ReportWire

Tag: Corporate crime

  • Feds charge 4 in multistate SNAP fraud case

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    BOSTON — Federal authorities have charged several men in a more than $1 million multistate SNAP fraud and stolen identity case and are blaming Massachusetts officials for failing to report the scheme.

    U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley announced on Tuesday that four people, including two Venezuelan nationals, stole more than $440,000 in Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits and fraudulently claimed more than $700,000 in pandemic unemployment benefits from Massachusetts, New York and several other states.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Former First Brands CEO Patrick James and his brother are indicted for bilking billions from banks

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    Patrick James, the former CEO of bankrupt auto parts supplier First Brands Group, was indicted on federal fraud charges and arrested Thursday in Ohio with his brother Edward, a former senior executive with the company, the government said

    Patrick James, the former CEO of bankrupt auto parts supplier First Brands Group, was indicted on federal fraud charges and arrested Thursday in Ohio with his brother Edward, a former senior executive with the company, the government said.

    The indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York said the James brothers “perpetrated a yearslong fraud” to obtains billions of dollars for First Brands — and millions for themselves — by duping investors and banks with fake documents and false financial reports.

    When it filed for bankruptcy protection in September, officials representing First Brands said the company had more than $9 billion in debt and only $12 million in cash, according to Thursday’s charging documents.

    After changing its name to First Brands from Crowne Group about five years ago, the Cleveland company began buying and then cobbling together a number of aftermarket auto parts manufacturers through debt-financed deals. Acquisitions by First Brands included well-known industry brands like Fram filters, Autolite sparkplugs and Anco windshield wiper blades.

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  • German prosecutors will drop investigation of Russian magnate Usmanov upon payment of $11M fine

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    BERLIN — German prosecutors say they will drop an investigation of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, over possible breaches of sanctions and money laundering rules after he agreed to pay a 10 million euro (about $11.8 million) fine.

    The Uzbekistan-born Russian billionaire and metals magnate, who was reelected as the president of the International Fencing Federation last year, has been facing European Union sanctions imposed after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

    The Munich prosecutors office said Tuesday the probe of Usmanov, which prompted police raids of dozens of properties in Germany linked to him three years ago, will be dropped upon receipt of payment of the fine.

    Some funds and assets linked to Usmanov had been frozen under the EU sanctions.

    Prosecutors said Usmanov was suspected of transferring about 1.5 million euros through foreign-based companies for management of two properties in the lakeside town of Rottach-Egern south of Munich, in the months after the sanctions were imposed.

    He was also alleged to have failed to declare valuables including jewelry, paintings and wines to authorities. Usmanov’s defense team had challenged the allegations about his ties to the companies and valuables and the applicability of EU law in the case.

    The prosecutors said the discontinuation of the investigation upon payment of a fine was authorized under German criminal law.

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  • Miami Heat’s Terry Rozier asks judge to throw out betting charges

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    NEW YORK — Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier ’s lawyers are asking a judge to throw out sports gambling charges that have kept him off the court this season, arguing that the government overreached by turning a private dispute over bettors’ use of non-public information into a federal case.

    In a motion to dismiss made public on Tuesday, Rozier’s lawyers argued that the government’s theory of the case — that he prevented sportsbooks from making informed decisions about accepting certain bets — runs afoul of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the federal wire fraud statute.

    Rozier, 31, is accused of helped gamblers cash in by tipping off a friend that he would leave a March 2023 game early because of a supposed injury. The friend, Deniro “Niro” Laster, who is also charged, shared or sold the information to others, who placed more than $250,000 in prop bets, prosecutors said.

    “The government has billed this case as involving ‘insider betting’ and ‘rigging’ professional basketball games,” Rozier’s lawyers, James M. Trusty and A. Jeff Ifrah, wrote in the motion. “But the indictment alleges something less headline-worthy: that some bettors broke certain sportsbooks’ terms of use against wagering based on non-public information and ‘straw betting.’”

    Rozier was on the Charlotte Hornets at the time and the information about his early exit was not listed on the team’s injury report, nor was it shared with the public or the sportsbooks that accept wagers on NBA games and player performances, prosecutors said.

    Rozier pleaded not guilty in federal court in Brooklyn on Dec. 8 to wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges. He was released on $3 million bond and is due back in court for a hearing before U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall on March 3.

    His charges were part of a sweep of more than 30 other people in a takedown of two sprawling gambling operations: one that authorities said leaked inside information about NBA athletes and another involving rigged, Mafia-backed poker games.

    The charges have raised questions about the integrity of NBA games in an era of legalized betting and myriad prop bets, prompting the league to tweak its injury reporting requirements.

