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.

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.

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.

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

Small Business Information Sharing: Combating Foreign Cyber Threats

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Headline: Small Business Information Sharing: Combating Foreign Cyber Threats

Chairman Chabot, Ranking Member Velázquez, and members of the committee, thank you for the invitation to provide remarks on the FBI’s role in helping small businesses defend against cyber threats. We consider engagement with the private sector to be a significant factor in our mission to identify, pursue, and defeat nefarious cyber criminals and enemies of the United States.

As the committee is well aware, the growing number and sophistication of cyber threats poses a critical risk to U.S. businesses, and the impact of a successful attack can be devastating to small businesses in particular. We continue to see an increase in the scale and scope of reporting on malicious cyber activity that can be measured by the amount of corporate data stolen or deleted, personally identifiable information compromised, or remediation costs incurred by U.S. victims. Some of the more prevalent or rising cyber threats to small businesses include the following.

Business E-Mail Compromise

Business e-mail compromise (BEC) is a scam targeting businesses working with foreign suppliers or businesses that regularly perform wire transfer payments. By compromising legitimate business e-mail accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques, criminals are able to conduct unauthorized transfers of funds. Notably, BEC scams have been reported in all 50 states and have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses to U.S. businesses and individuals.

The victims of BEC scams range from small businesses to large corporations across a variety of services. The BEC threat is highly adaptable and constantly evolving, but criminals have been particularly active in targeting small to large companies and individuals which may transfer high-dollar funds or sensitive records in the course of business. BEC compromises can be facilitated through a variety of vectors, including social engineering, phishing scams that lure victims to click on malware, brute force cracking of e-mail passwords, or the obtaining of e-mail credentials online. An actor will use one or more of these vectors to steal the victim’s credentials, impersonate a person with authority to request payments or records, and obtain access to data and e-mail for the purposes of theft; or to impersonate a legitimate vendor or business contact to trick the victim into paying an invoice or transferring payroll records to the actor’s account.

The sophistication of BEC actors varies. In general, transnational organized crime groups may invest more time and resources in high-dollar targets. On the other hand, less sophisticated actors, who likely account for the majority of attempts, steal smaller sums using spoofed e-mails sent in bulk or through e-mail contact with a presumably vulnerable target. Unfortunately, both types of actors can be successful if victims are not vigilant. Popular BEC targets include third-party payroll companies, parties involved in real estate transactions (including buyers, sellers, realtors, and title companies), firms offering legal services, and import and export companies.

When we engage with the private sector, we encourage companies to take certain precautions to safeguard their systems, records, and data. We recommend that businesses require a secondary, independent verification of any payment requests or changes to existing beneficiary accounts; that they use complicated passwords or long passphrases for company and personal e-mail accounts, change passwords regularly, and not use the same password for multiple accounts; implement two-factor authentication; and that they utilize commercial antivirus and anti-spyware products. We also recommend they avoid doing formal business on free web-based e-mail accounts; establish a company domain name and limit formal communications to company e-mail accounts; and, if possible, create intrusion detection system filters that flag e-mails with extensions that are similar to company e-mail.

Ransomware

Ransomware is a type of malware used to encrypt an individual’s or organization’s files and documents, making them unreadable until a ransom is paid. Ransomware targets both human and technical weaknesses in organizations and individual networks to deny the availability of critical data or systems. Ransomware is a simple and proven model that continues to yield profits for cyber criminals. The attacks are difficult to attribute, and they do not require “money mule” networks (i.e., people involved in transferring illegally obtained money on behalf of someone else) to cash out. Malicious cyber actors are increasingly using virtual currency, such as bitcoin, to facilitate their crimes. Mixers, tumblers, and other anonymizing services create challenges for tracing and attribution. While these services use different mechanisms and approaches, they obfuscate the source and destination of funds by mixing funding streams, adding extra layers, or combining transactions.

In short, ransomware actors are using more sophisticated tools that allow the malware to propagate faster, and the campaigns are becoming bigger and causing more damage. For these reasons, we can expect ransomware to remain a significant threat to businesses in the U.S. and worldwide. Popular targets include hospitals, law firms, and businesses needing immediate access to their data. Two typical infection methods include clicking on malicious phishing e-mail links and visiting infected websites. Remote Desktop Protocol, a program that allows one computer to remotely operate another, can also be used as a vector.

Once a machine is infected, typically all files on local and attached drives are encrypted and effectively locked away from the user. The criminal notifies the victim they must pay a ransom in order to receive a digital key to unlock and retrieve their files. It is important to note that even if a ransom is paid, there is no guarantee the business or individual will obtain their files from the cyber criminal. To guard against the ransomware threat, we encourage businesses to schedule regular data backups to drives not connected to their network. These drives can be used to restore a system to the backup version without paying the ransom to the perpetrator. Additional guidance from the FBI for guarding against ransomware is available at https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/ransomware-prevention-and-response-for-cisos.pdf/view.

