Maurice Fayne, a reality TV star from the show Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, has been arrested on federal bank fraud charges arising from a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan that he obtained in the name of Flame Trucking. The United Community Bank provided Fayne with a PPP loan totaling more than $2 million.

Two businessmen have been charged with allegedly filing bank loan applications fraudulently seeking more than a half-million dollars in forgivable loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). David Staveley, aka Kurt Sanborn, and David Butziger claimed to have dozens of employees earning wages at four different business entities when there were no employees working for any of the businesses.

In the last week, federal courts in Utah and Texas issued respective injunctions against two groups halting the sale of coronavirus “cures” and “treatments” that have been deemed fraudulent. In Utah, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah issued a temporary restraining order against defendant Gordon Pedersen of Cedar Hills, Utah, and his companies, My Doctor Suggests LLC and GP Silver LLC. In a civil complaint and accompanying court papers filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that Purity Health and Wellness Centers and one of the firm’s principals, Jean Juanita Allen, fraudulently promoted so-called ozone therapy as a treatment for COVID-19.

Work by federal law enforcement and private sector partners has resulted in the disruption of several hundred online COVID-19 scams in the last few weeks. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has been prioritizing the investigation of COVID-19 related crimes and fraudulent activity in an attempt to combat criminals looking to take advantage of the situation.

Christopher Parris of Atlanta, Georgia has been arrested and charged with wire fraud for attempting to sell millions of nonexistent respirator masks to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in exchange for large upfront payments. Parris made a series of misrepresentations in an attempt to get the VA to secure orders for up to 125 million face mask and other personal protective equipment (PPE) which would have totaled over $750 million.

A federal complaint has been filed against a San Antonio man for perpetuating a hoax related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Christopher Charles Perez has been charged with one count of violating a US law which criminalizes false information and hoaxes related to weapons of mass destruction.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), as part of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) COVID-19 Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force, has recovered a significant number of N95 respirator masks from price gougers looking to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the DOJ and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are working together to redistribute the items to medical centers in need.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Sunday that it has issued its first action in federal court to combat fraud related to the coronavirus. The DOJ previously announced it is prioritizing the detection, investigation, and prosecution of illegal conduct related to the pandemic.

Merdad Ansar, an Iranian citizen and resident of the United Arab Emirates, was extradited from Georgia to the United States this week to face federal charges in connection with a scheme to obtain military sensitive parts for Iran in violation of the Iranian Trade Embargo. Ansar and his codefendant were charged in a federal grand jury indictment returned in June 2012 with conspiracy to violate the Iranian Transactions Regulations (ITR), conspiracy to launder money, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The Department of Justice announced this week that a Drug Enforcement Administration-led effort entitled Project Python resulted in more than 600 arrests targeting activities by the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). CJNG is considered one of the fastest growing transnational criminal organizations and one of the most prolific methamphetamine producers in the world.

An immigration judge in Memphis, Tennessee has issued a removal order against a German citizen and Tennessee resident based on his service in Nazi Germany in 1945. Friedrich Karl Berger served as an armed guard at a concentration camp in the Neuengamme Concentration Camp system.

A former executive director of the South Arkansas Youth Services (SAYS), an Arkansas based non-profit, was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for unlawfully diverting more than $380,00 from the charity he operated to a state senator and the lobbying firm of a convicted lobbyist. The former executive director, Jerry Walsh, must also pay $515,631.56 in restitution.

A federal jury issued a guilty verdict against four defendants for their roles in running “pill mills” in Knoxville, Tennessee. A federal jury convicted Sylvia Hofstetter of Miami, Florida and Courtney Newman, Cynthia Clemons, and Holli Womack, all of Knoxville, Tennessee. The jury returned guilty verdicts against Hofstetter for a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) conspiracy, a drug conspiracy, money laundering, and maintaining drug-involved premises. The guilty verdicts against Newman, Clemons, and Womack were for maintaining drug-involved premises.

The Department of Justice has announced an indictment charging four individuals serving in the Chinese military with the Equifax breach that stole sensitive information from nearly 150 million Americans. The individuals hacked into the computer systems of the credit reporting agency Equifax, stealing Americans’ personal data and Equifax’s valuable trade secrets.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has secured the denaturalization of a convicted terrorist who sought to help al Qaeda destroy the Brooklyn Bridge in 2003. Iyman Faris, a native of Pakistan, was convicted in 2003 of providing material support to al Qaeda and sentenced to 20 years in prison. On Monday, a District Court judge ordered the revocation of Faris’s naturalized U.S. citizenship.

Four members of the United Blood Nation (Bloods) street gang were sentenced in Charlotte, North Carolina this week after pleading guilty to federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy charges. Three of the individuals were sentenced to 35 years each followed by three years of supervised release and the final individual was sentenced to 15 years followed by three years of supervised release.

Darryl Gartley of Oregon pled guilty in August to two counts of sex trafficking minors. Gartley was sentenced this week to 149 months and 12 days in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

A federal jury found a Texas rheumatologist guilty for his role in a $325 million health care fraud scheme in which he falsely diagnosed patients with lifelong diseases and treated them with toxic medications.

When the two defendants were arrested, law enforcement seized propane gas tanks, soldering tools, car bomb instructions, jihadist literature, machetes and several knives from their residences.

Darryl Gartley of Oregon pled guilty in August to two counts of sex trafficking minors. Gartley was sentenced this week to 149 months and 12 days in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.