A California man has been charged with filing bank loan applications to fraudulently seek more than $1.7 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

A former Judge of Elections in Philadelphia was convicted this week for accepting bribes in exchange for casting fraudulent ballots and certifying false voting resulting during 2014, 2015, and 2016 primary election in Philadelphia. Domenick Demuro pled guilty and will be sentenced on June 30, 2020.

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.