Crimes and Courts

Arrest of Giuliani associates ensnares ‘Congressman 1’

Published

7 years ago

October 11, 2019

WASHINGTON (AP) — Businessmen with ties to Rudy Giuliani lobbied a U.S. congressman in 2018 for help ousting the American ambassador to Ukraine around the same time they committed to raising money for the lawmaker.

An indictment unsealed Thursday identified the lawmaker only as “Congressman 1.” But the donations described in the indictment match campaign finance reports for former Rep. Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican who lost his re-election bid in November 2018.

Sessions, who has been weighing a comeback, is not accused of any wrongdoing and denied Thursday that he was aware of what federal prosecutors allege was a coordinated effort to remove Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. Still, he now finds himself entangled in the impeachment investigation centered on President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine as well as Giuliani’s relationships in the former Soviet republic.

The indictment was made public Thursday following the arrest of two Florida businessmen with ties to Giuliani. It alleges that Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman leveraged a flurry of GOP political donations in a campaign to force Yovanovitch’s removal, an effort prosecutors say was aided by laundered foreign money.

Parnas and Fruman’s outsized political giving allowed the two relatively unknown entrepreneurs to quickly win access to the highest levels of the Republican Party — including face-to-face meetings with Trump at the White House and Mar-a-Lago.

On May 9, 2018, Parnas posted a photo of himself and his business partner David Correia with Sessions in his Capitol Hill office, with the caption “Hard at work !!”

Correia, and another man, a Ukrainian-born U.S. citizen named Andrew Kukushkin, are also charged in the case.

Later that same day, Sessions sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo seeking Yovanovitch’s dismissal because he had “notice of concrete evidence” that she had “spoken privately and repeatedly about her disdain for the current Administration.”

Campaign finance records show Parnas and Fruman later contributed $2,700 apiece to Session’s campaign, the maximum allowed individual contribution.

Sessions said Thursday that he will vigorously defend himself against any allegations of wrongdoing.

“I was first approached by these individuals for a meeting about the strategic need for Ukraine to become energy independent,” Sessions said, according to a written statement. “There was no request in that meeting and I took no action.”

Sessions added that “several congressional colleagues” were the source of the allegations in his letter claiming that Yovanovitch had disparaged Trump, not Parnas and Fruman. He also sought to distance himself Giuliani, who he described as a friend of more than 30 years.

“I do not know what his business or legal activities in Ukraine have been,” the ex-congressman said of the president’s personal lawyer.

Though Parnas posted a May 2018 photo of himself with a smiling Trump during a private dinner at the White House also attended by Fruman, the president denied having any idea who the two arrested men are.

“I don’t know those gentlemen,” said Trump, speaking on the South Lawn of the White House. “Now it’s possible that I have a picture with them, because I have a picture with everybody…I don’t know them. I don’t know about them. I don’t know what they do. … Maybe they were clients of Rudy. You have to ask Rudy.”

A week after Parnas and Fruman visited Sessions in Washington, a company controlled by the pair, Global Energy Producers, gave $325,000 to a political action committee supporting President Donald Trump’s re-election bid, according to the committee’s financial disclosure reports.

The pair obtained the money for the contribution through a private loan and then funneled it through a complex series of wire transfers through multiple bank accounts. Prosecutors alleged the transactions were intended to illegally conceal the true source of the funds.

Tax documents filed by a nonprofit wing of America First Action in November 2018 show a handful of Trump allies held key positions at the group, including Texas GOP fundraiser Roy Bailey, a longtime Sessions political supporter who was the finance co-chairman of Trump’s inaugural committee. Bailey, a lobbyist, is also a longtime business partner of Giuliani’s.

Also serving in leadership roles at the Trump-aligned PAC were Tommy Hicks Jr., a Dallas investor and the current Republican National Committee co-chairman, as well as Nick Ayers, the former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence.

Four days after the $325,000 donation, Parnas posted a photo of himself and Fruman at an intimate “Power Breakfast!!!” with Hicks and Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, at the Beverly Hills Polo Lounge.

America First Action would go on to spend $3.1 million supporting Sessions failed re-election effort.

U.S. laws allow unlimited donations by corporate entities to so-called super PACS, political action committees that are required to act independently from candidates.

