Thanks to reader Judy for alerting me to the story at the Washington Times from yesterday entitled:
ICE, FBI agents took bribes to provide ‘protection,’ cook books on immigration cases, feds say
I’ll let you read that yourself. LOL! The story has so many twists that I figured it would be easiest to first check out the press release from ICE, here.
LOS ANGELES – A Calabasas man has agreed to plead guilty to five federal offenses – one related to a credit card bust-out scheme, and the others related to more than $250,000 in bribes he paid to two federal agents for assistance that included sensitive law enforcement information.
Edgar Sargsyan, 39, an attorney with law offices in Beverly Hills, was charged today with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, two counts of bribing a public official, and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators. In a plea agreement also filed today in U.S. District Court, Sargsyan agreed to plead guilty to the five felony counts, which cumulatively carry a statutory maximum penalty of 50 years in federal prison.
In the plea agreement, Sargsyan admitted paying tens of thousands of dollars from the beginning of 2015 through early 2017 to a special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
[….]
Sargsyan paid the HSI agent at least $32,000 in checks and at least $45,000 to $50,000 in cash in return for assistance that included the HSI agent searching law enforcement databases to corruptly obtain information that he passed to Sargsyan, according to the plea agreement. The HSI agent also altered a Department of Homeland Security database to make it more likely that a foreign national who was a client of Sargsyan’s law firm would be allowed to enter the United States. In another corrupt act detailed in the plea agreement, the HSI agent prepared a document on HSI letterhead in an unsuccessful attempt to have one of Sargsyan’s relatives from Armenia admitted into the United States.
Sargsyan also admitted he paid the FBI agent monthly cash bribes of up to $10,000 beginning in 2015 in exchange for the agent providing protection, which included running queries on law enforcement databases and warning Sargsyan to stay away from certain individuals who were the targets of criminal investigations. The agent, who worked out of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office, accepted the cash payments on trips to Southern California, where he stayed at luxury hotels that were paid for by Sargsyan. The FBI agent also accepted from Sargsyan a $36,000 racing motorcycle as a bonus for running database checks on a particular person. Sargsyan also gave the FBI agent a $30,000 cashier’s check that was made to appear to be a payment to the agent’s business, according to court documents.
In his plea agreement, Sargsyan also admitted he participated in a conspiracy that defrauded financial institutions by fraudulently obtaining credit cards in the names of aliens who had previously been in the United States on J1 visitor visas. Once the credit cards were issued by the financial institutions, Sargsyan and his co-conspirator charged purchases, including more than $941,000 that Sargsyan personally charged at two businesses he controlled, Pillar Law Group and Regdalin Group.
Beverly Hills lawyer is at center of FBI agent corruption scandal, sources say
The FBI agent charged last week, Babak Broumand, ran Cisneros’ and Dermen’s names in restricted law enforcement databases, according to an affidavit supporting charges against Broumand. The queries showed both men were the subjects of ongoing investigations, the affidavit said.
Broumand retired last year after a 20-year career at the bureau. Prior to his departure, he was assigned to the FBI office in San Francisco, trusted with recruiting sources for investigations into national security matters. It was unclear from court records whether he’d retained an attorney.
East Bay FBI Agent Took Bribes From Armenian Mob, Feds Say
Now get this!
If there isn’t another EdgarSargsyan in the Los Angeles area we find his name pop up again in a 2018 report fromFox News:
Clinton donor’s dealings and murky connections questioned by watchdog group
EXCLUSIVE: The murky nature of Hillary Clinton’s former presidential campaign fund continues to rise to the surface.
Fox News has learned that one of the top donors to the “Hillary Victory Fund” (HVF) in 2016 was a Los Angeles-based attorney who is alleged to have misused company funds to create his own $22 million real estate portfolio. He has also been considered by California to be one of the state’s biggest tax cheats, and allegedly has ties to the Kremlin.
The donor, Edgar Sargsyan, contributed $250,000 to the Hillary Victory Fund in 2016, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, ands chaired a $100,000-a-couple Clinton fundraiser in Beverly Hills in September 2016. He is also being sued by his former company for allegedly diverting those funds to start his own real estate company.
There is much more in each of the links above!
I sure wish I knew how to draw one of these for this story!
Last night I saw this news from three days ago posted at an Arabic news site:
FBI Investigates Fire That Damaged Missouri Islamic Center
The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of anyone connected to a fire that badly damaged an Islamic center in southeastern Missouri and that coincided with the start of a holy month for Muslims.
[….]
The Missouri chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group, said the fire began at the front door of the building. CAIR noted the timing of the blaze – Thursday night was the beginning of Ramadan, a holy month during which Muslims fast and pray.”
Because the fire was deemed `suspicious,´ and because it occurred at a house of worship on a significant religious date, we urge law enforcement authorities to investigate a possible bias motive for the blaze,” CAIR’s national communications director, Ibrahim Hooper, said in a statement.
Now I see this morning that the police have charged a man caught on a surveillance video.
Grants for cameras….
I guess he was not aware that the feds give out grant money for houses of worship across America to purchase surveillance cameras. See here.
Cape Girardeau police arrest man in connection with Islamic Center fire
CAPE GIRARDEAU — Nicholas J. Proffitt, 42, of Cape Girardeau, has been arrested and charged in an arson fire Friday at an Islamic Center, police said.
Nicholas J. Proffitt, 42, of Cape Girardeau, in a mugshot provided by police.
Police in Cape Girardeau said Proffitt was in custody Monday and being held on a a no-bond warrant. He was charged with first-degree arson, first-degree burglary and first-degree property damage.
