Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Carter Announces More U.S. Support for Afghan Forces
Carter Announces More U.S. Support for Afghan Forces: U.S. forces in Afghanistan now will be able to boost support for Afghan conventional forces with more firepower and by accompanying and advising them on the ground and in the air, Defense Secretary
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Readout of Secretary Carter
Readout of Secretary Carter: Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook provided the following readout:Secretary of Defense Ash Carter met with Turkish Minister of Defense Fikri Işık today on the sidelines of the NATO Defense
Monday, June 13, 2016
Sunday, June 12, 2016
Friday, June 10, 2016
Defense Bill Concerns DoD, White House, Pentagon Press Secretary Says
Defense Bill Concerns DoD, White House, Pentagon Press Secretary Says: As the Senate debates its version of the National Defense Authorization Act this week, the Defense Department and the White House have concerns about the way the legislation now stands, Pentagon Press
Carter Unveils Next Wave of Force of the Future Initiatives
Carter Unveils Next Wave of Force of the Future Initiatives: Defense Secretary Ash Carter today announced the next steps in his Force of the Future initiative to modernize the rules and regulations that govern how the Defense Department recruits, develops and
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Behind the Myths: The Truth About Overtime
Behind the Myths: The Truth About Overtime: Last week we announced the most meaningful update to the nation’s white-collar overtime rules in more than 40 years. By raising the salary threshold under which white-collar salaried workers qualif…
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Pressure From Local Forces Restricts ISIL, Inherent Resolve Spokesman
Pressure From Local Forces Restricts ISIL, Inherent Resolve Spokesman: Local forces in Iraq and Syria are pressuring the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant at multiple points on the battlefield, restricting the terrorist army’s mobility and options, the Operation
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Monday, June 6, 2016
Press Secretary: Carter Wants to Push Harder in Counter-ISIL Effort
Press Secretary: Carter Wants to Push Harder in Counter-ISIL Effort: Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said Defense Secretary Ash Carter wants to push harder in the campaign to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
DOJ ANNOUNCE WITH DUTCH OF ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS AGAINST MAIL FRAUDSTERS TARGETING ELDERLY
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Justice Department and Dutch Authorities Announce Simultaneous Enforcement Actions Against International Mass-Mailing Fraud Schemes Targeting the Elderly
Thousands of U.S. Victims Defrauded Out of Over $18 Million Annually
According to the complaint, U.S. residents received fraudulent direct mail solicitations that falsely claimed that the individual recipient had won, or would soon win cash or valuable prizes or otherwise come into great fortune. Victims sent payments through the U.S. and international mail systems to defendants Trends Service in Kommunikatie B.V. (Trends) and Kommunikatie Service Buitenland B.V. (KSB), both in Utrecht, Netherlands, and both owned and operated by defendant Erik Dekker, 54, of Langbroek, Netherlands.
At the same time that the Justice Department took this law enforcement action, Dutch law enforcement agents executed search warrants on the business address used by both companies and on Dekker’s home address. The Dutch authorities also took control of the Dutch P.O. boxes used by the defendants to receive victim funds. The coordinated U.S. and Dutch enforcement actions seek to immediately stop the use of Dutch P.O. boxes to receive payments from fraud victims and to immediately stop the defendants from continuing to victimize the elderly. Learn more about the actions taken by Dutch authorities at: https://www.om.nl/actueel/nieuwsberichten/@94702/fiod-and-us-doj/ [external link]
“Schemes targeting elderly victims are increasingly international in scope, but geographic distance will not prevent us from seeking justice and holding bad actors accountable,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Dutch authorities have done a great service to U.S. residents and elderly victims worldwide by addressing fraud facilitated within their borders. The Justice Department will continue to work with our international law enforcement partners to put a stop to fraud schemes that exploit vulnerable Americans.”
“As alleged in the complaint, defendants act as the clearinghouses for multiple international mail fraud schemes, taking money from thousands of elderly and vulnerable victims not only in this district but also throughout the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Robert L. Capers for the Eastern District of New York. “Together with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and our international partner, the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Division of the Netherlands, we will track down, and stop, the schemes wherever they lead.”
“No one should ever be told they must pay a fee, or make a worthless purchase, to collect a prize,” said Inspector in Charge Regina L. Faulkerson of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigation Group. “When that happens, it’s fraud - plain and simple - and Postal Inspectors work to keep those falsehoods out of the U.S. mail.”
