Tag Archives: conspiracy (criminal offense)

US

New Mexico grand jury indicts failed GOP candidate accused of shooting at Democratic officials’ homes

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CNN
 — 

The failed GOP candidate accused of shooting at Democratic officials’ homes in Alburquerque, New Mexico, was indicted by a grand jury on 14 counts of shooting and firearms charges, the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s office announced in a statement Monday.

Solomon Peña is currently in jail awaiting trial after being accused of hiring and conspiring with four men to shoot at the homes of two state legislators and two county commissioners following his 2022 state House election loss, as a GOP candidate, in New Mexico.

Peña was charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit shooting at a dwelling or occupied building, two counts of conspiracy to commit shooting at a dwelling or occupied building and two counts of transportation or possession of a firearm or destructive device by certain persons, among other charges, the district attorney’s office said.

CNN has reached out to Peña’s attorney for comment.

After losing the November election 26% to 74% to the Democratic candidate and before the shootings, Peña showed up uninvited at the homes of a legislator and some county commissioners, claiming fraud had been committed in the vote, according to police.

According to Albuquerque police, Democratic officials whose homes were shot at included Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa, newly installed state House Speaker Javier Martinez, and State Sen. Linda Lopez, among others.

No one was injured in any of the shootings, which included at least one bullet flying through a child’s bedroom while she was inside, police have said.

A judge ruled last week that Peña must remain in jail as he awaits trial, saying Peña poses a threat to the targets of the shootings and their family members. Peña also has a history of felony convictions involving property crimes and the use of stolen vehicles, mirroring the tactics police say were used in the shootings in December and early January, the judge pointed out.

Peña provided the guns used in the shootings and suggested the use of stolen cars to avoid being identified and was present at the fourth and final shooting, an investigator said at last week’s detention hearing.

Albuquerque Police Detective Conrad Griego, citing a confidential witness, alleged that Peña had complained that at least one of the shootings occurred too late at night and bullets were fired too high into the house, decreasing the chances of hitting the target.

“He’s providing the firearms. He is helping other individuals come up with a plan,” including using stolen vehicles, Prosecutor Natalie Lyon said.

Pena’s attorney, Roberta Yurcic, argued that Peña was never found to be in possession of a firearm, and sought to cast doubt on the credibility of the confidential witness.

False and unfounded claims about election fraud have exploded nationwide in recent years and fueled anger and threats of violence against elected officials – even in local politics.

Peña lost his race to Democratic state Rep. Miguel Garcia 26% to 74% on November 8, 2022. A week later, he tweeted he “never conceded” the race and was researching his options.

According to Albuquerque police, Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa’s home was shot at multiple times on December 4, incoming state House Speaker Javier Martinez’s home was shot at on December 8, former Bernalillo County Commissioner Debbie O’Malley’s home was shot at on December 11 and state Sen. Linda Lopez’s home was shot at on January 3.

Peña’s arrest warrant affidavit identifies two of the alleged co-conspirators as Demetrio Trujillo and José Trujillo. According to a relative, Demetrio is José’s father.

“There is probable cause to believe that soon after this unsuccessful campaign, he (Peña) conspired with Demetrio, José, and two brothers, to commit these four shootings at elected local and state government officials’ homes,” Albuquerque police wrote in the affidavit. “Solomon provided firearms and cash payments and personally participated in at least one shooting.”

Albuquerque police said they were investigating whether Peña’s campaign was funded in part by cash from narcotics sales that were laundered into campaign contributions.

Police say José Trujillo, who donated $5,155 to Peña’s failed campaign and listed his occupation as “cashier,” was arrested on January 3 – the night of the last of four shootings – on an outstanding felony warrant.

A Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy found him with more than $3,000 in cash, nearly 900 narcotics pills worth roughly $15,000 and two guns, one of which was ballistically matched to that day’s shooting, police said. He was stopped driving Peña’s car, said a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Attempts to reach attorneys for the Trujillos were not successful.

Peña previously served almost seven years in prison after a 2008 conviction for stealing a large volume of goods in a “smash and grab scheme,” CNN affiliate KOAT reported.