    A message seeking comment on Rozier’s motion to dismiss the case was left for federal prosecutors.

    In the motion, Rozier’s lawyers wrote that under the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in United States v. Ciminelli, prosecutors can’t make a wire fraud case out of allegations that defendants conspired to deprive a person — or, in this case, sportsbooks — of the right to information needed to make discretionary economic decisions.

    They also questioned whether federal prosecutors have the authority to bring such a case, since sportsbooks are regulated at the state level, not the federal level.

    “This is not to say that sports betting platforms are without recourse when their terms of use are violated — they can void bets, pursue civil remedies, or seek state prosecutor involvement,” Trusty and Ifrah wrote in the motion, which was dated Dec. 12 but only posted to the case docket on Tuesday. “But Ciminelli puts to rest the notion that federal prosecutors are here to enforce contractual agreements between bettors and platforms.”

    Rozier has earned about $160 million over a 10-year NBA career. He was a first-round pick for the Boston Celtics in 2015 after starring at the University of Louisville. Charlotte traded him to the Heat last year.

    In the game in question, Rozier played the first nine minutes and 36 seconds against the New Orleans Pelicans before leaving, citing a foot issue. He did not play again that season.

    Rozier’s lawyers noted that the indictment does not allege that he ever placed a bet on any NBA game, nor does it allege that he knew Laster intended to sell his tip to others or that using it to place wagers would violate the sportsbooks’ terms of service. And, they said, he really was injured.

    “The government’s cynicism as to whether Mr. Rozier was injured is belied by a variety of witnesses and medical professionals who were aware of Rozier’s injury, in many cases before the Pelicans game,” Trusty and Ifrah wrote.

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  • Oklahoma Black Lives Matter leader indicted for fraud, money laundering

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    OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal grand jury indicted the leader of the Black Lives Matter movement in Oklahoma City over allegations that millions of dollars in grant funds were improperly spent on international trips, groceries and personal real estate, prosecutors announced Thursday.

    Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, 52, was indicted earlier this month on 20 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering, court records show.

    Court records do not indicate the name of Dickerson’s attorney, and messages left Thursday at her mobile number and by email were not immediately returned.

    According to the indictment, Dickerson served since at least 2016 as the executive director of Black Lives Matter OKC, which accepted charitable donations through its affiliation with the Arizona-based Alliance for Global Justice.

    In total, BLM OKC raised more than $5.6 million dating back to 2020, largely from online donors and national bail funds that were supposed to be used to post bail for individuals arrested in connection with racial justice protests after the killing of George Floyd by a Minnesota police officer in 2020, the indictment alleges.

    When those bail funds were returned to BLM OKC, the indictment alleges, Dickerson embezzled at least $3.15 million into her personal accounts and then used the money to pay for trips to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, retail shopping, at least $50,000 in food and grocery deliveries for herself and her children, a personal vehicle, and six properties in Oklahoma City deeded to her or to a company she controlled.

    The indictment also alleges she submitted false annual reports to the alliance stating that the funds were used only for tax-exempt purposes.

    If convicted, Dickerson faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count of wire fraud and 10 years in prison and fines for each count of money laundering.

    In a live video posted on her Facebook page Thursday afternoon, Dickerson said she was not in custody and was “fine.”

    “I cannot make an official comment about what transpired today,” she said. “I am home. I am safe. I have confidence in our team.”

    “A lot of times when people come at you with these types of things … it’s evidence that you are doing the work,” she continued. “That is what I’m standing on.”

    The Black Lives Matter movement first emerged in 2013 after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida. But it was the 2014 death of Michael Brown at the hands of police in Ferguson, Missouri, that made the slogan “Black lives matter” a rallying cry for progressives and a favorite target of derision for conservatives.

    The Associated Press reported in October that the Justice Department was investigating whether leaders in the Black Lives Matter movement defrauded donors who contributed tens of millions of dollars during racial justice protests in 2020. There was no immediate indication that Dickerson’s indictment is connected to that probe.

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  • Network that trafficked stolen antiquities across Europe dismantled with 35 arrests

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    SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Law enforcement agencies working across several countries dismantled a sophisticated criminal network trafficking stolen cultural goods across Europe, Bulgarian authorities said Thursday.

    A coordinated operation spanning seven countries working with Eurojust and Europol led to the arrest of 35 suspects linked to a smuggling ring that was attempting to sell thousands of ancient artifacts stolen from museums across Europe. Around 20 people face charges of antiquities trafficking and money laundering, Bulgarian Prosecutor Angel Kanev told a news briefing.

