police barricade and forcibly pushed it toward a Metropolitan Police Department officer, while shouting inflammatory remarks.

            At approximately 2:33 p.m., as the police line on the West Plaza became overwhelmed and was forced to retreat, Rotella was observed taking charge of a group of rioters, directing their movements by periodically signaling with his hand to “hold” and leading them up the southwest stairs toward the Capitol.

            Video footage from the Lower West Terrace showed that at approximately 2:40 p.m., Rotella followed retreating officers into the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, the site of some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement that day. Inside the Tunnel, as officers attempted to hold back the rioters, Rotella continued his advance, even after pepper balls containing chemical irritant were fired at him.

            Evidence during the trial showed that the mob, including Rotella, breached the Capitol entrance at the Tunnel by smashing the glass pane of one of the locked doors and forcing the doors open. CCTV and body-worn camera footage depicted Rotella entering the Tunnel and joining others in a concerted effort to physically assault police officers inside. Inside the Tunnel, Rotella pushed against police shields and attempted to leverage his body to push through the police line and into the building.

            Rotella left the Tunnel at approximately 2:55 p.m., but remained in the vicinity for approximately ninety more minutes, joining a large crowd that repeatedly surged against the police line. Further video evidence depicted Rotella counting down and leading a coordinated push by the mob against the officers.

            Rotella was later observed grabbing a large orange ladder and handing it toward the front of the crowd in an apparent attempt to use it against the officers. Video footage showed Rotella pushing the ladder into the Tunnel and pushing against other rioters near him in an effort to collectively breach the police line.

            The FBI arrested Rotella on Aug. 29, 2023, in Mooresville, North Carolina.

            This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina.

            This case was investigated by the FBI’s Charlotte and Washington Field Offices, which identified Rotella as BOLO (Be on the Lookout) #82 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In the 47 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,572 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 590 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.

            Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

FBI Honors Fallen During 2023 Police Week Events

Source: US FBI

Police Week regularly draws 25,000 to 40,000 visitors to the nation’s capital. The observance comprises several events—including some, like the FBI service, that occur before Police Week officially starts.

These collective events include the Blue Mass at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church; a Police K-9 Memorial Service at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial; a 5K fundraising run; the arrival of the Police Unity Tour, where more than 2,000 bicycle riders simultaneously arrive in Washington, D.C., after traveling for days from cities around the country; the aforementioned 35th annual candlelight vigil; and the 42nd annual National Peace Officers Memorial Service at the U.S. Capitol, which was followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

U.S. Attorney’s Office Hosts Meeting of the Western District Health Care Fraud Working Group

Source: US FBI

Multi-Agency Partnership Continues Efforts to Combat Health Care Fraud and Protect Taxpayer Dollars

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced today the annual meeting of the Western District’s Health Care Fraud Working Group, a partnership of federal and state agencies focused on combating health care fraud and protecting taxpayer dollars in the Western District of North Carolina.

The working group comprises investigators, analysts, auditors, and attorneys from state and federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG), the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the North Carolina Attorney General’s Medicaid Investigations Division, the North Carolina Department of Insurance, the South Carolina Medicaid Investigations Division, and the Office of Personnel Management.

At today’s meeting, U.S. Attorney King reaffirmed the importance of collaboration among the partner agencies and recognized their contributions.

“Health care fraud undermines public trust, exploits vulnerable patients, and siphons billions from taxpayer-funded programs,” said U.S. Attorney King. “By combining our expertise and resources we can detect, dismantle, and prosecute health care fraud schemes and protect vital government programs that so many North Carolinians rely upon for their health care needs. I am grateful to our partner agencies for their dedication to protect our health care system and hold perpetrators accountable.”

The Health Care Fraud Working Group’s mission is to detect health care fraud through coordinated investigations, information sharing, identification of existing and emerging schemes, and case development. This includes uncovering schemes of fraudulent billing, COVID-19-related fraud, kickback schemes, and fraud targeting government health care programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE. The working group also focuses on fraud committed by both corporate entities and individuals, including hospitals, telemedicine companies and providers, nursing home chains, pharmacies and pharmaceutical manufacturers, durable medical equipment suppliers, physicians, therapists, and affiliated health care professionals.

