A Lebanese national named Ghassan Diab, wanted in Florida for the alleged laundering of drug proceeds to support Hezbollah, and a Cypriot national named Joshua Polloso Epifaniou, wanted in Arizona and Georgia for cyber intrusion and extortion, were both extradited to the United States from the Republic of Cyprus.

From the Oval Office last week, President Donald J. Trump announced the conclusion of a multi-year investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) that led to the takedown of 17 members of the MS-13 gang. These arrests took place in Las Vegas and Los Angeles with the assistance of Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). During this bust, HSI seized five pounds of methamphetamine, $28,000 in cash, and 14 firearms. Gang members were charged on 21 counts, including a violation of the Kingpin statute and transporting large quantities of methamphetamine from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.

Song Guo Zheng, a professor of rheumatology and researcher at various American universities, was charged with grant fraud after it was discovered that he used approximately $4.1 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to further China’s knowledge of immunology and rheumatology. Not only did he allegedly make false statements to his employers regarding his ties to the Chinese government, but he also allegedly attempted to steal intellectual property from the United States with the intention of taking it back to China.

The Department of Justice announced its findings relating to an investigation into the Narcotics Bureau of the Springfield, Massachusetts Police Department (SPD) this week. The DOJ found reasonable cause to believe the bureau engaged in a “pattern or practice of using excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

With the announcement of another pharmaceutical company being charged for conspiring to fix prices for generic drugs, the Department of Justice has now charged five companies involved in this activity as the result of an ongoing antitrust investigation. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., the most recently charged company, allegedly worked with Apotex Corp. to increase and maintain prices of Pravastatin and other generic drugs.

A federal grand jury returned a second superseding indictment this week charging WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with offenses relating to his involvement in the release of classified information. The indictment does not add any additional charges to the prior 18 count indictment, but broadens the scope of the conspiracy surrounding alleged computer intrusions with which Assange was previously charged.

Nine pharmacists were charged in three separate indictments for their roles in a $12.1 million health care fraud scheme executed in Detroit and Southern Ohio. The pharmacists were each charged with various count relating to health care fraud and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud.

A former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) public affairs officer has pleaded guilty to defrauding at least a dozen companies of over $4.4 million by falsely posing as a covert officer for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Garrison Kenneth Courtney of Tampa, Florida claimed to be part of a task force involving various components of the United States Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense.

As various federal law enforcement agencies work in various states to ensure the safety of American cities and peaceful protestors, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged several individuals allegedly seeking to exploit the protests to incite violence. These charges range from domestic terror related offenses to possessions of illegal weapons.

A California man has been charged with filing bank loan applications to fraudulently seek more than $1.7 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

A former Judge of Elections in Philadelphia was convicted this week for accepting bribes in exchange for casting fraudulent ballots and certifying false voting resulting during 2014, 2015, and 2016 primary election in Philadelphia. Domenick Demuro pled guilty and will be sentenced on June 30, 2020.

Maurice Fayne, a reality TV star from the show Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, has been arrested on federal bank fraud charges arising from a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan that he obtained in the name of Flame Trucking. The United Community Bank provided Fayne with a PPP loan totaling more than $2 million.

Two businessmen have been charged with allegedly filing bank loan applications fraudulently seeking more than a half-million dollars in forgivable loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). David Staveley, aka Kurt Sanborn, and David Butziger claimed to have dozens of employees earning wages at four different business entities when there were no employees working for any of the businesses.

In the last week, federal courts in Utah and Texas issued respective injunctions against two groups halting the sale of coronavirus “cures” and “treatments” that have been deemed fraudulent. In Utah, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah issued a temporary restraining order against defendant Gordon Pedersen of Cedar Hills, Utah, and his companies, My Doctor Suggests LLC and GP Silver LLC. In a civil complaint and accompanying court papers filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that Purity Health and Wellness Centers and one of the firm’s principals, Jean Juanita Allen, fraudulently promoted so-called ozone therapy as a treatment for COVID-19.

Work by federal law enforcement and private sector partners has resulted in the disruption of several hundred online COVID-19 scams in the last few weeks. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has been prioritizing the investigation of COVID-19 related crimes and fraudulent activity in an attempt to combat criminals looking to take advantage of the situation.

Christopher Parris of Atlanta, Georgia has been arrested and charged with wire fraud for attempting to sell millions of nonexistent respirator masks to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in exchange for large upfront payments. Parris made a series of misrepresentations in an attempt to get the VA to secure orders for up to 125 million face mask and other personal protective equipment (PPE) which would have totaled over $750 million.

A federal complaint has been filed against a San Antonio man for perpetuating a hoax related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Christopher Charles Perez has been charged with one count of violating a US law which criminalizes false information and hoaxes related to weapons of mass destruction.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), as part of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) COVID-19 Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force, has recovered a significant number of N95 respirator masks from price gougers looking to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the DOJ and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are working together to redistribute the items to medical centers in need.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Sunday that it has issued its first action in federal court to combat fraud related to the coronavirus. The DOJ previously announced it is prioritizing the detection, investigation, and prosecution of illegal conduct related to the pandemic.

Merdad Ansar, an Iranian citizen and resident of the United Arab Emirates, was extradited from Georgia to the United States this week to face federal charges in connection with a scheme to obtain military sensitive parts for Iran in violation of the Iranian Trade Embargo. Ansar and his codefendant were charged in a federal grand jury indictment returned in June 2012 with conspiracy to violate the Iranian Transactions Regulations (ITR), conspiracy to launder money, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.