Columbia University Law professor Richard Briffault told the AP that loopholes in U.S. law make it harder to detect foreign actors trying to influence the U.S. political system by funneling money through shell companies to super PACS. In this case, the money trail was revealed through a lawsuit against Parnas that forced the release of transfers and banking records earlier this year.

“What makes this so dramatic is who these people are, their connection to Giuliani,” said Briffault, who studies campaign finance. “I think it’s a bombshell because of its connection to Ukraine and Trump.”

AP reported on Sunday that Parnas told associates at two meetings in March that Trump planned to oust Yovanovitch, a career diplomat with a reputation for fighting corruption, with someone more amenable to their business plans, according to four people, three of whom spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity over concerns of retaliation. At the time, Parnas and Fruman were pursuing a potentially lucrative deal to sell shiploads of liquefied natural gas from the United States to Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state-owned gas giant.

In what appeared to be a coordinated media campaign early this year, conservative outlets blitzed Yovanovitch with stories claiming she had protected Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden from Ukrainian prosecutors.

Copies of some of these stories were later sent to the State Department stuffed in a manila envelope. Giuliani told The New York Times last week that the documents, which were recently provided to Congress by the State Department’s inspector general, were produced by a “professional investigator who works for my company.”

Yovanovitch was recalled to Washington in May, months before she had been scheduled to leave her post in Kyiv.

Central Florida News

Orlando Police Arrest Three Following Shooting at West Lakes Apartment Complex

Published

3 days ago

July 10, 2026

FNN NEWS

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN NEWS) — Orlando Police arrested three suspects Thursday following a shooting at the Pendana at West Lakes Club Apartments that led to a high-speed pursuit spanning Orange and Seminole counties.

Police said no injuries were reported despite multiple rounds being fired during the incident.

Shooting Reported at Apartment Complex

According to the Orlando Police Department (OPD), officers responded at approximately 3:50 p.m. Thursday, July 9, to the 2000 block of Orange Center Boulevard after receiving reports of gunfire at the Pendana at West Lakes Club Apartments.

During the investigation, detectives reviewed surveillance video showing occupants of a black sedan and a black SUV firing multiple rounds at two individuals riding scooters through the apartment complex.

Investigators said everyone involved fled the scene before officers arrived.

Police Locate Suspect Vehicles

Shortly after the shooting, Orlando officers located both suspect vehicles in the North Pine Hills area.

With assistance from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO), officers conducted a traffic stop on the black sedan and detained two suspects without incident.

Officers later located the black SUV and attempted a traffic stop, but the driver refused to stop, triggering a police pursuit.

Helicopter Assists During Pursuit

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit tracked the fleeing SUV from the air while directing responding officers on the ground.

The pursuit ended in Altamonte Springs, where the driver stopped in front of a Burlington Coat Factory, abandoned the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot.

Orlando Police officers quickly apprehended the suspect.

Three Suspects Arrested

Police identified the suspects as:

Jacorey Lowery (DOB: July 8, 2006)

Charges:

Attempted Felony Murder (Firearm/Discharge)
Discharging a Firearm at Residential Property

Quincy Desponosse (DOB: April 21, 2008)

Charge:

Principal to Attempted First-Degree Murder

Semaj Blackshear

Charges:

Principal to Attempted Felony Murder with a Firearm
Fleeing and Eluding Law Enforcement at High Speed with Disregard for Public Safety or Property
Resisting an Officer Without Violence
Juvenile Violation of Probation

None of the Suspects Lived at the Complex

Investigators determined that none of the three individuals arrested were residents of the Pendana at West Lakes Club Apartments.

Police have not released information regarding a possible motive or whether the suspects knew the two individuals on the scooters.

Investigation Continues

The Orlando Police Department said the investigation remains active.

Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact the Orlando Police Department or Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477).

Crimes and Courts

Attorney General Uthmeier Announces Charges Against Six in South Florida Drug Trafficking Enterprise

Published

1 month ago

June 13, 2026

FNN NEWS

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FNN NEWS) — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced charges against six individuals accused of participating in a multi-county drug trafficking enterprise operating in Broward County and surrounding areas of South Florida.

