For Immediate Release
July 27, 2007
|
Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
|
FBI's
Top Ten Stories
For the Week Ending July 27, 2007
1.
Houston: U.S. Citizen Sentenced to Prison for Receiving
Military Training from a Terrorist Organization
Daniel Joseph Maldonado, a.k.a. Daniel Aljughaifi, admitted
he had traveled from Houston to Africa in November 2005
and then to Somalia in December 2006 to join the Islamic
Courts Union and elements of al Qaeda to fight "jihad."
Maldonado was captured by Kenyan military authorities as
he tried to avoid capture by Somalian forces and turned
over to American authorities and flown to Houston accompanied
by Special Agents of the FBI. He has been sentenced to ten
years in prison. Full
Story
2.
Chicago: Former Director of Illinois Department of Corrections
(IDOC) Indicted for Receiving Kickbacks
Donald
N. Snyder, Jr. was indicted for receiving kickbacks while
serving in the state cabinet under former Governor George
Ryan. This indictment stems from an investigation that grew
out of the Operation Safe Road probe of corruption during
Ryan's term as Governor and, earlier, Secretary of State.
The agencies involved in this investigation included the
FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the IRS and the
U.S. Department of Transportation. Full
Story
3. St. Louis: Three Officials Indicted for Securities
Fraud Related to Stock Options Backdating Scheme
Three Officials of Engineered Support Systems, Inc. - Michael
Shanahan, Sr., Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO;
Michael Shanahan, Jr., member of the Board of Directors
and Compensation Committee; and Gary C. Gephardt, CFO -
were indicted on multiple counts of fraud in connection
with a stock options backdating scheme. The company's compensation
expenses were understated and its net income overstated
by approximately $20 million as a result of the backdating.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection
Service and the FBI. Full
Story
4. Los Angeles: Operation "Summer Solstice"
Results in Multiple Arrests in China and Seizures of Counterfeit
Microsoft and Symantec Hardware
Operation "Summer Solstice" which began in 2005
was an international investigation conducted jointly by
the FBI and the People's Republic of China Ministry of Public
Security (MPS) and resulted in multiple arrests and the
seizure of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of counterfeit
software. This operation also encompasses multiple investigations
currently being conducted by the Los Angeles FBI and the
MPS, Economic Crime Investigation Department. The joint
investigation was facilitated and supported by the IP Criminal
Enforcement Working Group of the U.S.-China Joint Liaison
Group for law enforcement. Full
Story
5.
Detroit: One of Michigan's Top 10 Business Leaders From
1984 Sentenced For Fraud and Money Laundering
Ilene Ruth Moses, age 70, was sentenced to 210 months in
prison and ordered to pay in excess of $15 million in restitution
for wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, money laundering,
conspiracy to launder money, bankruptcy fraud, perjury and
making false statements to the FBI. The fraud involved the
use of a number of shell companies in Europe and Hong Kong
and a system of phony paperwork. In the 1980s, Mrs. Moses
operated a clothing manufacturing and sales business and
was honored by the UN for her business success. Full
Story
6.
San Antonio: U.S. Army Major and Wife Charged With Money
Laundering and Bribery
Major John L. Cockerham was charged with accepting millions
of dollars (approximately $9.6 million) in bribes from contractors
who had Department of Defense contracts in Iraq and Kuwait
that Major Cockerham awarded or controlled. Melissa Cockerham
received the money and deposited it in bank accounts and
safe deposit boxes in Kuwait and Dubai. The case is being
investigated by special agents of the Special Inspector
General for Iraq Reconstruction; the Army Criminal Investigation
Division, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security;
the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division;
and the FBI. Full
Story
7.
New York: Arms Traffickers Found Guilty in Plots to Smuggle
High-Powered Military Weapons Into the United States
From December 2003 through March 15, 2005, Artur Solomonyan,
Christiaan Dewet Spies, and Ioseb Kharabadze brokered a
deal to import RPGs, SAMs, anti-tank missile systems, and
other military weapons from Eastern Europe into the United
States for sale to a confidential informant posing as an
arms trafficker. The defendants delivered the weapons to
various storage facilities rented by the FBI in New York
City, Los Angeles, and Fort Lauderdale. The agencies involved
in this investigation included the FBI, the New York Police
Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives, and the Department of Homeland Security's U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Full Story
8.
New York: Maryland Man Sentenced for Providing Material
Support to a Terrorist Organization
Mahmud Faruq Brent, a.k.a. Mahmud Almutazzim, was sentenced
to 15 years' imprisonment for providing material support
to a foreign terrorist organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba ("Army
of the Pure"), which is committed to violent jihad
against the United States and its allies. The agencies involved
in this investigation were the New York Joint Terrorism
Task Force, the New York City Police Department and the
FBI. Full
Story
9.
Washington Field Office: "Virginia Jihad" Member
Sentenced
Sabri Benkahla was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison
and ordered to pay a $17,500 fine on one count of perjury
before the grand jury, one count of obstruction of justice
with respect to a grand jury investigation, and one count
of making false official statements to the FBI. This investigation
arose as part of the investigation of individuals attending
the Dar al Arqam Islamic Center in Falls Church, VA. The
case was investigated by the FBI. Full
Story
10.
Honolulu: Individual Charged With Theft of Government Property
Joseph U.R.M. Elibosang was charged with Theft of Government
Property for selling at least 23 of the 34 bronze name plates
stolen from the Pacific National Park, Asian Overlook in
Guam. The plates bore the names of Guam citizens and US
soldiers who lost their lives in WWII. The agencies involved
in this investigation were the Guam Police Department and
Customs and Quarantine Agency, Guam; Hong Kong Customs and
Excise; the FBI Legal Attache, Hong Kong; Hong Kong Police;
and the US Department of Homeland Security, US Customs and
Border Protection. Full
Story
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