    Kanev said the criminal group has been operating in Western Europe, the Balkans, the United States and other countries for over 16 years. The money laundering investigation has so far identified over $1 billion in illicit funds.

    On Wednesday, judicial and law enforcement authorities from Albania, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom executed coordinated actions in their respective countries.

    According to a Europol news release, the operation included 131 searches of houses, vehicles and bank safes in those countries. More than 3,000 artifacts were seized, including antique golden and silver coins and other antiquities with an estimated value of over 100 million euros ($116 million). Other seized items included artworks, weapons, documents, electronic equipment, large amounts of cash, and investment gold.

    Paolo Befera, deputy head of the Italian Carabinieri’s specialized cultural heritage protection directorate, hailed the operation as “the largest of this manner ever conducted,” noting that in Italy alone, around 300 historical artifacts were seized from the alleged traffickers.

    The Balkan region and Italy — home to invaluable Greek and Roman archaeological treasures — have long attracted criminal networks engaged in looting and theft. Despite strict national laws, such artifacts remain highly sought-after on the international black market.

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  • Chinese ‘cryptoqueen’ who scammed thousands jailed in UK over Bitcoin stash worth $6.6 billion

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    LONDON (AP) — A Chinese woman who was found with 5 billion pounds ($6.6 billion) in Bitcoin after defrauding more than 128,000 people in China in a Ponzi scheme was sentenced by a U.K. court on Tuesday to over 11 years in prison.

    Police said the investigation into Zhimin Qian, 47, led to officers recovering devices holding 61,000 Bitcoin in the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the U.K.

    Qian, dubbed “cryptoqueen” by British media, was arrested in April 2024 after spending years evading the authorities and living an “extravagant” lifestyle in Europe, staying in luxury hotels across the continent and buying fine jewelry and watches, prosecutors said.

    Police said she ran a pyramid scheme that lured more than 128,000 people to invest in her business between 2014 and 2017, including many who invested their life savings and pensions. Authorities said she stored the illegally obtained funds in Bitcoin assets.

    When she attracted the attention of Chinese authorities, Qian fled to the U.K. under a fake identity. Once in London, police said she rented a “lavish” house for over 17,000 pounds ($23,000) per month, and tried but failed to buy multimillion pound properties in a bid to convert the Bitcoin.

    Investigators found notes Qian had written documenting her aspirations — including her “intention to become the monarch of Liberland, a self-proclaimed country consisting of a strip of land between Croatia and Serbia.”

    They said other notes showed Qian detailing her hopes of “meeting a duke and royalty.”

    Judge Sally-Ann Hales said Qian was the architect of the crimes from start to finish.

    “Your motive was one of pure greed. You left China without a thought for the people whose investments you had stolen and enjoyed for a period of time a lavish lifestyle. You lied and schemed, all the while seeking to benefit yourself,” Hales said.

    The businesswoman, who had pleaded guilty to money laundering offenses and transferring and possessing criminal property, was sentenced Tuesday to 11 years and eight months at Southwark Crown Court.

    She was sentenced alongside her accomplice Seng Hok Ling, 47, a Malaysian national who was accused of helping Qian transfer and launder the cryptocurrency. Ling was jailed at the same court for four years and 11 months after he pleaded guilty to one count of transferring criminal property.

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  • China’s ‘cryptoqueen’ jailed in UK over $6.6 billion Bitcoin scam

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    LONDON — A Chinese woman who was found with 5 billion pounds ($6.6 billion) in Bitcoin after defrauding more than 128,000 people in China in a Ponzi scheme was sentenced by a U.K. court on Tuesday to over 11 years in prison.

    Police said the investigation into Zhimin Qian, 47, led to officers recovering devices holding 61,000 Bitcoin in the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the U.K.

    Qian, dubbed “cryptoqueen” by British media, was arrested in April 2024 after spending years evading the authorities and living an “extravagant” lifestyle in Europe, staying in luxury hotels across the continent and buying fine jewelry and watches, prosecutors said.

    Police said she ran a pyramid scheme that lured more than 128,000 people to invest in her business between 2014 and 2017, including many who invested their life savings and pensions. Authorities said she stored the illegally obtained funds in Bitcoin assets.

    When she attracted the attention of Chinese authorities, Qian fled to the U.K. under a fake identity. Once in London, police said she rented a “lavish” house for over 17,000 pounds ($23,000) per month.

    Investigators found notes Qian had written documenting her aspirations — including her “intention to become the monarch of Liberland, a self-proclaimed country consisting of a strip of land between Croatia and Serbia.”