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Entertainment

Rapper Young Thug, co-defendant ara accused of in-court drug transaction

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CNN
 — 

Grammy-winning rapper Young Thug and a racketeering co-defendant conducted a hand-to-hand drug transaction during a court hearing, prosecutors said in a motion filed in Atlanta.

Fulton County prosecutors say the alleged exchange was captured on courtroom surveillance video Wednesday.

The rapper, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, and Kahlieff Adams are charged with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and participation in criminal street gang activity, among other charges.

According to the motion seeking clarification of the record, Adams “stood up from his chair (…) and walked unattended” to Young Thug and gave him Percocet.

The motion said Young Thug tried to conceal his hand under the table. Sheriff’s deputies took the painkiller and searched Adams, who resisted. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital after “he appeared to ingest other items of contraband that he held on his person, in an effort to conceal the extent of his crimes within the courtroom.”

During the search of Adams, the deputies found Percocet, marijuana, tobacco, and other contraband, “wrapped in plastic and food seasonings to mask the odor of the marijuana,” the motion said.

Percocet is the brand name of a drug that mixes oxycodone, which is an opioid, and acetaminophen, which is the generic name for drugs such as Tylenol.

Keith Adams, one of Young Thug’s attorneys, told CNN on Friday, “The State is purposely misrepresenting and embellishing Wednesday’s events.”

He said Young Thug neither requested nor accepted the pill.

“As can be seen in the courtroom video footage, Mr. Williams IMMEDIATELY gave it to the courtroom deputy that was directly in front of him,” he wrote in a message.

Adams said an investigation cleared Young Thug of any wrongdoing and the responsible party was charged. He said the prosecutors’ allegations were “a blatant fabrication and disappointing.”

Teombre Calland, an attorney representing Kahlieff Adams, released a statement via text message to CNN affiliate WSB-TV saying: “On behalf of Mr. Adams, these allegations are simply that: mere statements made by the state in an effort to thwart the lengthiness of the jury selection process.”

CNN has reached out to Brian Steel, another Young Thug attorney, and Calland.

Young Thug won a Grammy Award in 2019 for his work with Childish Gambino and Ludwig Göransson on the hit song “This is America.”

The rapper was initially indicted in May on charges of conspiracy to violate the RICO Act and participation in criminal street gang activity.

A re-indictment filed on August 5 in Fulton County Superior Court accuses him of nine new charges, including participating in criminal street gang activity and violating the Georgia Controlled Substances Act.

He also was indicted on other charges of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a machine gun.

Jury selection is ongoing.

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US

Proud Boys: Trial on seditious conspiracy charges begins Monday

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CNN
 — 

Leaders of the right-wing extremist Proud Boys will face trial starting Monday for their alleged conspiracy to stop Joe Biden from assuming the presidency, another test for the Justice Department’s effort to punish the far-right political movement connected to fierce allies of former President Donald Trump.

Federal prosecutors intend to prove that four leaders of the Proud Boys – Enrique Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl – plotted and broadly encouraged violence in the build up to January 6.

When the riot, allegedly initiated by a member of the Proud Boys, broke out at the Capitol, Nordean, Biggs and Rehl stood back while others – including the fifth defendant Dominic Pezzola – took action, prosecutors argue.

To prove their case, prosecutors will likely feature the testimony of several Proud Boys who pleaded guilty to charges connected to the conspiracy including two alleged leaders and close allies of Tarrio. Prosecutors will also heavily depend on the defendants’ own words in texts and social media posts, as well as recorded planning meetings and videos from the riot.

Attorneys for the five defendants have argued that they were merely protesting on January 6 and have also suggested that the government is overcharging their clients. In court hearings, defense attorneys have also said the group had no real, cohesive plan to attack the Capitol that day.

The trial against the Proud Boys is scheduled to start on Monday with jury selection in DC federal court. All five defendants have pleaded not guilty to the indictment and face a maximum sentence of 20 years in a federal prison.

Enrique Tarrio, 38, is the longtime chairman of the Proud Boys.

