FBI’s Top Ten News Stories for the Week Ending July 31, 2009

Washington, D.C. July 31, 2009

Charlotte: Seven Charged with Terrorism Violations in North Carolina

Seven individuals have been charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons abroad. The indictment alleges that the defendants prepared themselves to engage in violent jihad and were willing to die as martyrs. They also allegedly offered training in weapons and financing, and helped arrange overseas travel and contacts so others could wage violent jihad overseas.

Washington Field Office: James Von Brunn Indicted for Attack on the Holocaust Memorial Museum

A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned a seven-count indictment charging James Wenneker Von Brunn, 89, of Annapolis, Md., with the murder of Special Police Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns and related hate crime and gun charges for his alleged attack on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on June 10, 2009.

Buffalo: FBI Announces Arrests involving an Illegal Narcotics Trafficking Organization

Twenty-two federal arrest warrants and 15 federal search warrants were executed in connection with an illegal narcotics trafficking organization. As evidenced by the locations of the search warrants, this was a wide ranging drug trafficking operation that reached across Erie and Niagara County borders into neighboring communities. Law enforcement officers seized 14 weapons, illegal drugs including cocaine and marijuana, $15,000 in cash, and approximately 10 vehicles.

Houston: Medicare Fraud Strike Force Operations Lead to Charges Against 32 Doctors and Health Care Executives

Thirty-two people have been indicted for schemes to submit more than $16 million in false Medicare claims in the continuing operation of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. The Strike Force in Houston is the fourth phase of a targeted criminal, civil, and administrative effort against individuals and health care companies that fraudulently bill the Medicare program.

Newark: Six Mortgage Industry Insiders Charged by FBI and IRS

Daniel Verdia, Don Apolito, Jaye Miller, and Chrystal Paling were arrested and Robert Gorman and Philip Blanch surrendered in connection with a mortgage fraud scam operated out of an office in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. The six defendants are each charged with one count of wire fraud, in a joint investigation between the FBI and IRS titled “Operation Follow The Money.”

Miami: Forty-One Defendants Charged in Separate Fraudulent Mortgage Schemes

Forty-one defendants were charged on July 28, 2009, in six separate cases, resulting in more than $40 million in fraudulent loans. The cases reaffirm the joint federal and local commitment to crack-down on mortgage fraud perpetrators in South Florida.

Detroit: Fourteen Motorcycle Gang Leaders and Members Plead Guilty to Violent Crime, Drug and Firearms Charges

Fourteen members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club pled guilty in Detroit to charges including violent crimes in aid of racketeering, illegal drug distribution and firearms violations. The guilty pleas included leaders, members and gang associates of Outlaws’ chapters in Fort Wayne, Ind., Indianapolis, and areas of Detroit.

New Orleans: Illegal Aliens Arrested on Wire Fraud Charges

Jalla Pierre Emanuel and Jackson Ntone Ndemba, citizens of the Republic of Cameroon, were arrested and charged by a criminal complaint with conspiracy and wire fraud. According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Emanuel and Ndemba fraudulently represented that they could produce two counterfeit bills utilizing one real bill.

Washington Field Office: Virginia Resident Pleads Guilty to Participating in Scheme to Steal Fuel from U.S. Army in Iraq

Michel Jamil, 59, pled guilty on July 27, 2009, in a scheme to steal fuel worth approximately $39.6 million from the U.S. Army in Iraq. In his guilty plea, Jamil admitted that in March 2007, he and two of his co-conspirators arranged for the creation of a false Memorandum for Record (MFR) authorizing individuals to draw fuel from the Victory Bulk Fuel Point (VBFP), Camp Liberty, Iraq, purportedly on behalf of a company serving as a contractor to the U.S. government.

Kansas City: Wyoming Man Pleads Guilty to Buying Fake Diplomatic Identification

Blake W. Bestol of Cheyenne, Wyoming, a man with connections to the sovereign citizen movement, pled guilty in federal court to buying fraudulent diplomatic credentials. Bestol obtained an identification card that purported to be diplomatic identification and carried the title of “Ambassador” next to his name.