|
For Immediate Release
August 21, 2009
|
Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
|
FBI’s Top Ten News Stories for the Week Ending August 21, 2009
1. FBI Headquarters: FBI Responds to Decision to Release Abdel Basset Mohamed al-Megrahi
A statement was issued by FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III regarding the decision of the Scottish Executive to release Abdel Basset Mohamed al-Megrahi from prison. Megrahi was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for his role in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which blew up over Scotland on December 21, 1988. Full Story
2. Detroit: Clinic Owner and Patient Recruiter Plead Guilty in $15 Million Fraud Scheme
Miami residents Jose and Arnaldo Rosario pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program of approximately $15.3 million. Full Story
3. Atlanta: Lawyer Sentenced for Operating a $40 Million Ponzi Scheme
Robert P. Copeland was sentenced to serve over 10 years in federal prison on a charge of wire fraud related to a $40 million investment fraud scheme. Full Story
4. Los Angeles: Five Sentenced for Forcing Guatemalans to Work as Prostitutes
Five members of an extended family were sentenced terms in federal prison ranging from 30 to 40 years for their roles in an international sex trafficking ring that lured young Guatemalan women and girls to the Los Angeles area and forced them into prostitution. Full Story
5. San Diego: Two Contractors Plead Guilty to Bribing SPAWAR Official
Elizabeth Ramos and her husband, Louis Williams, pled guilty to wire fraud in connection with the continuing corruption prosecution involving Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR). They admitted paying Gary and Kelly Alexander in return for Gary Alexander using his influence as a SPAWAR official to ensure that Ramos’ and Williams’ company, Technical Logistics Corporation, be hired to perform work under government contracts. Full Story
6. Atlanta: Georgia Man Sentenced to Prison for Sending Terroristic Threats to FBI
Michael Robert DeJong was sentenced to one year in federal prison for using the Internet to threaten to destroy FBI buildings by fire or explosives. DeJong was previously convicted for threatening the United States Secret Service. Full Story
7. Kansas City: California Man Pleads Guilty to $12.6 Million Mortgage Fraud Conspiracy
Jerome Shade Howard pled guilty to his role in a $12.6 million mortgage fraud conspiracy that involved 25 upscale residential properties. Howard admitted that he received more than $900,000 in illegal kickbacks as part of nearly $8.5 million in fraudulent mortgage loans. Full Story
8. New York: Federal and Local Government Employees Charged for Operating Illegal Gambling Ring
Nine individuals, including current and former employees of the United States Postal Service, Metropolitan Transit Authority, and the City of New York Department of Sanitation were arrested and charged with operating an illegal gambling business out of various workplaces including government facilities. A tenth individual was previously arrested in a related case. Full Story
9. San Francisco: Former Taiwanese Executive Indicted in Price-Fixing Conspiracy
Wen Jun (Tony) Cheng, a former assistant vice president of sales and marketing for a large Taiwanese company, was indicted for participating in a global conspiracy to fix prices of CDTs, a type of cathode ray tube used in computer monitors and other specialized applications. Cheng allegedly conspired with unnamed co-conspirators to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing prices, reducing output, and allocating market shares of CDTs. Full Story
10. New York: U.S. Army Captain Charged with Accepting Bribes While Stationed in Iraq
U.S. Army Captain Bryant Williams was charged in an indictment for allegedly steering more than $500,000 in U.S. Army contracts to favored contractors in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars in bribe payments while he was stationed in Baghdad, Iraq. Full Story
