Category: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

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Six Pittsburgh-Area School Districts Win Big

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Headline: Six Pittsburgh-Area School Districts Win Big

The FBI Citizens Academy Alumni Association teamed up with the Penguins Foundation for FBI Pittsburgh’s annual HOPE (Heroin Outreach Prevention and Education) PSA Contest. Tuesday, six local school districts took home prizes at the Penguins game and even more knowledge about the dangers of opioid and heroin abuse.

The students were tasked with creating videos that raise awareness about the dangers of the increasing drug epidemic in our area. It has reached pandemic levels across Western Pennsylvania, impacting all walks of life, regardless of age, race, or socioeconomic boundaries.

That’s why the FBI Pittsburgh Division partnered with key community stakeholders, including educators, law enforcement, and treatment and rehabilitation facilities. The group is striving to formulate proactive solutions, particularly in the areas of education, prevention, and awareness.

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FBI Media Alert: FBI Offers $1,000 Reward in Navajo Nation Homicide

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Headline: FBI Media Alert: FBI Offers $1,000 Reward in Navajo Nation Homicide

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the death of Durwin Merrill Davis.

On July 1, 2015, Davis’ body was discovered outside a residence in Vanderwagen, New Mexico.

Autopsy results indicate Davis, 23, died of a gunshot wound to the chest.

The FBI and the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety are investigating.

Anyone with information regarding this homicide is asked to contact the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office at (505) 889-1300.

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Bloomington Man Receives 2017 FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award for His Efforts to Decrypt Ransomware as a Public Service

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Headline: Bloomington Man Receives 2017 FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award for His Efforts to Decrypt Ransomware as a Public Service

SPRINGFIELD, IL—Sean M. Cox, special agent in charge of the FBI Springfield Division, announced that Michael Gillespie, creator of ID Ransomware and Malwarehunters.com of Bloomington, Illinois, has been selected as the recipient of the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award for 2017.

This special award, presented on behalf of the Director of the FBI, was formally created in 1990 as a way to honor individuals and organizations for their efforts in combating terrorism, cybercrime, illegal drugs, gangs, and other crimes leading to violence in America. Michael Gillespie is one of 56 individuals or organizations around the United States who will receive this award this year. Mr. Gillespie is being recognized for his public service, devotion and assistance to victims of ransomware in the United States and Internationally.

Michael first authored the website https://id-ransomware.malwarehunterteam.com/in March of 2016. This website enables victims of ransomware to submit data such as ransom notes and encrypted file samples which are analyzed in an attempt to determine which strain the victim was infected with. In response, the victim is provided with information to where they can learn more about the particular strain of infection, including method of and keys for decryption if available. ID Ransomware receives upwards of thousands of submissions a day and can identify nearly 500 strains of ransomware.

In addition to having cracked and decrypted multiple ransomware strains himself, Michael is plugged into a network of leading cybersecurity experts with whom he collaborates to analyze the malware and discover means of decryption so that victims can avoid paying ransom and recover their data.

Michael also develops custom applications which he offers free of charge to victims to help them recover from ransomware attacks. Examples of these tools are RansomNoteCleaner, which removes ransom notes left behind after a ransomware infection, and CryptoSearch, a tool used to find files encrypted with ransomware. Michael is active on twitter (@demonslay335) and the forums of BleepingComputer.com where he interacts with victims to further ensure they are able to recover their data when possible.

Michael is married, and employed by Facet Technologies, Bloomington, Illinois, as a software analyst.

Christopher Wray, Director of the FBI, will present the Director’s Community Leadership Award to Mr. Gillespie during an official ceremony held at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., in April of 2018.

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FBI Chicago Announces Recipient of Director’s Community Leadership Award

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Headline: FBI Chicago Announces Recipient of Director’s Community Leadership Award

CHICAGO—Jeffrey S. Sallet, special agent in charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced today that Sally B. Hazelgrove, president, Restoring the Path-Crushers Club, and a 2017 FBI Chicago Citizens Academy graduate has been named the 2017 recipient of the FBI’s Director’s Community Leadership Award (DCLA) for the Chicago Division.

The FBI presents this award annually on behalf of its Director, Christopher Wray. It was established in 1990, as a way to honor individuals and organizations for their endeavors to prevent federal crimes and to enhance law enforcement efforts in their communities.

