$5.6 Billion Lost to Cryptocurrency Fraud in 2023

Evidence Response Teams need to know how to process scenes of all types to recover evidence. Three teams from field offices in Florida recently held a Regional Training Exercise (RTX) at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Cape Canaveral to practice how the Bureau would apply its expertise and resources to cases that involve space-related equipment and facilities.

The two-day exercise in July featured classroom instruction from NASA, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Space Force, National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration about a joint response to a manned space mishap investigation.

The second day’s agenda focused on a full-scale exercise integrating the three ERTs with specialty teams with surveying, laser scanner and drone capabilities to jointly process a post-blast scene of a mock ship-based drone attack on a Kennedy Space Center launch pad. The scenario included a Hazardous Evidence Response Team at the subject’s residence, a vehicle search and an Underwater Search Evidence Response Team deployment.

One of the smallest tribes in Oklahoma and one of the oldest in North America, the Delaware Nation, works to honor the traditions of the past while preparing the kids and teens there for a future of service and success. Over the past year, Delaware Nation President Deborah Dotson and FBI Oklahoma City Community Outreach Specialist Veronica Magrath have worked together to develop new ways to engage the kids in this quest.

This past summer, Dotson and Magrath partnered with the Anadarko Public Schools to recruit and host 20 middle school students for a three-day FBI Youth Academy. Together they developed the agenda and topics with a focus on helping the students learn to lead. The teens actively explored the worlds of criminal investigations and forensic sciences while also receiving age-appropriate lessons on violence prevention and cyber safety, particularly about the dangers of sextortion.

“It is important to educate our youth about all aspects of law enforcement at an early age. This FBI Youth Academy provided an opportunity for our area youth to interact, engage in one-on-one conversations, and develop a positive relationship with all the agents who assisted with the academy,” said Delaware Nation’s President Deborah Dotson.

Through hands-on activities, the students learned to properly collect evidence, interview people, and develop the necessary proof to charge someone under federal law. They also spent much of the three days learning how to solve a mock crime (a bank robbery!) and present their evidence to a “prosecutor.” Throughout this adventure, they were able to spend one-on-one time with FBI employees and mentors from the local FBI Citizens Academy Alumni Association (a separate 501c3 non-profit) to learn more about jobs in the Bureau and the power they – the students – have to shape their own futures.

"Tribal traditions are woven through the fabric of Oklahoma's history and culture, and the FBI is privileged to work with Native American communities to help protect our students," said Doug Goodwater, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oklahoma. "We are very thankful Delaware Nation helped the FBI work with tribes in the Anadarko region to support our recent youth academy."

While the kids had a great time and the chance to explore their future, the partnership between Delaware Nation and the FBI also has allowed the Bureau to address gaps in its ability to work effectively across the state. Through this one relationship, the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office will be able to extend a welcoming hand to many more tribal nations in the future.

If you are interested in learning more about student programs in your area, contact your nearest FBI field office.

Meeting with Director Wray in the Lincoln Room

• The Director welcomed all the chapter chairs and noted that he is committed to binding the past, present, and future of the FBI and having former Agents attend New Agent graduations is one way to do so.
• The number of applicants for the Special Agent position remains strong.
• When Director Wray visits field offices, the cases that are briefed to him are highlighted due to their complexity and impact and often have young highly skilled case agents

Partnerships

The Director commented that the FBI has excellent relationships with state and local law enforcement. He noted that FBI task forces have grown in number and size. Despite law enforcement having staffing problems universally, the FBI task forces have maintained their local and state task force officers as other departments want to continue their partnerships with the FBI. The FBI has approximately six thousand task force officers at the present time. Only through these partnerships is the FBI able to deal with the increasing threats to the United States. 

These partnerships are critical to other law enforcement agencies to deal with the criminal threats within their own communities and jurisdictions. He noted the FBI’s relationship with the private sector has gotten stronger past several years, for example, some Chief Executive Officers of corporations previously were reluctant to work with the FBI on threats involving their companies whereas now they are increasingly interested in partnering with the FBI to identify and combat threats.

Robert Courtney Release from Prison
 
The Director was asked about the upcoming prison release of Robert Courtney, a pharmacist who to increase his profit, had deliberately diluted chemotherapy drugs which were given to patients with cancer. Courtney had been investigated by the FBI in Kansas City and convicted. He was due to be released from prison under the First Step Act of 2018, which allows federal inmates to earn more good conduct time off and earn more time credits for participation in programs. Director Wray explained that Courtney’s criminal offenses were not categorized as one of the excluded offenses, so he was able to benefit from this law and obtain an early release. He noted that the FBI was writing a letter to the Bureau of Prisons protesting the release, due to loss of life that Courtney caused.

Threats from Foreign Adversaries
 
Director Wray spoke of the two Jordanians arrested after forcing their way onto a military base. He noted that Chinese nationals have been caught trying to get onto military bases and are denied entry, in what is believed to be tests of security at different bases in the country. Director Wray indicated the number of cyber cases the FBI is pursuing that originate in China is continuing to grow and include cases involving the theft of intellectual property. Many threats are blended national security and criminal issues.

The Director also spoke about the aggressive behavior of the Iranians and noted that they had targeted for murder in the United States a U.S. national security advisor. The FBI was able to thwart the attack. The FBI has initiated a threat mission center that is focused on Iranian activities. Iran remains the largest funder of state sponsored terrorism in the world and is a matter of particular concern.

Internet Crime Center (IC3) 
 
The number of phishing investigations has risen dramatically. The consolidation of all the attempts and criminal acts associated with internet crime has allowed law enforcement to be more effective in not only identifying and charging the bad actors, but they are now able to recover assets.