If you suspect Medicare or Medicaid fraud, please report it by phone at 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477), or via email at HHSTips@oig.hhs.gov.

To report Medicaid fraud in North Carolina, call the North Carolina Medicaid Investigations Division at 919-881-2320 or fill out an online complaint form.

TRICARE fraud can be reported here.

Fraud against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare system can be reported at www.vaoig.gov/hotline.

Operation SpecTor Targets Darknet Markets

Source: US FBI

To get the word out about the prevailing dangers, the JCODE team embarked on an effort this spring called Operation ProtecTor. This effort involved reaching out to individuals whose identities were discovered during search warrant and arrest operations of prolific vendors. The FBI sent leads to each of its field offices to work with partner agencies. Agents then drove to subjects’ homes, knocked on their doors, and let them know that law enforcement was aware of what they had been doing—and that the safest thing to do was to stop.

“No matter what somebody is telling you, you really don’t know what’s in it,” said Andrew Innocenti, a supervisory special agent who leads a JCODE squad in the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. He said the drugs—or the precursor ingredients they’re made of—can change hands frequently as they travel from the darknet to the doorstep.

“When these pills are created and shipped around the country, they are being resold in some instances to people in high school, people at universities, people on social media,” he said. “And by that point, you’re diluting the message of what this actually is or is purporting to be. When the messaging gets changed over time, from drug trafficker to darknet vendor, to reseller, to the local high school kid who’s handing them out, who knows what you might be taking? And so that’s where the danger lies.”

Operation SpecTor is the fifth coordinated law enforcement action since the JCODE team was established in 2018. In remarks at a May 2 press conference in Washington, D.C., Attorney General Merrick Garland said the recent operation represents the most funds seized and the highest number of arrests in any coordinated international action led by the Justice Department against drug traffickers on the darknet.

“Our message to criminals on the dark web is this: You can try to hide in the furthest reaches of the internet, but the Justice Department will find you and hold you accountable for your crimes,” Garland said.

Ninedee Gang Member Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Murder of Former Federal Witness

Source: US FBI

Brooklyn Street Gang Plotted Retaliatory Murder of Shatavia Walls at the Pink Houses

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Quintin Green, also known as “Wild Child,” was sentenced by United States District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall to 35 years’ imprisonment for the murder of former federal witness Shatavia Walls in July 2020.  Green, a member of the Ninedee Gang, a violent criminal enterprise operating out of the Louis H. Pink Houses in East New York, pleaded guilty in April 2024 to causing Walls’ death through use of firearms.  Green also pleaded guilty to attempted Hobbs Act robbery for attempting to steal televisions from a Target store in Staten Island in November 2020 and was sentenced to a concurrent term of five years in prison.

John J. Durham, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Leslie R. Backschies, Acting Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the sentence.

“The calculated murder of Shatavia Walls by members and associates of the Ninedee Gang arose from a twisted desire to murder her in retaliation for her federal testimony and perceived disrespect of the gang,” stated United States Attorney Durham.  “Quintin Green shot an unarmed woman in cold blood to make a name for himself in the gang, but he should be called out for what he truly is, a cowardly killer.  He deservedly will spend decades in a federal prison.  I commend the FBI special agents, the NYPD detectives and the prosecutors in my Office who worked tirelessly to dismantle this gang, achieve justice for Ms. Walls and make the Pink Houses and the surrounding area in East New York a safer place for the law-abiding residents of that community.”

“Along with other Ninedee members, Quintin Green targeted and callously killed Shatavia Walls and then bragged across social media about his abhorrent crimes in an effort to bolster the gang’s dangerous reputation,” stated FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Backschies.  “This premeditated ambush was an unjust retributive attack against a former government witness trying to protect her community from further gang violence. May today’s sentencing reflect the FBI’s continued refusal to tolerate any attempts to intimidate those who speak out against gang violence.”