Ms. Hazelgrove was selected by the Chicago Division for her dedication and ground breaking work to keep local youth from becoming involved in gang activity. Eight years ago, she moved her family to Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood to help “change it from the inside.” After obtaining a grant, Ms. Hazelgrove opened the Crushers Club. Its mission is to provide at-risk youth with a strong alternative to gangs by giving them a support network and crucial life skills. The Crushers Club works to fulfill its goals by offering these youth the chance to pursue a sport they have a strong interest in—boxing. It also gives them a chance to develop leadership skills that are rooted in four ideals—ownership, discipline, love, and respect. So far, more than 350 at-risk youth have participated in the Crushers Club. As a result, many of them have successfully completed probation, graduated from high school, and stayed away from gang activity.

“Ms. Hazelgrove’s visionary efforts have made her an extremely valuable resource, not only for law enforcement, but for the Chicago community as a whole, as she does her part to combat violent crime,” said SAC Sallet.

A luncheon honoring Ms. Hazelgrove is scheduled for 12 P.M. on January 30, 2018, at Harry Caray’s Restaurant, 33 West Kinzie, Chicago. She will also join DCLA recipients selected by other FBI field offices across the nation at an awards ceremony to be held in Washington, D.C. this spring, where she will be personally recognized and honored by Director Wray.

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Hartford Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Heroin and Fentanyl Involved in Two Overdose Deaths

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Headline: Hartford Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Heroin and Fentanyl Involved in Two Overdose Deaths

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that RUBEN MORALES, 44, of Hartford, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty yesterday in Hartford federal court to one count of distribution of heroin and fentanyl.

This matter stems from an ongoing statewide initiative targeting narcotics dealers who distribute heroin, fentanyl or opioids that cause death or serious injury to users.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on December 24, 2016, Hartford police officers and emergency medical personnel responding to reports of unresponsive individuals discovered two male overdose victims in different locations on Zion Street in Hartford.  A 33-year-old victim was pronounced deceased shortly after he was discovered in the rear parking lot of an apartment complex on Zion Street.  At the scene, officers seized various items of drug-related paraphernalia.  Officers found a 25-year-old victim on the rear porch of an apartment on Zion Street.  The victim was transported to the hospital and later pronounced deceased.

The Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner subsequently determined that the 33-year-old victim’s death was caused by a combination of cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl, and the 25-year-old victim’s death was caused by a combination of cocaine, ethanol, and fentanyl.

The investigation revealed that MORALES supplied fentanyl-laced heroin that both victims consumed shortly before they died.

In January and February 2017, members of the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crime Gang Task Force conducted six controlled purchases of heroin from MORALES.  Subsequent lab analysis confirmed the presence of fentanyl in some of the heroin purchased.

MORALES was arrested on a federal complaint on February 16, 2017.

MORALES is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on May 2, 2018, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty years.  He is released on a $100,000 bond pending sentencing.

The FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crime Gang Task Force includes members from the FBI, Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha Freismuth.

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FBI and Scappoose Police Search for Bank Robber—Update with up to $10,000 Reward

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Headline: FBI and Scappoose Police Search for Bank Robber—Update with up to $10,000 Reward

Investigators believe the man responsible for today’s, January 30, 2018, Scappoose bank robbery is the “Froggy Robber,” now wanted in a total of five bank robberies. The FBI recently offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to his identification, arrest and conviction. The FBI Wanted poster for Froggy Robber can be found at: https://bankrobbers.fbi.gov/robbers-container/2017-10-25.8983125421

The other four robberies include:

  • On October 19, 2017, at approximately 10:15 a.m., the Columbia Bank located at 1455 Southeast 1st Avenue in Canby, Oregon, was robbed by an unknown male suspect. The suspect approached the teller counter, jumped the counter, and threatened employees with a knife while taking the money from all of the teller drawers. The unknown suspect then fled on foot.
  • On November 27, 2017, at approximately 11:06 a.m., an unknown male suspect entered the Albina Community Bank located at 2002 NE Martin Luther King Jr Boulevad, Portland, Oregon, approached the teller counter, jumped over the counter, and robbed the tellers at knifepoint. The suspect then fled on foot.
  • On December 27, 2017, at approximately 11:00 a.m., an unknown male suspect entered the Wells Fargo Bank located at 8699 SW Main Street, Wilsonville, Oregon, approached the teller counter, jumped over it, and robbed the tellers at knifepoint. The suspect then fled on foot.
  • On January 11, 2018, at approximately 10:00 a.m., an unknown male suspect entered the Wells Fargo Bank located at 6785 Beaverton Hillsdale Highway, Beaverton, Oregon, approached the teller counter, jumped over it, and robbed the tellers at knifepoint. The suspect then fled on foot.

