Subject: FW: FCS Morning Bulletin 11/16/20



Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2020 12:39:34 +0000





Importance: Normal



From: (CID) (FBI)

**Sent:** Monday, November 16, 2020 4:39:25 AM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)

**To:** HQ-DIV06-FCS-MORNINGBULLETIN



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Subject: FCS Morning Bulletin 11/16/20

Good morning,

## Texas Youth Coach Sentenced Over College Admissions Investigation.

The Los Angeles Times (11/13, 4.64M) reports Texas youth sports coach Martin Fox “was sentenced Friday to three months in prison and three months of home detention” in connection to a college admissions scandal. He “admitted serving as a middleman between William “Rick” Singer, the Newport Beach college consultant at the heart of the scheme, and several university coaches and a teaching assistant whom Singer sought to bribe.”

## Florida High School Coach Arrested For Allegedly Defrauding PPP Of Almost $1M.

The Hill (11/14, Deese, 2.98M) reports, "A Fort Lauterdale, Fla., high school basketball coach was arrested for allegedly submitting close to $1 million in claims to the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), according to federal prosecutors." Terrence Williams "is a championship-winning coach at Stranahan High School. He was charged Friday with several financial crimes, including bank fraud and money laundering, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported." The Hill adds, "Prosecutors accuse Williams of applying for and receiving a loan of $984,710 for his company Williams Consulting Group LLC, according to the newspaper."

The Tampa Bay (FL) Times (11/13, 742K) reports, “The FBI complaint says Williams claimed his company had 67 employees and an average monthly payroll of $393,884. But, in fact, it paid no such payroll and did not have any workers. The complaint further alleges that after receiving the loan, Williams laundered the vast majority of the money by transferring it to several of his bank accounts.”

## Virginia Man Sentenced For PPP Fraud.

Loudoun (VA) Now (11/13) reported that an Ashburn, Virginia man “was sentenced Friday to 12 months in prison and two years of supervised release for defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program, the federal initiative designed to help businesses pay their employees and meet expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Loudoun Now adds, “According to court documents, Tarik Jaafar, 43, conspired with his wife, Monika Magdalena Jaworska, from April 13 to May 6 applied for 18 separate PPP loans in the names of the four shell companies they had created, securing approximately $6.6 million in government support. ‘As we’ve seen in the aftermath of many disasters and crises, criminals will exploit any opportunity to take advantage of programs intended to help businesses and individuals

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confronted with hardship,' said James A. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division."

## Former Wells Fargo CEO Settles Claims As Other Former Official Faces Fraud Case.

The Wall Street Journal (11/13, Eisen, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf on Friday agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle civil claims involving fake accounts at the bank, even as the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil fraud lawsuit against another former Wells Fargo executive.

## Illinois Developer Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud.

The Chicago Sun-Times (11/13, Seidel, 875K) reports, “A developer who made secret recordings for the feds of former Ald. Danny Solis and House Speaker Michael Madigan pleaded guilty to wire fraud Friday.” According to the Sun-Times, “Federal prosecutors charged See Y. Wong back in March, days before the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Chicago and years after he played a key role in a public corruption investigation that has embroiled city and state politics in recent years. Wong made a secret 2014 audio and video recording for the feds of Solis and Madigan, according to court records and sources. That recording became part of the investigation that persuaded Solis to then secretly record the now-indicted Ald. Edward M. Burke. However, Wong only helped the feds because he hoped a judge would go easy on him one day for a fraud that was only identified when the feds filed a seven-page charging document known as an information against him in March.”

The Chicago Tribune (11/13, Meisner, 2.65M) reports, “Wong was charged in a seven-page criminal information in March for allegedly lying to banks and buyers involved with his Canal Crossing building, records show. He pleaded guilty Friday during a hearing held via video conference before U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle. The 20-page plea agreement does not specifically mention the Solis probe, but calls on Wong to provide “complete and truthful” information in any investigation and testify if necessary. Wong agreed to have his sentencing delayed until his cooperation is complete. Norgle set a status hearing in the case for Feb. 5.”

## FBI Arrests Texas Man On Fraud Charges.

El Paso (TX) Inc. (11/15, Crowder, 32K) reports, “Daniel Steadley, the former head of a once-popular health insurance-type plan in El Paso, has been indicted on 19 counts of fraud and arrested by the FBI after a protracted investigation involving state and federal agencies.” According to El Paso Inc., “Gregg Sofer, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Luis Quesada announced the legal actions against Steadley on Nov. 5, the day of his arrest. The following day Federal Magistrate Robert Castañeda set his bond at $50,000, and Steadley went free after posting a 10% cash deposit. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.” El Paso Inc. adds, “According to the Oct. 28 indictment, Steadley operated two companies from 2014 to 2018 that sold Unique MEC Healthcare Plans for as little as $99 a month to about 2,000 El Pasoans, and ‘stole approximately $1.5 million in premiums from unsuspecting victims during his scheme.”

