Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
BOSTON – Four individuals, including one from Massachusetts, have been charged for their alleged involvement in a multi-state scheme to obtain millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds for themselves and others by submitting fraudulent applications to PPP lenders.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Brigette O. Robertson, 40, a former special police officer residing in the District of Columbia, was sentenced today to 12 months in prison in connection with violating the constitutional rights of a detained citizen by stomping on her face in June 2023.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Today, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the City of Cleveland jointly filed a motion to terminate the 2015 police consent decree in the case of United States v. City of Cleveland, marking the parties’ recognition of more than a decade-long, successful effort to reform the Cleveland Division of Police (CDP). CDP now has resolved the DOJ’s 2014 findings about constitutional policing. CDP has implemented court-approved policies and training covering use of force, searches and seizures, misconduct investigations, community policing, and other areas — all resulting in contemporary assessments showing CDP now polices Cleveland constitutionally.
“We are proud to stand by the men and women of CDP as we take this significant step to end federal oversight and return control of local law enforcement to the City of Cleveland,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We believe the City and CDP have demonstrated their commitment to constitutional policing, and it is time for Cleveland to fully utilize CDP’s resources to protect Clevelanders from crime.”
“For more than a decade, the Monitoring Team’s assessments have shown the tremendous strides that CDP has made to ensure constitutional policing, thereby increasing the community’s trust,” said U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio. “The Division’s officers should be proud of what they have accomplished. As a valuable law enforcement partner, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work closely with CDP to reduce gun violence and drug trafficking, and to keep dangerous gang activity off the streets. We appreciate the dedication of these men and women in uniform and the hard work they do each day in their mission keep the people of Cleveland safe.”
On March 14, 2013, the DOJ announced the initiation of an investigation into CDP under the Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, 42 U.S.C. § 14141 (Section 14141) focused on allegations of excessive force by CDP officers. That investigation determined that structural and systemic deficiencies and practices — including insufficient accountability, inadequate training, ineffective policies, and inadequate engagement with the community — contributed to the use of unreasonable force by CDP officers, in violation of the Constitution and Federal law. The U.S. District Court incorporated the parties’ agreed reforms into a consent decree issued on June 12, 2015. Now, the parties have asked the Court to end that consent decree while leaving in place the reformed structures to ensure ongoing constitutional policing.
The Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, Civil Division jointly handled the investigation and litigation of this matter.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Steven L. Ploof, 48, of Greece, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Meredith A. Vacca to threatening to assault a member of the immediate family of a Federal law enforcement officer with intent to impede with such law enforcement officer while engaged in the performance of official duties, or with intent to retaliate against such law enforcement officer on account of the performance of official duties. The charge carries a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Source: United States Army
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U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa
AGADIR, Morocco – More than 40 technology vendors will test cutting-edge military capabilities alongside U.S. military forces from April 20 to May 08, 2026, as part of an effort to close the gap between emerging innovation and the warfighter in Morocco during African Lion 26.
U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa’s (SETAF-AF) Advanced Capabilities Directorate leads the initiative, serving as the command’s front door for the innovation ecosystem.
“Our ultimate purpose is to translate the senior leader’s vision for transformation into tangible, battlefield-ready capabilities in the hands of our Soldiers,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Ramon Leonguerrero, innovation division project manager for ACD.
African Lion, U.S. Africa Command’s largest annual training exercise, provides the scale and complexity needed to test how new technologies perform alongside multinational partners and allies.
The exercise prioritizes delivering practical solutions to the warfighter over simply showcasing innovation.
The directorate handles technical scouting and external coordination with industry and academia, filtering for the most promising solutions. This approach brings more than 40 U.S.-based vendors into the exercise to address specific needs, including 10 mission command systems, four deep attack capabilities, 12 defense-in-depth enablers and 15 counter-attack integrators.
Morocco provides unique advantages with expansive ranges, unrestricted airspace and an open electromagnetic spectrum that enable realistic experimentation.
“Our goal is to close the gap between emerging technology and the warfighter, using African Lion 26 to rapidly field and validate the tools and technology needed for a decisive edge,” Leonguerrero said.
A primary focus for SETAF-AF during the exercise is transforming how the combined joint task force headquarters processes data and executes strikes. By shifting from manual reporting to automated, real-time analytics, the command is breaking down information silos.
“The shift is most evident in the accelerated speed of decision-making,” Leonguerrero said.
This acceleration is critical for deep attack operations. By leveraging advanced artificial intelligence, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tools, and launched effects from six key vendors, the headquarters is fundamentally shortening the kill chain.
“This provides the CJTF headquarters with the ability to detect, track and engage targets with greater speed — and at extended ranges, revolutionizing deep reconnaissance and attack operations,” Leonguerrero said.
The result is increased standoff distance and lethality that enables credible ground deterrence. It equips the land component with cost-effective, faster engagement options, freeing joint forces to concentrate on other strategic priorities. Technologies like the Maven Smart System help build a common operational picture by bridging operational and tactical sensor data across formations.
By integrating these vendors into the exercise, the joint force creates a collaborative ecosystem where developers work side-by-side with operational units.
Units including the 19th Special Forces Group, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the 207th Military Intelligence Brigade (Theater), Army Test and Evaluation Command, and Army Global Tactical Edge Acquisition Directorate are taking these tools from industry into a realistic field environment.
