Record-setting Social Security con man pleads guilty to jumping bail

The lawyer who orchestrated the largest disability fraud in Social Security history pleaded guilty Monday to retaliating against a whistleblower who exposed the scam, and also for jumping bail last year to try to avoid being sentenced for the fraud.

Eric C. Conn, who dubbed himself “Mr. Social Security,” helped thousands of people in rural Kentucky and West Virginia win disability benefits — though for many of them he was submitting bogus applications with fraudulent medical or psychological evidence, and had paid off Social Security judges to rubber-stamp them.

He agreed last year to plead guilty and was set to testify against one of his co-conspirators, but just ahead of that testimony he cut off his ankle bracelet, jumped bail and fled to Central America.

He was recaptured at a Pizza Hut in Honduras in December and, now back in custody in the U.S., has been ratting out others involved in the scheme.

“Eric Conn preyed upon the sick and vulnerable for his personal gain,” said Amy Hess, special agent in charge at the FBI’s Louisville office. “Rather than face the consequences of his crimes, he chose to flee and attempted to hide from those he had betrayed. Today’s plea will ensure he is now held accountable.”

The government on Monday said the scam totaled $550 million in lifetime benefits obligated to be paid out on fraudulent applications. But in other documents the government put the scam as high as $600 billion for an initial batch of about 1,800 applications, and the government has since identified about 2,000 more disability cases it questioned, suggesting the actual potential fraud is well more than $1 billion.

Conn was already sentenced to 12 years in prison for the original scam. The new charges he pleaded guilty to on Monday stem from his escape, and from retaliating against Sarah Carver, who along with Jennifer Griffith blew the whistle on the fraud earlier this decade.

Conn set his henchman, Curtis Lee Wyatt, to stalk Ms. Carver and try to catch her violating her telework agreement, hoping to discredit her as a whistleblower. They were unable to find any evidence.

Wyatt also helped Conn with his escape, including testing the best places to cross the border from the U.S. into Mexico and arranging the Faraday bag device that helped Conn cut off his ankle bracelet and jump bond last year.

Wyatt will be sentenced later this month for his crime, while Conn faces sentencing in September.

The Washington Times reported last week that the government will ask for a 15-year sentence on the new charges against Conn, in addition to the 12 years he already got for the original scam. The terms are to run consecutively, according to a notification of the plea deal the government made to Ms. Carver.

Several others from the conspiracy are already serving prison sentences.

https:// www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jun/4/social-security-con-man-pleads-guilty-jumping-bail/

Former Navy sailor pardoned by Trump sets legal sights on Obama, Comey

'They didn't prosecute Hillary Clinton. Hillary is still walking free'

Former President Obama, former FBI Director James Comey and the U.S. Department of Justice are in the legal crosshairs of ex-Navy sailor Kristian Saucier.

The former machinist mate who spent one year in federal prison for unauthorized photos taken aboard a nuclear submarine is seeking legal recourse due to unequal protection of the law. Mr. Saucier claims prosecuting authorities made an example of him — he pleaded guilty to unauthorized detention of defense information while aboard the USS Alexandria — while legally excusing former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s decision to maintain a secret email server.

“They interpreted the law in my case to say it was criminal, but they didn’t prosecute Hillary Clinton,” Mr. Saucier told Fox News on Monday. “Hillary is still walking free. Two guys on my ship did the same thing and weren’t treated as criminals. We want them to correct the wrong. … My case was usually something handled by military courts.”

Ronald Daigle, the Vermont man’s attorney, told the network that a lawsuit will likely be filed in Manhattan as soon as a six-month waiting period passes.

A notice of intent was sent to the Justice Department and others in December.

“We’ll highlight the differences in the way Hillary Clinton was prosecuted and how my client was prosecuted,” Mr. Daigle told Fox. “We’re seeking to cast a light on this to show that there’s a two-tier justice system and we want it to be corrected.”

Mr. Saucier, 31, said his guilty plea led to repossessed vehicles and home foreclosure. It wasn’t until President Trump’s pardon in March that his life started to improve.