The complaint filed June 1 in U.S. federal court in the Eastern District of New York alleges that, since at least 2012, Trends, KSB and Dekker have used P.O. boxes in the Netherlands to receive payments from various predatory mass-mailing fraud schemes. Solicitations are mailed from locations around the globe to residents in the United States. The solicitations purport to be personalized to each individual recipient, even though they are form letters mailed to hundreds of thousands of potential victims. Some solicitations instruct recipients to pay a processing fee in order to receive lottery winnings or other prizes; other solicitations urge recipients to purchase goods or services based on false promises that they will guarantee future lottery wins.
As alleged in the complaint, victims responded to the solicitations by completing a form and submitting a payment, usually around $15 to $55, via U.S. mail. The solicitations contain pre-addressed envelopes in which victims send payments. The envelopes are addressed to P.O. boxes in the Netherlands. Trends and KSB operate more than 50 of these P.O. boxes. Like other so-called “caging services,” Trends and KSB open the payment envelopes, remove the contents, enter payment and other personal information from the victims into a database and handle victim payments. The U.S. government estimates that U.S. victims mail more than $18 million annually to the defendants’ P.O. boxes.
The government is seeking an injunction under the Anti-Fraud Injunction Statute immediately shutting down the defendants’ role in the fraudulent schemes in order to protect U.S. victims from further harm. The injunctions sought by the United States would enjoin the defendants from using the U.S. mail or causing the U.S. mail to be used, to distribute the fraudulent solicitations or to collect victim payments, and from selling lists of American victims who have responded to the solicitations. If granted, a permanent injunction would allow the U.S. Postal Service to intercept mail heading to the defendants, and return that mail—along with any money being sent to the defendants—to U.S. victims.
U.S. District Court Judge I. Leo Glasser for the Eastern District of New York set a hearing on the preliminary injunction on July 18 at 10 a.m.
The Justice Department’s case is being handled by Trial Attorney Kerala Thie Cowart of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Vagelatos of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York and Postal Inspector Joseph R. Bizzarro of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Sunday, June 5, 2016
Saturday, June 4, 2016
Southcom Commander: Illicit Networks Are Region’s Greatest Security Ch
Southcom Commander: Illicit Networks Are Region’s Greatest Security Ch: Navy Adm. Kurt W. Tidd, commander of U.S. Southern Command, said the Southcom area of responsibility has been characterized by the absence of ongoing armed conflict between nations for some time, but
Carter, Admirals Take Questions on China at Shangri-La Dialogue
Carter, Admirals Take Questions on China at Shangri-La Dialogue: Defense Secretary Ash Carter and two senior naval officers responded to reporters’ questions about China during the 15th annual International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia Security Summit in
Fights to Retake Fallujah, Manbij City From ISIL Begin
Fights to Retake Fallujah, Manbij City From ISIL Begin: U.S. Central Command spokesman Air Force Col. Pat Ryder said fights that started last week aimed at wrenching control of two major cities in Iraq and Syria from the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq
Friday, June 3, 2016
Benefits.gov website adds location-based technology to personalize, enhance user experience - United States Department of Labor
Benefits.gov website adds location-based technology to personalize, enhance user experience - United States Department of Labor: WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that the Benefits.gov – official federal government benefits website – now customizes the user’s search for government benefits based on the user’s location. By personalizing the content on government benefits and other information – and providing content most commonly requested – the site now provides a better and more efficient tool for its users.
US Department of Labor signs agreement to protect workers from misclassification with South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation - United States Department of Labor
US Department of Labor signs agreement to protect workers from misclassification with South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation - United States Department of Labor: Participants: U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour DivisionSouth Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Community Resilience: Is Hawai‘i ready for the impacts from climate change?
Community Resilience: Is Hawai‘i ready for the impacts from climate change?: by Hawai'i Sea Grant
Dr. Bradley Romine is used to his phone ringing off the hook whenever unusually large swells hit parts of Oahu. Romine, a University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program (Hawai‘i Sea Grant) coastal hazards extension specialist seconded to the State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (DLNR OCCL), is one of the first people homeowners turn to when the waves start lapping at their door and...
Dr. Bradley Romine is used to his phone ringing off the hook whenever unusually large swells hit parts of Oahu. Romine, a University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program (Hawai‘i Sea Grant) coastal hazards extension specialist seconded to the State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (DLNR OCCL), is one of the first people homeowners turn to when the waves start lapping at their door and...
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