Wednesday, March 30, 2016

LG, Hitachi, Panasonic, Toshiba and Samsung Settle for $4.95 million total over price-fixing scheme




Posted By CotoBloigzz

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA – A preliminary court approval of settlements resolving allegations that LG, Hitachi, Panasonic, Toshiba, and Samsung, companies all based in Japan or Korea, fixed prices on critical components of televisions and computer monitors from 1995 to 2007, was announced today by the California  Attorney General

The components, known as Cathode Ray Tubes or CRTs, are very much obsolete:  They were used to display images on computer monitors and televisions screens before they were replaced by flat screens.

The court has approved the settlement pending valid objections submitted within 60 days. 



The settlements, which were filed in San Francisco Superior Court, require all five companies to pay a total of $4.95 million to settle claims of overcharges paid by California government entities, general damages suffered by the State’s economy, and civil penalties.

The settlements require that the companies pay back the illegally obtained profits to those affected by their actions. In addition, the settlements include injunctive relief, which requires that each company engage in company-wide antitrust compliance training and reporting that involves products in addition to CRTs and extends to foreign companies and subsidiaries.

Finally, the settlements include requirements, enforceable by the court via fines and imprisonment, to prevent future violations of antitrust law. 

In 2011, after the Office of Attorney General conducted a confidential investigation into price-fixing involving CRTs, the Attorney General filed complaints against these companies for having entered into a price-fixing conspiracy of critical components of television and computer screens. That conspiracy involved top-level meetings of key executive decision-makers in Asia and Europe to set prices and outputs of CRTs.  It also involved worldwide meetings among lower-level executives to exchange confidential information.  Californian subsidiaries of these companies were involved in this conspiracy and took on the role of monitoring the prices of televisions and computers in California stores.

California consumers or sole proprietorships that purchased at least one television or computer between 1995 and 2007 can make a claim, with a guaranteed minimum check of $25.

All eligible California consumers and sole proprietorships can file claims for reimbursement athttps://www.crtclaims.com/. The new deadline for filing those claims is June 30, 2016.


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Donald Paul Busteed, Anaheim, arraigned in case of domestic terrorism



Busteed also charged with a probation violation for a pipe bomb conviction

By CotoBlogzz

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA - Donald Paul Busteed was arraigned today for placing pipe bombs near public places in Anaheim and possessing materials to construct additional pipe bombs, according to Orange County District Attorney's ( OCDA) office.



 Donald Paul Busteed, 45, Anaheim, is charged with three felony counts of possession of a destructive device in a public place, one felony count of explosion of a destructive device, and one felony count of intent to unlawfully make a destructive device. 
On Nov. 13, 2015, Busteed is accused of placing a pipe bomb in Lowe's Home Improvement parking lot in Anaheim. A shopper in the parking lot saw the device and called 911. Deputies from the Orange County Sheriff's Department bomb squad responded to the scene and dismantled the device.
On Dec. 11, 2015, Busteed is accused of attaching a pipe bomb to a pole in an alleyway in Anaheim. A witness contacted the Anaheim Police Department (APD) and the device was dismantled.
On March 27, 2016, Busteed is accused of detonating a pipe bomb in an alleyway near Anaheim Boulevard and Wilhelmina Street in Anaheim.
APD investigated this case and on March 28, 2016, searched the defendant's residence. Busteed is accused of possessing additional pipe bomb devices and various materials necessary to construct pipe bombs in his garage. Busteed was subsequently arrested by APD.
"APD would like to express its sincerest gratitude for the cooperation and expertise provided by the OCSD's bomb squad. Their contributions were essential to the success of this investigation," said Sergeant Daron Wyatt.
On Dec. 31, 2015, Busteed detonated an explosive device at a business on East White Star Avenue. On Jan. 19, 2016, Busteed pleaded guilty to one felony count of intent to unlawfully make a destructive device and one felony count of possession of a destructive device.  He was sentenced that day to 90 days in jail. Busteed was subsequently released from custody and is accused of violating the terms of his probation in this case.
Deputy District Attorney Jess Rodriguez of the Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting this case

Louis Yeung, VP of Ontario-based Eastern Tools, guilty in $9 million fraud scheme



Posted By CotoBlogzz

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA - Louis Yeung, a vice president of an Ontario, California based, wholesale equipment company, pleaded to fraud charges today in connection with a bank fraud scheme that resulted in more than $9 million in losses to a California bank, according to announcement by  Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker of the Central District of California, Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Orlando of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Los Angeles Field Office and Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) Christy Goldsmith Romero.