## FBI Searching For Man Accused Of Stealing Trade Secrets From Texas Firm.

The Houston Chronicle (11/13, Dellinger, 730K) reports, “The FBI is searching for a Chinese man accused of stealing and selling trade secrets from a Houston oil and gas company.” According to the Chronicle, “Between 2019 and 2020, Lei Gao, 44, also known as “Jason,” and others allegedly schemed to obtain trade secrets from a Houston-based manufacturer of advanced coiled tubing, according to the FBI. The stolen trade secrets were used to assist in the development of an advanced coiled tubing product, which Gao and con-conspirators introduced to the market for sale in 2020, the FBI said in a statement. Gao left the United States and returned to China in 2019 and has not returned, according to authorities.”

## FBI Arrests California Man In Fraudulent Manure-To-Methane Project.

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Reuters (11/13, Malo) reports, “A California man who promised investors to turn cow manure into renewable energy has been arrested on a 24-count indictment after allegedly defrauding them of $8.75 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.” Reuters adds, “U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott charged Raymond Brewer, 64, with wire fraud and money laundering, saying he duped investors into funding his business that purported to turn cow dung into methane natural gas, but instead spent the money on his home, a property in Montana and several cars. Brewer was arrested on Thursday.”

## Nine Arrested In California Money Laundering Scheme.

The Canyon (CA) News (11/13) reports, “On Thursday, November 12, federal authorities arrested nine defendants, who allegedly laundered millions of dollars derived from health care fraud and tax fraud schemes. Two indictments allege that a total of 10 defendants were involved in the operation that laundered over $30 million in tax refunds from 7,000 fraudulent tax returns. The tax returns were filed using stolen identities from American taxpayers. Seven defendants were arrested Thursday, November 12, and there are three still being sought.” Authorities “also arrested two additional defendants who are being charged in two other indictments. One involves a short sale scheme involving a $2 million residence, that was forfeited earlier this year to the United States, and one involving a car leasing scam. There is also an additional defendant in the real estate scam who is a fugitive.”

## Washington Insurance Agent Charged With Stealing From Clients.

The Everett (WA) Herald (11/14, Stevick, 151K) reports from Seattle, “A Snohomish insurance agent accused of stealing $750,000 from clients pleaded not guilty Friday in federal court in Seattle.” Vicki Boser, 57, “is charged with five counts of wire fraud after allegedly stealing three-quarters of a million dollars in premium payments from clients. Boser owned and operated InsuranceTek, Inc. She’s accused of issuing fake certificates of insurance to some of those companies.”

## Microsoft: Vaccine Researchers, Companies Targeted By North Korean, Russian Hackers.

The AP (11/13, Bajak) reports that in a blog post on Friday, “Microsoft said it has detected attempts by state-backed Russian and North Korean hackers to steal valuable data from leading pharmaceutical companies and vaccine researchers.” Though “most of the attacks in recent months were unsuccessful,” Microsoft “provided no information on how many succeeded or how serious those breaches were.” The company “said most of the targets – located in Canada, France, India, South Korea and the United States – were ‘directly involved in researching vaccines and treatments for COVID-19.’” The blog post “identified one of the state-backed hacker groups as Fancy Bear, the Russian military agents who Britain’s National Cyber Security Center said in July were behind such intrusion attempts,” while two others “were North Korea’s Lazarus Group and a group Microsoft calls Cerium.”

TechCrunch (11/13, Whittaker, 605K) reports that Tom Burt, Microsoft’s customer security and trust head, said, “We think these attacks are unconscionable and should be condemned by all civilized society.” Burt also said, “Microsoft is calling on the world’s leaders to affirm that international law protects health care facilities and to take action to enforce the law.” The news coincided “with the Paris Peace Forum, where Microsoft president Brad Smith will urge governments to do more to combat cyberattacks against the healthcare sector, particularly during the pandemic.”

NBC News (11/13, Collier, 6.14M) reports that most of the companies targeted “have vaccines already in clinical trials.” In some instances, the hackers “successfully breached their target,” though it “wasn’t immediately clear how serious those intrusions were, and a Microsoft spokesperson declined to elaborate.”

The Wall Street Journal (11/13, McMillan, Subscription Publication, 7.57M) reports companies developing COVID-19 vaccines say they are being targeted by Russian and North Korean cyberattacks. The attacks represent an espionage risk, as well as a challenge to the integrity of the research – and could also delay clinical trials. University of Oxford professor of international law Dapo