Also note the corrected height.

The FBI, Scappoose Police Department, and multiple law enforcement agencies around the region responded to a bank robbery at the U.S. Bank branch located at 52313 Columbia River Highway in Scappoose, Oregon this morning, January 30, 2018. During the course of the robbery, witnesses say the robber jumped the teller counter and threatened bank employees with a knife, demanded cash, received cash, and left the bank.

Reports that the suspect may have taken a school bus as a getaway vehicle are INACCURATE. Scappoose authorities have accounted for all school buses and all drivers.

Witnesses describe the bank robber as a Hispanic man, approximately 20-40 years of age, 5’3”—5’5″, about 160 pounds. Suspect was wearing blue pants with a blue hoodie and black shoes. Suspect is considered armed and dangerous. If you see the suspect or have any information on the suspect’s location, call the FBI at 503-224-4181 or 911.

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FBI and Scappoose Police Search for Bank Robber

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Headline: FBI and Scappoose Police Search for Bank Robber

The FBI, Scappoose Police Department, and multiple law enforcement agencies around the region responded to a bank robbery at the U.S. Bank branch located at 52313 Columbia River Highway in Scappoose, Oregon this morning, January 30, 2018. During the course of the robbery, witnesses say the robber jumped the teller counter and threatened bank employees with a knife, demanded cash, received cash, and left the bank.

Reports that the suspect may have taken a school bus as a getaway vehicle are INACCURATE. Scappoose authorities have accounted for all school buses and all drivers.

Witnesses describe the bank robber as a Hispanic man, approximately 20-40 years of age, 5’8″, about 160 pounds. Suspect was wearing blue pants with a blue hoodie and black shoes. Suspect is considered armed and dangerous. If you see the suspect or have any information on the suspect’s location, call the FBI at 503-224-4181 or 911.

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FBI Tech Tuesday—Building a Digital Defense Against Ransomware Targeting Businesses

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Headline: FBI Tech Tuesday—Building a Digital Defense Against Ransomware Targeting Businesses

Welcome to the Oregon FBI’s Tech Tuesday segment. This week, building a digital defense against ransomware attacks that impact your business.

Even if it hasn’t already happened to you or your company—you probably know someone who has experienced a ransomware attack. They can be devastating to any business—whether a Fortune 500 corporation or a mom-and-pop local store. Hospitals and government agencies—including school districts, university systems, police departments, cities and counties—are all potentially vulnerable as well.

In the past, the attack often started with a phishing e-mail—that’s phishing with a “ph”. The fraudster would send you or a co-worker what appeared to be a legitimate looking e-mail with a link to a website, an invoice, or other document. Once you clicked, you would have now downloaded malware onto your system. As with everything, this scam is growing more sophisticated as fraudsters figure out how to evade e-mail security systems. To that end, the FBI is now seeing cases where fraudsters are avoiding e-mail all together and embedding the malware onto legitimate websites that businesses are likely to use.

Regardless of how the malware got onto your system, it starts to encrypt the files on your computer, and—depending on how your network is set up—can travel throughout the system to infect and encrypt all your company’s files. The malware can often also travel to your cloud-based back-ups and encrypt them, too. The scammers will demand payment—often in bitcoin or virtual currency—to maybe unlock your data.

Needless to say, the damage can be devastating. In Oregon, the FBI has particular concerns about the ability of small and medium-sized businesses’ ability to recover if they lose access to customer files and sensitive data.

In this case, a good offense starts with a strong digital defense.

  • Make sure that you regularly make offline back-ups of all of your company’s critical data so that you can reconstitute your business right away. Ensure that these backups are completely segregated—both virtually and physically—from your day-to-day operations.
  • Educate your employees about good prevention, especially when it comes to identifying and mitigating phishing attacks.
  • Patch operating systems, software, and firmware on your digital devices to ensure that they have the latest protections.
  • Limit those who have admin access to your system.
  • Ensure that antivirus and anti-malware solutions are enabled and set to update automatically.
  • Implement software controls to prevent programs from executing from areas where ransomware tends to lurk (such as temporary folders supporting popular Internet browsers).
  • Finally, the FBI recommends never paying the ransom as there is no guarantee that the scammer will return your data to you. Beyond that, the money you pay may be used to fund organized crime activity or acts of terrorism while encouraging future criminal activity by these cyber thieves.