Chung Yu Yeung, aka Louis Yeung, 39, of San Dimas, California, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder of the Central District of California to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and four counts of bank fraud.  
According Yeung's guilty plea, from 2007 to 2012, Yeung was the vice president of Eastern Tools and Equipment Inc. (Eastern Tools), a wholesale equipment company based in Ontario, California, that sold portable generators to retailers across the country.  Yeung admitted that beginning in 2007, he and his co-conspirators defrauded East West Bank, based in Pasadena, California, in connection with a line of credit for Eastern Tools by making and causing to be made material misrepresentations to the bank about Eastern Tools’ accounts receivable and its financial statements.  
The conspirators created numerous shell corporations to act as purported suppliers and retailers doing business with Eastern Tools, when, in reality, these shell corporations were entirely under the control of Yeung and existed for the sole purpose of creating the illusion of such business.  
Yeung admitted that the fictitious companies allowed him and other conspirators to falsely inflate Eastern Tools’ accounts receivable and financial statements in representations to East West Bank. 
To further the scheme, Yeung and other conspirators opened and caused to be opened post office boxes, phone accounts and email accounts purportedly associated with the shell retail companies, and provided information about these items to East West Bank auditors to promote the illusion that these shell customers were independent entities, according to admissions made in connection with Yeung’s plea. 
Eastern Tools defaulted on the promissory note after East West Bank discovered the fraud, causing more than $9 million in losses to the bank, Yeung admitted. 
SIGTARP, IRS-CI and the FBI investigated the case.  Senior Litigation Counsel David A. Bybee of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case. 

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Lawyers against legislation that benefits lawyers: HOA Industry against AB1720

Updated with misleading industry advocacy group's efforts:  April 25, 2016 7:00 pm

Posted By CotoBlogzz

Rancho Santa Margarita , CA -  Existing civil code requires an association managing a common interest development, not unlike Coto de Caza’s CZ Master Association,  to provide notice of the time and place of a board meeting and authorizes any member of the association to attend board meetings, except when the board adjourns to, or meets solely in, executive session. It also requires the board to permit any member to speak at any meeting, except for executive session meetings.



Assembly Bill AB1720  would require the board to permit an attorney who represents a member to attend board meetings to listen to the proceedings, to take  notes, and to speak for the owner if they wish and the industry has gone ballistic.  Never mind that multiple less-than-honest attorneys representing HOA boast of having been paid several thousands of dollars for simple Small Claims Court cases:

The Community Associations Institute (CAI,) a HOA lobbying group is urging a “no”  vote,  because “ The bill will result in associations paying to hire attorneys to attend all meetings in case a member's attorney shows up, as members are only required to notify Boards that their attorney is attending "where possible."  This bill costs associations huge unanticipated costs” 


The industry, including the CAI, view homeowners in a HOA simply as an ATM, that property managers, attorneys and other service providers can go to when they need money – this happens whether homeowners are present during meeting or if attorney’s representing homeowners attend such meetings.



Coto de Caza's CZ Master Association - Most Litigious HOA
When HOAs bring legal action against homeowners, the homeowners always win:  The HOA in general has the bigger pockets and even if the homeowners wins the battle he or she may lose the war is it is paying direct legal fees, as well as HOA dues.

Adams-Stirling in its  Davis-Stirling newsletter  says  that s AB1720 will override all governing documents in the state and  invade private meetings. This bill will not benefit anyone  except lawyers.”  Interesting irony:  Lawyers objecting to legislation that will benefit lawyers.

You know that if the industry is against legislation, then such legislation is good for homeowners.  The questions is whether principled politicians will see it the same way.




HOA Industry Advocacy Groups Against Homewoners - Efforts to Stop AB 1720 - Message via email

URGENT Call to Action: AB 1720


Wendy Van Messel 
To
Today at 4:15 PM
URGENT CALL TO ACTION - STOP AB 1720
 
This is our best opportunity to stop Assembly Bill 1720 which allows Association members to send a non-member person (including attorneys, CPAs, contractors, media reporters) to your association's board meetings.