Ethan Nordean, 31, is a Proud Boys leader from Washington state. Nordean, who goes by the moniker “Rufio Panman” after a member of Peter Pan’s Lost Boys, rose to prominence in 2017 after a video of him knocking out an anti-fascist protester in one punch went viral.

Joseph Biggs, 38, is an Army veteran and Proud Boys leader from Florida. Biggs previously worked as a correspondent for Infowars, a far-right outlet that peddles false conspiracy theories.

Zachary Rehl, 36, is a former Marine and the president of his local Philadelphia chapter of the Proud Boys.

Dominic Pezzola, 44, is a Proud Boy from New York who goes by the nicknames “Spaz,” “Spazzo,” and “Spazzolini.” Pezzola is a former Marine.

– Source:
CNN
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Ex-FBI Deputy Director on the message the Oath Keepers jury verdict sends to domestic extremists

According to the indictment, leaders of the Proud Boys began planning for a “war” in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

“If Biden steals this election, [the Proud Boys] will be political prisoners. We won’t go quietly…I promise,” Tarrio allegedly posted online in the days after the election was called for Joe Biden.

By December, members of Proud Boys had started attending Washington, DC, rallies en masse. Some of the protests broke out in violence and the Proud Boys, who are known for street fighting, were in the middle.

When Trump announced the January 6 rally on Twitter, Tarrio and others decided to create a new national chapter of the Proud Boys for the event called the Ministry of Self Defense (MOSD) according to court documents. The MOSD was allegedly made up of more than 90 “hand selected members” and “rally boys” – members who were willing to break the law – and were encouraged not to wear the traditional Proud Boys uniform of black and yellow polos when they came to DC.

The MOSD, Tarrio allegedly informed new members, would have a “top down structure.” He, Biggs and Nordean were viewed as the MOSD leaders, prosecutors say. Several others including Rehl were also part of MOSD leadership.

Tarrio was arrested in Washington, DC, on January 4, 2021, for burning a DC church’s Black Lives Matter banner in December and bringing high-capacity rifle magazines into the district. He was ordered by a judge to leave the city. In encrypted leadership chats, Tarrio allegedly told other members he hoped his arrest could inspire people to lash out violently against police.

A group of approximately 100 Proud Boys met at the Washington Monument the morning of January 6, prosecutors say. Several of the members, including Biggs and Rehl, allegedly had walkie-talkie style radios, and Nordean and Biggs both used a bullhorn to direct the group as they marched to the Capitol.

The group arrived at the Capitol around 15 minutes before Congress was set to start the joint proceeding to certify the 2020 election, according to videos from that day, and walked to an access point on the west side of the building. A Proud Boy named Ryan Samsel was the first to charge and breach barricades on the Capitol grounds, prosecutors say, and he spoke to Biggs just one minute before acting.

As the battle at the Capitol ensued, members of the hand selected MOSD including Pezzola can be seen in videos consistently on the front lines of the riot, prosecutors say. Nordean, Biggs and Rehl allegedly stayed back, opting to follow once others had already broken through police lines.

When the mob arrived at the Capitol doors, Pezzola used a stolen police riot shield to smash a window, prosecutors say. The first members of the mob to breach the Capitol building, allegedly including Pezzola and Biggs, entered through that window. The Senate suspended its session minutes later.

Tarrio watched the chaos unfold from Baltimore, allegedly posting publicly on social media “Don’t f***ing leave” and “Make no mistake…We did this…”

The Justice Department has already successfully prosecuted a seditious conspiracy case against leaders of the Oath Keepers, which could act as a model for prosecutors as they turn to the Proud Boys.

Both Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and Tarrio did not enter the Capitol during the hours-long breach, but during his trial, prosecutors successfully argued that Rhodes acted like a general overseeing his troops on January 6, a narrative prosecutors will likely employ against Tarrio.

Unlike the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys have a long history of violent action – a history that prosecutors will likely use to convince a jury that the group has a propensity toward violence and that the riot at the Capitol was not out of character.

In previous court filings, prosecutors have said that Tarrio, Biggs, Nordean, Rehl and other Proud Boys leaders encouraged their followers to “turn your brains off a little bit,” and used those followers as “tools” to achieve their larger plan to interfere with the joint congressional proceeding.

