Why it matters: U.S. indictments of international cybercriminals send a clear message that law enforcement knows who is a part of a flourishing overseas hacking groups and make it difficult for defendants to leave their home countries without risking arrest. Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the arrest and indictment. In subsequent months, Watson and his co-conspirators continued to attempt to induce the bank to lend Ozy several million dollars based on misrepresentations and omissions, including regarding the expected revenue from the second season of the Ozy television show. Specifically, the indictment alleges that one of the individual defendants emailed Hyteras CEO about aligning his story . in connection with the Motorola lawsuit. The powerful export controls weve put in place have been successful in isolating Russia from the global economy, stated Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod. His scheme undermined U.S. foreign policy and national security interests, and Eastern District of New York Trial Attorneys Matthew Reilly and Christina McGill of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ali Moghaddas for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case. The FBI will remain relentless against illegal transfers that support such industries in hostile nations, while we also continue to focus on protecting strategic technology innovation here at home., This indictment demonstrates the relentless efforts of the FBI and its partners to thwart Russian procurement actors in their attempts to reconstitute the Russian militarys weapons cache, said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. The defendants are Mansour Ahmadi, Ahmad Khatibi Aghda and Amir Hossein Nickaein Ravari, and they are believed to be living in Iran. Go deeper Why Albania's cyberattacks matter to the U.S. Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from FBI Director Christopher Wray. "The cases unsealed today take place against a backdrop of malign activity by the People's Republic of China that includes espionage, harassment, obstruction of our justice system and unceasing. It's alleged he at least three other Russian officials targeted the U.S. from at least December 2014 until March 2022 as part of a "foreign malign . I am grateful for the tireless efforts of the Departments Task Force KleptoCapture, the National Security Division, the Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York, and the FBI on this case., Today the Department of Justice proves once again that we will relentlessly pursue those who support the Russian war machine by evading sanctions and export controls, said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. Have a question about Government Services? The DOJ charged Guochun He and Zheng Wang with attempting to obstruct a criminal prosecution into an unnamed global telecommunications companywhich multiple outlets have identified as Huaweiand He with additional money laundering charges after he allegedly paid $61,000 in Bitcoin to a U.S. government employee. NASHVILLE - A lengthy investigation by federal and local law enforcement has resulted in the indictment of 22 individuals for illegally distributing substantial amounts of controlled substances in and around the areas of Maury County and Lewis County, Tennessee. . . Brayman will be arraigned in New Hampshire and Yermolenko will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS This is fraud. Livshits also interfaced directly with U.S. companies often using the alias David Wetzky and made materially false statements about how the items would be used and the ultimate end user. Todays indictment demonstrates the reach of those controls and the United States commitment to choking off access to military grade equipment by the Russian regime. United States Attorneys Office Mountain View, California, OZY MEDIA, INC. Washington The Justice Department on Monday unsealed charges in three separate cases accusing more than a dozen defendants, most of them Chinese officials, of participating in schemes to . ), available at https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1107251/download. Livshits, a former resident of Brooklyn, New York, opened and controlled a variety of shell companies and associated bank accounts in the New York City area, which he used to route shipments and layer financial transactions in furtherance of the scheme, including in coordination with Konoshchenok, Brayman and Yermolenko. No. Livshits also interfaced directly with U.S. companiesoften using the alias David Wetzkyand made materially false statements about how the items would be used and the ultimate end user. 08/12/2022 04:15 PM EDT. If convicted, Watson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 37 years imprisonment. WASHINGTON The Department of Justice is moving to unseal the search warrant and itemized receipt of what was taken from former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence earlier this week, Atty.. Driving the news: The defendants are accused of "exploiting known or publicly disclosed vulnerabilities in commonly used network devices and software programs to get access to victims' computer networks," per a senior DOJ official. Our Office will not rest in its vigorous pursuit of persons who unlawfully procure U.S. technology to be used in furtherance of Russias brutal war on democracy., Today the Department of Justice proves once again that we will relentlessly pursue those who support the Russian war machine by evading sanctions and export controls, stated Deputy Attorney General Monaco. CARLOS WATSON Of course all unsealed indictments are searchable on QResear.ch! We will continue the steady pace of seizures, indictments and arrests, while the Kremlin continues shopping for spare parts in North Korea.. The indictment against Hytera continues a pattern of aggressive enforcement by the United States government of trade secrets cases against Chinese entities and individuals. Ahmadi, Aghda and Ravari were among those sanctioned, and the two tech sanctioned companies are where the defendants work. Those cases alleged misappropriation of trade secrets under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. A lock ( All Rights Reserved. Peizer is accused of using his insider knowledge as CEO of a publicly traded company to line his own pockets in violation of his duty to his company and its shareholders, said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was later released in September 2021 after being detained for three years in Canada, after striking a deal with the U.S. in which she admitted to lying about the companys business activities in Iran. An official website of the United States government. The individuals face four charges, including conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with computers and intentional damage to a protected computer. