Washington D.C.

WASHINGTON, DC – BofA Securities, Inc. (BoAS), a financial institution based in North Carolina, will not face criminal charges in connection with a market manipulation investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. The department resolved its inquiry under Part I of the Criminal Division’s Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (CEP). As part of the resolution, BoAS has agreed to disgorge approximately $1.96 million and contribute $3.6 million to a victim compensation fund, which it will establish and administer. According to federal investigators, between November 2014 and April 2020, two former BoAS traders on the U.S. Treasuries desk separately engaged in market manipulation schemes. One of the individuals also placed spoof orders in the U.S. Trea...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2025 – A New York man has been resentenced to three years in federal prison for operating BreachForums, a prominent cybercriminal marketplace, and for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, 22, of Peekskill, New York, was originally sentenced to time served in the Eastern District of Virginia. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated that sentence on Jan. 21, 2025, and ordered a resentencing, which took place earlier today. Fitzpatrick pleaded guilty to access device conspiracy, access device solicitation, and possession of CSAM. He admitted to founding and operating BreachForums beginning in March 2022 following the law enforcement takedown of RaidForums. BreachForums quickly grew into one of the...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2025 – A U.S. District Court in Maryland granted a Justice Department motion on Sept. 15 to revoke the U.S. citizenship of Jorge Antonio Graciano Lara, a convicted sex offender who pleaded guilty in 2017 to second-degree rape of a minor under 14. Graciano Lara repeatedly abused the victim over four years and threatened her to conceal the abuse. The court found that he lacked the good moral character required for naturalization, provided false testimony, and willfully misrepresented material facts during his immigration process. The Justice Department sued to denaturalize Graciano Lara in November 2024. The case was brought under Operation Prison Lookout, a national initiative targeting sex offenders who fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship. It was prosecut...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2025 – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and partner agencies have successfully dismantled a violent MS-13 cell operating within the Nashville, Tennessee metropolitan area, following a nine-month investigation. This morning, law enforcement executed a series of court-authorized search warrants across three states—Tennessee, California, and Oklahoma—resulting in the arrests of at least 17 MS-13 members and associates. Authorities also seized large quantities of illegal narcotics, including marijuana, cocaine, counterfeit pills, THC vapes, and liquid psilocybin, as well as multiple firearms, including assault rifles. “These arrests represent a critical milestone in DEA's mission to dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating in the United S...

WASHINGTON – The Religious Liberty Commission hosted President Donald J. Trump, Attorney General Pamela Bondi, parents, and students at a hearing focused on religious liberty in public education. Credit: Office of Public Affairs The hearing included several panels where students and parents shared experiences of challenges to their religious freedoms. The event’s stated objective was to examine the historic foundation of religious liberty in schools, identify current threats, and explore strategies to preserve these freedoms for future generations. “Under the Trump Administration, we’re defending our rights and restoring our identity as a nation under God,” Trump said. “We are one nation under God, and we always will be.” Bondi highlighted the constitutional protections of wor...

WASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration announced the results of a week-long enforcement surge aimed at dismantling the Sinaloa Cartel, designated in February as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. From August 25 through August 29, 2025, DEA agents conducted coordinated actions across 23 domestic field divisions and seven foreign regions. The operation resulted in 617 arrests and the seizure of: 480 kilograms of fentanyl powder 714,707 counterfeit pills 2,209 kilograms of methamphetamine 7,469 kilograms of cocaine 55 kilograms of heroin $11,111,483 in currency $1,697,313 in assets 420 firearms DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said the actions reflect the agency’s commitment to dismantling the cartel’s command and control networks, calling each seizur...

WASHINGTON (Aug. 29, 2025) – According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Ismael Zambada Garcia, also known as “El Mayo,” co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, pleaded guilty on Aug. 25 to being a principal leader of a continuing criminal enterprise and to a racketeering charge. Photo Courtesy of DOJ via OPA (August 29, 2025) Zambada Garcia, 75, of Sinaloa, Mexico, admitted his role as a leader of one of the world’s most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations. Prosecutors said the plea establishes his responsibility for directing large-scale drug trafficking operations connected to the cartel. Sentencing details have not yet been announced.