Office of Public Affairs | Owner of California Medical Companies Pleads Guilty to Stealing More than $1 Million in Pandemic Relief Funds

The owner of two Southern California non-emergency ambulatory companies pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and money laundering. According to court documents and statements made in court, Mehrdad Tabrizi was the sole owner of Life Fleet Inc. and Resonante Group, two medical businesses based in Orange County. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tabrizi used these two […]

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World News in Brief: More attacks in Ukraine, violence against children in Haiti, refugee IDs in Africa

Over the past three days, frontline attacks killed at least 11 civilians and injured nearly 200 others, including five children, as reported by Ukrainian authorities. The cities of Dnipro and Odesa were among the most heavily affected.  At the same time, in the regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro, attacks damaged residential buildings, civilian vehicles, […]

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Office of Public Affairs | New York Business Owner Sentenced to Prison for Using Shell Companies to Launder Health Care Fraud Proceeds for Transnational Criminal Organization

A New York man was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for conspiring to launder nearly $1.5 million in illicit health care fraud proceeds through multiple domestic and global banks on behalf of a Transnational Criminal Organization (Organization). According to court documents, Elnar Zarbailov, 42, of Staten Island, New York, and dual citizen of […]

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WHO assembly opens under shadow of Ebola, hantavirus and funding cuts

Health ministers and diplomats are in Geneva for the 79th World Health Assembly – a week of negotiations on key topics such as pandemic preparedness, health financing and how to manage public health across borders to save the most lives. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus used the opening session to argue that recent crises had […]

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Office of Public Affairs | Homeland Security Task Force Arrests Maduro Regime Ally Alex Saab on Money Laundering Charges Involving Venezuelan Food Contracts and Oil

Note: See the indictment here. Venezuela’s former Minister of Industry and National Production made his initial appearance in court today pursuant to an indictment unsealed in the Southern District of Florida charging him for his alleged role in a sprawling international money laundering conspiracy involving the corruption and exploitation of a Venezuelan public welfare program intended […]

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UN underscores protection of nuclear sites following drone strike on Emirati plant

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was informed that the UAE has restored off-site power to Unit 3 of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant earlier on Monday following the attack, which caused a fire at an electrical generator near the Emirates’ sole nuclear plant. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi welcomed the restoration of external electricity supply “as an important step for nuclear safety, which means the reactor no longer needs emergency diesel generators for power,” […]

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Office of Public Affairs | Ohio Investment Manager Sentenced to Nine Years for $10M Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme

An Ohio man was sentenced today to nine years in prison and three years of supervised release for orchestrating a cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme that raised over $10 million from investors, many of whom resided in or around Columbus, Ohio. According to court documents, Rathnakishore Giri, 31, of New Albany, Ohio, misled investors by fraudulently promoting […]

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Palestine: Killings, destruction and settler encroachment continues

Ajith Sunghay, Head of UN Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), launched its latest report which covers the period between 7 October 2023 and 31 May 2025 following Hamas-led attacks on Israel and Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza. It documents large-scale violations of international law, including atrocity crimes, and points to war crimes […]

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Office of Public Affairs | California Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Money Laundering, False Testimony

A California man was sentenced today in the Southern District of Alabama to 180 months in prison for money laundering conspiracy and providing false testimony in court.  “The defendant helped launder millions of dollars for a drug trafficking organization to conceal drug sale proceeds,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s […]

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Extreme heat, floods and drought threaten lives across Latin America and Caribbean

Launching the regional State of the Climate report on Monday covering last year, experts outlined how temperatures remain well above average, with rising sea levels and increased extreme weather events in Latin America and the Caribbean. The report warns that climate shocks are increasingly disrupting food production, straining healthcare systems and threatening access to clean […]

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