The current April 4th version of the bill does not prohibit the non-members from observing discussions, taking notes, taping, speaking with other members, and using information obtained in a later lawsuit.

Obviously, this is very foreseeably adversarial and will intimidate volunteer board members.  (There are currently five (5) other methods to resolve disputes already in law.)

The bill is being supported by groups that typically sue HOAs.  

To help TODAY, TONIGHT or TOMORROW, please call or fax your request to the members of the Assembly Housing Committee, below.

You can simply call and leave a message saying:
"I am requesting the Assemblymember to vote "NO" on AB 1720 in the Housing Committee on Wednesday morning."

The proponents are also asking their troops to phone in, so please make your call today to Chairman Chiu and Vice Chairman Steinorth, and others who may reside near your home town.

NUMBERS COUNT!  Even if you are not a constituent in the below counties, we need to hear from you!  Click on the Assemblymembers' names in the table below to send an email message directly to the Assemblymembers' offices.  Please also circulate this Call to Action by forwarding this email to your neighbors and colleagues, and by sharing on Social Media.
 
MemberDistrictPartyRoomPhoneFax
Burke, Autumn
(L.A., Inglewood, Hawthorne)
62 5144 916 319 2062 916 319 2162 
Chau, Ed
(El Monte, Rosemead, Alhambra)
49 2179 916 319 2049 916 319 2149 
Chiu, David (Chair)
(San Francisco)
17 2196 916 319 2017 916 319 2117 
Gaines, Beth
(Folsom, Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln)
2130 916 319 2006 916 319 2106 
Lopez, Patty
(San Fernando)
39 5160 916 319 2039 916 319 2139 
Mullin, Kevin
(So. San Fransisco, San Mateo, Pacifica, Burlingame, Millbrae)
22 3160 916 319 2022 916 319 2122 
Steinorth, Marc (Vice-Chair)
(Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernadino, Redlands, Loma Linda)
40 2111 916 319 2040 


Wells Fargo get $8.5 Million Slap on the Wrist Over Privacy Violations



Posted By CotoBlogzz

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA – The California Attorney General and five
district attorneys today announced a $8,500,000 settlement with Wells Fargo Bank over privacy violations.


As part of the settlement, Wells Fargo will pay civil penalties totaling $7,616,000 and will reimburse the prosecutors' investigative costs of $384,000. In addition, Wells Fargo will contribute $500,000 to two statewide organizations dedicated to advancing consumer protection and privacy rights.  

The civil complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleged that Wells Fargo violated sections 632 and 632.7 of the California Penal Code by failing to timely and adequately disclose its automatic recording of phone calls with members of the public.

In addition, the settlement agreement states that Wells Fargo must comply with California's standards for recording confidential communications between the bank and its customers by making clear, conspicuous, and accurate disclosures.  Wells Fargo has also agreed to implement an internal compliance program to ensure that the policy changes are made.

Once Wells Fargo was notified by investigators of the alleged deficiencies in its recording disclosures, the bank and its counsel worked cooperatively to implement changes in the company’s policies nationwide, without admitting liability

Monday, March 28, 2016

Mother Angelica, foundress of EWTN, dies on Easter





Mother Angelica, the inspiration and foundress of EWTN died yesterday, Easter Sunday. Our Lord picked the feast of His resurrection to welcome her home. As St. John Paul II once said, “in the designs of providence, there are no mere coincidences.”

Read more:  http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/mother-angelica-founder-of-ewtn-dies-on-easter-75329/

Friday, March 25, 2016

Application for Candidacy for Coto de Caza's HOA Board of Directors

Posted By CotoBlogzz


APPPLICATION FOR CANDIDACY FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS - CZ MASTER ASSOCIATION

Coto de Caza, California


REASONS WHY YOU WANT TO BE ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The current board has been in control of the CZ Master association for more than 10 years enabled by an archaic, arcane cumulative voting system (instead of direct elections) designed to keep a small minority in power. It is time for a fundamental transformation.  If I gain a seat on the board, I pledge to serve only one term and focus on the following issues:

