Former Massachusetts State Police union (SPAM) President & Lobbyist Convicted of RICO Charges

 Another illustration Of How Insiders can Commit Any Crime, Including Voter Fraud.

These defendants cared more about enriching themselves through a series of bribes and kickbacks- Joleen D. Simpson. And taint the good name of law enforcement agent

BOSTON – Yesterday, the former President of the State Police Association of Massachusetts (SPAM) and the union’s former Massachusetts lobbyist, Dana A. Pullman, 60, of Worcester, and Anne M. Lynch, 71, of Hull, were convicted of racketeering, fraud, obstruction of justice and tax crimes.

 SPAM is an association consisting of more than 1,500 Troopers and Sergeants from the Massachusetts State Police (MSP). SPAM acts as the exclusive bargaining agent between its members and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts regarding the terms and conditions of SPAM members’ employment.

Pullman, who was an MSP trooper from 1987 to 2018, was the President of SPAM from 2012 until his resignation on Sept. 28, 2018. Lynch’s lobbying firm represented SPAM during the same time period, in exchange for monthly retainer payments.

From at least 2012 until Pullman resigned as the President in September 2018, Pullman and Lynch turned SPAM into a racketeering enterprise, using Pullman’s position and power to defraud SPAM. Pullman and Lynch defrauded SPAM members and the Commonwealth of their right to honest services when Lynch paid Pullman a $20,000 kickback in connection with a settlement agreement between SPAM and the Commonwealth.

Insider Scheme, The Entombment Method

insiders with a motive can commit any crime. Including voter fraud. This is done in a number of ways: Hacktivism, overcoming the Account Payable, Accounts Receivable Obstacle (AP/AR) obstacle, Plausible Deniability, Algorithms, Brute force, Lie & Deny, entombment & so on Just today, Milwaukee Election Commission official Kimberly Zapata charged with felony and misdemeanor counts over fraudulent military ballots.  I have dozens of examples of insiders abusing the system, yet DOJ/FBI/MSM seem to disregard it

In this case, Pullman and Lynch defrauded two different companies that sought to do business with the MSP by hiding from the vendors the fact that Lynch was paying Pullman to direct vendors to use Lynch’s services. The defendants hid the payments from Lynch and her lobbying firm to Pullman in a manner designed to avoid reporting and paying taxes on that income to the IRS

 

Insider Scheme, The Lie & Deny Method

 Pullman and Lynch also attempted to obstruct the grand jury’s investigation of this matter by manipulating subpoenaed records, and Lynch attempted to obstruct the grand jury’s investigation by lying to investigators.

 

Insider Scheme, The Brute Force Method

Additionally, Pullman embezzled and misused SPAM funds for personal use by using a debit card tied to a SPAM bank account to pay for thousands of dollars of meals and travel for an individual with whom Pullman was having a romantic relationship. “Instead of honestly representing the interests of the more than 1,500 Massachusetts law enforcement professionals, these defendants cared more about enriching themselves through a series of bribes and kickbacks. Today’s guilty verdict affirms that their actions violated the trust given to them and this conduct will not go unpunished,” said Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office.

Nine Indicted On RICO charges, using dark web resulting in more than $36 million in false tax refunds

On Tuesdsy United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the partial unsealing of an indictment charging eight with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy. RICO allows for prosecution of all individuals involved in a corrupt organization. For mob prosecutions, that means that the government can go after top leadership as well as the hit men and capo. A ninth conspirator was charged, and the indictment will be fully unsealed when that conspirator is arrested.

 

Andi Jacques (41, Greenacres), Monika Shauntel Jenkins (33, Hollywood), Louis Noel Michel (28, Hollywood), Jeff Jordan Propht-Francisque (28, Pompano Beach), Dickenson Elan (39, Clearwater), Michael Jean Poix (31, West Palm Beach), Vladimyr Cherelus (33, Lauderdale Lakes), and Louisaint Jolteus (37, West Palm Beach) are charged with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy.



Jacques, Poix, Jenkins, and Michel have also been charged with wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.


According to the indictment and doĺcuments, from 2015 through 2019, the defendants and numerous other conspirators—including a now-deceased conspirator who is referenced in the indictment as RICH4EVER4430. banded together to engage in a sophisticated cybercrime and tax fraud scheme.

Jenkins, Michel, Propht-Francisque, Cherelus, and RICH4EVER4430 purchased on the dark web server credentials for the computer servers of Certified Public Accounting (CPA) and tax preparation firms across the country.  The dark web refers to content on the internet that is intentionally hidden and requires special software, like Tor Browser, to access. The dark web is a subset of the deep web, which is all content on the internet that isn't indexed by search engines.