    The businesswoman, who had pleaded guilty to money laundering offenses and transferring and possessing criminal property, was sentenced Tuesday to 11 years and eight months at Southwark Crown Court.

    She was sentenced alongside her accomplice Seng Hok Ling, 47, a Malaysian national who was accused of helping Qian transfer and launder the cryptocurrency. Ling was jailed at the same court for four years and 11 months after he pleaded guilty to one count of transferring criminal property.

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  • Police/Fire

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    In news taken from the logs of Cape Ann’s police and fire departments:

    Rockport


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  • Police/Fire

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    In news taken from the logs of Cape Ann’s police and fire departments:

    Gloucester


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  • Trump Organization Expands in India, Where Many of Its Partners Face Accusations

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    GURUGRAM, India—When the Trump Organization in April announced another luxury real-estate project in India, Eric Trump gave a shout out to his local partners for helping accelerate the brand’s expansion.

    “We’re incredibly excited to launch our second project in Gurgaon,” Eric Trump, who runs day-to-day operations, using the former name for the city near New Delhi. “And even prouder to be doing it once again with our amazing partners.”

    Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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    Rory Jones

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  • School chief indicted for alleged kickback scheme in Illinois school district

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    ATLANTA — ATLANTA (AP) — The superintendent of Georgia’s third-largest school district has been indicted on federal charges alleging he ran a kickback scheme and stole money from his previous employer, a smaller school district in suburban Chicago.

    A federal grand jury in Chicago on Wednesday indicted Devon Horton, currently superintendent of the 93,000-student DeKalb County school district, on 17 counts including wire fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion. The indictment alleges the 48-year-old Horton issued more than $280,000 in contracts to three friends and received more than $80,000 in kickbacks from 2020 through 2023 while he was superintendent of the Evanston-Skokie school district. That district had 5,800 students in grades K-8 last year.

    Indicted along with Horton were three other men who prosecutors allege were part of the scheme: Antonio Ross, 48, of Chicago; Samuel Ross, 46 of Berwyn, Illinois; and Alfonzo Lewis, 48, of Chicago.

    A lawyer for Horton, Terry Campbell, said in a statement that Horton “is eager to address his case in court.” He added that the allegations “relate to conduct that is several years old and have nothing whatsoever to do with his very successful work on behalf of the students, families, and teachers in DeKalb County,” citing improved attendance rates, graduation rates and academic achievement in the Georgia district.

    Lawyers for Samuel Ross and Antonio Ross declined to comment. No lawyer was listed for Lewis in court records.

    The DeKalb County school board held an emergency meeting Thursday and suspended Horton with pay, naming Chief of Student Services Norman Sauce as acting superintendent. Board Chairperson Deirdre Pierce said in a statement that operations will “continue as normal” and that the district remains “focused on providing a safe, supportive, and high-quality educational experience for every student.”

    The DeKalb County board had extended Horton’s contract to 2028 in July and raised his salary to $360,000 a year.

    The indictment alleges that the four men created companies and billed for services they didn’t provide in order to bilk money from the Evanston-Skokie and Chicago school districts. In addition to $283,500 from Evanston-Skokie, the indictment alleges that Antonio Ross, then principal of Hyde Park Academy High School in Chicago, issued a fraudulent contract to a Horton-controlled company that netted Horton $10,000.

    Horton tried to hire Antonio Ross after Horton became superintendent in DeKalb County, but Ross declined the job amid questions about the business relationship between the two men. The DeKalb district hired at least four other people whom Horton previously worked with in Illinois or Louisville, Kentucky.

    Horton also faces charges that he stole more than $30,000 from the Evanston-Skokie district in 2022 and 2023 by using his district purchasing card to buy personal meals and gift cards and to pay for personal vehicle and travel expenses. Horton is also charged with tax evasion over allegations that he didn’t report the kickbacks and personal purchases on his income tax returns.

    Because of the large amount of money allegedly stolen and that fact that Horton was a public official, he could face more than 10 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines if convicted. Prosecutors are also seeking to have all four men forfeit the money in question.

    The leaders of the Evanston-Skokie school board, Sergio Hernandez and Nichole Pinkard, said in a statement that the district “has been aware of the ongoing investigation and has fully supported the process,” keeping it secret at the request of federal authorities.

    “We are deeply troubled and angered by these allegations,” they said.

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  • PBS ‘Masterpiece’ series ‘The Gold’ explores Britain’s biggest heist in history

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    NEW YORK — In 1983, six thieves muscled their way into a warehouse near Heathrow Airport, expecting to find a large sum of foreign currency. They got much more than they bargained for — 26 million pounds worth of gold bars.