“Today, we are bringing a cold-blooded murderer to justice,” stated NYPD Commissioner Tisch.  “Quintin Green and the Ninedee Gang terrorized their neighborhood, put children in danger, and viciously killed an unarmed woman. Let this serve as a clear message that we will go after violent gangs that break the law and cause widespread harm and fear. I thank the NYPD detectives and the prosecutors in this case for their tireless work to hold these perpetrators accountable.”

As set forth in [the government’s sentencing memorandum and other court filings], Green and other members of the Ninedee Gang targeted Walls for murder because she testified against a Ninedee Gang member in federal court in Brooklyn in 2019, had a confrontation with Ninedee Gang members who were setting fireworks off near children on July 4, 2020 and her affiliation with the rival “7” and “8” Pink House apartment buildings.  For those reasons, she was considered by the gang to be a high-value target. The defendant became known as “Wild Child” due to his reputation for violence and, in order to earn status in the gang, boasted about his willingness to shoot rivals.  He was one of two shooters who gunned Walls down on July 7, 2020.

Further, as proven at the trial of Green’s co-defendant, Ninedee Gang leader Maliek Miller, Ninedee Gang members were affiliated with the “5” and “6” Pink Houses apartment buildings and engaged in ongoing gang-related violence within and outside of the New York City Housing Authority complex.  Ninedee Gang protected its turf through violence and sought to silence anyone who they perceived to be working with law enforcement. 

The murder of Walls was coordinated by Ninedee Gang members, including Green.  Prior to her court testimony, fliers had been posted around the Pink Houses stating, “Shatavia Been a Rat And She Still Ratting.” 

On July 4, 2020, Walls and others were involved in a physical altercation with members of Ninedee for lighting fireworks around young children.  Miller went to the scene of the altercation, called Walls a “snitch,” fought with her and fired a gunshot.  Following the altercation, Miller planned with other Ninedee Gang members, including Green, to kill Walls.

On July 7, 2020, Walls was spotted by Green and his co-defendant Joe Santana.  Green and Santana began shooting at her.  Green then chased Walls down a path at the Pink Houses, continuing to shoot her. Walls suffered numerous gunshot wounds and died of her injuries 10 days later. 

Co-defendant Shakur Bey destroyed the clothing that Green and Santana wore during the shooting by throwing the items down an incinerator chute. Co-defendant Kevin Wint, who was not present at the murder, rented a hotel room at a Best Western Hotel near John F. Kennedy International Airport to provide a place where Green and others could hide out overnight.  In the days after the murder, Green and Wint posted to social media claiming credit to the Ninedee Gang for the killing.   

Miller was convicted in June 2024 of murder in-aid of racketeering and faces a mandatory term of life in prison when he is sentenced.  Santana and Fernandez pleaded guilty to their roles in the murder. Santana was sentenced to 22 years in prison and Fernandez is awaiting sentencing.  Wint pleaded guilty in March 2023 and was sentenced to 110 months’ imprisonment. Bey pleaded guilty in December 2023 and was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment.  Ninedee leader Raquel Dunton is charged with acting as an accessory after-the-fact to Walls’ murder and obstruction of justice for assisting fellow gang members in concealing evidence of the crime.  Dunton is also charged with trafficking cocaine and is awaiting trial.

In addition to the murder, Green pleaded guilty to attempting to commit a November 3, 2020 robbery of a Staten Island Target store. Green attempted to steal two flat- screen televisions and was stopped by a security guard. Green punched the security guard causing her to fall and attempted to flee with one of the two televisions. He was arrested by police after fleeing the scene.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.  Assistant United States  Attorneys Emily J. Dean, Margi Schierberl and Irisa Chen are in charge of the prosecution with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Elizabeth Reed and Intelligence Analysts Eungee Hwang and Ashley Hinkson.