Tulane: https://sopa.tulane.edu/blog/everything-you-should-know-about-dark-web

They used those server credentials to remotely and covertly commit computer intrusions and exfiltrate the tax returns of thousands of taxpayers who were clients of those CPA and tax preparation firms. Those tax returns included the clients’ names, dates of birth, Social Security number.and financial information.

Jenkins, Michel, Propht-Francisque, Cherelus, RICH4EVER4430, and other conspirators then partnered with Jacques, Elan, Poix, Jolteus, and others to form an enterprise through which they filed thousands of false tax returns in the names of more than 9,000 identity theft victims.

Members of the enterprise created and operated at least six fraudulent tax preparation businesses in south Florida, and used those businesses to file many of these false tax returns. The conspirators directed the resulting tax refunds to debit cards and bank accounts that they controlled. Also, to make the businesses appear more legitimate, members of the enterprise opened bank accounts in the names of these fraudulent tax businesses to receive fake “tax preparer fees.” Members of the enterprise also registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) preparer tax identification numbers using the names and information of identity theft victims, to make it appear that those victims were the individuals who were filing false returns in bulk.


In other iterations of the charged RICO conspiracy, members of the enterprise “hijacked” the IRS-issued identification numbers of CPA and tax preparation firms and used those identification numbers to file scores of additional false tax returns. Members of the enterprise filed false self-prepared tax returns using stolen identities as well.


To obfuscate their cybercriminal conduct, the conspirators routinely used pseudonyms, opened business entities and bank accounts in the names of nominees and identity theft victims, and conducted their illicit business using dozens of different email addresses. Altogether, the enterprise claimed more than $36 million in false tax refunds over the course of approximately four years. The actual loss amount is still being calculated but is at least $4 million.

Guilty Plea to Theft of West Haven City Funds & Covid Relief, by State Representative & Employee, DiMassa, illustrates the Insider Threat

Tuesday, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut New Haven Division announced that Michael DiMassa, 31, of West Haven, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges stemming from his involvement in schemes that resulted in the theft of more than $1.2 million dollars in COVID relief funds and other funds from the City of West Haven. We often say that a security professional's worse nightmare is insiders like DiMassa, who have motive, where motive can be money, power, jealousy, revenge, and so on. 

Insiders like DiMassa have #MOM - Motive, Opportunity and Means to commit any crime, including voter fraud. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency(CISA)  defines Insider Threats as " the potential for an insider to use their authorized access or understanding of an organization to harm that organization. This harm can include malicious, complacent, or unintentional acts that negatively affect the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of the organization, its data, personnel, or facilities."  Depending on the experts, 70-90% of organizations have been victim of an Inside Threat.  DiMassa's case is an excellent illustration: For example, fraud prevention 101 in accounting involves accounts payable and accounts receivable. Accounts receivable (AR)  is considered an asset because the company is counting on receiving that money within the timeline defined when the sale was initiated, whereas accounts payable (AP) is considered a liability because the company needs to pay out that amount within a certain timeline.  These two functions need to remain strictly separate, in the hands of different departments or personnel. In fact, the American Institute of CPAs considers the separation of duties a fundamental accounting principle and essential internal control for every business, primarily to reduce the risk of fraud. 

Insiders like DeMassa use schemes to get around the AP/AR obstacle, often use plausible deniability and the most sophisticated is the use of new or modified algorithms.  Why it is said that a design, such as vote counting systems, says more about the designers (or Insiders) than the users.  Plausible deniability  is the ability of people, typically senior officials in a formal or informal chain of command, to deny knowledge of or responsibility for any damnable actions committed by members of their organizational hierarchy. They may do so because of a lack or absence of evidence that can confirm their participation, even if they were personally involved in or at least willfully ignorant of the actions. If illegal or otherwise disreputable and unpopular activities become public, high-ranking officials may deny any awareness of such acts to insulate themselves and shift the blame onto the agents who carried out the acts, as they are confident that their doubters will be unable to prove otherwise. The lack of evidence to the contrary ostensibly makes the denial plausible (credible), but sometimes, it makes any accusations only unactionable. Worse: 

The Insider at West Haven

DiMassa did not rely on plausible deniability, such as Uber’s former Chief Security Officer, or the more sophisticated use of algorithm, but simply get around the Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable obstacle

The Elegance of Simplicity - 

According to court records DiMassa was a Connecticut State Representative who was also employed by the City of West Haven, serving as the Administrative Assistant to the City Council. In April 2020, the State of Connecticut was allocated money by the U.S. Department of the Treasury through the Coronavirus Relief Fund (“CRF”), which was established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) for the purpose of helping local governments pay costs incurred in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. From July 2020 through September 2021, the City of West Haven received approximately $1,150,257 in financial assistance from this fund. DiMassa, who was authorized to approve the designated relief funds for the reimbursement of COVID-related expenditures incurred by West Haven, conspired with others to steal these funds and other West Haven funds through the submission of fraudulent invoices, and subsequent payment, for COVID relief goods and services that were never provided.

