Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that David Martinez, 58, of Cheektowaga, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer to embezzlement by union officials, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and a fine of $250,000.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Tampa, Florida – Brandon Bernard Williams (41, Palmetto) has been charged by federal indictment for possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. If convicted, Williams faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Baltimore, Maryland – A Baltimore man pled guilty in federal court, today, to bank-fraud charges in connection with a real-estate scheme. Jacob Rappaport, 41, is charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Rappaport, an attorney, represented Alexander Schultz, 31, formerly of Pikesville, Maryland and Schultz’s company, Limitless Management — a company that bought, sold, and managed real estate in Maryland — on various real estate transactions.
Source: United States Army
PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. – In a significant leap forward for battlefield technology, U.S. Army infantry drone operators have successfully tested a new warhead designed to be delivered by an unmanned aerial system.
The live-fire demonstration of the Bunker Rupture and Kinetic Explosive Round, called BRAKER, which took place at a Redstone Arsenal in Alabama on March 26, comes only weeks after the initial design and rapid prototyping of the system, showcasing the Army’s accelerated approach to innovation in the face of evolving threats.
The Army continuously transforms by using the latest technologies for warfighting advantage, and ensures that the force is lethal, modern and ready. The development of this air-delivered munition directly supports that mission as well as senior leader priorities in readiness and transformation.
The BRAKER project, led by a team from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center and Project Manager Close Combat Systems — a project office under the U.S. Army Capability Program Executive Ammunition and Energetics — aimed to create a lightweight, powerful and lethal warhead that could be deployed from a small, agile drone.
“Our Picatinny team went from concept to live-fire in two weeks,” said Col. Vincent Morris, Project Manager Close Combat Systems. “BRAKER proves our ability to rapidly develop and safely deliver devastating effects from small unmanned aircraft systems. We are now creating the architecture with Picatinny Common Lethality Integration Kit and the small universal payload interface for industry to scale this critical warfighter advantage.”
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The Picatinny CLIK is a safe and effective method for integrating lethal payloads with UAS platforms, designed and developed by DEVCOM Armaments Center engineers.
The rapid development-to-testing timeline of BRAKER was made possible by the Army’s emphasis on additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing.
Beginning in early March, Armaments Center engineers began design, explosive pressing, housing manufacture, and integration of the warhead to be used on a low-cost and expendable one-way attack drone.
Shortly thereafter, transfer and compatibility tests were conducted at Picatinny and approximately a dozen warheads were assembled, with one being tested on a makeshift bunker on one of the installation’s test ranges.
After proving worthiness and validating effectiveness, the prototype warheads departed Picatinny for Redstone where a live demonstration was conducted for U.S. Army leadership.
The successful detonation of the device deployed on a drone on a designated target demonstrates a new and potent capability for the modern warfighter and illustrates how engineers can quickly design, fabricate, and integrate hardware to meet urgent and compelling needs.
“Rapid demonstrations of overwhelming lethality such as BRAKER are attributed to years of continued technology investments and the organic core technical competencies and facilities resident at the DEVCOM Armaments Center,” said Anthony Sebasto, executive director, Munitions Engineering and Technology Center.
Source: United States Department of Justice
The Justice Department today announced the availability of $300 million in funding to prevent and prosecute fraud and other crimes nationwide. The new Special Attorneys Program notice of funding opportunity will support state, local, Tribal, and territorial prosecuting agencies in designating qualified prosecutors to serve as Special Attorneys within the Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division or Criminal Division, or as Special Assistant United States Attorneys within a United States Attorney’s Office.
This grant program will strengthen investigative and prosecutorial capacity, expand intergovernmental coordination, and enhance the ability of jurisdictions to investigate and prosecute fraud and other crimes committed by criminal aliens within the United States and drug and human trafficking crimes.
“This unprecedented funding opportunity is part of the Department of Justice’s historic effort to activate every available tool to secure the physical and financial security of our nation,” said Colin McDonald, Assistant Attorney General for the National Fraud Enforcement Division. “We invite prosecutors across the country to join the mission to eliminate fraud, defeat the drug cartels, and rescue victims of trafficking.”
Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Baltimore, Maryland – A Maryland man, who previously decided to stand trial stemming from bank-fraud crimes, changed his mind and pled guilty on the first day of his federal trial. Eric Tano Tataw, 39, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, pled guilty to bank fraud in connection with multiple fraudulent COVID-19 relief loans for his company, National Telegraph, LLC.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –EMON CHENEAU, a/k/a “Smiley” (“CHENEAU”), age 22, DEVIN BROWN, a/k/a “YD”, a/k/a “YDtheillest” (“BROWN”), age 27, KENAN BREAUD, a/k/a “Tank” (“BREAUD”), age 20, KELAN GENNINGS (“GENNINGS”), age 24, and KRISHAWN SIMMS (“SIMMS”), age 22, were indicted on February 26, 2026 in a 15-count indictment for violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act, the Federal Gun Control Act, and committing bank fraud, announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle. The indictment was unsealed on April 17, 2026.
Source: United States Spaceforce
Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David R. Wolfe met with Airmen, Guardians, civilians and families during an Air University-hosted all call at Maxwell Air Force Base April 14. He spoke about leadership, accountability and how the small things people do every day tie into mission success across the force.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
PLANO, Texas – Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs joins the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and the Executive Office for the United States Attorneys (EOUSA) in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. This year’s theme is “Listen. Act. Advocate. Protect victims, serve communities.”
Source: United States Navy
NICKO WEST: Good afternoon. I’m Lieutenant Nicko West, the public affairs officer for the Department of the Navy’s fiscal year 2027 presidential budget request. I would like to introduce the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Budget, Rear Admiral Ben Reynolds, who will brief the Department of the Navy’s submission for FY ’27.NICKO WEST: Good afternoon. I’m Lieutenant Nicko West, the public affairs officer for the Department of the Navy’s fiscal year 2027 presidential budget request. I would like to introduce the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Budget, Rear Admiral Ben Reynolds, who will brief the Department of the Navy’s submission for FY ’27.