    What happened in the days and years next is the subject of PBS’ “Masterpiece” enthralling series “The Gold,” which traces the ripple effects of Britain’s biggest robbery, going from a local search to infiltrating an international money laundering cartel. It starts airing Sunday.

    “From the minute the show starts, the pressure’s on,” says showrunner Neil Forsyth. “There’s a clock ticking, there’s a net tightening and all these things. So it’s lovely to write characters under that continual pressure.”

    The so-called Brinks-Mat heist rocked Britain, leading to changes in banking laws, policing and shining a light on official corruption. Much of the gold was never located. It was melted down and sold back into the financial system, with the proceeds laundered into real estate.

    “It’s literally in the bricks and mortar and the architecture that surrounds people everywhere,” says Emun Elliott, who plays one of the detectives. “There might be a piece of that stolen gold in your wedding ring. It is everywhere.”

    To tell the sprawling story of “The Gold,” Forsyth streamlined timelines, combined real-life figures and adjusted events to fit the drama. Viewers are told the series was “inspired by real events.”

    “It’s not a strict factual drama,” he says. “I don’t find that a very attractive route to go down creatively because I like having the space to create and that’s extremely important if you’re going to create something that’s truly entertaining, truly gripping.”

    One real person who is portrayed in the series is Brian Boyce, the principled and determined lead investigator, played by “Downton Abbey” star Hugh Bonneville.

    Boyce “was known to be a safe pair of hands,” says Bonneville, who met the retired officer to prepare for the role. Boyce knew some officers in the department were corrupt and picked a lean, insular team to track down the gold and money.

    “He absolutely was adamant that not on his watch would police corruption thrive,” Bonneville says. “He’s a real man of integrity and I think that comes through. You’ve got him against all odds trying to steer a level course and get this job done.”

    Forsyth says the series’ first episode attracted some 10 million viewers in the U.K. — or 1 in 5 of the adult population. He says he was in a restaurant with his wife once when the nearby table spent the whole meal discussing it, which was “somewhat unnerving.”

    Forsyth was only 5 and living in Scotland at the time of what he calls the “iconic heist.” Despite its impact on British society, no one had pieced it all together in a dramatization or an all-encompassing documentary until now.

    It takes two seasons to unspool fully and has a soundtrack that features songs of the era by the likes of Echo & The Bunnymen, New Order, The Smiths and The Stranglers.

    Forsyth frames the robbery against large social forces that were clashing in then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s Britain — the rise of a new money class hoping to buy their way to the top versus the upper classes and aristocracy, determined to stop them.

    “This country doesn’t change,” says one old money character. “There is nothing the system likes more than those who take it on. That’s when it gets to show its strength.”

    Though Elliott plays a detective who has vowed to track down the missing gold, he knows the viewer may be switching allegiances while watching.

    “It’s like you kind of want them to get away with it and then the next episode maybe you want them to get caught,” he says. “That back and forth is just a thrilling kind of place to sit.”

    “The Gold” is all about greed, of course. It shows how legitimate people got sucked into money laundering, how banks were complicit and how 1980s hubris kept it going.

    “A big part of ‘The Gold’ story is people being out of their depth — people being overly ambitious and finding themselves out of the depth,” Forsyth says.

    That includes the robbers themselves, who suddenly had to find a way to move and cash in on 6,800 gold bars. They were stick-up guys now way out of their depths.

    “They just didn’t know what to do with the proceeds. They didn’t fit into this new world of money laundering and deregulation and the opportunities that it brought for criminality,” says Forsyth.

    “It was the greatest victory for traditional crime, but it was also kind of its funeral really, and it got replaced by something far murkier.”

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  • Former executive of Mars candy subsidiary pleads guilty to stealing $28M from company

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    BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A former executive for a subsidiary of candymaker Mars Inc. pleaded guilty Thursday to fraud and tax charges in connection with his theft of $28 million from the company, federal prosecutors said.

    Paul Steed, 58, appeared in federal court in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He also agreed to pay $28.4 million in restitution to Mars and owes another $10 million in back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut David Sullivan said in a statement.

    Steed, of Stamford, Connecticut, who is free on $5 million bail, did not immediately return messages left at phone numbers and emails listed for him in public records. His lawyer, former U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Deirdre Daly, did not immediately return phone and email messages Thursday.

    A dual U.S. and Argentine citizen, Steed was once a respected sugar market expert for Mars Wrigley, where his last position was global price risk manager. The company is a subsidiary of McLean, Virginia-based Mars Inc., the maker of M&M’s, Snickers, Skittles, Altoids mints and Doublemint gum, as well as other food products and pet food.