Criminal Data Breach Activity

Cyber criminals are continuously looking for vulnerabilities in the networks of U.S. businesses of all sizes, as well as prominent public and private sector officials. Cyber criminals are looking for entry into any network that contains personal or financial information of employees or customers that can be monetized or posted online. Some actors also seek to encrypt corporate data so it can be ransomed. Vectors can range from the use of phishing e-mails in order to steal login credentials to crafting malware to exploit sensitive, vulnerable systems.

Business networks often contain financial information such as credit card and bank account information, as well as personally identifiable information such as names and Social Security numbers. Consequently, we encourage businesses to apply a variety of best practices to secure their network architecture, network activity, and user data as much as possible in order to make it more difficult for an adversary to compromise their infrastructure.

Internet of Things

Internet of Things (IoT) devices and embedded systems are becoming widespread in business, government, and home networks. They provide low-cost, real-time monitoring and automation services to users. The information these devices collect provides billions of data sets useful in analyzing productivity, marketing, consumer and market trends, and user behavior and demographics. However, IoT devices could be compromised by cyber actors taking advantage of lax security standards and inherent device connectivity to increase the impact of cyber attacks, or as a pivot point into personal or corporate networks. Increased connectivity through IoT devices will only increase the potential attack surface for networks, as cyber security is largely under-prioritized from device design through implementation.

In September 2016, an IoT botnet was used to conduct one of the largest distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks ever recorded. Similar attacks have since taken place. These attacks have resulted in widespread Internet outages and are very costly to victims. The source code for multiple IoT malware variants are publicly available, making it easy for cyber actors to create their own IoT botnet. Since October 2017, new IoT malware variants are targeting and exploiting firmware vulnerabilities, increasing the number of devices vulnerable to compromise. Individuals and businesses can prevent their devices from being compromised by changing default user name and passwords, ensuring device firmware is up to date, implementing strong firewall rules, and by turning off or rebooting devices when not in use.The FBI has issued guidance on securing IoT devices through public service announcements, published on the Internet Crime Complaint Center’s (IC3) website at www.ic3.gov. In addition, guidance from the Department of Justice for securing IoT devices is available at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ccips/page/file/984001/download. Other agencies are working to address this challenge as well, notably, the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is in the process of collaborating with businesses, academia, and government stakeholders to develop standards, guidelines, and related tools to improve the cybersecurity of IoT devices.

FBI Cyber Private Sector Engagement

In light of these and other cyber threats to U.S. businesses, the FBI has made private sector engagement a key component of our strategy for combating cyber threats. Recognizing the ever-changing landscape of cyber threats, the FBI is enhancing the way it communicates with private industry. Traditionally, the FBI used information developed through its investigations, shared by intelligence community partners, or provided by other law enforcement agencies to understand the threat posed by nation states and criminal actors. However, we are now also looking to integrate private industry information into our intelligence cycle to enhance our ability to identify and respond to both emerging and ongoing threats. We also utilize our intelligence to prioritize sector engagement and potential vulnerabilities. Private industry has unique insight into their own networks and may have information as to why their company, or their sector, may be an attractive target for malicious cyber activity. Companies may also be able to share intelligence on the types of attempted attacks they experience. We believe it is important the FBI integrate this type of data into its own intelligence cycle. As we move forward to enhance our sector-specific analysis capabilities, we are looking to private industry to help us gain a better understanding of their companies and their respective sectors. This type of information sharing enables us to provide more specific, actionable, and timely information to our industry partners so they can protect their systems in a proactive manner.

In fiscal year 2017, FBI Cyber Division reorganized its analytic and outreach resources to focus on this intelligence-driven approach to FBI engagement with critical infrastructure entities on cyber threats. FBI Cyber Division has published intelligence directed queries that direct field offices to address collection needs in cyber space when engaging with sector partners.

In addition, the FBI disseminates information regarding specific threats to the private sector through various reporting mechanisms. Public service announcements (PSA), published by the IC3 on www.ic3.gov, provide timely and practical information to U.S. businesses and individuals on the latest threats and scams. Each PSA typically contains information about a threat, warnings signs and indicators businesses should look for, precautions organizations should take to protect their data and networks, and steps for mitigation in the event of a compromise. We have released nearly 70 of these announcements over the past five years, including seven in 2017 that addressed such topics as business e-mail compromise, IoT vulnerabilities, and tactics being used by nefarious actors to launch DDoS attacks.

