MIL Security Engine-1

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Note: View PDAAG Gustafson’s remarks here. View a video on the event here.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Energy and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) issued the following statement following his service as the head of the United States’ delegation for a Ministerial Meeting on Forestry, part of a 2026 senior officials’ meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in China. In addition to ENRD, the U.S. delegation included the State Department, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

United States’ delegation to the 2026 APEC Ministerial Meeting on Forestry.

“I was glad to serve as the head of the U.S. delegation to the APEC Ministerial on Forestry. The United States achieved some key successes at this meeting. We negotiated a joint ministerial statement that reflected the U.S. priorities in balance with the priorities of the other APEC members.  

“I also highlighted the United States’ commitment to fighting illegal timber trafficking, the subject of President Trump’s Executive Order 14223. As evidence of our commitment, I described recent guilty pleas we secured from a yacht builder and paper products manufacturer who profited from illegal forest products. The illegal timber trade hurts American businesses by creating an uneven playing field. We are resetting of our global relationships to put America first. And we are working with our partners in APEC to break down barriers for business; support job growth; and boost fair, legal, and reciprocal trade, including in the wood products industry.

“ENRD stands ready to prosecute environmental crimes, and we co-chair an interagency group focused on improving timber trafficking investigations. Our Division is also part of a Trade Fraud Task Force to help us work across the government to prosecute smugglers and those who would try to evade tariffs and duties. We have recently reached historic agreements and brokered partnerships with nations and APEC members to support enforcement efforts.

“Thus, while we acknowledge the prevalence of illegal timber trafficking, the United States is leading an increasingly robust response to fight these crimes. My participation at APEC highlighted these encouraging developments and solicited continued engagement from our trading partners in the investigation and prosecution of timber trafficking.”

Source: United States Department of Justice

Note: Remarks as delivered. These remarks were delivered on July 28, 2026.

Honorable Chairman and esteemed delegates, I want to thank China for hosting the sixth Ministerial Meeting on Forestry. This is my first foreign trip on behalf of the United States and the Department of Justice, and I am honored to meet with all of you on these issues of importance to each of our economies.

I am enjoying my first time in Shenzhen. I had the pleasure of visiting Chengdu in 2009 as part of the Yale rowing team. It’s great to be back in China.

We are here in part to learn from each other.  The United States practices the gold standard in sustainable forest and land management, which — over the past century — has resulted in an expansion of U.S. forestland: proof that forestry stewardship and economic growth can go hand in hand. 

The United States recognizes the significant role wood products trade plays in the APEC region’s economic development, especially in rural communities. The only way to ensure this vital resource remains is to manage it responsibly.

Combating illegal logging and associated trade is a critical trade issue for the United States as well as the Asia-Pacific region. It’s also a national security issue, with illegal logging being the third most profitable transnational crime after counterfeiting and drug trafficking. 

Associated crimes such as money laundering, tariff evasion, and corruption exacerbate the problem. All this leads to unfair competition for companies that play by the rules.

Criminals love illegal logging. They perceive a low risk of being caught and a high reward – with global annual value estimated at $52-$157 billion. 

In 2008, the United States amended its oldest federal wildlife protection law, the Lacey Act, to address the import of illegal timber and other plants.

We are pleased that other economies have also criminalized the import of illegally harvested timber. The United States stands ready to support other APEC economies in implementing their own laws to combat illegal logging and its transnational trade. 

We applaud China’s passage of its revised Forest Law in 2020. This law, when fully implemented, has great potential to modernize forest governance and enhance environmental protections. The United States looks forward to China’s implementation of Article 65, which prohibits the import of illegally harvested forest products.

U.S. Updates

I’d now like to share some updates from the U.S.:

• The Forest Service’s Law Enforcement and Investigations office recently created an International Operations Division to investigate Lacey Act crimes involving wood products exported from (or imported into) the United States and other crimes affecting the administration of Forest System lands. This expansion strengthens our subject matter expertise to combat timber trafficking and related crimes.
• The changes at the Forest Service complement the work of Homeland Security Investigations’ Natural Resources and Extractive Commodities Section which is responsible for addressing the exploitation of natural resources by transnational criminal organizations in violation of U.S. Customs law. Leveraging its network of domestic and international field offices, as well as robust partnerships abroad, Homeland Security Investigations employs a comprehensive approach to disrupt the illicit timber supply chain from point of origin to destination. 