    A federal indictment accused him of stealing from Mars beginning in about 2013 through various schemes, including diverting funds to companies he set up. Steed sent the lion’s share of the stolen funds, more than $26 million, to one of his companies, MCNA LLC, which was created to mimic an actual Mars company, Mars Chocolate North America, prosecutors said.

    Authorities say they have seized more than $18 million from Steed’s bank accounts, and Steed has agreed to forfeit the money. The government is also seeking to liquidate a home in Greenwich, Connecticut, that Steed allegedly purchased using $2.3 million of the stolen cash. Prosecutors say Steed sent another $2 million to Argentina, where he has relatives and owns a ranch.

    Steed pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion. Sentencing is set for Dec. 9.

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  • Lawrence General, Holy Family hospitals rebrand with unified name

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    METHUEN — Across the Merrimack Valley, signs for three longtime health care institutions are coming down.

    On Tuesday, mayors, state legislators, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and other officials gathered outside Holy Family Hospital in Methuen to hear the new name for the medical facility and those for Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill and Lawrence General Hospital.


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    By Teddy Tauscher | ttauscher@eagletribune.com

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  • Backpage executives to be sentenced after testifying against site founder about the site’s sex ads

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    PHOENIX — Two former executives for the now-shuttered classified site Backpage.com are scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday in Phoenix for conspiring to facilitate prostitution by selling sex ads.

    A prosecutor has recommended five years of probation and restitution payments for former CEO Carl Ferrer and sales director Dan Hyer, both of whom pleaded guilty to conspiracy in 2018. The prosecutor said both men acknowledged their crimes and cooperated with authorities by testifying against a company founder during the 2023 trial.

    Backpage founder Michael Lacey was convicted of a single count of international concealment money laundering and sentenced to five years in prison and fined $3 million, though he remains free while he pursues an appeal. Chief financial officer John Brunst and executive vice president Scott Spear are each serving 10-year sentences for conspiracy and money laundering convictions.

    Prosecutors had argued that Backpage’s operators ignored warnings to stop running prostitution ads, some involving children. The operators were accused of giving free ads to sex workers and cultivating arrangements with others who worked in the industry to get them to post ads with the company.

    Backpage’s operators said they never allowed ads for sex and made an effort to try to delete such ads by assigning employees to remove them and creating automated tools. Their legal team maintained the content on the site was protected by the First Amendment.

    In pleading guilty, Ferrer acknowledged knowing a majority of Backpage’s revenues came from escort ads, conspiring to sanitize ads by removing photos and words that were indicative of prostitution and publishing a revised version of the notices.

    In sentencing memos, both the prosecutor and Ferrer’s attorneys say he helped shut down the site through his cooperation.

    His lawyers say Ferrer provided evidence linking defendants to the criminal enterprise and testified that Backpage’s increase in revenue stemmed mostly from prostitution.

    Hyer has previously participated in a scheme to give free ads to sex workers in a bid to draw them away from competitors and win over their future business.

    His attorney said her client is sincerely remorseful for his actions and contributed directly to the convictions of other defendants.

    Lacey’s first trial in 2021 ended in a mistrial when another judge concluded prosecutors had too many references to child sex trafficking in a case where no one faced such a charge.

    Before launching Backpage, Lacey founded the Phoenix New Times weekly newspaper with James Larkin, who was charged in the case and died by suicide in 2023 just before the second trial against Backpage’s operators was scheduled to begin.

    Lacey and Larkin held ownership interests in other weeklies such as The Village Voice and ultimately sold their newspapers in 2013. But they held onto Backpage, which authorities say generated $500 million in prostitution-related revenue from its inception in 2004 until 2018, when the government shut it down.

    A U.S. Government Accountability Office report released in June 2021 said the FBI’s ability to identify victims and sex traffickers had decreased significantly after Backpage was seized by the government, because law enforcement was familiar with the site and Backpage was generally responsive to requests for information.

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  • Backpage executives to be sentenced after testifying against site founder about the site’s sex ads

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    PHOENIX — Two former executives for the now-shuttered classified site Backpage.com are scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday in Phoenix for conspiring to facilitate prostitution by selling sex ads.

    A prosecutor has recommended five years of probation and restitution payments for former CEO Carl Ferrer and sales director Dan Hyer, both of whom pleaded guilty to conspiracy in 2018. The prosecutor said both men acknowledged their crimes and cooperated with authorities by testifying against a company founder during the 2023 trial.