“Things are starting to go in the right direction,” he said. “I work with a group of really great people, I get to use my skills set.”

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in March that Mr. Saucier “has been recognized by his fellow service members for his dedication, skill and patriotic spirit.”

https:// www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jun/4/kristian-saucier-ex-navy-sailor-pardoned-by-trump-/

Justice Department to add 300 new prosecutors

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is adding more than 300 new prosecutors across the country to combat the opioid crisis, violent crime and illegal immigration, the Justice Department announced Monday.

All told, 311 new Assistant U.S. Attorney positions will be created. It is said to be the largest expansion of the Justice Department in decades.

Among the new prosecutors, 190 will focus on violent crimes, 86 on civil enforcement, many of which will focus on the opioid epidemic, and 35 on immigration violations. The addition of 35 new immigration prosecutors are in addition to the 35 assistant attorneys and 18 judges Mr. Sessions ordered to the Mexican border last month.

The Eastern District of New York and Puerto Rico will each receive the largest allocation of assistant U.S. attorneys focused on violent crime with five each, the Justice Department said. An additional 12 districts, including the Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of New York, Southern District of Ohio, and the Northern District of Texas, will each receive four new violent crime prosecutors.

“Under President Trump’s strong leadership, the Department of Justice is going on offense against violent crime, illegal immigration and the opioid crisis — and today we are sending in reinforcements,” Mr. Sessions said in a statement announcing the new Assistant U.S. Attorneys.

The new prosecutors will come with a price tag of roughly $72 million, but Mr. Sessions said the Justice Department cleared funds for them by eliminating “wasteful spending.” More than $702 million was cut from the Justice Department’s 2018 budget.

“When we can eliminate wasteful spending, one of my first questions to my staff is if we can deploy more prosecutors to where they are needed,” Mr. Sessions said.

Adding new prosecutors has long been among Mr. Sessions’ goals since he was appointed Attorney General last year. He first announced the plan, which is part of President Trump’s campaign promise to reduce crime, last May as part of the Justice Department’s budget proposal.

The attorney general said he is excited about the new blood joining the Justice Department.

“I have personally worked to repurpose existing funds to support this critical mission, and as a former federal prosecutor myself, my expectations could not be higher,” he said. “These exceptional and talented prosecutors are key leaders in our crime fighting partnership.”

https:// www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jun/4/justice-department-add-300-new-prosecutors/

>>1632346

Kek, I have seen this before weird how they live up to the name.

>>1632384

I agree, I know someone who has been fighting tooth and nail, with a legitimate case and still waiting.

Societe Generale to pay $1.3B, Legg Mason $64M to settle Libyan bribery claims

Société Générale S.A. will pay over $860 million to resolve criminal charges in the U.S. and France alleging it had bribed Libyan officials and manipulating the LIBOR rate, the Justice Department said Monday.

The Paris-based bank is also expected to pay additional $475 million in penalties to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in connection with the LIBOR scheme that could bring the settlement bill to more than $1 billion dollars, according to a Justice Department statement.

Société Générale was charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, one count of transmitting false commodities report.

Between 2004 and 2009, Société Générale paid over $90 million in bribes to a “broker” distributed the fees to Libyan officials in order to secure investments from government institutions, the bank admitted in court documents. As a result of the bribes, Société Générale obtained 13 investments and one restructuring worth roughly $3.7 million leading to $523 million in profits, the Justice Department said.

The bank also admitted that it submitted false LIBOR reports to make it look as if Société Générale was borrowing money at a better interest rate than it had been, according to court documents. A senior executive at Société Générale ordered the false reports to create the appearance that the bank was stronger and more creditworthy than it actually was.