Within the Department of Justice, we have undertaken a historic restructuring to aggressively target international trade violations:

• In April 2026, the Department of Justice created the Fraud Enforcement Division to investigate and prosecute fraud, including a new task force focused on importers. 
• This task force coordinates with our economy’s interagency Timber Interdiction Membership Board and Enforcement Resources Working Group to aggressively enforce against timber trafficking, and support our global partners.
• Both the trade fraud task force and the TIMBER working group are eager to share information and best practices with APEC economies on enforcement of forestry laws. They can also receive investigative leads and take action as appropriate.

On the enforcement front, I am pleased to announce two recent U.S. Department of Justice criminal actions involving illegal timber, which foreign law enforcement partners supported. 

• First, Boise Cascade Company pleaded guilty to a felony Lacey Act violation for its role in a timber trafficking scheme to evade countervailing and anti-dumping duties. The company must pay a criminal fine of $6.4 million, representing twice the gross profits it derived from the illegal wood it sold, and implement a compliance plan. 
• Second, Sunseeker International Ltd pleaded guilty to two violations of the Lacey Act for using illegally obtained Burmese Teak on yachts that it imported into the United States. The United Kingdom provided evidence for the investigation. Sunseeker is scheduled to be sentenced next month. 

On the trade side, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative continues to successfully negotiate reciprocal trade agreements with commitments to combat, and cooperate to prevent, illegal logging and associated trade — including with Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, among other economies. These agreements illustrate our shared commitments to use trade policy to keep illegal timber out of the global supply chain.

Partnerships:

The United States is committed to working with our partner economies as well as industry and NGOs to combat illegal logging and associated trade. 

On Earth Day, I hosted a roundtable that brought together the TIMBER Working Group, federal agencies, wood industry associations, and NGOs to raise awareness of the growing importance of timber trafficking investigations. Such engagements help to bolster the network of partners addressing this problem. 

The United States is also engaging APEC economies to enhance our collaboration on enforcement of forestry laws. Here are two recent examples.

• In May, in partnership with our colleagues from Viet Nam, the United States convened a first-of-its-kind workshop in Gabon, which included Cameroon as well as a representative from the United Kingdom. Officials, industry, and NGOs from harvest, producer, transit, and consumer economies all participated in the workshop to combat illegal logging and associated trade and promote legal trade. 
• In June, the United States and Indonesia completed a three-part counter timber and wildlife trafficking workshop series for civil society organizations, independent forest monitors, law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges. This workshop provided valuable insight into how each of our systems functions and areas where greater collaboration would make the most impact. 

We plan to continue these efforts and welcome your input. The United States recently proposed an APEC project to enhance the capacity of APEC members to interdict the illegal trade of timber and timber products. We appreciate the co-sponsorship of Canada, Chile, New Zealand, and Viet Nam for this project. We also thank China for its endorsement. Looking ahead, we also hope to work with all of you to stand up a timber-focused law enforcement network within APEC.

Closing

In closing, once again I want to thank China for hosting this meeting. I have truly enjoyed engaging with you over the past two days and look forward to continued collaborations with all APEC colleagues. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, other members of the U.S. delegation, or U.S. embassy counterparts in your countries to continue the conversation. Xièxiè.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Justice Department announced today that a federal court has entered a stipulated order against Amazon.com Inc., in a case investigated and referred to the Department by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The order resolves allegations that Amazon violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and it requires Amazon to pay a $2.25 million civil penalty and follow practices that protect consumers whose identities have been stolen. 

In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the government alleged that Amazon violated FCRA by failing to provide identity theft victims with requested records of transactions involving people believed to have fraudulently used those victims’ identification, and by failing to provide those records within 30 days of a request. The court’s stipulated order resolving the case imposes a $2.25 million civil penalty and requires Amazon to provide its records of transactions alleged to have been the result of identity theft to victims who request them, free of charge within 30 days of the request, subject to verification of the victim’s identity and claim of identity theft. Amazon must also post a notice to its website informing identity theft victims of how they can request those records.

“Consumers whose identities have been stolen should not face unnecessary red tape when they investigate how their identities were misused and seek to clear their names,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will continue working with the Federal Trade Commission to protect identity theft victims.”

