Author: CorruptionLedger

Former Bolivian Minister of Government Sentenced for Bribery Conspiracy

The former Bolivian Minister of Government was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for conspiracy to launder bribes he received in exchange for corruptly helping a U.S. company win a lucrative contract from the Bolivian government. Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic, 58, of Bolivia, pleaded guilty on Oct. 20, 2022, to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to court…

Medical Components Inc, Martech Medical Products, Jet Medical: Allevio SPG Nerve Block Catheter – deferred prosecution agreement and criminal penalties totaling $200,000

Pennsylvania-based medical device distributor Jet Medical Inc. (Jet) agreed to pay $200,000 to resolve criminal allegations relating to a migraine headache treatment, and Jet and two related companies agreed to pay another $545,000 in a civil settlement involving the same device. In a criminal information filed today in the Southern District of Illinois, the government alleged that between April 2014…

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to fraud

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court Tuesday to charges that he cheated investors and looted customer deposits on his cryptocurrency trading platform as a judge set a tentative trial date for October. Bankman-Fried, 30, denied charges accusing him of illegally diverting massive sums of customer money from FTX to make lavish real estate purchases, donate…

Jan 6 panel shutting down after referring Trump for crimes

The House Jan 6 committee is shutting down, having completed a whirlwind 18-month investigation of the 2021 Capitol insurrection and sent its work to the Justice Department along with a recommendation for prosecuting former President Donald Trump. The committee’s time officially ends Tuesday when the new Republican-led House is sworn in. With many of the committee’s staff already departed, remaining…

Bladimir Moreno, Owner of Los Villatoros Harvesting LLC, Sentenced to 118 Months for Forced Labor, Multi-State Conspiracy (Mexican Workers)

Bladimir Moreno, 55, was sentenced for leading a federal racketeering and forced labor conspiracy that victimized Mexican H-2A agricultural workers in the United States between 2015 and 2017. U.S. District Court Judge Charlene Edward Honeywell of the Middle District of Florida sentenced Moreno to 118 months in prison with three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay over…

No-nonsense judge takes over FTX-Bankman-Fried criminal case

A Manhattan federal judge known for swift decisions and a no-nonsense demeanor during three decades of overseeing numerous high-profile cases was assigned Tuesday to Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency case. The case was relegated to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan after the judge originally assigned recused herself because her husband worked for a law firm that had done work related to Bankman-Fried’s collapsed…

Peru arrests six generals amid graft investigation of ex-President Castillo

The anti-corruption unit of Peru’s attorney general’s office on Monday detained six generals amid an investigation into allegations the government of ousted former President Pedro Castillo illegally promoted police and military officers. Police also seized “documents and devices” during a raid of the home of Castillo’s former Defense Minister Walter Ayala, the anti-corruption unit said. Castillo, who was arrested earlier…

S Korea launches jets, fires shots after North flies drones cross border

South Korea’s military fired warning shots, scrambled fighter jets and flew surveillance assets across the heavily fortified border with North Korea on Monday, after North Korean drones violated its airspace for the first time in five years in a fresh escalation of tensions. South Korea’s military detected five drones from North Korea crossing the border, and one traveled as far as…

Ex-Tokyo Olympics official Takahashi granted ¥80 million bail in bribery case

A former Tokyo Olympics official arrested on bribery charges was granted bail on Monday. The Tokyo District court set bail for Haruyuki Takahashi at 80 million yen, NHK reported. Prosecutors have raided multiple companies in recent months in a widening corruption scandal related to the Tokyo Games. Takahashi, a former member of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics board and before that…

Group urges feds to investigate Snapchat over fentanyl sales

As the U.S. deals with its deadliest overdose crisis to date, a national crime-prevention group is calling on the Justice Department to clamp down on social media’s role in the spread of fentanyl, the drug largely driving a troubling spike in overdose deaths among teenagers. The National Crime Prevention Council sent a letter Wednesday to Attorney General Merrick Garland, calling…

FTC Orders an End to Illegal Mastercard Business Tactics and Requires it to Stop Blocking Competing Debit Card Payment Networks

  The Federal Trade Commission is ordering an end to illegal business tactics that Mastercard has been using to force merchants to route debit card payments through its payment network, and is requiring Mastercard to stop blocking the use of competing debit payment networks. Under a proposed FTC order, Mastercard will have to start providing competing networks with customer account…

Medical Device Company Zyno Medical LLC Agrees To Pay Nearly $500,000 To Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Defective Medical Device

Zyno Medical LLC (Zyno), a medical device manufacturer headquartered in Massachusetts, has agreed to pay $493,140 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by causing the submission of claims to Medicare in connection with the intravenous (IV) administration of medication using devices Zyno knew were materially defective. The settlement announced today resolves allegations that Zyno knowingly distributed…

Germany arrests intelligence service employee, Carsten L, suspected of spying for Russia

German authorities said on Thursday they had arrested an employee of its foreign intelligence service (BND) on suspicion of sharing state secrets with Russia this year and thereby committing treason. Police arrested the suspect, a German citizen identified as Carsten L, on Wednesday in Berlin, the federal prosecutors office said. It said police also raided his flat and workplace as…

3 Aoki Holdings employees admit to bribery in securing Tokyo Olympics sponsorship

A former chairman and two other senior officials of major business suit retailer Aoki Holdings Inc admitted in court Thursday to having bribed a former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee executive to become a sponsor for the sporting event held last year. Hironori Aoki, 84, along with two others, has been charged with providing a total of 28 million yen to…

Kremlin says Biden, Zelenskyy ignoring Russia’s concerns

The Kremlin on Thursday accused Kyiv and Washington of turning a deaf ear to its concerns and charged the United States was using Ukraine as a battleground to weaken Russia. It came as President Vladimir Putin insisted Russia was aiming for a speedy end to the fighting. “Our goal is… to end this conflict. We are striving for this”, he…

Turkey fumes at Sweden in NATO membership dispute

Turkey on Tuesday lashed out at Sweden’s refusal to extradite a top reporter that Ankara has demanded in exchange for its ratification of Stockholm’s NATO membership bid. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants Sweden to return dozens of people that he suspects either of involvement in a failed 2016 coup or of membership of a banned Kurdish militia that Washington and…