Scheme One: Bypassing the AP/AR Obstacle

In one scheme, DiMassa conspired with John Bernardo, who was employed by the City of West Haven as a Housing Specialist in the office of Community Development Administration. In January 2021, DiMassa and Bernardo formed Compass Investment Group, LLC. Beginning in February 2021, Compass Investment Group LLC fraudulently billed the City of West Haven and its “COVID-19 Grant Department” for consulting services purportedly provided to the West Haven Health Department that were not performed. From February 2021 through September 2021, the City of West Haven paid Compass Investment Group a total of $636,783.70 DiMassa made several large cash withdrawals from the Compass Investment Group LLC bank account.

Scheme Two:  Use Family to do the Laundry

DiMassa also conspired with his wife, Lauren DiMassa, through the submission of numerous fraudulent invoices to West Haven for services related to a Youth Violence Prevention Program and for Youth Violence COVID-19 Associated Expenses. These invoices listed charges for in-home counseling, cleaning supplies, special needs hourly service, wi-fi assistance for low/moderate income families, counseling services, license fees, a fall youth clinic, meals, support group supplies, equipment rental, and youth clinic support group. West Haven made at least 16 payments totaling approximately $147,776.10 to Lauren DiMassa, who never provided any services to the City of West Haven.

Scheme Three: Use Friends to do the Laundry

In a third scheme, DiMassa conspired with another individual through the submission of fraudulent invoices from companies, which were controlled by DiMassa’s co-conspirator, to West Haven for goods and services, including thousands of units of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), HVAC maintenance at multiple municipal locations, COVID supplies for the Board of Education, and cleaning services for various municipal and school buildings, including one school building that had been vacant and abandoned for several years. The co-conspirator’s companies received approximately $431,982 through this scheme. DiMassa has agreed to pay restitution of $1,216,541.80.

So, you still think that voter fraud by Insiders is not possible?

Nov 1st Solemnity of All Saints - Make All Saints Day Great Again

November 1st is the Solemnity of All Saints in the Universal Church, where Solemnity (from Lat. solet and annus), is a yearly celebration, is used to denote the amount of intrinsic or extrinsic pomp with which a feast is celebrated. Intrinsic solemnity arises from the fact that the feast is primarium for the entire Church, or for a special place, because in it a saint was born, lived, or died; or because his relics are honored there. 

Extrinsic solemnity is added by feriatio, by the number of sacred ministers, decoration of the church or adjoining streets, the ringing of bells, the number of candles, costly vestments, and so on. All Saints' Day (All Hallows') is in the middle of the triduum Halloween and All All Souls' Day. These three days taken together called Allhallowtide, Hallowtide, Allsaintstide, or the Hallowmas







This feast first honored martyrs. Later, when Christians were free to worship according to their consciences, the Church acknowledged other paths to sanctity. In the early centuries the only criterion was popular acclaim, even when the bishop’s approval became the final step in placing a commemoration on the calendar. The first papal canonization occurred in 993; the lengthy process now required to prove extraordinary sanctity took form in the last 500 years. Today’s feast honors the obscure as well as the famous—the saints each of us have known.

. Currently the Catholic Church venerates over 10,000 saints and illustrates the diversity and inclusion of the Universal Church. There is a Patron Saint for everybody, every profession, hobby, and craft: St. Isidore, seventh century Bishop of Seville is the patron saint of internet surfers. He wrote a 20 book encyclopedia of etymologies “an important source for the history of intellectual culture in the early middle ages, gathers together the elements of secular learning and adds a great deal of ecclesiastical information. Its wide use in medieval education is attested by the more than a thousand extant manuscripts, second only to the number of manuscripts of the Bible. In it, Isidore sets out the etymology or "true meaning" of words - to him, the fundamental means to all knowledge.” Then there is Saint Drogo, a 12th century French hermit and shepherd, patron saint of coffee lovers and ugly people.


History of the Solemnity of All Saints Day

Today's solemnity, a Holy Day of Obligation, began in the 4th century to commemorate all the Christian martyrs during those centuries of brutal persecution before Christianity was legalized. After Christianity was legalized throughout the Roman Empire and the violent and bloody persecutions came to an end, it was common to commemorate the martyrs in various areas around the empire. This is reflected in the writings of the saints like St. Ephrem (d. 373) and St. John Chrysostom (d. 407) making reference to a commemoration of all saints.