“For years, Société Générale undermined the integrity of global markets and foreign institutions by issuing false financial data and by fraudulently securing contracts through bribery,” said acting Assistant Attorney General John Cronan. “Today’s resolution — which marks the first coordinated resolution with France in a foreign bribery case — sends a strong message that transnational corruption and manipulation of our markets will be met with a global and coordinated law enforcement response.”

https:// www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jun/4/societe-generale-pay-860m-resolve-bribery-charges/

Pentagon IG opens investigation of White House physician Ronny Jackson

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s inspector general has opened an investigation of Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, the White House doctor whose nomination to head the Department of Veterans Affairs was derailed by allegations of misconduct, officials said Monday.

A spokesman for the IG’s office, Bruce Anderson, announced the probe but said he could not comment on the specific allegations.

Jackson has denied the allegations, which surfaced during the brief period his nomination was under consideration by the Senate. After being nominated, he stepped aside from leading President Donald Trump’s medical care, but he remains a member of the White House medical unit. He has been with the White House unit since 2006.

Jackson withdrew his nomination in April after allegations by current and former colleagues raised questions about his prescribing practices and leadership ability, including unsubstantiated accusations of drunkenness on the job.

The allegations were referred to the Pentagon’s inspector general for evaluation. After an initial assessment and review, the IG’s office decided a formal investigation was warranted, Anderson said.

In March, Trump nominated Jackson for promotion to the rank of two-star admiral. Some members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which would vote on a promotion, had called for a Pentagon inspector general investigation.

Trump has called Jackson a “great man (who) got treated very, very unfairly” after his VA nomination.

https:// www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jun/4/ronny-jackson-ex-va-nominee-and-white-house-physic/

Judge: 'In God We Trust' on money isn't religion endorsement

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal court has ruled that printing “In God We Trust” on U.S. currency doesn’t amount to a religious endorsement and therefore doesn’t violate the U.S. Constitution.

The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin reports the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago made the ruling Thursday in a lawsuit brought by a self-declared Satanist, Kenneth Mayle. He argued that the motto propagates a religious view he opposes.

A lower court tossed the suit citing a Supreme Court decision that a motto on currency isn’t something people display prominently and thus that people are not forced to publicly advertise views that clash with their own.

Mayle appealed to restore the suit, but the 7th Circuit refused, describing the phrase as a “historical reminder” of the nation’s heritage.

https:// www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jun/4/judge-in-god-we-trust-motto-is-no-religion-endorse/

Clash with Venezuela heats up as Pompeo calls for suspension from OAS, economic sanctions

The U.S. and Venezuela traded barbs at the annual Organization of American States summit in Washington on Monday, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging the hemispheric body to suspend Caracas’ membership and support increased economic sanctions against socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

“[It] would show that the OAS backs up its words with action and would send a powerful message to the Maduro regime,” said Mr. Pompeo, referring to the Trump administration’s attempt to persuade Latin American governments to counter the Venezuelan president’s authoritarian streak with economic pressure and diplomatic isolation.

Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza, who demanded and was allowed by the OAS to take the floor directly after Mr. Pompeo, accused the U.S. government of “perpetrating a coup d’etat against [Venezuela] for 20 years” and said the push for sanctions is just Washington’s latest “imperialist” tactic.

“We are an independent nation, we are free, we are sovereign,” Mr. Arreaza told a room packed with other Latin American diplomats at the OAS around the corner from the State Department headquarters in Foggy Bottom.

“No imperialist will be intervening in our country and try to hinder that people can vote for their own authorities and have their own democracy,” he said, arguing that Mr. Maduro won Venezuela’s presidential election two weeks ago fair and square.

The OAS delegates were expected to vote Tuesday on the U.S.-backed demand to suspend Venezuela. Despite widespread unhappiness with the long-running crisis in Venezuela, a number of Caribbean and Latin American nations fear that the vote could set a precedent.

The Trump administration and a number of several OAS member nations have sharply criticized the Venezuelan election as a sham that was boycotted by the opposition and moved up to aid the government. Critics also characterized the vote as the latest in Mr. Maduro’s push to consolidate power and undermine democratic institutions in Venezuela.

U.S. governments clashed repeatedly with anti-American populist leader Hugo Chavez, a political mentor to Mr. Maduro. Although his country holds some of the world’s largest oil reserves, Mr. Maduro has presided over an economic implosion that has undermined social services, sent inflation and joblessness soaring, and created a refugee crisis that threatens to destabilize neighboring countries such as Brazil and Colombia.