1.  Public Safety
2.  Turn the current HOA from the most litigious one in California, into a homeowner-friendly HOA – Requires service provider terminations – see below
3.  Do away with the current Delegate/Cumulative Voting System that lends itself to corruption, for a more transparent, generally accepted democratic process referred to as direct elections
4.  Board members should not serve more than two terms   


1. Public safety-Property values - Some 20 years ago CNN/Money rated Coto as a crimeless area and the best place to retire. – With the current board in power, the community has seen the only 3 traffic fatalities in the history of the community.  Additionally, crime and vandalism rate in Coto far exceeds other comparable communities.  The fourth traffic fatality was barely avoided this past St. Patrick’s Day when a truck and a SUV had a head on collision at the intersection of Coto de Caza Drive and Sawgrass;
For more details, refer to:

·         Fourth Traffic Fatality in Coto de Caza's History Barely averted



·         Coto de Caza HOA: Give me your hungry, tired, lazy, cheap, stupid golfers

http://cotobuzz.blogspot.com/2016/02/coto-de-caza-hoa-give-me-your-hungry.html

·         Coto de Caza Traffic Accident Rate at all Time High After one Fatality

·         4Q2013 Traffic Accident Report - Coto de Caza Rate Continues at all time high, Ladera Ranch inches up


California Highway Patrol hours for 1Q2015 were 295 compared to lawsuit mitigation strategy of 520.  A 4th traffic fatality is 1 traffic citation away!  It has been clearly established that accident rate in Coto is a function of patrol hours.




2. Litigious HOA - Keystone Pacific, James/Harkins and the board, have turned the association into the most litigious HOA in California. Keystone & Harkins should be terminated immediately.



3. Elections – Property Values The current board has been in control of the HOA for more than 10 years enabled by an archaic, arcane cumulative voting system designed to keep a small minority in power. To make it even worse, in a power grab move, rules were recently changed to have delegates serve 2 years.

Need to do away with the current Delegate/Cumulative Voting System that lends itself to corruption, for a more transparent, generally accepted democratic process referred to as direct elections.


BACKGROUND
Multiple executive positions, including concurrent positions as President of Diva Solutions and CIO for MAGInnovision:  Developed award-winning global customer care operation starting up facilities in Europe, Japan, China, Australia, South and North America.  Corporate client acquisition including Sony, Mitsubishi, LG,

Turned around an R&D operation responsible for design and manufacture of special purpose supercomputers for the aerospace industry, including NASA and the Japanese Defense Agency

As General Manager responsible for North America and Global Quality, sold to corporate clients such as Apple, Compaq, HP and Micron.

Participated in three IPOs- one in the US, two in Taiwan, including Convergent Technologies at a time when Fortune Magazine called it the Fastest Growing Company in the world

Transferred graphics supercomputer manufacturing technology to Japan, Kubota Computer

NOTE OTHER INTERESTS
Advocacy: Public safety and law enforcement advocate, HOA and government transparency advocate, advocate fighting against elder and women abuse, animal abuse, government waste and corruption and giving voice to the voiceless.


Interests:  Family, Cybersecurity (see for example:  Coto de Caza’s website gets a Failing grade from Qualys for its security protocols, http://cotobuzz.blogspot.com/2014/04/coto-de-cazas-website-gets-failing.html) Cybercurrency, Humane and sustainable food sources such as biomanufactured meat and other emerging technologies

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Seven working for Iranian government charged with Cyber Attacks Against U.S. Financial Sector including in NYC




  • One Individual Charged with Obtaining Unauthorized Access into Control Systems of a New York Dam
  • The onslaught of DoS attacks included 46 of largest financial institutions, many headquartered in New York City

Posted by CotoBlogzz

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA -  A grand jury in the Southern District of New York indicted seven Iranian individuals who were employed by two Iran-based computer companies, ITSecTeam (ITSEC) and Mersad Company (MERSAD), that performed work on behalf of the Iranian Government, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on computer hacking charges related to their involvement in an extensive campaign of over 176 days of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, according to announcement  by Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, Director James B. Comey of the FBI, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York.