If the Justice Department secures convictions for Tarrio and other Proud Boys leaders, the group will continue to exist, Rachel Carroll Rivas, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center who studies extremism told CNN.

“It’s not hierarchical like a lot of militia movements,” Rivas told CNN, noting the group doesn’t depend on any one leader to act and gain power.

The group’s goal, Rivas said, is focused on “creating chaos, creating fear through a sense of uncertainty and a lack of feeling of safety,” which she says is meant to lead fewer people speaking up against the group.

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World

Wealthy Russian businessman arrested in London on suspicion of multiple offenses, including money laundering

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CNN
 — 

A wealthy Russian businessman has been arrested as part of a “major operation” on suspicion of multiple offenses, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency said in a statement Saturday.

The 58-year-old man was arrested Thursday at his “multi-million-pound residence in London by officers from the NCA’s Combatting Kleptocracy Cell” on suspicion of committing offenses including money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the Home Office – the UK government department for immigration and passports – and conspiracy to commit perjury, the agency said.

A 35-year-old man, employed at the premises, was also arrested “nearby” on suspicion of money laundering and obstruction of an officer “after he was seen leaving the address with a bag found to contain thousands of pounds in cash,” according to the statement.

A third man, aged 39, who the agency said is the former boyfriend of the businessman’s current partner, was arrested at his home in Pimlico, London, for offenses including money laundering and conspiracy to defraud, according to the statement.

A person close to the investigation has given CNN more detail on two of the men arrested, saying the 39-year-old man was a national of Russia, Israel, and the UK and the 35-year-old man was a Polish national. The source told CNN the bank notes the 35-year-old was carrying have not yet been counted but were suspected to be in the tens of thousands and in British currency.

The three individuals have been interviewed by authorities and have been released on bail, according to the statement.

The Russian Embassy in London has sent a note to British authorities regarding the detention of a Russian citizen, according to a statement from the embassy made available to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

“The Russian Embassy in London has asked the British authorities for clarification in connection with the information from the National Crime Agency about the alleged detention of a Russian citizen in London,” reads the note, according to RIA Novosti.

“The NCA’s Combatting Kleptocracy Cell, only established this year, is having significant success investigating potential criminal activity by oligarchs, the professional service providers that support and enable them and those linked to the Russian regime,” said the agency’s director general Graeme Biggar.

“We will continue to use all the powers and tactics available to us to disrupt this threat,” he added.

More than 50 officers were involved in the operation at the businessman’s London property, the statement said. “A number of digital devices and a significant quantity of cash was recovered following extensive searches by NCA investigators,” according to the statement.

So far, the agency says it has secured nearly 100 disruptions “against Putin-linked elites and their enablers” and has taken direct action against “a significant number of elites who impact directly on the UK.”

The agency is also targeting “less conventional routes used to disguise movements of significant wealth, such as high value asset sales via auction houses,” according to the statement.

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Business

Elizabeth Holmes sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for fraud

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CNN
 — 

Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison on Friday following her conviction in January for defrauding investors while running the failed blood testing startup Theranos.

Judge Edward Davila imposed a sentence of 11 years and three months in prison, with another three years of supervision after Holmes is released. The sentence also includes a fine of $400, or $100 for each count of fraud. Restitution will be set at a later date. Holmes was ordered to turn herself into custody on April 27, 2023.

Holmes, who was found guilty in January on four charges of defrauding investors, faced up to 20 years in prison as well as a fine of $250,000 plus restitution for each count.

Lawyers for the government asked for a 15-year prison term, as well as probation and restitution, while Holmes’ probation officer pushed for a nine-year term. Holmes’ defense team asked Davila, who presided over her case, to sentence her to up to 18 months of incarceration followed by probation and community service.

Before the sentencing was announced, a tearful Holmes spoke to the court in San Jose, California. “I loved Theranos. It was my life’s work,” she said. “The people I tried to get involved with Theranos were the people I loved and respected the most. I am devastated by my failings.”