Field Office Liaison with the Chapters

Three of the chapter chairs told the Director that the outreach from their respective field offices has been tremendous. They explained that the fact that executives from the field offices attend their chapter meetings and answer questions about current events in which the FBI has had a role has been extremely helpful. They indicated that the information that the chairs are receiving at New Agent graduations also has made a difference in former Agents being truly informed about today’s FBI. The Director responded that he expects all the SACs to be actively engaged with the Society and continue to provide information about the FBI to local chapters.

FBIHQ Move
 
Another question Director Wray addressed was the plan to move FBIHQ to either Maryland or Virginia. He responded that the General Services Administration (GSA) is responsible for selecting

The chairs travelled via an FBI bus to and from the hotel sites for federal buildings and the J. Edgar Hoover building is aging and in need of replacement. Although the FBI preferred to stay in downtown District of Columbia due to access to the Department of Justice and other agencies, they were resigned to move a sizable portion of FBIHQ to one of the two adjoining states based on the selection process that GSA had determined. The FBI participated extensively in the process with the GSA and three career GSA officials selected Virginia as the best location for FBIHQ. These three officials were over-ruled by an appointed official who was previously employed by the owner of the selected site. This appointed official has resigned from GSA post-decision and is now working for the District of Columbia government. Wray explained the decision in an internal email to all FBI employees and raised concern about the selection process indicating there was a potential conflict of interest. The matter is being investigated by the Inspector General of GSA, as well as a congressional committee. FBIHQ will still retain a presence in the District of Columbia, which will include the FBI Experience Tour.

Budget Reductions

Director Wray indicated that the FBI experienced a budget setback this year, but 2023 was the largest budget ever for the FBI.

He explained that the personnel pay increases were not funded by Congress, requiring the FBI to use other funds to pay for those resulting in a $500 million shortfall. There has been no impact on operations, but one more year like this could negatively impact state and local FBI partners, who rely on FBI expertise and services to tackle growing crime problems in a variety of areas. The proposed budget reductions for the FBI would have a negative impact on FBI partners, who rely on FBI expertise and manpower to tackle growing crime problems in a variety of areas. Director Wray noted that other agencies’ budgets were cut more than the FBI’s. Despite the budget cut, no one has told us where to make those cuts within the organization

Crime Reporting
 
The Director was asked about the recent Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). He responded that while violent crime is down overall, the statistics had jumped up extremely high with epic increases during the pandemic. In some areas violent crimes have increased, while in others it has decreased, so the overall national numbers being reported can be a bit misleading. We are continuing to push violent crime reporting with our state and local partners. The conversion to NIBRS allows for a more complex and detailed collection of each single crime incident, however, some police departments have not switched over to the newer more detailed system. The FBI continues to work with law enforcement partners to get additional agencies on-board.

The FBI and Legat Responsibilities During a Time of Growing International Threats

The Director was asked about assistance to Ukraine and Israel. He responded by explaining that the Legal Attaches around the globe, now more than ever, are collaborating with their partners to share intelligence and work to thwart threats of all types. In fact, he was recently in Tel Aviv sharing intel with our partners there. He noted that Kenya now has a Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF.) He noted that Hamas and Hezbollah are serious terrorist threats, and Hamas is known to be involved with fundraising for terrorism

Recruiting Employees with Native American Backgrounds
 
One of the chapter chairs asked the Director about the number of FBI employees with Native American ancestry. The Director did not have the current statistics on hand, but he did indicate that there is significant outreach to Native American communities around the country.

Conclusion
Director Wray was thanked for extending the invitations to the Chapter Chairs to attend a New Agent graduation and for spending time candidly answering all questions. The schedule allocated thirty minutes for the Society representatives to meet with Director Wray. The meeting lasted an hour with the Chapter Chairs fully engaged with Director Wray.

FBI Academy Tour
The group met with members of the Firearms Training Unit and the Defensive Tactics Unit. The chairs had a chance to feel out the new point and shoot handguns with laser sights. The firearms scores have improved dramatically with this new system with an average score of 98%.

The New Agents are afforded one hundred hours of firearms training and shoot 4,000 rounds. They are now trained and qualify with a Colt Carbine with shotguns no longer being used by the FBI.

The Chapter Chairs were provided a defensive tactics briefing and demonstration before heading off to the tour of updated Hogan’s Alley. The tour included the newly remodeled area of the Biograph theatre, which has been updated to include a nightclub, movie theatre, café, and a medical waiting room. The building that housed the Biograph now has an additional venue for students to review their actions on video directly afterwards from the review. The tour also included the Bank of Hogan.

Meeting with Training Division AD Jacqueline Maguire

AD Maguire and members of her executive management team met with the Society representatives in the TD conference room, where she answered all questions.

AD Maguire explained that they take all the New Agents and analysts to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, and to the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City as part of the orientation. The four sessions of approximately fifty New Agents start together at the Academy and graduate together. A portion of the Agent training is done in conjunction with both Intelligence Analysts and Staff Operations Specialists.

Based on a question from one of the chapter chairs, AD Maguire discussed the new Wellness Center being built at the Academy. It will have exercise and rehabilitation equipment, as well as space for yoga and meditation classes. They are also taught breathing techniques. There is also an indoor track. The group members heartily thanked the Training Division staff for the entire day and their efforts to provide such a rewarding experience.

The FBI bus took the chairs back to the hotel. Group members quickly regrouped and headed to a local tap house for dinner and some brews.