Defendants include CEOs, actresses, university athletic coaches, and college exam administrators

BOSTON – Dozens of individuals involved in a nationwide conspiracy that facilitated cheating on college entrance exams and the admission of students to elite universities as purported athletic recruits were arrested by federal agents in multiple states this morning and charged in federal court in Boston. Athletic coaches from Yale, Stanford, USC, Wake Forest and Georgetown, among others, are implicated, as well as parents and exam administrators.

William “Rick” Singer, 58, of Newport Beach, Calif., was charged with racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Singer owned and operated the Edge College & Career Network LLC (“The Key”) – a for-profit college counseling and preparation business – and served as the CEO of the Key Worldwide Foundation (KWF) – a non-profit corporation that he established as a purported charity.

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The United States welcomes the release today of a report by the UN’s independent Panel of Experts on the implementation of UN sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K.) and commends the panel for its hard work. The report provides timely, relevant, and impartial analysis that helps governments around the world to take decisive action and demonstrates the need for continued vigilance against entities involved in D.P.R.K. sanctions evasion activity. The United States takes allegations of UN sanctions violations seriously, and all Member States are expected to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions. International unity in implementing these sanctions continues to hamper the D.P.R.K.’s ability to further its illegal weapons of mass destruction programs and sends the message that the D.P.R.K. will be economically and diplomatically isolated until it denuclearizes.   more...

Resolution Comes after Company Lied to Investors Following March 2015 “60 Minutes” Episode

Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. (Lumber Liquidators) has agreed to pay a total penalty of $33 million for filing a materially false and misleading statement to investors regarding the sale of its laminate flooring from China to its customers in the United States.

Lumber Liquidators, a public corporation headquartered in Toano, Virginia, and one of the largest retailers of flooring products in the United States, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in connection with a criminal information filed today in the Eastern District of Virginia charging the company with securities fraud. The case was primarily focused on the fact that Lumber Liquidators knowingly filed a false and misleading statement to investors broadly denying the allegations featured in a March 2015 episode of 60 Minutes, and affirming that the company complied with California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations.

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Reward Now at $15,000

BIRMINGHAM—Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Johnnie Sharp, Jr. and Birmingham Police Chief Patrick D. Smith announced a $5,000 increase in reward money, which leads to the arrest and indictment of the subjects responsible for a Brinks armored vehicle robbery, which occurred on December 24, 2018. Total reward money is now $15,000.

On December 24, 2018, at approximately 8:15 a.m., a Brinks armored vehicle security guard was servicing an ATM at the BBVA Compass Bank located at 201 Gadsden Highway, Birmingham, Alabama.   more...

Current Leader Konstantin Ignatov Arrested at Los Angeles International Airport KONSTANTIN IGNATOV was arrested March 6, 2019, at the Los Angeles International Airport, on a wire fraud conspiracy charge stemming from his role as the leader of an international pyramid scheme that involved the marketing of a fraudulent cryptocurrency called “OneCoin.” An Indictment charging IGNATOV’s sister, RUJA IGNATOVA – a founder and original leader of OneCoin – with wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering offenses was unsealed yesterday. As a result of misrepresentations that IGNATOV, IGNATOVA, and others made about OneCoin, victims invested billions of dollars worldwide in the fraudulent cryptocurrency. Following his arrest, IGNATOV appeared in Magistrate Court in the Central District of California, and was detained on the charge contained in the Complaint.

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Ms. Hoda Muthana is not a U.S. citizen and will not be admitted into the United States. She does not have any legal basis, no valid U.S. passport, no right to a passport, nor any visa to travel to the United States. We continue to strongly advise all U.S. citizens not to travel to Syria.   more...