The Defendant:

QUINTIN GREEN (also known as “Wild Child”)
Age: 24
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-331 (LDH)

Defendant Convicted at Trial:

MALIEK MILLER
Age: 31
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-331 (LDH)

Defendants Who Previously Pleaded Guilty:

JOE SANTANA (also known as “Baby Joe”)
Age: 20
Brooklyn, New York

CHAYANNE FERNANDEZ (also known as “White Boy”)
Age: 24
Brooklyn, New York

KEVIN WINT (also known as “Kev G”)
Age: 31
Brooklyn, New York

SHAKUR BEY (also known as “Speedy”)
Age: 27
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-331 (LDH)

Defendant Awaiting Trial:

RAQUEL DUNTON (also known as “Rah”)
Age: 38
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-344 (LDH)

Former CEO of Special Purpose Acquisition Company Charged with Accounting Fraud, Obstruction of Justice, and Perjury

Source: US FBI

Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James E. Dennehy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging VADIM KOMISSAROV, the former Chief Executive Officer of Trident Acquisitions Corp. (“TDAC”), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”), with engaging in a scheme to defraud TDAC investors and investors in TDAC’s successor company, Lottery.com Inc., by publicly reporting false and misleading revenue and business information. KOMISSAROV was arrested yesterday evening and will be presented this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn.  The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.

Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “As alleged, Vadim Komissarov, the former CEO of Trident Acquisitions Corp., engineered sham transactions and reported false and misleading revenue, all to ensure his SPAC merger went through and to make himself wealthy. To make matters worse, he tried to cover up his crimes by lying to the SEC under oath. This Office, and our partners at the FBI, will continue to pursue executives of public companies, including executives of SPACs, who defraud unsuspecting investors.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said: “Vadim Komissarov allegedly tried to secure a winning ticket by developing an elaborate scheme comprised of inflated profits, falsified transactions, and perjurious statements to sell company shares. Komissarov allegedly abused his authority as the company’s CEO to conjure a façade of success and interfere with an investigation into his suspected misconduct. The FBI will never permit any individual who attempts to unlawfully cash out at the expense of their investors’ money and trust.”

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:

From November 2020 through May 2022, KOMISSAROV engaged in a scheme to defraud TDAC investors and investors in TDAC’s successor company, Lottery.com Inc., by publicly reporting false and misleading revenue and business information about a prospective acquisition target and by profiting from the effect of the deception by selling shares of Lottery.com before other market participants realized the true state of the company (the “Revenue Scheme”).

The Revenue Scheme arose from an effort by KOMISSAROV to identify a suitable target for TDAC before TDAC reached a deadline to either use or return investor funds that had been raised to support an acquisition.  In November 2020, KOMISSAROV settled on AutoLotto, Inc., d/b/a Lottery.com as a target for TDAC.  To deceive TDAC shareholders about the nature of AutoLotto’s business, and to thereby secure their approval for TDAC’s acquisition of AutoLotto (the “Business Combination”), KOMISSAROV worked with others to improperly and misleadingly inflate AutoLotto’s revenue and to report those inflated figures to TDAC’s shareholders through public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which KOMISSAROV signed or caused to be filed as the principal executive, financial, and accounting officer of TDAC.

The Revenue Scheme created the false appearance of revenue-generating business activity for AutoLotto and later for Lottery.com through a series of sham transactions, including a fraudulent $9 million roundtrip transaction that KOMISSAROV engineered using the alias “Vlad.”

In April 2022 and May 2022, KOMISSAROV sold almost 300,000 Lottery.com shares for more than $600,000, months before Lottery.com disclosed to investors that it had identified errors in the company’s reported revenue and available cash.

By June 2023 and August 2023, the enforcement staff of the SEC had begun to investigate TDAC and Lottery.com. After receiving a subpoena from the SEC for documents and testimony in connection with the SEC’s investigation, KOMISSAROV schemed to obstruct the SEC’s investigation. For example, during a call with two Lottery.com executives, KOMISSAROV said he wanted to “sync” his “clock[]” with them and align on a false and misleading narrative that concealed his involvement in some of the sham transactions that were part of the Revenue Scheme. KOMISSAROV warned the Lottery.com executives, “guys, you do understand, you say that I was involved with this transaction . . . .  if Trident and me specifically knew about it, then I am in deep, deep, deep, deep water . . . . So, if you come out and say that I was involved, then I am in deep shit.”