The defendants — Isaac Lakeith Bruton, Wayne Morgan Brutton Jr., Wayne Morgan Brutton Sr., Omar Dwayne Cooper, Rene Danger Jr., and Cleon Fabian Reid — are accused of participating in an organized criminal enterprise that allegedly distributed large quantities of illegal narcotics and laundered proceeds from drug sales.

Investigation Spanned Multiple Agencies

According to the Attorney General’s Office, the charges stem from a joint investigation led by the Broward Sheriff’s Office Organized Crime Unit and the Office of Statewide Prosecution, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.

“This joint investigation dismantled a criminal enterprise that pumped dangerous drugs into Florida communities,” Uthmeier said in a statement. “Through the tireless work of the Office of Statewide Prosecution and our great law enforcement partners, we are taking on more criminal prosecutions than ever before.”

Alleged Drug Trafficking Operation

Investigators allege the organization obtained and distributed kilogram quantities of cocaine, multiple pounds of marijuana, prescription pills and other controlled substances throughout South Florida.

According to authorities, members of the enterprise converted powdered cocaine into crack cocaine near distribution locations and utilized vehicles equipped with hidden compartments to transport narcotics.

The investigation further alleges that Bruton and Cooper laundered proceeds from drug sales through the purchase of vehicles, real estate, business investments, classic car restorations and jewelry.

Charges Filed

Bruton and Cooper are each charged with:

Racketeering (First-Degree Felony)
Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering (First-Degree Felony)
Money Laundering (Third-Degree Felony)

Brutton Jr., Brutton Sr., Danger Jr., and Reid are each charged with:

Racketeering (First-Degree Felony)
Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering (First-Degree Felony)

Potential Penalties

If convicted, Bruton and Cooper face up to 75 years in prison. Brutton Jr., Brutton Sr., Danger Jr., and Reid each face up to 60 years in the Florida Department of Corrections.

The case will be prosecuted by Assistant Statewide Prosecutors Jillian Tate and Nicholas Kaleel.

Presumption of Innocence

All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Crimes and Courts

Florida Creates Public Assistance Fraud Task Force, Appoints Special Prosecutor to Crack Down on Fraud

Published

3 months ago

April 15, 2026

FNN NEWS

Courtesy of the Office of the Attorney General

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FNN) — James Uthmeier announced the launch of the Public Assistance Fraud Task Force, a multi-agency initiative aimed at strengthening investigations and prosecutions of fraud involving taxpayer-funded benefit programs.

As part of the effort, Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Scott Strauss has been appointed as special prosecutor to oversee complex, multi-circuit fraud cases and coordinate legal strategies across agencies.

TASK FORCE TO TARGET FRAUD

The task force is designed to provide legal counsel and streamline criminal prosecutions for state agencies and law enforcement, enhancing Florida’s ability to build strong cases against individuals accused of fraud.

“We are launching this task force to bring accountability and prosecute those who are stealing from Floridians,” Uthmeier said. “Florida is not Minnesota or California, and we will safeguard the taxpayers’ investment in the services meant for the vulnerable.”

MULTI-AGENCY COLLABORATION

State leaders emphasized the importance of coordination across agencies to combat increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes.

“Under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Uthmeier, Florida has continued to identify, address, and prevent fraud,” said Shevaun L. Harris, secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration. “This multi-agency initiative creates an opportunity to collectively reaffirm that commitment.”

Brad McVay added that protecting taxpayer-funded programs is essential to maintaining public trust.

“Floridians deserve a government that safeguards their taxpayer dollars from fraudsters,” McVay said.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass also stressed enforcement.

“If you commit fraud against public assistance programs, you will be held accountable,” Glass said.

ROLE OF SPECIAL PROSECUTOR

The special prosecutor will evaluate and oversee ongoing multi-circuit investigations, assist in developing cases for prosecution, and support law enforcement with legal tools such as warrants and affidavits.

Kathleen Von Hoene said the initiative will strengthen protections for vulnerable populations.

“Our goal is to protect the public, preserve the integrity of the Medicaid program, and safeguard the populations it serves,” she said.

PROGRAMS AND ENFORCEMENT

Florida’s public assistance programs include Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, housing assistance and reemployment services. Fraud involving these programs can result in criminal charges ranging from misdemeanors to felonies, with penalties including fines, restitution and incarceration.

Law enforcement agencies interested in participating in the task force can contact the Office of Statewide Prosecution for more information.