News Blog

Crooked CEO Gets 50 Years for Stealing $215 Million

The $20 million headquarters of the now-bankrupt Peregrine Financial Group in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

He was a successful CEO of his own futures brokerage firm and a respected member of his community, creating jobs and supporting local charities.

Or so it seemed. For years, Russell Wasendorf, Sr.—as Acting U.S. Attorney Sean R. Berry of the Northern District of Iowa recently put it—was really a “con man who built a business on smoke and mirrors.”

It all fell apart in July 2012 when Wasendorf—after an unsuccessful suicide attempt—admitted stealing millions from more than 13,000 investors who had entrusted their hard-earned money to him and his company, the now bankrupt Peregrine Financial Group, based in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Last month, Wasendorf was sentenced by a federal judge to 50 years in prison—the maximum sentence allowed by law—and ordered to pay restitution to his victims.

Read full story

A Valentine’s Day Warning

It’s that time of year again…love is in the air, flowers are everywhere, and people are thinking of their special someone.

Millions of Americans visit online dating websites every year hoping to find their soulmate...but beware that criminals use these sites too, looking to turn the lonely and vulnerable into fast money through a variety of scams.

This Valentine’s Day and always, the FBI reminds you stay vigilant to keep from being lured into an online dating scam...especially if your new online friend starts asking for money. If you think you’ve been a victim of this or any other type of scam, file a complaint with our Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

Awareness is the best tool for preventing crime...and sometimes, even for preventing a broken heart.

More about online dating scams | Scams & Safety webpage | IC3 website

Hostage Rescue Team, Part 2: Selection

HRT “selectees” are distinguishable during selection only by number and the color of their clothes.

FBI agents hoping to earn a spot on the Hostage Rescue Team—federal law enforcement’s lead counterterrorism tactical team—relinquish their names when they report for the grueling selection process held at Quantico, Virginia each year.

During two exhausting weeks of tests and drills that purposely induce physical and mental stress, candidates are known to their evaluators only as “selectees,” and the only thing that distinguishes them from one another is an identifying color and number worn on their clothes. It is all part of the process that helps evaluators choose the very best individuals for one of the most demanding—and rewarding—jobs in the FBI.

Read full story

Amish Beard-Cutting Case

Sixteen individuals were sentenced today for hate crimes involving attacks against Amish residents in Ohio—some carried out by the victims’ children—and the group’s leader received a 15-year prison term.

In response to a religious dispute among members of the Amish community, Samuel Mullet, Sr.—the 66-year-old bishop of the Amish congregation in Bergholz, Ohio—directed his followers to forcibly cut the hair and beards—religiously symbolic to the Amish—of other members of the faith using scissors and horse shears.

“The FBI is committed to investigating hate crimes,” said Stephen Anthony, special agent in charge of our Cleveland office, “including those motivated by religious bias—as in this case—or other areas protected by our civil rights statutes.”

Read full story

FBI Releases Notes of Serial Killer Israel Keyes

Section of notes by Israel Keyes found in his jail cell after his suicide. | View notes (pdf)

Israel Keyes, who committed suicide in his Alaska jail cell on December 2, 2012, is believed to have committed multiple kidnappings and murders across the U.S. between 2001 and March 2012. Yesterday, the FBI released the writings that were found beneath Keyes’ body after his death. Unreadable and covered in blood, the notes were sent to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, where they were enhanced to a more legible condition for analysis and review. There was no hidden code or message in the writings, and no other investigative clues as to the identity of other possible victims were found. The notes remain difficult to read in parts, but the FBI is not planning on releasing a “translation” and will not offer any commentary on the meaning of the writings.

Arrested in Texas after kidnapping and killing an 18-year-old barista in Anchorage in February 2012, Keyes later admitted to murdering several other people—but he killed himself before investigators were able to learn more. To that end, the FBI is continuing to seek public assistance concerning Keyes’ extensive travels around the country to identify any of his additional victims. If you have information about Keyes, please contact 1-800-CALL-FBI, or submit a tip online.