Mr. Maduro in turn has accused the Trump administration of “imperialist” designs to bring down his government.

But international rights groups and many of Venezuela’s neighbors have joined Washington in criticizing the Maduro government’s consolidation of power, including a rewriting of the constitution to undermine the power of the opposition-dominated National Assembly.

After Mr. Maduro won the election, tensions with Washington rose anew. Mr. Maduro kicked out the top two U.S. diplomats in Caracas on charges that they tried to sabotage the vote by persuading opposition candidates to boycott the proceedings.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration announced even tougher financial sanctions against Venezuela. The administration dramatically escalated sanctions last year and accused Mr. Maduro’s vice president of being a drug kingpin who was laundering money for narcotics traffickers.

The Trump administration — as did the Obama administration — has slammed the Maduro government for detaining scores of opposition figures.

In the wake of Mr. Maduro’s election win, the Venezuelan president has suddenly freed dozens of opposition activists from jail in the hope of uniting the politically fractured nation.

Mr. Pompeo told the OAS on Monday that while the U.S. welcomes the releases, “Our policy toward Venezuela remains unchanged.”

Accusing the Venezuelan president of engaging in a “full-scale dismantling of democracy,” he said the “Maduro regime’s effort to move toward unconstitutional government and its human rights abuses are now well known by all.”

https:// www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jun/4/mike-pompeo-calls-oas-kick-out-venezuela/

U.N. nuclear chief says work in North Korea could resume quickly

VIENNA (AP) — The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog says the agency could resume work in North Korea “within weeks” to verify any possible agreement between Washington and Pyongyang.

Plans are advancing for a June 12 nuclear weapons summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano said Monday that the agency would be ready “promptly” to undertake any activities requested of it.

Amano told reporters in Vienna, where the agency is based: “We will be able to resume our verification activities at short notice, within weeks, not months, once (governing) board authorization is given.”

He said “it is very clear that if there is anybody, any organization, that can do the verification, it is only us, the IAEA.”

https:// www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jun/4/un-nuclear-chief-says-work-north-korea-could-resum/

North Korea replaces top three military officials ahead of nuclear summit

North Korea’s top three military officials appear to have been replaced, according to reports, potentially paving the way for a denuclearization deal at the Singapore summit next week.

The three military leaders were replaced with younger and more moderate figures, according to multiple reports, including Reuters and South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

Analysts described it as a move toward opening the reclusive communist regime in preparation for the historic June 12 summit between President Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong-un.

The shake up included the replacement of defense chief Pak Yong-sik by Ministry of People’s Armed Forces No Kwang-chol; chief of general staff Ri Myong-su by his deputy, Ri Yong-gil, according to the reports.

Earlier, Kim Jong-gak , director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People’s Army, was replaced with Army Gen. Kim Su-gil, which was confirmed last month by North Korean state media.

The shake-up could allow Mr. Kim and the ruling party to tighten control over the Korean People’s Army (KPA) at a critical time of international engagement and domestic development.

“If Kim Jong Un is set on making peace with the U.S. and South Korea and dealing away at least part of the nuclear program, he will have to put the KPA’s influence in a box and keep it there,” Ken Gause, director of the International Affairs Group at CNA, a nonprofit research and analysis organization, told Reuters.

“This reshuffle has brought to the fore the officers who can do just that. They are loyal to Kim Jong Un and no one else,” he said.

On another front, the South Korean military said Seoul and Washington would refrain from publicizing future joint military exercises.

South Korea did not say the exercises would be cancelled or scaled down, according to a report by North Korea News, a South Korea-based news service.

U.S. Defense Secretary James N. Mattis and South Korea National Defense Minister Song Young-moo agreed to minimize publicity of upcoming exercises.

They met Saturday in Singapore as part of preparations for the Trump-Kim meeting next week.