KOMISSAROV also personally tried to obstruct the SEC’s investigation. On November 20, 2024, KOMISSAROV provided sworn testimony to the SEC in connection with the SEC investigation into TDAC and Lottery.com. During his testimony, KOMISSAROV gave false and misleading answers about his prior communications with the Lottery.com executives and his involvement in the $9 million fraudulent roundtrip transaction that was part of the Revenue Scheme.

*                 *                 *

KOMISSAROV, 53, of New York, New York, was charged in the Indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, to make false and misleading statements in proxy statements, and to make false filings with the SEC; one count of securities fraud; five counts of making false and misleading statements in proxy statements; one count of obstruction of justice; and one count of perjury. The conspiracy charge and the perjury charge each carry a maximum term of imprisonment of five years. The charges of securities fraud, making false and misleading statements in proxy statements, and obstruction of justice each carry a maximum prison term of 20 years.   

The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding work of the FBI.  Mr. Podolsky also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its assistance and cooperation in the investigation.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force.  Assistant United States Attorneys Justin V. Rodriguez and Matthew R. Shahabian are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.


[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the descriptions of the Indictment constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

Canadian Drug Traffickers Sentenced to Prison for Transporting Methamphetamine and Cocaine on Behalf of the Wolfpack Alliance

Source: US FBI

Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that MICHAEL HABIB, an associate of the Canadian criminal organization known as the Wolfpack Alliance, was sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison for trafficking narcotics. HABIB pled guilty on December 20, 2023, before U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan, who imposed today’s sentence.  HABIB’s sentencing follows the imposition of sentences of 18 years, 17 and a half years, and four and half years on his co-defendants, SURINDER SINGH CHEEMA, BHUPINDER SINGH VIRK, and CHRISTOPHER BURGOS, on December 19, 2024, July 17, 2024, and December 16, 2024, respectively.

Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Wolfpack and its associates have spread drugs and violence in the United States and in Canada. Michael Habib and his co-conspirators are responsible for transporting thousands of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine across our northern border, ordering drug-related shootings and kidnappings, and attempting to smuggle wanted international hitmen into the United States from Canada.  Today’s prison sentence will help protect the public from wanton violence and dangerous narcotics, and demonstrates our resolve to root out transnational criminal organizations like Wolfpack.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said: “The associates of the Wolfpack Alliance have all been rightly sentenced for establishing an international drug trafficking route to assist the flow of thousands of kilograms of methamphetamine and cocaine through our country into Canada. This conspiracy caused significant amounts of dangerous drugs to enter the United States, endangering the public’s safety. The FBI will continue to dismantle and hold accountable any criminal enterprise member, regardless of their origin, which utilizes our nation as an economic foothold and throughfare for their illegal operations.”

According to the Indictment, public filings, and statements made in court proceedings:

From at least in or about February 2022 through at least in or about November 2022HABIB, CHEEMA, VIRK, BURGOS and others conspired to distribute narcotics by shipping thousands of kilograms of methamphetamine and cocaine across the U.S. and into Canada. In or about March 2022, law enforcement seized approximately 400 kilograms of cocaine shipped by the conspirators from a warehouse in New Jersey, and approximately 96 kilograms of cocaine and 86 kilograms of methamphetamine in the vicinity of Kansas City, Kansas. In connection with their guilty pleas, HABIB admitted to conspiring to distribute at least approximately 400 kilograms of cocaine; CHEEMA admitted to conspiring to distribute at least approximately 1.3 metric tons of methamphetamine and 764 kilograms of cocaine; VIRK admitted to conspiring to distribute at least approximately 1.1 metric tons of methamphetamine and 480 kilograms of cocaine; and BURGOS admitted to conspiring to distribute at least approximately 400 kilograms of cocaine.

The defendants engaged in additional criminal activities. HABIB and BURGOS, on behalf of the Wolfpack Alliance, assisted two Wolfpack-aligned hitmen, Gene Lahrkamp and Duncan Bailey, in their attempt to escape Canada and evade Canadian law enforcement, until Lahrkamp and Bailey were killed in an accidental plane crash in Canada on or about April 30, 2022. CHEEMA, in or about the spring of 2024, subsequent to his guilty plea and while awaiting sentencing at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, directed his confederates in the greater Toronto, Canada area to conduct shootings and issue threats of violence in connection with drug debts. VIRK was arrested in or about November 2022 in California with three unregistered “ghost” guns and approximately $487,900 in cash.