She also apologized to the employees, investors and patients of Theranos. “I’m so, so sorry. I gave everything I had to build our company and to save our company,” she said. “I regret my failings with every cell in my body.”

In arguments before the judge on Friday over her sentence, Kevin Downey, one of Holmes’ lawyers, said that unlike other defendants in corporate fraud cases, the Theranos founder did not express greed by cashing out shares or spending money on “yachts and planes.” Instead, the money was “used to build medical technology.”

Federal prosecutor Jeffrey Schenk pointed out that Holmes did gain fame, admiration, and a lifestyle from the fraud, even if she did not make financial gains. “These still are benefits she’s receiving,” he said.

Friday’s sentencing hearing caps off Holmes’ stunning downfall. Once hailed as a tech industry icon for her company’s promises to test for a range of conditions with just a few drops of blood, she is now the rare tech founder to be convicted and face prison time for her company’s missteps.

Holmes, now 38, started Theranos in 2003 at the age of 19 and soon thereafter dropped out of Stanford University to pursue the company full-time. After a decade under the radar, Holmes began courting the press with claims that Theranos had invented technology that could accurately and reliably test for a range of conditions using just a few drops of blood taken from a finger prick.

Theranos raised $945 million from an impressive list of investors, including media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Walmart’s Walton family and the billionaire family of former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. At its peak, Theranos was valued at $9 billion, making Holmes a billionaire on paper. She was lauded on magazine covers, frequently wearing a signature black turtleneck that invited comparisons to late Apple CEO Steve Jobs. (She has not worn that look in the courtroom.)

The company began to unravel after a Wall Street Journal investigation in 2015 found the company had only ever performed roughly a dozen of the hundreds of tests it offered using its proprietary blood testing device, and with questionable accuracy. Instead, Theranos was relying on third-party manufactured devices from traditional blood testing companies.

In 2016, Theranos voided two years of blood test results. In 2018, Holmes and Theranos settled “massive fraud” charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but did not admit to or deny any of the allegations as part of the deal. Theranos dissolved soon after.

In her trial, Holmes alleged she was in the midst of a decade-long abusive relationship with her then-boyfriend and Theranos COO Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani while running the company. Balwani, she alleged, tried to control nearly every aspect of her life, including disciplining her eating, her voice and her image, and isolating her from others. (Balwani’s attorneys denied her claims.)

In July, Balwani was found guilty on all 12 charges in a separate trial and faces the same potential maximum prison time as her. Balwani is scheduled to be sentenced on December 7.

“The effects of Holmes and Balwani’s fraudulent conduct were far-reaching and severe,” federal prosecutors wrote in a November court filing regarding Holmes’ sentencing. “Dozens of investors lost over $700 million and numerous patients received unreliable or wholly inaccurate medical information from Theranos’ flawed tests, placing those patients’ health at serious risk.”

More than 100 people wrote letters in support of Holmes to Davila, asking for leniency in her sentencing. The list includes Holmes’ partner, Billy Evans, many members of Holmes’ and Evans’ families, early Theranos investor Tim Draper, and Sen. Cory Booker. Booker described meeting her at a dinner years before she was charged and bonding over the fact that they were both vegans with nothing to eat but a bag of almonds, which they shared.

“I still believe that she holds onto the hope that she can make contributions to the lives of others, and that she can, despite mistakes, make the world a better place,” Booker wrote, noting that he continues to consider her a friend.

Ahead of the hearing, there were also questions over how Holmes’ sentencing could be complicated by developments in her life after stepping down from Theranos. Holmes and her partner, Evans, who met in 2017, have a young son. Holmes is also pregnant, as confirmed by recent court filings and her most recent court appearance in mid-October.

Mark MacDougall, a white-collar defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor, told CNN Business before the hearing that the fact that Holmes has a young child could impact how she is sentenced.

“I don’t know how it can’t, just because judges are human,” he said.

MacDougall also said he doesn’t see what a long prison sentence accomplishes. “Elizabeth Holmes is never going to run a big company again,” he said. “She’s never going to be in a position to have something like this happen again.”

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