- Read press release for more information, including a PDF of the notes, photos and an audio recording of Keyes, and a list of his known travels around the U.S. and parts of Canada.

More resources:
- Anchorage press release issued following Keyes’ suicide
- Related Dallas press release
- Anchorage press release announcing Keyes’ indictment

Photos of Alabama Bunker Exterior Released

A tent covers the bunker where where a 5-year-old child was rescued by law enforcement after being held for nearly a week. FBI agents placed the blue tent over the bunker to protect evidence below. High-res photo		FBI agents and Dale County negotiators used this pipe to communicate with Jimmy Dykes. High-res photo
FBI agents and Dale County Sheriff’s Deputies secure the residence where a 5-year-old child was rescued after being held hostage for almost one week. High-res photo		FBI agents and Dale County Sheriff’s deputies secure the residence where a 5-year-old child was rescued after being held hostage for almost one week. High-res photo

Today, the FBI, the Dale County Sheriff’s Office, and the Alabama Department of Public Safety released four high-resolution photographs of the hostage-standoff scene in Midland, Alabama, where Jimmy Dykes held a 5-year-old boy captive for nearly a week. Law enforcement ultimately entered the bunker and the child was rescued.

Indictments Announced in $200 Million Credit Card Fraud Scheme

Today, hundreds of law enforcement officers from the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service arrested 13 people in four states for their alleged participation in an international criminal scheme to create thousands of phony identities, fraudulently obtain tens of thousands of credit cards, and steal millions of dollars. It was one of the largest credit card fraud schemes ever charged by the Department of Justice.

The scheme involved a three-step process in which the defendants would:

• Make up a false identify by creating phony identification documents and a fraudulent credit profile with the major credit bureau.
• Pump up the credit of the false identity by providing false information about that identity’s creditworthiness to the credit bureau.
• Run up large loans using the false identity (the higher the fraudulent credit score, the larger the loans the defendants could obtain).

After obtaining loans, the conspirators wired millions of dollars overseas. Due to the massive scope of the conspiracy, which involved over 25,000 fraudulent credit cards, loss calculations are ongoing—final figures may surpass the present confirmed losses of more than $200 million.

Read full story

A Case of ‘Sextortion’

The basic framework of the extortionist’s scheme was as cold as it was calculated: contact a young girl on a social networking site using a fake identity, gain her trust, extract some highly personal information, and then threaten to expose her intimate exchanges if she doesn’t assent to escalating demands for sexually explicit pictures or videos.

The case of Christopher Patrick Gunn, 31, of Montgomery, Alabama, who was sentenced last month to 35 years in prison for producing child pornography through a massive online sextortion scheme, provides a glimpse of how modern-day confidence men are plying their trade against the most vulnerable and unsuspecting victims. By trolling social media networks and lurking in video chats, Gunn was able to reach out to hundreds of young girls and set his bait.

Read full story

Working to Counter Online Radicalization to Violence in the United States

Today, the White House posted a statement on online radicalization and how the government is working to combat it...including through the establishment of a new interagency working group as well as raising awareness through existing initiatives.

Read full White House blog, which includes links to related community-based frameworks, Internet safety initiatives such as the FBI’s Safe Online Surfing initiative, and a factsheet on countering online radicalization to violence.

Resources:

- FBI Safe Online Surfing website
- Details on the FBI Countering Violent Extremism Office

Hostage Rescue Team Marks 30 Years of Service

HRT members debrief after a training exercise at their headquarters in Quantico, Virginia. Story | Photo Gallery | Video

Last month marked the 30th anniversary of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT)—federal law enforcement’s only full-time counterterrorism unit—a highly trained group of special agents often called upon during the toughest times.

When needed, the team is prepared to deploy within four hours of notification to anywhere in the U.S. in response to terrorist incidents, hostage situations, and major criminal threats. Although the HRT has been tasked to fill a variety of roles throughout the years, its highest priority has always been to react to a major terrorist incident and to ensure the safe release of hostages.

Read full story for more information, including video and photos of the HRT at work