The Pantheon is pictured in the evening in Rome Feb. 29, 2020. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Roman Pantheon — formerly a shrine to the Roman gods — as a Christian church of the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs. CNS photo/Paul Haring

In the early seventh century, after successive waves of invaders plundered the catacombs, Pope Boniface IV gathered up some 28 wagon-loads of bones and reinterred them beneath the Pantheon, a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods. The pope rededicated the shrine as a Christian church. According to Venerable Bede, the pope intended “that the memory of all the saints might in the future be honored in the place which had formerly been dedicated to the worship not of gods but of demons” (On the Calculation of Time).The rededication of the Pantheon, like the earlier commemoration of all the martyrs, occurred in May. Many Eastern Churches still honor all the saints in the spring, either during the Easter season or immediately after Pentecost.


Pope Gregory III consecrated a chapel at St. Peter’s Basilica to all the saints, as well, with an anniversary date of Nov. 1. Rome adopted Nov. 1 as the date of the feast of All Saints in the eighth century, and in the ninth century Pope Gregory IV extended that observance to the whole of the Latin Church. Now, All Saints’ Day is a holy day of obligation and recognized as one of the most important feasts on the liturgical calendar.

 

All Saints' Day Hijacked by Consumerism

Halloween is the vigil of All Saints’ (“Allhallows Eve” or “Hallow E’en”), hijacked by the pagan, demonic, and secular. You may have experienced something similar yesterday seeing houses gaudily strewn with fake spiderwebs, skeletons, and repulsive cadavers. Some Christians have withdrawing completely from this holiday, since it seems like the domain of the devil. However, the proper celebration of Halloween is very much a part of Catholic tradition. Note that because of her Protestant leanings, Queen Elizabeth I forbade the traditions associated with All Souls’ Day. But these customs escaped her anti-Catholic, anti-fun edicts and have made their way down the centuries to us today.

 

Lets Make All Saints’ Day Great Again!

The saints are our friends, our intercessors, our brothers and sisters in Christ. They care deeply for us, and their lives are recognized by the Church as exemplary, as models to follow. In fact, we are all called to be saints. St. Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians, wrote “to the church of God that is in Corinth, to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours” (1 Cor 1:2). Still they are a tough act to follow. And then we are told that no one deserves to be a saint: as it is written: “There is no one who is righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). What a conundrum – no wonder it’s easier to sell Halloween than All Saints Day! Lucy Fuchs, PhD implies that if you want to become a saint, you need a lobbyist: “ More than 80 percent of the canonized saints are clerics or members of religious orders. Since canonization takes so long, one needs a group dedicated to the work of seeing it through to Rome.” But then quickly adds: In spite of this, it is important for us to remember that those who have become saints did so not because of the so-called great deeds they performed, but because of the love of God and neighbor that drove them. We don’t have to look hard to find the truth of this. All we need are the words of St. Paul:

“If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)”

Thomas Mautone gers 30 months in federal prison for cheating Oregon senior of $ 1 million

EUGENE, Ore.— Thomas Gerard Mautone, 43, formerly residing in Newark, New Jersey was sentenced Friday  to 30 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release for his role in a scheme to deceive and cheat $1 million from an elderly man residing in Roseburg, Oregon. Mautone was also ordered to pay $1 million in restitution to his victim.

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According to court documents and trial testimony, Mautone was one of five individuals who together perpetrated a scheme to convince an elderly man to invest $1 million in a fraudulent high-yield international investment scam. In July 2015, one of Mautone’s co-defendants, Jared Mack, 46, of Utah, made initial contact with the victim to pitch an investment opportunity claiming to produce weekly returns of 20%. Once the victim expressed interest in the purported investment opportunity – and produced evidence he had $1 million to invest – Mack introduced him to Mautone, the supposed connection to investment “platform partner,” and codefendant Olabode Olukanni, 39, of New York.

For several months, Mautone and his co-defendants maintained frequent contact with the victim and repeatedly attempted to assure him, of the investment opportunity’s legitimacy, low risk, and promised returns. Mautone made these false representations despite knowing that others had their money stolen by his supposed Hong Kong investment partner, and despite being convicted only two years earlier of wire fraud for pitching a similar high-yield investment scam in South Carolina. 

In December 2015, the victim wired $1 million to a bank account in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which was controlled by codefendant Rovshan Bahader Oglu Qasimov, 38, of Azerbaijan. Qasimov immediately withdrew the money and used it to purchase gold from a jewelry store in Dubai. The victim never saw his money again, nor did he receive the promised investment returns.

On June 21, 2017, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned a six-count indictment charging Mautone, Mack, Olukanni, and Qasimov with wire fraud.

On May 13, 2022, Mautone was convicted at trial by a jury in Eugene.

Mack, Olukanni, and Qasimov all pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their roles in the scheme.