Pyongyang has viewed the annual U.S.-South Korea military drills as a provocation or a threat.

The presence of U.S. F-22 Raptor stealth fighters in the recent Max Thunder Exercise caused a political flare up with the North.

Pyongyang last month threatened to cancel the Singapore summit because of the use of the fighter jets and called off a high-level meeting with South Korea.

https:// www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jun/4/north-korea-replaces-top-three-military-officials-/

>>1632676

He wasn't Exxon, he was a Wall St guy with a Ponzie scheme, Bernie Madoff,

>>1632658

Peace is why:)

>>1632683

>Peace is why:)

Feds quickly approve election security grant for Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida is going to quickly get a $19 million federal grant aimed at protecting the state’s election systems from cyberattack.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s office on Monday announced the U.S. Election Assistance Commission had approved the grant request. The commission wrote a letter to Rubio saying the money would be given to the state this week.

Gov. Rick Scott ordered the state to apply for the money late last month. His move came one day after the state’s top election official said the money wouldn’t be available until after the November elections.

The money is part of a $380 million national election protection program President Donald Trump approved in March.

There was an effort to infiltrate Florida’s election systems ahead of the 2016 elections

https:// www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jun/4/feds-quickly-approve-election-security-grant-for-f/

Apple dangling more goodies, while adding tech diet options

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Apple will offer more ways for people to limit the time they spend on iPhones while introducing features designed to make its products even more indispensable.

The paradox emerged Monday as Apple executives previewed new versions of free software due out this fall.

The forthcoming controls are aimed at addressing criticism that devices are becoming increasingly addictive and distracting, especially for children. Experts worry that all the flashy colors and beeps give users short-term, feel-good rewards while increasing stress in the long run.

Yet Apple made it clear it also hopes to make its devices and services even more alluring - and potentially irresistible - by creating new avenues for its digital assistant, Siri, to serve as a backup brain for users. The company is also creating more entertainment options and new ways to communicate, including group video chats through FaceTime and more options for the iPhone X’s animated emojis.

People have become so dependent on technology that it’s unlikely any company will be able to solve the addiction problem, but they can help keep it from getting worse, Gartner analyst Brian Blau said. The best hope, he said, is for technology to help people enjoy life and then get out of the way.

“Apple at least seems to be hearing what people are saying and trying to do something about it,” he said.

Apple’s new controls will expand on the “Do Not Disturb” options on the iPhone and iPad. The display can also be set to dim automatically just before bedtime. Users can also block app notifications from showing up on the home screen not only based on time of day, which they can do now, but by location, such as when visiting the playground with their kids.

Other features will provide weekly reports on how much time people are spending looking at their screen each month. Users will be able to set daily time limits on specific apps.

Last month, Google revealed plans to force Android phones into “shush” mode when placed face down on a table and have the screen show only greyscale colors late at night.

Other highlights during Apple’s annual software preview include:

BETTER BROWSING PRIVACY

Apple is taking a swipe at ubiquitous “share” buttons created by Facebook and others to track users’ behavior online regardless of whether they click on them. The company said it’s shutting down that tracking, unless the user decides to permit it, through a Safari browser update for Mac and iOS devices, including iPhones and iPads.

Apple also intends to crack down on data companies’ ability to identify specific devices by creating a unique fingerprint based on a device’s settings, installed fonts and plug-ins. Instead, Apple will send out generic information to make all Apple devices look alike.

Unlike Facebook and Google, Apple doesn’t depend on online ads dictated by data about a user’s interests. Instead, Apple generates most of its revenue from device sales.

Chris Hoofnagle, faculty director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, believes Apple’s move will prod rivals Mozilla and Microsoft to do the same, though Google may remain a holdout with the Chrome browser given the company’s dependence on ads and data.

The announcement comes as Facebook acknowledges it struck data-sharing deals with at least 60 device makers, including Apple. Facebook insisted there was nothing scandalous and said the deals were designed to make it easier for people to use Facebook features without opening its app or website.

https:// www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jun/4/new-iphone-features-to-include-ways-to-use-it-less/