*               *                *

In addition to their prison terms, HABIB, 38, of Toronto, Canada; CHEEMA, 31, of Brampton, Canada; VIRK, 31, of Fresno, California; and BURGOS, 36, of Brooklyn, New York, were sentenced to five, four, four, and three years of supervised release, respectively, and were ordered to forfeit $487,900 and a 2020 Mercedes Benz AMG GT63.

Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Mr. Podolsky further thanked the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Peel Ontario Regional Police for their assistance and cooperation in the investigation.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas S. Burnett, Jane Y. Chong, and Matthew R. Shahabian are in charge of the prosecution. 

Victim Specialists Support American Indian and Alaska Native Communities

Source: US FBI

How long have you worked with AI/AN populations?

I’ve lived in the Aberdeen community since 2009, and I love it here. I’ve had the privilege of working with the AI/AN populations since I started victim services in 2011.

In my work with the FBI, I cover the Lake Traverse and Standing Rock South Dakota side reservations. Our office puts in a lot of miles. The communities we cover are, on average, two to three hours away.

What challenges do you face in working with AI/AN victims that you may not face elsewhere?

The lack of resources is, by far, my biggest challenge. The reservations are very rural, so they don’t have the resources that you see in bigger towns. My car is stocked with toiletries, clothing, diapers, blankets, gloves, etc., that I can access when needed.

On the reservations, there’s a lack of trauma-informed counseling options. With many of the cases I work, people have to travel anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours one way to see a counselor that specializes in trauma. This is not sustainable due to costs, limited transportation, and weather.

Another big challenge is the lack of foster homes and shelters, as well as the ability to keep these placements confidential. This can create a barrier for victims who want to leave their situations but fear the perpetrators will be able to find them.

What do you wish people knew about working as a VS in the FBI?

Being a victim specialist can be the most challenging but, more importantly, the most rewarding job. I think some people have the notion that the AI/AN populations do not want our help, but that could not be farther from the truth, in my experience. Everyone I have met is so excited to see there is help, support, resources, and justice for the things that have been done to them. I’m reminded every day of how I am so blessed, and it helps me want to give more to provide hope that they can get through this.

What’s the best part of being a VS?

The best moment in my job is seeing a victim realize they are strong, courageous, and a survivor. This happens in many ways. For example, I worked with a young victim who initially said she couldn’t testify at trial with the defendant there. Not only did she do an amazing job at testifying, which helped the jury convict the defendant, but she stood and read her victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing. The hug I received after that hearing is something I will never forget.

I also worked with a mom who had endured years of domestic violence and then found out her husband was abusing their daughter. Those were truly their darkest days, but the transformation I have seen in them is truly amazing. The daughter received a kindness award at school and has improved her grades and attendance. The mother has kept stable employment and secured a home for their family to continue to heal and grow.

OKX Pleads Guilty to Violating U.S. Anti-Money Laundering Laws and Agrees to Pay Penalties Totaling More Than $500 Million

Source: US FBI

Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James E. Dennehy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today that Aux Cayes Fintech Co. Ltd, d/b/a “OKEx,” d/b/a “OKX” (“OKX”), a Seychelles-based entity, that since at least 2017 has operated OKX, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, pled guilty today to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. In connection with today’s guilty plea and sentencing, OKX agreed to pay monetary penalties totaling more than $504 million.  The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, who presided over today’s guilty plea and sentencing.

Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “For over seven years, OKX knowingly violated anti-money laundering laws and avoided implementing required policies to prevent criminals from abusing our financial system. As a result, OKX was used to facilitate over five billion dollars’ worth of suspicious transactions and criminal proceeds.  Today’s guilty plea and penalties emphasize that there will be consequences for financial institutions that avail themselves of U.S. markets but violate the law by allowing criminal activity to continue.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said: “For years, OKX flagrantly violated U.S. law, actively seeking customers in the United States—including here in New York—and even going so far as to advise individuals to provide false information to circumvent requisite procedures. Furthermore, in their failure to adhere to U.S. law, significant illicit transactions which furthered other criminal activity went undetected on their platform. Blatant disregard for the rule of law will not be tolerated, and the FBI is committed to working with our partners across government to ensure that corporations that engage in this type of conduct are held accountable for their actions.”

According to court documents and admissions: 

OKX is one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platforms, with billions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency transactions occurring daily on its platform.  OKX allows registered users to place orders for spot trades in over three hundred cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. OKX users can also place orders for derivative products, including futures contracts, tied to the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. 

Financial institutions that operate wholly or in substantial part in the United States must register with the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) as a money services business (“MSB”) and comply with federal anti-money laundering (“AML”) laws, including the Bank Secrecy Act.  These laws require the filing of suspicious activity reports and the maintenance of an adequate AML program, including an effective know-your-customer (“KYC”) program. AML programs are critical to ensure that entry-points into the U.S. financial system do not become tools criminals can use to profit from illicit activity.

Since 2017, OKX has had an official policy preventing U.S. persons from transacting on its exchange. But contrary to this official policy, OKX sought out customers in the United States, including in the Southern District of New York. 

From in or about 2018 through in or about at least early 2024, OKX served U.S. retail and institutional customers that engaged in over one trillion dollars’ worth of transactions through OKX. Transactions from those U.S. customers generated hundreds of millions of dollars in trading fees and profits for OKX. 

Because OKX served U.S. retail and institutional customers, OKX knew it was required by U.S. law to register as a money services business with FinCEN, but OKX chose not to do so.[1] In fact, despite OKX’s official policy prohibiting U.S. persons from transacting on the exchange, OKX was fully aware that individuals in the United States could, and did, easily create and use OKX trading accounts.  From OKX’s founding in approximately 2017 through approximately November 2022, OKX allowed retail customers the option to create an account, receive and transfer funds, and place trades without completing a KYC process. This meant that OKX, a large financial institution, facilitated transactions on behalf of customers that it could not identify. Further, while OKX implemented a policy blocking customers with U.S.-located IP addresses from trading or depositing assets onto OKX (the “IP Ban”), OKX knew that the IP Ban could be circumvented through cheap, widely available VPN technology.  Also, through at least early 2023, OKX allowed existing accounts to continue to receive and transfer funds, and place trades, all without completing a KYC process.  And until approximately early 2024, OKX also allowed customers to place trades on the exchange through third-party entities known as “non-disclosure brokers” without the third-party entity disclosing any identifying information to OKX about the customers on whose behalf the trades were placed. 

Even after OKX began requiring all customers to provide some KYC information to trade, OKX employees on certain occasions advised customers how to provide false information to circumvent the company’s KYC process and official policy prohibiting U.S. customers.  For example, in April 2023, an OKX employee encouraged a potential U.S. customer to open an account by providing false information about the customer’s nationality during the KYC processing, writing “I know you’re in the US, but you could just put a random country and it should go through. You just need to put Name, nationality, and ID number. You could just put United Arab Emirates and random numbers for the ID number.”  At that time, OKX did not verify the information that customers provided to open an account to trade.  In January 2024, the same employee wrote to another potential U.S. customer and asked if the individual had “any workaround on KYC outside of the US to make it potentially work.”

During the relevant period, OKX advertised in the United States, sponsoring the Tribeca Film Festival, for example, and used affiliate marketers based in the United States to promote the exchange. OKX also allowed existing customers to promote the exchange, and provided such customers benefits for recruiting additional users. At least one such OKX customer produced a publicly-available, step-by-step instructional video educating U.S. customers about how to register with OKX using a VPN to conceal their U.S. presence.

OKX also focused its efforts on attracting and retaining certain U.S. institutional customers, including large institutions who could provide liquidity and help OKX become one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by making a broad range of cryptocurrencies available at competitive rates.  OKX’s U.S. institutional customers were some of OKX’s largest customers, with one such firm alone generating more than a trillion dollars in spot and derivatives transactions on OKX during the relevant period.  They provided significant liquidity, volume and trading fees for the platform, despite OKX’s knowing failure to register as an MSB and OKX’s “official” policy banning U.S. customers.