    Backpage founder Michael Lacey was convicted of a single count of international concealment money laundering and sentenced to five years in prison and fined $3 million, though he remains free while he pursues an appeal. Chief financial officer John Brunst and executive vice president Scott Spear are each serving 10-year sentences for conspiracy and money laundering convictions.

    Prosecutors had argued that Backpage’s operators ignored warnings to stop running prostitution ads, some involving children. The operators were accused of giving free ads to sex workers and cultivating arrangements with others who worked in the industry to get them to post ads with the company.

    Backpage’s operators said they never allowed ads for sex and made an effort to try to delete such ads by assigning employees to remove them and creating automated tools. Their legal team maintained the content on the site was protected by the First Amendment.

    In pleading guilty, Ferrer acknowledged knowing a majority of Backpage’s revenues came from escort ads, conspiring to sanitize ads by removing photos and words that were indicative of prostitution and publishing a revised version of the notices.

    In sentencing memos, both the prosecutor and Ferrer’s attorneys say he helped shut down the site through his cooperation.

    His lawyers say Ferrer provided evidence linking defendants to the criminal enterprise and testified that Backpage’s increase in revenue stemmed mostly from prostitution.

    Hyer has previously participated in a scheme to give free ads to sex workers in a bid to draw them away from competitors and win over their future business.

    His attorney said her client is sincerely remorseful for his actions and contributed directly to the convictions of other defendants.

    Lacey’s first trial in 2021 ended in a mistrial when another judge concluded prosecutors had too many references to child sex trafficking in a case where no one faced such a charge.

    Before launching Backpage, Lacey founded the Phoenix New Times weekly newspaper with James Larkin, who was charged in the case and died by suicide in 2023 just before the second trial against Backpage’s operators was scheduled to begin.

    Lacey and Larkin held ownership interests in other weeklies such as The Village Voice and ultimately sold their newspapers in 2013. But they held onto Backpage, which authorities say generated $500 million in prostitution-related revenue from its inception in 2004 until 2018, when the government shut it down.

    A U.S. Government Accountability Office report released in June 2021 said the FBI’s ability to identify victims and sex traffickers had decreased significantly after Backpage was seized by the government, because law enforcement was familiar with the site and Backpage was generally responsive to requests for information.

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  • Notorious online soccer piracy network Streameast shut down, antipiracy group says

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    Notorious online soccer piracy network Streameast has been shut down after more than 1.6 billion visits in the past year, an antipiracy coalition announced Wednesday.

    The United States-based Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) said the shutdown was made in collaboration with Egyptian authorities.

    With its 80 associated domains, Streameast was the largest illicit live sports streaming operation in the world, ACE said.

    “Today, ACE scored a resounding victory in its fight to detect, deter, and dismantle criminal perpetrators of digital piracy: by taking down the largest illegal live sports platform anywhere,” ACE chairman Charles Rivkin said in the announcement.

    “With this landmark action, we have put more points on the board for sports leagues, entertainment companies, and fans worldwide,” added Rivkin, who also is chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association.

    Streameast offered users unauthorized access to matches across Europe’s top soccer leagues.

    Soccer piracy has skyrocketed over the last two decades with leagues selling their matches to high-priced pay-per-view and streaming services. Many leagues sell to more than one broadcaster — requiring fans to pay for multiple subscriptions.

    “Dismantling Streameast is a major victory for everyone who invests in and relies on the live sports ecosystem,” said Ed McCarthy, chief operating officer of the DAZN streaming group. “This criminal operation was siphoning value from sports at every level and putting fans across the world at risk. We commend the Egyptian authorities and ACE for their action.”

    In addition to soccer, Streameast provided access to sport-specific piracy sites for American sports like the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.

    Site traffic to the various domains originated primarily from the U.S., Canada, Britain, the Philippines and Germany, ACE said.

    All Streameast sites now redirect to the ACE “Watch Legally” page.

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    AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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  • Brazil’s crackdown on criminal links to fuel supply chain nets $220M in assets

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    SAO PAULO — SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil on Thursday said it seized 1.2 billion reais (about $220 million) in assets linked to a sprawling criminal network as part of a nationwide investigation into a money laundering scheme involving investment funds and the fuel sector.

    Officials executed 14 search and seizure warrants and 14 preventive arrest warrants, resulting in five arrests, in what Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski said was one of the largest operations against organized crime in the country’s history.

    Federal authorities did not name any specific individuals or companies targeted, citing sealed and ongoing investigations. However, state prosecutors in Sao Paulo, who contributed to the operation, said the scheme involved members of the First Capital Command crime syndicate, or PCC.