The Taliban of the USA Battles Elon Musk

We live in an age where people refuse to take responsibility for their own actions but demand apologies and  reparations for atrocities they never experienced, from people who never committed them. They like to cancel art, ideas, symbols, language & history they don't agree with - they even cancel names of military bases and main stream media celebrates.  Even CNN published an op-ed by Scott Jennings, June 24, 2021 titled Removing Teddy Roosevelt’s statue is the worst kind of pandering.  Jennings wrote “Monday’s decision by officials in New York City to remove the iconic equestrian statue of Teddy Roosevelt from the front of the American Museum of Natural History (the board of which called for its removal last year) is the worst kind of pandering. Getting rid of the Rough Rider does nothing to advance the cause of racial harmony, but it does serve the goals of those who believe America is an irredeemable, racist nation that must be torn down. When this national statue removal madness started, we were assured advocates were just after the Confederates. Why are we honoring traitors, they asked?’

 

Confederate Leaders Fall Down - then Teddy:  What's Next?

The Intolerant of Tolerance Left – The Taliban of the West

Afghanistan, like many of today’s nations has been  melting pot of cultures that make up the colorfully robust and dynamic foundation of Afghanistan in general and art specifically,  These civilizations include, the empires and kingdoms like the  Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, the Indian Maurya Empire, the Islamic Empire and the Sassanid Empire. Like the empires, Afghanistan's transient and nomadic kingdoms and dynasties that rose to power: Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, Hephthalites, Turk Shahis, Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Kartids, Timurids, Mughals, Hotaki dynasty and Durrani dynasty. They helped shape the development of Afghan art as well as its preservation and destruction. Through 1992, Taliban attacks and looting of the National Museum of Afghanistan resulted in a loss of 70% of the 100,000 artifacts of Afghan culture and History. On orders from Taliban founder Mullah Omar, the  Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed in March 2001, after the Taliban government declared that they were idols.The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th-century monumental statues carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley of Hazarajat region in central Afghanistan. Omar’s edict created a global uproar, including moderate Muslim clerics and heads of state who asked the Taliban to reverse coarse. UNESCO representatives argued for the need to preserve a cultural heritage and to respect religious tolerance. UNESCO, the MET in New York) and  some Buddhist states, such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, offered to buy the Buddhas. To make the destruction more dramatic, journalists were flown to Bamiyan on March 26 to see with their own eyes ground zero, where the statues had stood. Prior to that, on March 19, the Taliban had agreed for this one occasion to let Al-Jazeera cameramen witness the final phase of the demolition.

 

Sad, sad indeed.  The same people who mourned the death of the Buddhas and the destruction of artifacts of Afghan culture and History celebrated the removal of not only Confederate Leaders, but also Teddy Roosevelt.

 

The Taliban of the West’s War on Free Speech

Now the same people are mourning the sale of Twitter to Elon Musk. Writing for Fortune Magazine, Steve Mollman is among the mourners:  Musk has owned Twitter under a week and big names are already leaving the platform, complaining about a hate surge, and calling for tighter regulation "That didn’t take long. It’s been four days since Elon Musk finalized his $44 billion takeover of Twitter, and already he’s facing pushback from celebrities, lawmakers, and advertisers worried about how the

 But we saw this movie before. Steve Herman tweeting for Bloomberg sounds a different alarm.  He tweets: “ A tide of slurs and racists memes swell on #Twitter, sparking concern, the site is entering an era of hateful speech following the takeover by @elonmusk.”  We actually found the opposite to be true: #LinkedIn #Instagram, #Facebook - even #Twitter et al have intensified their attack on free speech since Elon Musk bought Twitter.  Instagram uses USA Today to fact-check a prayer and agrees with Washington Post and NY Times:  Prayer may be hazardous to your health.

Instagram fact-checks a prayer.  Twitter flags Ballot Harvesting Report

 Meanwhile LinkedIn blocks me for posting fact-based information on COVID Vaccinbe,  its censors deem to be misleading. Yet, while Twitter has banned President Trumpand others for life, it continues to allow totalitarian regime representatives, such as Chinese Government Spokesperson Lijian Zhao @zlj517 even though he blamed the CIA for planting the COVID-19 virus!

 

But we have seen this movie before. In April of this year, we thought Musk was undertaking a big challenge, something he recently acknowledge saying he was not doing it for the money or because it was easy, but because it was the right thing to do.  A rhteorhical question we asked at the time was:  Will Musk be able to put Twitter back together again?  Not according to Pew Research:  Big Tech monetizes hate & division.  Covertly leans ProChina & AntiUSA, its algorithms reflect such bias.  In short, Bigh Tech and Twitter are diametrically opposed to Musk’s desire for a free speech digital square free of bots & SNOs & open source algorithms.  According to Musk:  “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated”

 

LinkedIn Blocks my account to to Covid "misinformation"

While not as consequential, Kanye West’s intention to buy the Social Media Platform Parler and President Trump’s Truth Social, with Twitter, make up what we dubbed the Trifecta of Social Media. This trifecta of social media accelerates the need to answer the questions we previously asked;

Accounts blocked by Twitter, still features Lijian Zhao

Will Big Tech transform itself into a free speech digital square using open-source algorithms & stop monetizing hate & division?