Until approximately May 2023, OKX did not adequately or consistently use commercially available software to monitor and detect suspicious activity, including money laundering, and OKX did not have adequate controls to determine whether either party to transactions on the exchange was potentially subject to sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department. As a result, through at least early 2024, OKX was used by numerous customers as a vehicle for laundering the proceeds of suspicious and criminal activities, including more than five billion dollars of suspicious transactions and illicit proceeds, based on a review of third-party transaction data.

In early 2024, OKX retained an external compliance consultant (the “Consultant”) to advise OKX on policies and controls reasonably designed to prevent U.S. persons from engaging in transactions on OKX’s platform through accounts held at OKX.  As part of the plea agreement, OKX is continuing to retain the Consultant, at its own cost, through February 2027, and has agreed to continue to cooperate with the United States Attorney’s Office.

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In addition to the guilty plea, OKX, a Seychelles-based entity, also agreed to criminally forfeit $420.3 million and pay a criminal fine of approximately $84.4 million.  OKX received credit for its cooperation with the investigation and timely engaging in remedial measures, resulting in a 25% reduction off the bottom of the otherwise applicable recommended fine range.

Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI New York Field Office. 

This matter is being handled by the Office’s Illicit Finance & Money Laundering Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher D. Brumwell, Eli J. Mark, and Vladislav Vainberg are in charge of the prosecution.


[1] OKX has an affiliate U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange named OKCoin USA, Inc. (“OKCoin”) which, in contrast with OKX, has registered with FinCEN as a MSB. OKCoin serves customers globally, including in the United States, and offers retail and institutional customers the ability to spot trade, including purchasing cryptocurrency using U.S. dollars. The conduct described herein that gives rise to the charge in the Information, and to which OKX pled guilty, is solely that of the unregistered MSB, Aux Cayes Fintech Co. Ltd., d/b/a “OKEx,” d/b/a “OKX,” the defendant.

Wilver Villegas-Palomino Added to FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List

Source: US FBI

The ELN uses proceeds from Villegas-Palomino’s drug trafficking enterprise to fund terrorist attacks, launch sabotage operations, buy political influence, and engage in other malign activities designed to destabilize government institutions and subvert U.S. national security and law enforcement interests in the region. 

A federal arrest warrant was issued for Villegas-Palomino in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, on February 13, 2020, after he was charged with narcoterrorism, international cocaine distribution conspiracy, and international cocaine distribution. 

“Villegas-Palomino continues to present a grave threat to the community through his cocaine and narcoterrorist empire,” said FBI Supervisory Special Agent Nick Zarro, who is overseeing the investigation out of the FBI Houston Field Office. “Cocaine produced in Villegas-Palomino’s laboratories ultimately ends up on U.S. streets, plaguing local communities and driving spikes in violent crime.” 

The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, a federal drug enforcement program overseen by the U.S. Attorney General and the Department of Justice, has named Villegas-Palomino a consolidated priority organization target (CPOT), which is reserved for those involved in the most significant international drug trafficking operations affecting the United States. 

Zarro hopes the poster and publicity will move hesitant associates to come forward with tips. “Continued publicity of Villegas-Palomino’s status on this list will disrupt his ability to travel abroad, restrict his ability to meet with international drug trafficking associates, and hamper his ability to recruit new members—and will generate leads and intelligence for law enforcement,” he said.

Villegas-Palomino is 41 years old and has black hair and brown eyes. He is between 5’7” and 5’9” tall and weighs about 190 pounds. He is a Colombian national and speaks Spanish. Aliases include Carlos El Puerco (“Carlos the Hog”), El Puerco, Wilver Villegas, and Wilver Palomino. 

If you have any information concerning Villegas-Palomino, please contact the FBI via WhatsApp (neither a government-operated nor government-controlled platform) at (281) 630-0330. You can also contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or you can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.