Next week, we will look at the ransomware risks you face with your personal devices at home.

If you have been victimized by an online scam, be sure to report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov or call your local FBI office.

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FBI Honors Danny Ludeman, President and CEO of Concordance Academy

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Headline: FBI Honors Danny Ludeman, President and CEO of Concordance Academy

ST. LOUIS, MO—FBI St. Louis Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Richard Quinn is pleased to recognize Danny Ludeman with the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award. SAC Quinn made the announcement today at a surprise ceremony held at Concordance Academy of Leadership in front of its staff and board of directors.

Mr. Ludeman retired in 2013 as CEO of Wells Fargo Advisors. SAC Quinn said, “Instead of enjoying a relaxing retirement, Mr. Ludeman took on the challenge of reducing crime by reducing the rate of people going back to prison after release. Law enforcement cannot be the only solution to crime because it only addresses the symptoms. What Mr. Ludeman and Concordance Academy are doing is addressing part of the root cause.”

According to the National Institute of Justice, 77% of individuals released from prison are re-arrested within three to five years nationally and the number hasn’t changed in more than 30 years. Mr. Ludeman said, “What we hope to do here is to create a national, scalable model of support and wrap-around services that give these individuals a chance at leading productive and joyful lives. It’s not just about creating a cost-effective way of reducing crime—it is about healing trauma for individuals and their families.”

As president and CEO, Mr. Ludeman helped raised $13 million in pledges to establish Concordance Academy. All re-entry services for an individual are housed under one roof in a 31,000-square-foot facility in Maryland Heights. It is the first organization in the country to offer a set of “holistic, integrated, evidence-driven” re-entry services to not only help ease the transition from prison to society but to find a path to success for former inmates.

In addition to its staff and volunteers, Concordance relies on partnerships with the community, local health clinics, educational institutions, and housing providers. Concordance also runs its own employment agency for its participants, with over 40 participating St. Louis companies.

As of December 31, 2017, Concordance Academy is actively serving 150 participants. Of those, 92 have been released from prison and are engaged in post-release services through the Academy. The national recidivism rate indicates that 16 of the 92 would have recidivated within a comparable time frame; however, only 7 Academy participants have returned to prison.

Long term goals include expanding the program to Kansas City, Missouri and then into four other states with an ultimate goal of going nationwide. Mr. Ludeman believes the Concordance re-entry model will reduce recidivism rates by 33 percent for the first three years and then 50 percent thereafter

On April 20, 2018, there will be a national ceremony at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. FBI Director Christopher Wray will personally present the award to Mr. Ludeman and the other honorees selected by each of the FBI field offices across the country.

Past St. Louis honorees (years not listed did not have a recipient):

  • 1990 Joseph Cunningham, former St. Louis Cardinals baseball player
  • 1991 Martin Mathews, Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club
  • 1993 The late Jean Leible, Neighborhood Activist
  • 1995 Pastor Harry Douma, Camp Penuel
  • 2005 Martin Mathews (two-time honoree)
  • 2006 Karen Aroesty, Anti-Defamation League
  • 2007 Pastor B. T. Rice, New Horizon Seventh Day Christian Church
  • 2008 Dave Sinclair, Dave Sinclair Auto Group
  • 2009 Bill Wilkerson, “Reach Out St. Louis!”
  • 2010 Dr. Stephen Bander, Bander Center for Medical Business Ethics
  • 2011 Anthony Thompson, Kwame Building Group
  • 2012 Kimberly Ritter, Nix Conference & Meeting Management
  • 2013 Angel Baked, a social enterprise program empowering inner city teens
  • 2014 Wehrenberg Theatres
  • 2015 Emerson’s Ferguson Forward Initiative
  • 2016 Shubert Design Furniture
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Moss Point Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Headline: Moss Point Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine

 

Gulfport, Miss. – Michael Todd Ward a/k/a “Chicken,” 51, of Moss Point, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze.

During the course of a lengthy investigation into cocaine trafficking in Jackson County, Mississippi, it was determined that Michael Todd Ward a/k/a “Chicken,” was a source of supply for cocaine to Terry Reddix and other members of his organization that supplied various narcotics from his home in Gautier, Mississippi, known as “The Hill.”

Ward will be sentenced on April 25, 2018, by Judge Guirola, and faces a maximum penalty of forty years in prison and a $5,000,000 fine.

The case was investigated by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Meynardie.