If the initial news that Elon Musk had offered to buy Twitter sent mainstream media, Big Tech, China, the DNC et al in a tailspin, how will they react to the Trifecta?

Will Columbia University and the Pulitzer Prize Board, stop giving Pulitzers for Fake News, like they did when they gave Pulitzers to the Washington Post and the New York Times for the Russian Hoax?

Ho, Hum, US charges 13 CCP agents in three espionage cases: Nothing New

In three separate cases in the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Eastern District of New York and the District of New Jersey, the Justice Department has charged 13 individuals, including members of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) security and intelligence apparatus and their agents, for alleged efforts to unlawfully exert influence in the United States for the benefit of the government of the PRC.

In the Eastern District of New York, an eight-count indictment was unsealed on Oct. 20 charging seven PRC nationals – two of whom were arrested on Oct. 20 in New York – with participating in a scheme to cause the forced repatriation of a PRC national residing in the United States. The defendants are accused of conducting surveillance of and engaging in a campaign to harass and coerce a U.S. resident to return to the PRC as part of an international extralegal repatriation effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt, " which has been going on for years.  Our last report on Operation Fox Hunt was in April.  Also on April of this year FBI Director Christopher Wray finally called out China as an Inside Threat 

You might recall Eric Swalwell and Fang Fang. Or as Fox's Michael Ruiz puts it: Democrats' China connections keep piling up, including representative Eric Swalwell and Barbara Boxer. Senator Ted Cruz told Sunday Morning Futures Maria Bartiromo ” ‘The Democratic Party today is funded by Big Tech and giant corporations which are in bed with Chinese communists’”

In February of this year, FBI Director Christopher Wray felt compelled to call out LinkedIn when discussing the Chinese threat: “Now, as an aside, I would be remiss if I didn’t note that we see an awful lot of Chinese intelligence outreach on social media, especially on LinkedIn." In March five defendants were charged with various crimes related to efforts by the Chinese secret police to stalk, harass and spy on Chinese nationals residing in Queens, New York, and elsewhere in the United States. On April 27, 2022, FBI Director Christopher Wray illustrated the extent of the Chinese threat, saying that of the 56 field offices the FBI has across the country, every single one has cases on the Chinese government’s attempts to steal U.S.-based information and technology, use intelligence officers, hackers, front companies, seemingly benign joint ventures or research partnerships and recruiting employees who use their legitimate access to steal corporate secrets, what we all refer to as “insider threats. in May Chemist Dr. Xiaorong You for conspiracy to steal trade secrets, economic espionage, theft of trade secrets, and wire fraud and five indicted on charges related to CCP spying on Chinese nationals in US and abroad

But if you believe Mainstream Media, This is due to a Biden initiative. According to Politico "The Biden administration is intensifying its efforts to put the spotlight on alleged covert operations by the Chinese government in the United States, unveiling a trio of criminal cases on Monday that included one in which Chinese operatives were accused of attempting to pay bribes for inside information about the high-profile prosecution of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei." This story, like the mainstream media pouncing on the Election Integrity narrative with vanilla headlines and without asking a single question looks more like PR:  While we have been urging the FBI to address the insidious Inside Threat for years, both mainstream media and law enforcement seem to ignore it.

Back to today's news:  criminal complaint was unsealed Monday in federal court in Brooklyn charging two People’s PRC intelligence officers with attempting to obstruct a criminal prosecution in the Eastern District of New York. The defendants remain at large.

In the District of New Jersey, an indictment was unsealed today charging four Chinese nationals, including three Ministry of State Security (MSS) intelligence officers, in connection with a long-running intelligence campaign targeting individuals in the United States to act as agents of the PRC

United States v. Quanzhong An, et al., Eastern District of New York

An eight-count indictment was unsealed on Oct. 20 in Brooklyn charging a total of seven nationals of the PRC – Quanzhong An, 55, of Roslyn, New York; Guangyang An, 34, of Roslyn, New York; Tian Peng, 38, of the PRC; Chenghua Chen of the PRC; Chunde Ming of the PRC; Xuexin Hou, 52, of the PRC; and Weidong Yuan, 55, of the PRC – with participating in a scheme to cause the forced repatriation of a PRC national residing in the United States. The lead defendant, Quanzhong An, allegedly acted at the direction and under the control of various officials with the PRC’s government’s Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection (Provincial Commission) – including Peng, Chen, Ming, and Hou – to conduct surveillance of and engage in a campaign to harass and coerce a U.S. resident to return to the PRC as part of an international extralegal repatriation effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt.”