    Lewandowski said: “This operation addresses how criminal organizations have infiltrated and appropriated parts of the fuel industry, and how this connects to the financial sector through money laundering schemes.”

    Authorities identified 40 investment funds with a combined asset value of 30 billion reais (about $5.5 billion). These funds were allegedly used to shield assets for criminal organizations, holding properties such as a port terminal, four ethanol plants and about 1,000 gas stations across 10 Brazilian states. The fuel sector was chosen as a starting point by investigators into the criminal networks because it was the most visible one, they said.

    “People know how it has worked, but it took a national effort to reach the heart of the problem and be able to confront it,” Finance Minister Fernando Haddad told journalists.

    Andrea Chaves, deputy secretary for tax enforcement at the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service, said the investigation highlighted the “extremely serious” infiltration of organized crime into the real economy and financial markets.

    “This affects the entire supply chain — from fuel importation, production, distribution and commercialization,” Chaves said. “In the financial sector, it involves asset concealment and shielding, in schemes similar to the hiding of shareholders in offshore tax havens. The Brazilian state cannot allow this to happen.”

    Sao Paulo’s State Public Prosecutor’s Office said its investigation found that criminal organizations used adulterated fuel at more than 300 gas stations to launder illegal money through a complex network of intermediaries, including shell companies, investment funds and payment institutions.

    “A significant portion of the unbacked funds was used to acquire ethanol plants and expand the group’s criminal operations, which now include fuel distributors, transport companies and gas stations,” prosecutors said.

    The fraud also involved irregular imports of methanol through the Port of Paranagua, in Parana state. The methanol was not delivered to the recipients listed on invoices but instead sent to gas stations and distributors, where it was used to adulterate fuel.

    “Consumers were allegedly charged for less fuel than indicated by the pumps or received fuel that was chemically altered and failed to meet technical standards set by Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency,” prosecutors said.

    Nívio Nascimento, a foreign relations advisor at the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety — an independent group that tracks crime — said the operation marked a milestone in combating the infiltration of criminal organizations into strategic sectors of Brazil’s economy.

    “Enforcement still needs to be expanded, considering the centrality of these economic sectors — fuel, beverages, cigarettes and several other items — that have been appropriated by criminal organizations,” Nascimento told The Associated Press.

    PCC is Brazil’s biggest and most powerful organized crime group. It was founded in 1993 by hardened criminals inside Sao Paulo’s Taubate Penitentiary to pressure authorities to improve prison conditions. It quickly started using its power to direct drug dealing and extortion operations on the outside. Over the past few years, the gang has diversified their investment portfolios into various illicit markets.

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    Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

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  • The Treasury Department wants US banks to monitor for suspected Chinese money laundering networks

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    WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department wants U.S. financial institutions to monitor for suspected Chinese money laundering networks handling funds that are used to fuel the flood of fentanyl across American communities.

    An advisory Thursday to banks, brokers and others highlights how such operations are working with Mexican drug cartels.

    The Trump administration is calling on banks to flag certain customers who may fit a profile of people who could launder money for cartels. That could include Chinese nationals such as students, retirees and housewives with unexplained wealth, and those who refuse to provide information about the source of their money.

    The Treasury contends that many of these people unknowingly work with cartels to bypass Chinese currency controls that restrict the renminbi exchange rate through a system limiting the annual foreign currency conversion for individuals, which is about $50,000.

    It is not uncommon for Chinese individuals to evade such restrictions by turning to underground banks where their money is converted into foreign currencies, often U.S. dollars.

    The Chinese Embassy in Washington had no immediate comment Thursday.

    Also Thursday, the department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCen, released a report about how Chinese money laundering networks are expanding their ties beyond drug cartels. Financial institutions are increasingly filing suspicious activity reports on human trafficking and adult senior day care centers in New York that have become a vehicle for money laundering, according to the report.

    FinCen analyzed more than 137,000 Bank Secrecy Act reports from January 2020 to December 2024 that accounted for approximately $312 billion in total suspicious activity.

    Last year, law enforcement officials uncovered a complex partnership between Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and Chinese underground banking groups in the United States that laundered money $50 million from the sale of fentanyl, cocaine and other drugs, federal prosecutors said.

    The government’s instruction to banks to be more vigilant about Chinese students and other Chinese nationals comes as Republican President Donald Trump says he will allow 600,000 Chinese students into American universities.

    “I hear so many stories about ‘We are not going to allow their students,’ but we are going to allow their students to come in. We are going to allow it. It’s very important — 600,000 students,” Trump said during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in the Oval Office on Monday.

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    Associated Press writer Didi Tang contributed to this report.

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