The Justice Department announced today a coordinated action with Germany and Finland to disrupt and take down the online infrastructure used to operate Garantex, a cryptocurrency exchange that allegedly facilitated money laundering by transnational criminal organizations (including terrorist organizations) and sanctions violations. Since April 2019, Garantex has processed at least $96 billion in cryptocurrency transactions.…

Today, Attorney General Pamela Bondi and Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove held a powerful and emotional phone call with Judge Enrique Camarena, son of DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. In 1985, Special Agent Camarena was abducted, tortured, and killed. His alleged killer, Rafael Caro Quintaro, was among the 29 wanted defendants taken into U.S. custody…

Today, the United States secured custody of 29 defendants from Mexico who are facing charges in districts around the country relating to racketeering, drug-trafficking, murder, illegal use of firearms, money laundering, and other crimes. The defendants taken into U.S. custody today include leaders and managers of drug cartels recently designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and…

Two alleged members of the Barrio Azteca (BA), a transnational criminal organization allied with the Juarez Cartel, were extradited from Mexico to the United States to face charges related to the March 2010 murders of U.S. Consulate employees in Juarez, Mexico. Eduardo Ravelo, also known as Tablas, Tablero, and T-Blas, and Enrique Guajardo Lopez, also…

Four defendants pleaded guilty in the District of Maryland for their roles in schemes to rig bids, defraud the government and pay and receive bribes in connection with the sale of IT products and services to federal government purchasers, including the Department of Defense (DoD). The charges were previously announced on Oct. 29, 2024.  …

The Justice Department, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today announced a civil enforcement action against Dave Inc. (Dave) and its co-founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Jason Wilk, for alleged violations of the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA). From the U.S. Department…

A resident of Lima, Peru, was extradited to the United States and was arraigned today in a federal court in Miami, where he stands accused of facilitating fraud schemes perpetrated by numerous Peruvian call centers that defrauded victims across the United States, the Justice Department and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) announced today. From the…

A civil forfeiture complaint was filed today for $3.4 million in proceeds from the sale of a music studio in Burbank, California. The complaint alleges that the proceeds, which are beneficially owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, are the proceeds of sanctions violations. An indictment charging Deripaska with sanctions violations had been unsealed on Sept.…

Ilya Lichtenstein was sentenced today to five years in prison for his involvement in a money laundering conspiracy arising from the hack and theft of approximately 120,000 bitcoin from Bitfinex, a global cryptocurrency exchange. From the U.S. Department of Justice: Read More