Quanzhong An and Guangyang An were arrested on Thursday and were arraigned that afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes Jr. The remaining defendants remain at large.

As alleged in the indictment, the defendants participated in an international campaign to threaten and intimidate John Doe-1, a resident of United States, and his family to force John Doe-1 to return to the PRC. These efforts were part of “Operation Fox Hunt,” an initiative by the PRC’s Ministry of Public Security to locate and repatriate alleged fugitives who flee to foreign countries, including the United States. The PRC government has targeted these alleged fugitives and their families to compel cooperation with the PRC government and self-repatriation to the PRC. The PRC government has taken such law enforcement actions on U.S. soil in a unilateral manner without approval, of or coordination with the U.S. government.

Quanzhong An, who is a businessman operating in Queens, New York, and the majority shareholder of a hotel in Flushing, acted as the primary U.S.-based liaison for the Provincial Commission’s targeting of John Doe-1 and his family members, including his son, John Doe-2, both in the United States and in the PRC. As part of the scheme, various PRC-based conspirators forced a relative in the PRC (John Doe-3) to travel from the PRC to the United States in September 2018 to meet with John Doe-2 and convey threats that were intended to coerce John Doe-1’s return to the PRC. Yuan – John Doe-3’s superior at the PRC’s State Administration of Taxation – escorted John Doe-3 from the PRC to the United States, under the guise of a visit with a tour group.

PRC-based defendants and coconspirators also engaged in a pattern of harassment targeting John Doe-1’s family members. In November 2017, Hou wrote John Doe-2 warning him that “coming back and turning yourself in is the only way out.” Hou further threatened that “avoidance and wishful thinking will only result in severe legal punishments.” The PRC government also harassed John Doe-1 and John Doe-2 through the filing of a lawsuit in New York State court, alleging that John Doe-1 had stolen funds from his former PRC based employer and that John Doe-2 had knowledge of and benefitted from his father’s scheme.

In a series of recorded meetings in 2020, 2021, and 2022, Quanzhong An repeatedly met with John Doe-2 and attempted to persuade John Doe-2 to cause the return of John Doe-1 to the PRC. In these meetings, Quanzhong An acknowledged that he is a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which enforces the rules and regulations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) abroad. At various times, he attributed his instructions to Chen, Ming, and Peng and acknowledged that the Fox Hunt operation was motivated by the PRC government’s need to “save their faces” and repatriate as many fugitives as possible.

Quanzhong An admitted that he was acting as an agent of the Provincial Commission to increase his standing in the PRC. During his meetings with John Doe-2, Quanzhong An repeatedly transmitted threats on behalf of the PRC government. If John Doe-1 did not return, the PRC government would “keep pestering you, [and] make your daily life uncomfortable,” in addition to actions to “target and monitor” John Doe-1’s relatives in the PRC. On another occasion, he stated that “they will definitely find new ways to bother you” and “it is definitely true that all of your relatives will be involved.”

As set forth in the detention memorandum, Quanzhong An met with John Doe-2 again on Sept. 29, 2022. During this meeting, Quanzhong An pressed for John Doe-1 to execute an agreement to return to the PRC in advance of the CCP’s 20th National Congress, which began on Oct. 16, 2022. As part

United States v. Dong He, et al., Eastern District of New York

A criminal complaint was unsealed Monday in federal court in Brooklyn charging two People’s Republic of China (PRC) intelligence officers with attempting to obstruct a criminal prosecution in the Eastern District of New York. The defendants remain at large.

According to court documents, Dong He, aka Guochun He and aka Jacky He, and Zheng Wang, aka Zen Wang, allegedly orchestrated a scheme to steal files and other information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to the ongoing federal criminal investigation and prosecution of a global telecommunications company (Company-1) based in the PRC, including by paying a $41,000 Bitcoin bribe to a U.S. government employee who the defendants believed had been recruited to work for the PRC, but who in fact was a double agent working on behalf of the FBI.

Dong He and Zheng Wang are charged with attempting to obstruct a criminal prosecution of Company-1 in federal district court in the Eastern District of New York. Defendant He also is charged with money laundering based upon a bribe payment of $41,000 in Bitcoin made in furtherance of the scheme.

According to the complaint, the defendants are PRC intelligence officers conducting foreign intelligence operations targeting the United States, on behalf of the PRC government and for the benefit of Company-1. Starting in 2019, they directed an employee at a U.S. government law enforcement agency (GE-1), whom they believed they had recruited as an asset, to steal confidential information about the criminal prosecution of Company-1 in order to interfere with that prosecution. In actuality, GE-1 was working as a double agent on behalf of the FBI.