This setup allows for immediate validation. If a piece of equipment fails in the heat and dust of Morocco, the vendor knows immediately. This transparency ensures that solutions are effective for U.S. forces and scalable for coalition warfare.
“We need the ability to scale or make changes to technology rapidly,” Leonguerrero said. “This exercise allows us to test, fail, fix and validate these emerging technologies in an operational environment.”
During the exercise, warfighters will complete digital surveys evaluating equipment performance. The assessment generates real-time data and graphics, producing scorecards for each vendor. This dashboard is sent to the vendors and U.S. Army Europe and Africa to inform development and procurement decisions.
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About African Lion
African Lion is U.S. Africa Command’s largest, premier, joint, annual exercise. This joint all-domain, multi-component, and multinational exercise, employs a full array of mission capabilities with the goal to strengthen interoperability among participants and build readiness to respond to crises and contingencies in Africa and around the world.
For more imagery, video and news from African Lion visit the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS).
About SETAF-AF
U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) prepares Army forces, executes crisis response, enables strategic competition and strengthens partners to achieve U.S. Army Europe and Africa and U.S. Africa Command campaign objectives.
Follow SETAF-AF on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn & DVIDS
Source: United States Airforce
The ceremony marks a significant milestone in the F-35 program’s international training mission, providing advanced instruction to intelligence professionals from 11 different partner nations.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Today, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division sought intervention in a lawsuit against the administrators of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) over the Predominately Hispanic, Black, Asian, and Other (PHBAO) Program. This program categorizes students by race and by the race of their neighbors in order to determine school funding and magnet school admissions. The lawsuit was brought by the 1776 Project Foundation, a nonprofit focused on public education.
“Treating Americans equally is not a suggestion — it is a core constitutional guarantee that educational institutions must follow,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This Department of Justice will never stop fighting to make that guarantee a reality, including for public-school students in Los Angeles.”
“Los Angeles County students should never be classified or treated differently because of their race. Yet this school district is doing exactly that by providing benefits that treat students — based on their race — as though they have learning disabilities,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Racial discrimination is unlawful and un-American, and this Civil Rights Division will fight to ensure that every LAUSD student is treated equally under the law.”
“Now in its sixth decade, LAUSD’s desegregation program has outlived its usefulness to the point of being unconstitutional,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “School districts must treat their students equally and no longer discriminate on the basis of race.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, notes that the PHBAO Program first separates everyone in the LAUSD area by race into either the “Anglo,” meaning White group, and everyone else. School neighborhoods with less than 30% Whites are treated as disadvantaged with “Predominately” non-White racial groups. Most schools are PHBAO in the majority Hispanic area served by LAUSD.
The United States’ complaint notes that LAUSD provides extra funding to the PHBAO schools to lower the student/teacher ratio by 5.5 students, and increase parent-teacher conferences. It also gives students wishing to transfer to a magnet program an admissions preference equal to that for an overcrowded school. LAUSD treats attending school with non-Whites as a disadvantage equal to attending an overcrowded school.
This case is brought by the Educational Opportunities Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
You can view the motion to intervene here and the proposed complaint here.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Commits to Strengthening Coordination and Animal Welfare Crimes Enforcement Between Federal Agencies
WASHINGTON – Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced today a historic plan to combat animal welfare crimes and to strengthen coordination and enforcement efforts between federal agencies, including the Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, and Homeland Security Investigations.
The plan consists of five parts: (1) A one-week Animal Welfare Summit at the Department’s National Advocacy Center to train federal prosecutors and federal agents from across the country in prosecuting animal welfare crimes; (2) the creation of a multi-agency Animal Welfare Executive Strategy Committee to develop and implement a National Strategy for Combatting Animal Welfare Crimes, to be chaired by Adam Gustafson, who leads the Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division; (3) the creation of a law enforcement “Tiger Team” to participate in and assist with the execution of search warrants and seizures in animal welfare cases; (4) the continued use of the Asset Forfeiture Fund to help pay for the evaluation, care, and feeding of animals seized in the course of animal welfare investigations; and (5) the offering of grants, through the Office of Justice Programs, to animal welfare groups, and state and local law enforcement agencies that are taking action to combat animal cruelty. The plan was announced through a memorandum to all Department of Justice employees.
“Animals are part of our families: we will always fight to protect the pets we love,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “I have fought against animal abuse my entire career and will never stop working to prosecute the sick individuals who prey upon innocent animals. Since taking office, this Department of Justice has already rescued nearly 300 dogs from horrific circumstances. Our work has only just begun, and this cabinet is committed to a whole of government approach to swiftly ending this horrific behavior.”
Attorney General Bondi also announced that the Department will partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to strengthen enforcement efforts under the Animal Welfare Act by using all available enforcement options to target the worst offenders and remove chronic violators from the industry. The Attorney General’s announcement was made in conjunction with the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) Brooke L. Rollins.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Brandie S. Williams, 45, of Dallas, Texas, and Brittany L. Herbert, 39, of Brandywine, Maryland, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. In addition, defendant Herbert also pleaded guilty to bank fraud.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
HONOLULU – United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that Lazerrick Lawrence, 52, of Georgia, was sentenced on February 13, 2026 to 20 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release for conspiring with others to obstruct the IRS as part of a fraudulent tax refund scheme.