https://www.ice.gov/ ICE Headline News Feed by Category en Copyright 2022 Wed, 22 Mar 2023 00:57:14 -0400 Thu, 09 Mar 2023 14:52:52 -0500 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/arizona-man-accused-fraud-forgery-and-theft-involving-federal-paycheck-protection On Jan. 30, the grand jury indicted Randy Steven Kaas on 14 counts, including fraudulent schemes and artifices, forgery and theft in Maricopa County Superior Court. The charges are related to $3,715,276.50 in federal Paycheck Protection Program loans. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/arizona-man-accused-fraud-forgery-and-theft-involving-federal-paycheck-protection Thu, 09 Mar 2023 14:52:52 -0500 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/maryland-man-admits-13-million-covid-19-relief-fraud-scheme Gladstone Njokem, 36, pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft on Feb. 3, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $1.3 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act unemployment insurance benefits.   https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/maryland-man-admits-13-million-covid-19-relief-fraud-scheme Thu, 09 Feb 2023 14:16:02 -0500 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/houston-area-man-convicted-role-35m-covid-19-relief-fraud-scheme A federal jury convicted Abdul Fatani, 57, of Richmond, Texas, of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of unlawful monetary transactions (money laundering). https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/houston-area-man-convicted-role-35m-covid-19-relief-fraud-scheme Thu, 09 Feb 2023 09:10:07 -0500 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/phoenix-man-sentenced-importing-counterfeit-n95-masks-asia-following-hsi-phoenix Mark Forrest Cohn, 68, of Chandler, Arizona, was sentenced on Dec. 21, 2022, by United States District Judge David G. Campbell; Cohn pleaded guilty to one felony count of Entry of Goods by Means of False Statements. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/phoenix-man-sentenced-importing-counterfeit-n95-masks-asia-following-hsi-phoenix Tue, 03 Jan 2023 18:04:30 -0500 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/pastors-defunct-church-plead-guilty-covid-19-car-loan-fraud-following-hsi-houston William “Bill” Dexter Lucas, 60, and Deborah Jean Lucas, 64, both of Bryan, Texas, pleaded guilty Dec. 8. Brian Corpian, 45, of Houston, entered his plea Dec. 2. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/pastors-defunct-church-plead-guilty-covid-19-car-loan-fraud-following-hsi-houston Fri, 09 Dec 2022 12:43:31 -0500 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/san-diego-businessmen-sanitation-company-plead-guilty-fraud-illegal-pesticides-sales On Dec. 1, Integral Hygienic Solutions, Inc., a La Mesa-based sanitation company doing business as TruClean, pleaded guilty in federal court to defrauding customers by falsely claiming that its antimicrobial cleaning product was tested and approved by the EPA. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/san-diego-businessmen-sanitation-company-plead-guilty-fraud-illegal-pesticides-sales Fri, 02 Dec 2022 15:43:02 -0500 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/vista-man-receives-nearly-5-year-prison-sentence-pandemic-relief-benefit-fraud As early as July and August 2020, Darris Cotton submitted at least 16 fraudulent applications for unemployment using other people’s names, dates of birth, and social security numbers. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/vista-man-receives-nearly-5-year-prison-sentence-pandemic-relief-benefit-fraud Thu, 22 Sep 2022 08:14:03 -0400 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-clarifies-facility-operational-status-social-visitation-across-ero-detention Facility status and interventions for COVID-19 management are based on determinations by, and in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidance on Prevention and Management of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Correctional and Detention Facilities. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-clarifies-facility-operational-status-social-visitation-across-ero-detention Wed, 24 Aug 2022 13:36:45 -0400 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-issues-notice-proposed-rulemaking-seeks-public-comment-employment-eligibility ICE is proposing creating a framework under which the Secretary of Homeland Security could authorize alternative options for document examination procedures associated with the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The notice of proposed rulemaking is seeking input from the public regarding making permanent some of the current COVID-19 pandemic-related flexibilities to examine employees’ identity and employment authorization documents for the Form I-9. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-issues-notice-proposed-rulemaking-seeks-public-comment-employment-eligibility Fri, 19 Aug 2022 14:26:39 -0400 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-hsi-task-force-busts-2-million-unemployment-fraud-scheme The lead defendant is 37-year-old Natalie Le Demola. She is currently serving a life prison sentence after she was convicted in 2005 of first-degree murder. 32-year-old Carleisha Neosha Plummer of Los Angeles is also charged. She was a close associate of Demola in prison until she was paroled in July 2020. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-hsi-task-force-busts-2-million-unemployment-fraud-scheme Thu, 19 May 2022 17:16:22 -0400 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/gilbert-man-sentenced-prison-ppp-fraud-following-ice-hsi-investigation James Theodore Polzin, 48, of Gilbert, Arizona, pleaded guilty in October 2021. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/gilbert-man-sentenced-prison-ppp-fraud-following-ice-hsi-investigation Tue, 12 Apr 2022 12:00:42 -0400 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/hsi-baltimore-led-investigation-leads-seizure-domain-name-purporting-be-website-us The seized website was purporting to be a resource for responding to COVID-19 from the Department of Labor. It also listed several fraudulent commercial contracts that individuals could bid on in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fraudulent domain purported to allow users to sign in with their business email and password in an attempt to steal business credentials that could have been utilized to illegally/surreptitiously access protected data. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/hsi-baltimore-led-investigation-leads-seizure-domain-name-purporting-be-website-us Fri, 28 Jan 2022 09:48:16 -0500 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-hsi-investigation-leads-3-vietnamese-residents-permanently-enjoined-operating In a complaint filed in August 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the government alleged that Thu Phan Dinh, Tran Khanh and Nguyen Duy Toan engaged in a wire fraud scheme designed to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic. The defendants operated more than 300 websites that fraudulently purported to sell products in the United States that became scarce during the pandemic, including hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-hsi-investigation-leads-3-vietnamese-residents-permanently-enjoined-operating Tue, 28 Dec 2021 16:35:29 -0500 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/9-phoenix-area-people-indicted-payment-protection-program-fraud Jason Coleman, 40, and Kimberly Coleman, 38, of Mesa, Arizona, made their initial appearance in federal court recently on a 62-count indictment charging them with Conspiracy, Bank Fraud, Wire Fraud, and Transactional Money Laundering. A federal grand jury previously indicted the Colemans and seven other individuals in connection with a fraudulent scheme to obtain approximately $23 million in PPP loans. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/9-phoenix-area-people-indicted-payment-protection-program-fraud Fri, 17 Dec 2021 07:10:56 -0500 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/4-houston-area-men-charged-35m-covid-19-relief-fraud-scheme Hamza Abbas, 29, Khalid Abbas, 55, Abdul Fatani, 55, all of Richmond; and Syed Ali, 53, of Sugar Land, are set to make their initial appearances Dec. 16 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew M. Edison. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/4-houston-area-men-charged-35m-covid-19-relief-fraud-scheme Wed, 15 Dec 2021 17:20:24 -0500 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-announces-extension-i-9-compliance-flexibility-3 This extension will continue to apply the guidance previously issued for employees hired on or after April 1, 2021, and work exclusively in a remote setting due to COVID-19-related precautions. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-announces-extension-i-9-compliance-flexibility-3 Wed, 15 Dec 2021 17:14:33 -0500 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/los-angeles-area-man-sentenced-more-4-years-prison-scheming-fraudulently-obtain-18 Hassan Kanyike, 30, of Santa Clarita, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips, who also ordered him to pay a $20,000 fine and $1,302,550 in restitution to the SBA and four victim lenders. Kanyike pleaded guilty on March 29 to one count of wire fraud. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/los-angeles-area-man-sentenced-more-4-years-prison-scheming-fraudulently-obtain-18 Mon, 15 Nov 2021 08:50:58 -0500 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/maryland-man-pleads-guilty-fraud-scheme-purporting-sell-covid-19-vaccines Odunayo “Baba” Oluwalade, age 25, of Windsor Mill, Maryland, pleaded guilty Oct. 29 to a federal wire fraud conspiracy in connection with a scheme purporting to sell COVID-19 vaccines by fraudulently replicating the website of a biotech company that has an authorized COVID-19 vaccine. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/maryland-man-pleads-guilty-fraud-scheme-purporting-sell-covid-19-vaccines Tue, 02 Nov 2021 11:49:44 -0400 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/los-angeles-area-man-sentenced-nearly-3-12-years-federal-prison-scheming-fraudulently Andranik Amiryan, 42, was sentenced late Thursday afternoon by U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee, who also ordered him to pay $650,600 in restitution. Amiryan pleaded guilty on April 28 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/los-angeles-area-man-sentenced-nearly-3-12-years-federal-prison-scheming-fraudulently Fri, 24 Sep 2021 16:15:07 -0400 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/hsi-and-maryland-us-attorneys-office-seize-2-domain-names-attempting-impersonate The fraudulent websites allegedly offer a number of drugs for sale for the experimental and unapproved treatment or prevention of COVID-19. Instead, the domains were allegedly used to collect the personal information of individuals visiting the sites in order to use their information for nefarious purposes, including fraud, phishing attacks and/or deployment of malware. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/hsi-and-maryland-us-attorneys-office-seize-2-domain-names-attempting-impersonate Thu, 22 Jul 2021 15:01:23 -0400 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/orange-county-man-arrested-charges-alleging-he-fraudulently-obtained-5-million-covid Mustafa Qadiri, 38, of Irvine, was named in a federal grand jury indictment returned Wednesday charging him with four counts of bank fraud, four counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and six counts of money laundering. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/orange-county-man-arrested-charges-alleging-he-fraudulently-obtained-5-million-covid Fri, 07 May 2021 17:46:01 -0400 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/hsi-investigation-leads-seizure-9th-fraudulent-website-seeking-capitalize-covid-19 According to the affidavit filed in support of the seizure, the HSI Intellectual Property Rights Center (“IPRC”) and the HSI Cyber Crimes Center (“C3”) discovered an apparent fraudulent website, named “freevaccinecovax.org.” A domain analysis conducted by HSI indicated the domain name was created on April 27, 2021, using an IP address located in Strasbourg. The registrant country was listed as Russia. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/hsi-investigation-leads-seizure-9th-fraudulent-website-seeking-capitalize-covid-19 Mon, 03 May 2021 10:01:33 -0400 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/hsi-investigated-wisconsin-man-cares-act-access-device-frauds Ahmad Kanan, 49, Madison, Wisconsin was sentenced 42 months in federal prison and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $147,060. Kanan committed the CARES Act Fraud while under indictment and awaiting trial in the access device fraud case. He pleaded guilty in both cases on October 2, 2020. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/hsi-investigated-wisconsin-man-cares-act-access-device-frauds Fri, 23 Apr 2021 16:13:57 -0400 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-hsi-marks-anniversary-operation-stolen-promise-48m-covid-19-fraud-proceeds-212m ICE HSI marks the one-year anniversary of the announcement of Operation Stolen Promise, the ongoing operation protecting the United States from COVID-19 related crime. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-hsi-marks-anniversary-operation-stolen-promise-48m-covid-19-fraud-proceeds-212m Fri, 16 Apr 2021 09:55:37 -0400 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19 https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/hsi-investigation-results-seizure-3-domain-names-purporting-be-biotechnology-company According to the affidavits filed in support of these seizures, these investigations began in March 2021. Homeland Security Investigations and the National Intellectual Property Rights Center received notification of two fraudulent websites, “genobioscience.com” and “healthbridgescience.com.” The third site, “global-pandemic-vaccines.com,” was discovered by Homeland Security Investigations’ Cyber Crimes Center (C3) during ongoing investigations for malicious websites. The cases were referred to HSI Baltimore for investigation. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/hsi-investigation-results-seizure-3-domain-names-purporting-be-biotechnology-company Wed, 07 Apr 2021 13:34:58 -0400 ICE Headline News Feed by Category - Covid-19