In September 2021, the defendants tasked GE-1 with reporting about meetings that GE-1 was purportedly having with prosecutors in Brooklyn at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. In written communications, the defendants said they were particularly interested in knowing which Company-1 employees had been interviewed by the government and in obtaining a description of the prosecutors’ evidence, witness list and trial strategy.

In October 2021, GE-1 used an encrypted messaging program to send the defendants a single page from a purported internal strategy memorandum from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York regarding the Company-1 case. The document appeared to be classified as “SECRET” and to discuss a plan to charge and arrest two current Company-1 employees living in the PRC. Dong He responded that the document was “exactly what I am waiting for” and that he was “waiting for the feedback from some guys” about whether there were any questions about the document. Dong He then paid GE-1 approximately $41,000 in Bitcoin for stealing that document.

GE-1 also asked the defendants for any feedback about the “SECRET” document. In November 2021, Dong He stated that “[Company-1] didn’t give me specifically feedback now yet, but they are obviously interested in it, and my boss and they need further information.” Dong He further told GE-1 that “[Company-1] obviously will be interested” in GE-1 stealing another part of the strategy memorandum, and “maybe will offer more” for that information. In December 2021, in response to a further request by GE-1 for feedback or guidance from Company-1 about “what they want me to get,” Dong He explained that “they didn’t give me any positive feedback yet and demanded to communicate with you directly.” Dong He said that he refused Company-1’s request to speak directly to GE-1 because “it’s too dangerous.

United States v. Wang Lin et al., District of New Jersey

A federal indictment was unsealed Monday charging four Chinese nationals, including three Ministry of State Security (MSS) intelligence officers, in connection with a long-running intelligence campaign targeting individuals in the United States to act as agents of the PRC.

As alleged in the indictment, from at least 2008 to 2018, Wang Lin, 59; Bi Hongwei, age unknown; Dong Ting, aka Chelsea Dong, 40; Wang Qiang, 55, and others engaged in a wide-ranging and systematic effort to target and recruit individuals to act on behalf of the PRC in the United States with requests to provide information, materials, equipment, and assistance to the Chinese government in ways that would further China’s intelligence objectives. These recruitment efforts included targeting professors at universities, a former federal law enforcement and state homeland security official, and others to act on behalf of, and as agents of, the Chinese government.

As part of the conspiracy, MSS intelligence officers Wang Lin, Dong Ting, and others used a purported academic institute at Ocean University of China – referred to as the Institute for International Studies (IIS) – as cover for their clandestine intelligence activities. Acting under cover as the purported director of the IIS, Wang Lin, in coordination with other MSS operatives operating under the guise of academics at the IIS, targeted professors at American universities and others in the United States with access to sensitive information and equipment.

According to the indictment unsealed today, MSS intelligence officers Wang Lin, Bi, Dong, and others, acting for and on behalf of the MSS and the Chinese government, systematically targeted United States persons, including but not limited to a coconspirator who was a resident of the state of New Jersey and a second individual who was a former federal law enforcement officer and state homeland security official and a professor at an American university.

Among other things, the conspiracy targeted the second individual by inviting the individual in 2008 and 2018 on all-expenses-paid trips to China sponsored by the IIS. During those trips, Wang Lin, Dong, and others sought to recruit this individual as a human source, requesting that the individual provide sensitive fingerprint technology, information, and assistance with stopping planned protests along the 2008 Olympic Games torch route in the United States, which the conspirators expressed would be “embarrassing” to China. The individual also was requested to sign a contract for purported consulting services with a Chinese company whose “core value” was the “national interest and national security” of China, with an objective to “protect the national interest and Chinese enterprises’ overseas interest[s]” and to “build sources and channels to collect security information.” Recognizing Wang Lin, Dong, and others as Chinese intelligence officers, the individual refused these requests and reported them to law enforcement.

The conspiracy also targeted the coconspirator in New Jersey by tasking the coconspirator to take specific action in the United States in furtherance of the MSS’ intelligence objective. Wang Qiang coordinated a meeting in 2016 between the coconspirator, Wang Lin, and Bi Hongwei in the Bahamas, at which time MSS intelligence officers Wang Lin and Bi directed the coconspirator to obtain U.S. currency and provide it to a designated individual in New Jersey. The coconspirator returned to New Jersey and did as Wang Lin and BI instructed. Wang Qiang then visited the coconspirator in New Jersey, at which time Wang Qiang and the coconspirator discussed in detail their and others’ activities taken on behalf of the Chinese government in the United States.

Lin, Bi, Dong and Qiang, all are nationals and residents of the People’s Republic of China. They each are charged in the indictment with conspiracy to act in the United States as agents of a foreign government, namely, the People’s Republic of China, without prior notification to the Attorney General of the United States, as required by law, and to direct such unlawful action by others in the United States. The conspiracy charge carries a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum fine of $250,000