We also offer several other types of reports to the private sector, including private industry notifications (PIN), which provide contextual information about ongoing or emerging cyber threats, and FBI Liaison Alert System (FLASH) reports, which provide technical indicators gleaned through investigations or intelligence. These communication methods facilitate the sharing of information with a broad audience or specific sector and are intended to provide recipients with actionable intelligence to aid in victim notifications, threat neutralization, and other investigative efforts. In some instances, the FBI may work with other government agencies to release joint products for private industry. These joint products may include joint intelligence or indicator bulletins (JIB), joint analysis reports (JAR), or other miscellaneous products.

The FBI believes it is critical to maintain strong relationships with private sector organizations to allow for the successful responses to cyber attacks. One example of an effective public/private relationship is the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA), a non-profit 501(3)(c) corporation focused on identifying, mitigating, and neutralizing cyber crime threats globally. Working hand in hand with private industry, law enforcement, and academia, the NCFTA’s mission is to provide a neutral, trusted environment that enables two-way information sharing, collaboration, and training. The NCFTA works directly with 136 member organizations from the banking, retail, critical infrastructure, health care, and government sectors. NCFTA recently expanded from its headquarters location in Pittsburgh and is now operating additional offices in New York City and Los Angeles.

The FBI Cyber Division regularly coordinates initiatives for engagement with private sector partners to prevent threats and ultimately close intelligence gaps. In recent years, we have launched public awareness campaigns or “open houses” to educate businesses on serious cyber threats. In 2016, the FBI collaborated with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the National Council of Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (NC-ISAC) to host conferences and workshops at FBI and USSS field offices across the country to educate businesses on the ransomware threat. The FBI and USSS jointly hosted these workshops in 14 key cities, targeting small, medium, and large organizations. More than 5,700 individuals were briefed during this campaign.

Similarly, in 2017, the FBI collaborated with DHS, USSS, and NC-ISAC to host workshops on the BEC threat in strategically identified locations across the country. These workshops were launched in October 2017 to coincide with National Cyber Security Awareness Month and continued into early fiscal year 2018. Nearly 2,500 business leaders were briefed during this campaign.

The FBI Cyber Division continues to engage directly with businesses in other ways as well. The FBI Cyber Division either hosts or participates in briefings, conferences, workshops, and other meetings providing strategic-level information to key executives throughout industry. These briefings include both classified and unclassified discussions regarding cyber threats. Over the past five years, the FBI Cyber Division has completed nearly 2,800 such engagements, not counting the many informal contacts and interactions we have with businesses on a regular basis.

In addition, the FBI leverages its unique, decentralized field office model to ensure it can engage effectively with small and local businesses across the country and work side-by-side with state and local law enforcement for the furtherance of cyber investigations. The FBI is made up of 56 field offices spanning all 50 states and U.S. territories, each with a multi-agency Cyber Task Force (CTF) modeled after the successful Joint Terrorism Task Force program. The task forces bring together cyber investigators, prosecutors, intelligence analysts, computer scientists, and digital forensic technicians from various federal, state, and local agencies present within the office’s territory. Our field-centric business model allows us to develop relationships with local businesses, companies, and organizations, putting us in an ideal position to engage with potential victims of cyber attacks and crimes. Cyber-trained special agents are in each field office, providing locally available expertise to deploy to victim sites immediately upon notice of an incident. Computer scientists and intelligence analysts are also stationed in field offices to support incident response efforts and provide intelligence collection and analysis as well as technical assistance and capability.

The Bureau has had success with operating joint investigations with local law enforcement through our cyber task force officers to dismantle large criminal enterprises engaging in computer intrusion and cyber-enabled crimes. Additionally, the Bureau works with local law enforcement on various Internet fraud matters through our Operation Wellspring platform, through which we package complaints from the IC3 and provide them to local law enforcement to work independently or in coordination with their local FBI field office.

Recognizing small businesses often engage state and local law enforcement as a first line of defense during a cyber incident, the Bureau offers our state and local partners access to FBI cyber training, including private sector training that offers certifications in the cyber security industry. The FBI’s Cyber Division—working with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and cyber experts from Carnegie Mellon University—has developed the Cyber Investigator Certification Program (CICP). This self-guided, online training program is available free of charge to all local, state, tribal, territorial, and federal law enforcement personnel and provides training in how to conduct effective cyber investigations.

When a small business has been victimized by a cyber crime and reaches out to the FBI for assistance, we coordinate with the individual business to determine the best course of action to address the incident. The FBI’s approach in working with potential or actual victims of cyber intrusions or attacks is to first and foremost, and to the best of our ability, use our processes to protect the victim from being re-victimized, and to provide confidentiality and discretion during the investigative process. No matter what course of action is deemed appropriate, the FBI views a company that has been attacked as a victim and will protect investigative information appropriately. Our goal in each instance to work with the business side by side to investigate the systems and data at play in the incident. We will work with the victim to determine attribution, which can lead to prosecution of the subject. Through its work with other government agencies, the FBI and Department of Justice can provide information that can be used to initiate indictments, affect arrests, generate demarches, or produce international sanctions against those who conduct cyber attacks or aggressive actions against entities in the United States.