Ahmad Fathi, 37; Hamid Firoozi, 34; Amin Shokohi, 25; Sadegh Ahmadzadegan, aka Nitr0jen26, 23; Omid Ghaffarinia, aka PLuS, 25; Sina Keissar, 25; and Nader Saedi, aka Turk Server, 26, launched DDoS attacks against 46 victims, primarily in the U.S financial sector, between late 2011 and mid-2013.  
The attacks disabled victim bank websites, prevented customers from accessing their accounts online and collectively cost the victims tens of millions of dollars in remediation costs as they worked to neutralize and mitigate the attacks on their servers.  In addition, Firoozi is charged with obtaining unauthorized access into the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems of the Bowman Dam, located in Rye, New York, in August and September of 2013.
“The charges announced today respond directly to a cyber-assault on New York, its institutions and its infrastructure,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara.  “The alleged onslaught of cyber-attacks on 46 of our largest financial institutions, many headquartered in New York City, resulted in hundreds of thousands of customers being unable to access their accounts and tens of millions of dollars being spent by the companies trying to stay online through these attacks.  
The infiltration of the Bowman Avenue dam represents a frightening new frontier in cybercrime.  These were no ordinary crimes, but calculated attacks by groups with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard and designed specifically to harm America and its people.  We now live in a world where devastating attacks on our financial system, our infrastructure and our way of life can be launched from anywhere in the world, with a click of a mouse.  Confronting these types of cyber-attacks cannot be the job of just law enforcement.  The charges announced today should serve as a wake-up call for everyone responsible for the security of our financial markets and for guarding our infrastructure.  Our future security depends on heeding this call.”
According to the indictment unsealed today in federal court in New York City:
DDoS Attacks
The DDoS campaign began in approximately December 2011, and the attacks occurred only sporadically until September 2012, at which point they escalated in frequency to a near-weekly basis, between Tuesday and Thursdays during normal business hours in the United States.  On certain days during the campaign, victim computer servers were hit with as much as 140 gigabits of data per second and hundreds of thousands of customers were cut off from online access to their bank accounts. 
Fathi, Firoozi and Shokohi were responsible for ITSEC’s portion of the DDoS campaign against the U.S. financial sector and are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit and aid and abet computer hacking.  Fathi was the leader of ITSEC and was responsible for supervising and coordinating ITSEC’s portion of the DDoS campaign, along with managing computer intrusion and cyberattack projects being conducted for the government of Iran.  

Firoozi  was the network manager at ITSEC and, in that role, procured and managed computer servers that were used to coordinate and direct ITSEC’s portion of the DDoS campaign.  Shokohi is a computer hacker who helped build the botnet used by ITSEC to carry out its portion of the DDoS campaign and created malware used to direct the botnet to engage in those attacks.  During the time that he worked in support of the DDoS campaign, Shokohi received credit for his computer intrusion work from the Iranian government towards his completion of his mandatory military service requirement in Iran.
Ahmadzadegan, Ghaffarinia, Keissar and Saedi were responsible for managing the botnet used in MERSAD’s portion of the campaign, and are also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit and aid and abet computer hacking.  Ahmadzadegan was a co-founder of MERSAD and was responsible for managing the botnet used in MERSAD’s portion of the DDoS campaign.  He was also associated with Iranian hacking groups Sun Army and the Ashiyane Digital Security Team (ADST), and claimed responsibility for hacking servers belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in February 2012.  Ahmadzadegan has also provided training to Iranian intelligence personnel.  Ghaffarinia was a co-founder of MERSAD and created malicious computer code used to compromise computer servers and build MERSAD’s botnet.  Ghaffarinia was also associated with Sun Army and ADST, and has also claimed responsibility for hacking NASA servers in February 2012, as well as thousands of other servers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel.  Keissar procured computer servers used by MERSAD to access and manipulate MERSAD’s botnet, and also performed preliminary testing of the same botnet prior to its use in MERSAD’s portion of the DDoS campaign.  Saedi was an employee of MERSAD and a former Sun Army computer hacker who expressly touted himself as an expert in DDoS attacks.  Saedi wrote computer scripts used to locate vulnerable servers to build the MERSAD botnet used in its portion of the DDoS campaign.
For the purpose of carrying out the attacks, each group built and maintained their own botnets, which consisted of thousands of compromised computer systems owned by unwitting third parties that had been infected with the defendants’ malware, and subject to their remote command and control.  The defendants and/or their unindicted co-conspirators then sent orders to their botnets to direct significant amounts of malicious traffic at computer servers used to operate the websites for victim financial institutions, which overwhelmed victim servers and disabled them from customers seeking to legitimately access the websites or their online bank accounts.  Although the DDoS campaign caused damage to the financial sector victims and interfered with their customers’ ability to do online banking, the attacks did not affect or result in the theft of customer account data.
DDoS Botnet Remediation
Since the attacks, the Department of Justice and the FBI have worked together with the private sector to effectively neutralize and remediate the defendants’ botnets.  Specifically, through approximately 20 FBI Liaison Alert System (FLASH) messages, the FBI regularly provided updated information collected from the investigation regarding the identity of systems that been infected with the defendants’ malware and operating as bots within the malicious botnets.  In addition, the FBI conducted extensive direct outreach to Internet service providers responsible for hosting systems that have been infected with the defendants’ malware to provide them information and assistance in removing the malware to protect their customers and other potential victims of the defendants’ unlawful cyber activities.  Through these outreach efforts and the cooperation of the private sector, over 95 percent of the known part of the defendants’ botnets have been successfully remediated.
Bowman Dam Intrusion
Between Aug. 28, 2013, and Sept. 18, 2013, Firoozi repeatedly obtained unauthorized access to the SCADA systems of the Bowman Dam, and is charged with one substantive count of obtaining and aiding and abetting computer hacking.  This unauthorized access allowed him to repeatedly obtain information regarding the status and operation of the dam, including information about the water levels, temperature and status of the sluice gate, which is responsible for controlling water levels and flow rates.  Although that access would normally have permitted Firoozi to remotely operate and manipulate the Bowman Dam’s sluice gate, Firoozi did not have that capability because the sluice gate had been manually disconnected for maintenance at the time of the intrusion.