The fire happened Friday morning, on the first morning of Ramadan, a Muslim holy month during which Muslims fast and pray. The center for Muslims to gather is at 298 North West End Boulevard in Cape Girardeau.
About 12 to 15 people were evacuated from the scene of the fire early Friday but no injuries were reported, Cape Girardeau Fire Chief Travis Hollis said. The building had significant damage.”
By the way, there is some news in thecase of the hate phone callreceived by Amani al-Khatahtbeh who is running for Congress in NJ. No arrests, but over 200 women leaders have condemned the act. Not a surprise that these three signed the letter: Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, and Linda Sarsour.
This morning I wanted some news that didn’t involve the Chinese Virus ‘Crisis’ and thanks to a reader, Kristin, here is a little something you should know about.
LOL! But it does indirectly involve the virus because you can bet that gobs and gobs of borrowed billions is flowing to medical researchers in the quest for the magic bullet to stop COVID-19.
The federal government doles out grants in the billions of dollars to researchers in various fields, and does have an oversight department called the Office of Research Integritythat investigates fraudulent research and cheating researchers. “Research misconduct” they call it.
You have been hearing a lot on the news lately about our “Public Health Services” and ORIlists those federal agencies and acts as a watchdog over them.
Here are the Public Health Services we pay to guard our health:
Office of Public Health and Science
National Institutes of Health.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Food and Drug Administration
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
The Health Resources and Services Administration
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
The Indian Health Service
Office of Regional Health Administrators
Now check out the list of recently debarred*** medical researchers listed by ORI.
The message across the world must be—go to America foreign student/doctor and suck off the American taxpayers!
Have a look atDr. Sudhakar Yakkantifor example. He can be back as soon as 2024 looking for more federal bucks!
How many more ‘new Americans’ are participating in “research misconduct” and are not ever exposed?
No wonder that so many Americans are suspicious of medical information being put forth on the nightly news.
***The debarment and suspension procedures are intended to prevent waste, fraud and abuse in Federal procurement and non-procurement actions. Debarment or suspension of an organization or individual excludes that company or individual from doing business with the Federal Government.
There are some good things that will come from the Chinese virus crisis and one of those just could be a resurgence in the ‘Made in the USA Movement.’
Frankly, I wasn’t paying much attention to where my purchases were being produced, whether it was a new mattress or the food I’ve been putting in the freezer.
LOL! Our microwave quit a few months ago and my husband insisted we find one made in America. No luck after hours of research on the net and a phone call to our local appliance store. So now we get by the old fashioned way—without one!
However, the Smithfield Foods fiascoand the near complete dominance of China in many aspects of our consumer lives that has been revealed in recent weeks has me paying more attention.
Many of you may have seen a facebook post circulating which makes a couple of claims including these:
FOOD FROM CHINA… Smithfield Farms, the largest pork producing farm in the USA, was sold in September to China with the unanimous support of its stockholders! The hogs will still be raised here, but slaughtered and packaged for sale there before being sent back here.
[….]
Chickens
The same applies to many chickens. They can now be shipped there, but when they come back all that needs to be labeled is that they ‘WERE RAISED IN THE USA’. Not that they were processed in China!!!
This morning I wanted to see where the information was coming from and what was being said about it.
I don’t believe anything that the biased Snopessays, so I didn’t go there. And, I am not saying that USA Today’s ” fact checkers” are any more reliable, but they did provide some information especially about the ownership of Smithfield Foods that appears legit.
LOL! But USA Today glossed over some of the other issues raised in the post.
By the way, it makes no sense to raise hogs here and ship them live to China for processing as the facebook post claims is happening. Indeed that is why China bought at least one BIG MEAT company here—much easier to ship pork to China and elsewhere once it is packaged!
For readers of Refugee Resettlement Watchyou might recall that China was looking to build and own a beef plant in Montana a couple of years ago. It only makes sense to go where the cattle are still on the hoof and slaughter there!
I searched around and found an organization called “The Made in America Movement.” I’m way out of my comfort zone on this topic so I can’t vouch for them, or others like them, but it is worth having a look!
So, now I am headed to the freezer to read some labels!
CAIR-NJ Calls on FBI to Probe Death Threat Targeting Family of Muslim Congressional Candidate
(SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ, 4/22/2020) – The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) today called on state law enforcement authorities and the FBI to probe a death threat targeting the family of Muslim congressional candidate Amani al-Khatahtbeh.***
On the evening of April 21, Al-Khatahtbeh reportedly received a phone call from an unknown number threatening to kill her and her family. She received the threat shortly after a virtual town hall she hosted on Instagram.
The caller said in part: “Your parents live at [address]. I will f**king kill them and. . .I will torture them and feed them bacon and f**king pork…As soon as you get off the phone, I’ll f**king go to his house…“Ni**er, you’re Muslim, you f**king ugly Arab Muslim. You terrorist.”
In a statement, CAIR-NJ Executive Director Selaedin Maksut said:
“The chilling death threat exemplifies how Muslim candidates are especially targeted during election cycles.
***Inspired by the success of her role model, Rep. Ilhan Omar, she is running against longtime Democrat incumbent Frank Pallone in the Sixth Congressional District.
By the way, when you put yourself out there, expect blow back. I recently got a hate mail letter in my post office box—the author said he was going to rape me and sue me for being a Nazi. It was unclear from the letter which punishment would be meted out first!
Would someone keep an eye on this story. Just search for her name every few days and see if any additional news turns up. Let’s see if someone is arrested for making a death threat.