We at the FBI appreciate this committee’s efforts in making cyber threats to small businesses a focus and to committing to improving how we can work together to better defend U.S. business from cyber adversaries. We thank you for the opportunity to speak about our cyber outreach efforts; we look forward to discussing these issues in greater detail and answering any questions you may have.

Stopping Human Trafficking

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Headline: Stopping Human Trafficking

Williams’ victims are now free to move on and recover from the things they experienced, and that is the best reward for the case’s investigators.

“These victims went through horrific things,” Miller said. “It’s extremely rewarding to know that they’re going to be more secure knowing the man who did this to them will no longer be on the streets. We’ve also been able to see the victims rebuild their lives.”

Two of Williams’ known victims that the FBI and Racine non-profit organizations provided assistance to are getting their lives back on track. Both are working, and one is going to school.

“In these cases, you see the physical violence, the beatings, the punches to the women’s faces. They are visual reminders of how dangerous these guys are, and the mental coercion is a really sick part of it as well,” Lofy said. “To see a woman who a year and a half ago was being beaten, held against her will, and forced to have sex with strangers and give up all the money—now she’s in school, working, earning her own money, and living her own life. There’s a satisfaction in that. That’s a true turnaround.”

Racine also takes what Lofy calls a “victim-centered approach.” Human trafficking victims often need counseling, drug treatment, job training, and housing assistance to truly escape their traffickers. Lofy is the co-founder of a non-profit organization, Fight to End Exploitation, that works to advocate for victims, connect them with services, and educate the community on human trafficking.

Lofy said when he first began investigating human trafficking cases and worked with the FBI on a previous operation, he saw the human toll and the amount of support the victims needed to get their lives back on track.

“We’re not looking to arrest the women in these situations—we’re looking to help them change their lives,” he said.

Matthew Moon Named Special Agent in Charge of the Administrative Division for the Los Angeles Field Office

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Headline: Matthew Moon Named Special Agent in Charge of the Administrative Division for the Los Angeles Field Office

FBI Director Christopher Wray announced the appointment of Matthew Moon as the special agent in charge of the Administrative Division for the Los Angeles Field Office. Mr. Moon most recently served as the section chief of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section of the Criminal Investigative Division.

Mr. Moon entered on duty as a special agent with the FBI in 1996, and was first assigned to the New York Field Office, where he worked organized crime, gang, and drug investigations involving Asian criminal enterprises. After the September 11th terrorist attacks, he was re-assigned to work counterterrorism matters.

Throughout his career, Mr. Moon has held leadership positions in the Counterterrorism Division at FBIHQ, the Los Angeles Field Office, as well as holding the position of Legal Attaché in Seoul, South Korea.

Mr. Moon will report to the Los Angeles Field Office for his new role in early February.

NOEL ROMERO HERRERA

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News

Headline: NOEL ROMERO HERRERA

Conspiracy to Possess Cocaine with Intent to Distribute; Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine and Distribution of Cocaine; Aiding and Abetting

Images


Aliases:

“Joker”, Noal Romero Herrera, Noel Herrera, Noel R. Herrera, Noel Romero, Noel Romero-Herrera

Description

Date(s) of Birth Used June 30, 1982
Place of Birth Colorado
Hair Black
Eyes Brown
Height 5’8″ to 5’9″
Weight 190 to 200 pounds
Sex Male
Race White (Hispanic)
Scars and Marks Herrera has tattoos on his head, back, chest, left arm, neck, and right arm. He has skin discoloration on his neck.
NCIC W761297178

Reward:

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of Noel Romero Herrera.

Details:

Noel Romero Herrera is wanted for his alleged involvement in a drug-trafficking organization that operated in Montana from approximately 2007 to approximately September of 2010.

On February 17, 2011, a federal arrest warrant was issued by the United States District Court, District of Montana, Great Falls Division, Billings, Montana, after Herrera was charged federally with conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and distribution of cocaine, and aiding and abetting.

SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS

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.

Gulfport Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Methamphetamine

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

Headline: Gulfport Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Methamphetamine

 

Gulfport, Miss – Steven Paul Salmon, 56, of Gulfport, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr. to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze.

An investigation into methamphetamine trafficking in Biloxi, Mississippi, led FBI agents to order, through a confidential source, methamphetamine from Salmon. On June 6, 2017, Salmon arrived to meet with agents in order to sell them methamphetamine. He was arrested in possession of seven ounces of methamphetamine. Salmon advised that he had additional methamphetamine at his home which led to the seizure of three additional pounds of methamphetamine.

Salmon 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.