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Lock Nowell D. Bambergers practice focuses on cross-border contentious disputes matters, including litigation and criminal and regulatory investigations. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Last week, the U.S. government attributed a series of destructive data exfiltration attacks against Albanian government networks to Iran. Instead, Peizer allegedly began selling shares of Ontrak on the next trading day after establishing each plan. Even so, "some of their malicious cyber activity can be partially attributable to several" gangs associated with Iran's government. In February 2020, a jury awarded Motorola $764 million in compensatory and punitive damages against Hytera based on the trade secret claimsan amount the district court lowered to $544 million almost a year later in January 2021. The big picture: The new indictments and cybersecurity advisory is a part of the Biden administrations continuing efforts to crack down on both Iranian cybercriminal and nation-state hacking groups. . The cases brought Monday are part of a series of charges the DOJ has brought against Chinese nationals involved with the Chinese government, including other alleged efforts to intimidate and harass Chinese dissidents living in the U.S., such as congressional primary candidate Yan Xiong. An indictment was unsealed this morning in federal court in Brooklyn charging OZY Media Inc. (Ozy), a media and entertainment company headquartered in Mountain View, California, and its founder and Chief Executive Officer, Carlos Watson, with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud Ozys investors and lenders by making material misrepresentations about Ozys financial and business assets. The jurors' 24-page indictment was unsealed . A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The company also allegedly misrepresented information to its financial partners, and sought to obstruct the DOJs investigation into Huawei by transporting witnesses back to China and allegedly destroying evidence. Todays actions demonstrate our vigilance in uncovering Russian tactics to illicitly acquire the items they need to keep their brutal war going.. Today, Brayman surrendered to the FBI and Yermolenko was arrested in New Jersey. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. [4] Indictment, U.S. v. United Microelectronics Corporation, et al., Cr. Essential Cookies are always on; to accept Analytics Cookies, click "I agree to all cookies. I am grateful for the tireless efforts of the Departments Task Force KleptoCapture, the National Security Division, the Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York, and the FBI on this case., As alleged, the defendants perpetrated a sophisticated procurement network that illegally obtained sensitive U.S. technology to facilitate the Russian war machine, stated United States Attorney Peace. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan Siegel, Dylan A. Stern, and Gillian Kassner are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Jake Menz. These operations are often conducted using proxy groups, which Western security experts identify with nicknames like "Phosphorous" and "Charming Kitten.". The indictment sets forth the following factual allegations: Beginning in June 2007, the CEO of Hytera recruited Motorola engineers to steal trade secrets relating to Motorolas digital mobile radio (DMR) technology (AKA walkie-talkies). The powerful export controls weve put in place have been successful in isolating Russia from the global economy, said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Axelrod. Later that day, the then-CFO emailed Watson and Rao to say that she was resigning effective immediately. Investment fraud undermines confidence in our nations markets and investors and makes it harder for honest businesses to compete. [1] Photo: Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images The Department of Justice unsealed an indictment on Wednesday against three Iranian nationals charged with malicious computer activity between October 2020 and August 2022. As alleged in the indictment, Ippolitov received requests from Russian end users and relayed them to Grinin and Skvortsova, who were both employees of Sertal. Mr. His lawyers surprisingly wrote a rather condescending letter to DOJ in May 2022, effectively arguing that even if there were still classified records at Mar-a-Lago the FBI lacked the authority. Why Albania's cyberattacks matter to the U.S. An indictment unsealed Wednesday alleges the defendants targeted hundreds of victims including small businesses, nonprofits, local governments and "critical infrastructure," like healthcare organizations in the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Russia and Iran. Konoshchenok discussed fabricating business records with Livshits to conceal the ammunition shipments, on one occasion describing them as auto parts. Incident to Konoshchenoks arrest, Estonian authorities searched a warehouse used by Konoshchenok and recovered approximately 375 pounds worth of ammunition. The last of three federal indictments returned last month was unsealed yesterday, and all but one charged defendant have been taken . Brooklyn NY 11201, Telephone: 718-254-7000 Mr. 4 min read. In the absence of updated, agreed upon cyber diplomacy norms at the United Nations, the White House has been handing down sanctions and indictments to send a clear message of what they think the norms should be. 15220. As this case shows, we have embraced the use of data to proactively identify and investigate fraud as we continue to ensure that ordinary investors are on an equal playing field with corporate insiders.. 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