All seven defendants face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit and aid and abet computer hacking.  Firoozi faces an additional five years in prison for obtaining and aiding and abetting unauthorized access to a protected computer at the Bowman Dam.

The case was investigated by the FBI, including the Chicago; Cincinnati; New York; Newark, New Jersey; Phoenix; and San Francisco Field Offices.  
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy T. Howard of the Southern District of New York, with the substantial assistance of Deputy Chief Sean M. Newell of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Stephen Su, a Chinese national guilty in cyber hack conspiracy of Boeing in Orange County, CA and others and send information to China



Posted by CotoBlogzz

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA - Stephen Su,  a Chinese national pleaded guilty today to participating in a years-long conspiracy to hack into the computer networks of major U.S. defense contractors, steal sensitive military and export-controlled data and send the stolen data to China.



Su Bin, also known as Stephen Su and Stephen Subin, 50, a pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder of the Central District of California, according to announcement by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker of the Central District of California, Assistant Director Jim Trainor of the FBI’s Cyber Division and Assistant Director in Charge David Bowdich of the FBI’s Los Angeles Division.
A criminal complaint filed in 2014 and subsequent indictments filed in Los Angeles charged Su, a China-based businessman in the aviation and aerospace fields, for his role in the criminal conspiracy to steal military technical data, including data relating to the C-17 strategic transport aircraft and certain fighter jets produced for the U.S. military.  Su was initially arrested in Canada in July 2014 on a warrant issued in relation to this case.  Su ultimately waived extradition and consented to be conveyed to the United States in February 2016.
In the plea agreement filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California, Su admitted to conspiring with two persons in China from October 2008 to March 2014 to gain unauthorized access to protected computer networks in the United States, including computers belonging to the Boeing Company in Orange County, California, to obtain sensitive military information and to export that information illegally from the United States to China.
As part of the conspiracy, Su would e-mail the co-conspirators with guidance regarding what persons, companies and technologies to target during their computer intrusions.  One of Su’s co-conspirators would then gain access to information residing on computers of U.S. companies and email Su directory file listings and folders showing the data that the co-conspirator had been able to access.  Su then directed his co-conspirator as to which files and folders his co-conspirator should steal.  Once the co-conspirator stole the data, including by using techniques to avoid detection when hacking the victim computers, Su translated the contents of certain stolen data from English into Chinese.  In addition, Su and his co-conspirators each wrote, revised and emailed reports about the information and technology they had acquired by their hacking activities, including its value, to the final beneficiaries of their hacking activities.
Su’s plea agreement makes clear that the information he and his co-conspirators intentionally stole included data listed on the U.S. Munitions List contained in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.  Su also admitted that he engaged in the crime for the purpose of financial gain and specifically sought to profit from selling the data that he and his co-conspirators illegally acquired. 
Su faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greatest.  
Judge Snyder is scheduled to sentence Su on July 13, 2016.
The case is being investigated by the FBI Los Angeles Field Office’s Cyber Division with assistance from the U.S. Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony J. Lewis of the Central District of California and Trial Attorney Casey Arrowood and Senior Trial Attorney Robert E. Wallace of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, with support from Lisa Roberts of the Justice Department’s Office of International 