The United States is represented in this action by Assistant Directors Lory D. Alexander and Zachary A. Dietert from the Enforcement Section of the Civil Division’s Enforcement and Affirmative Litigation Branch, in coordination with staff from the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. 

For more information about the Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch and its enforcement efforts visit www.justice.gov/civil/enforcement-affirmative-litigation-branch.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

An Ohio man pleaded guilty yesterday to laundering approximately $3.4 million in illicit health care fraud proceeds through multiple regional banks on behalf of a transnational criminal organization (Organization). 

According to court documents, Eldar Zarbavel, 45, of Pepper Pike, Ohio, was a money launderer for the foreign-based Organization that spearheaded the largest health care fraud case ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice, as uncovered by Operation Gold Rush. The Organization, based in Russia and elsewhere, orchestrated a multi-billion-dollar health care fraud and money laundering scheme to target, exploit, and steal from Medicare and private health insurance companies. 

To date, 35 individuals have been charged as part of Operation Gold Rush. Zarbavel is the 16th individual to be convicted for his role in the scheme. 

As alleged in charging documents, the Organization exploited the United States’ financial system by depositing insurance reimbursement checks from the fraud. The health care fraud proceeds were particularly susceptible to laundering because they originated from legitimate sources — Medicare and established private insurance carriers — giving the funds the initial appearance of legitimacy. To gain access to the United States’ financial system, the Organization deployed a range of tactics to circumvent internal controls at multiple banks and in some cases coordinated directly with associates employed at the banks.

As further alleged, to open financial accounts, the Organization armed its nominee owners with false sale documentation and false corporate registration documents. This documentation falsely reflected that the nominee owners maintained beneficial ownership and control of various fraudulent durable medical equipment (DME) companies. This disguised the true beneficial ownership and control of the companies and the financial accounts. Upon opening the financial accounts, the Organization funneled fraud proceeds from Medicare and other legitimate health care insurers into the accounts as seemingly “clean” money. From there, the Organization siphoned off the funds to shell companies and various banks overseas.

Zarbavel facilitated a critical element of the transnational scheme by opening bank accounts in Northeast Ohio for Royce Medical Supply LLC, a Florida-based DME company. Between July 2022 and July 2024, the Organization submitted $1.42 billion in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and other health insurers through this DME company. While the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services suspended reimbursement on nearly all of these claims, some claims were paid. Between June and July of 2024, Zarbavel, at the direction of members of the Organization, facilitated the deposit, transfer, and withdrawal of approximately $3.4 million in fraud proceeds for the benefit of the Organization. 

Zarbavel pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 16. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.   

Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division; Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert for the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan of the FBI Detroit Field Office made the announcement.

HHS-OIG and FBI are investigating the case.

Assistant Chief Shankar Ramamurthy, Acting Assistant Chief Sara E. Porter, and Trial Attorneys Brant Cook and Leonid Sandlar of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports 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.

The Department of Justice’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion since 2007. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, 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: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, announced that KENNETH THOM, a/k/a “K$,” a/k/a “K Money,” was sentenced Tuesday, August 11, by U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos to two years in prison for investment adviser fraud. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Ocala, Florida – Corbit Sterling Earvin (47, Ocala) has been charged by indictment with six counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, Earvin faces a minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison on each count. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Ocala, Florida – Pattreon Stokes (35, Summerfield) has been charged by indictment with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, Stokes faces an enhanced minimum penalty of 25 years, up to life, in federal prison due to having two or more qualifying prior convictions for serious drug felony offenses. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Pensacola, Florida – Anthony Bernard Allen, 54, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, has been indicted in federal court on one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance involving more than 500 grams of cocaine and more than 28 grams of cocaine base; one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; and one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance involving less than 500 grams of cocaine. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BOSTON – The Mayor of Lawrence, Mass. was arrested and charged today with fraudulently obtaining over $1.5 million in COVID small-business loans and using the proceeds to fund his campaign account, pay personal taxes, and pay off over $880,000 in high-interest, hard-money mortgages that encumbered various properties he owned in Lawrence.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

MACON, Ga. – U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes today announced a 54-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury this week charging a Georgia woman with allegedly defrauding at least 26 people, mostly self-employed truck drivers, in a tax scheme as part of an ongoing National Fraud Enforcement Division investigation led by the FBI and the IRS.