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

The DOJ’s Office on Violence against women is soliciting applications for field-initiated research on performance metrics


Posted By CotoBlogzz

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA - According to a Department of Justice press release issued March yesterday, the DOJ’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) do not know if what they are doing is working.  







This is not surprising, A while back we were looking into at a number of elder abuse cases and wanted to see what the state was doing about it.  We asked a number of Adult Protective Services (APS) and Financial Abuse Services Team (FAS) (http://www.coaoc.org/pdf/fast_info.pdf) representatives as to whether they knew they were doing a good job or not.  We also contacted the a representative of the California Consumer Affairs ( http://www.dca.ca.gov/consumer/seniors/elder_abuse.shtml)  and the Chairwoman of the California Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care (CCALC)


With the exception of the CCALC chairwoman, in general all went through the first three stages of grief during the first ten minutes of our conversation, but never got anything substantive.  An Orange County APS representative told us that she knew she was doing a good job because she got surveys from the training she provided.  But outside of training, no metrics were available.  As to the CCAL Chairwomen, we gave up when after repeated attempts, she never even acknowledged our request for information.
In the case of Violence Against Women, the DOJ’s OVW has launched a Research and Evaluation Initiative “to help grantees align their work with practices that are known to be effective and to strengthen communities’ capacity to generate knowledge on the efficacy of new and promising ways of doing things.
According to the OVW, the first step of the new initiative was to develop a comprehensive understanding of what we know about the effectiveness of approaches funded by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and determine which practices require a closer look and further study.  A report summarizing this effort and describing OVW’s plans for evidence-based and evidence-building grantmaking is now available.  The report identifies the following six areas of study:
  1. Victims’ needs: how victimization and its aftermath affect people’s lives, especially people who are marginalized (including but not limited to victims who are: people of color; immigrants; male; Deaf or hard of hearing; lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender ; people with disabilities; elderly; members of cultural, linguistic and/or religious minority groups; incarcerated or formerly incarcerated; and/or living in poverty), and what they need to cope, heal and achieve safety and justice.
  2. Cultures, disparities and access: ways in which cultural differences and social inequalities matter in terms of where and to whom people go for help, and whether people are able to access justice and get services that are useful to them.
  3. Justice: ways the justice system can effectively pursue and achieve justice in cases involving domestic/dating violence, sexual assault and stalking; with justice broadly understood to include autonomy for victims, accountability for offenders, procedural fairness for all and restorative justice.
  4. Impact: short- and long-term impact of the justice system’s response, victim services and other VAWA-funded interventions on victim safety and offender accountability.
  5. Indicators of success: what success looks like and how to measure it – for victims pursing safety and justice, for offenders being held accountable for their violence and for people who work with victims and offenders.
  6. Reducing recidivism: how to prevent violence from recurring.

Finally, in order to understand what works in each of the areas of study, OVW is now inviting applicants to propose projects to conduct research and evaluation on VAWA-funded activities through a solicitation released today.  
This first-ever funding opportunity is designed to support researcher-practitioner partnerships, with an emphasis on enhancing knowledge and practice related to underserved and marginalized populations.  
OVW is seeking field-initiated research that will produce findings that are relevant to the day-to-day work of victim advocates, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, healthcare providers, attorneys, judges and others committed to helping victims and making communities safer.  
Applications are due on Monday, May 2, 2016.


Based on our previous efforts, Indicators of success may just be the most important are of study.  However,  the other five areas of study should include some sort of performance indicators and or establish benchmarks.

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