Crime

From the Justice Department: The CEO of Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services Inc. (TBIS) pleaded guilty Friday in the Central District of California for his role in a cryptocurrency fraud scheme involving TBIS’s initial coin offering (ICO) that raised approximately $21 million from investors in the United States and overseas. According to court documents, Michael Alan Stollery, 54, of Reseda, California, …

Los Angeles’s Fox affiliate reports: An alleged fight between family members in Harbor City ends with an off-duty Los Angeles County deputy getting shot and a pastor in handcuffs. FOX 11 has learned Tuesday that the suspected gunman was Gordon Mueller, a pastor at Believers’ Victory International Church in Carson. Mueller is being charged with the attempted murder of the …

The Daily Beast reports: The New York and North Carolina attorney general’s offices are looking into former pharma bro Martin Shkreli’s latest venture, representatives told The Daily Beast. Shkreli recently launched a company called Druglike, a decentralized “drug discovery platform” that Shkreli claimed would “disrupt the economics of the drug business.” The announcement raised eyebrows given that Shkreli was banned …

The Associated Press reports: A man who attacked police officers with poles during the riot at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Tuesday to more than five years in prison, matching the longest term of imprisonment so far among hundreds of Capitol riot prosecutions. Mark Ponder, a 56-year-old resident of Washington, D.C., said he “got caught up” in the chaos …

Huntsville’s CBS affiliate reports: A man has been arrested for sex abuse of a minor on Monday. Authorities say that David Andrew Brown, 65, of Huntsville, was arrested and charged with sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old. On two social media accounts, Brown lists himself as the human resource director at Crestwood Medical Center in Huntsville …

The New York Daily News reports: Three thieves were caught on tape barging into a Brooklyn church on Sunday where controversial bishop Lamor Whitehead — an ally to Mayor Adams — was preaching and snatched $400,000 worth of jewelry off of him and his wife. Whitehead, the Rolls-Royce-driving bishop, was preaching at Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministry on Remsen Ave. …

The Associated Press reports: A man accused of attacking New York GOP gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin during a recent campaign rally told investigators he’d been drinking that day and didn’t know who the congressman was, authorities said as the man was arrested on a federal assault charge Saturday. David Jakubonis, 43, made an initial court appearance Saturday before a federal …

Penn Live reports: A Lycoming County man awaiting sentencing for illegally entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has died. The death Wednesday of Mark R. Aungst, 47, of South Williamsport, was ruled a suicide, Coroner Charles E. Kiessling Jr. said. Aungst pleaded guilty June 27 in District of Columbia federal court to a charge of demonstrating or parading …

Courthouse News reports: Just two and a half hours into deliberations following a two-day trial, a federal jury found onetime R. Kelly manager Donnell Russell guilty on Friday of calling in a shooting threat to sabotage the docuseries premiere of the gut-wrenching “Surviving R. Kelly.” The conviction carries a maximum sentence of five years for Russell, who did not testify …

Washington DC’s CBS affiliate reports: A 61-year-old former church leader is facing over 20 charges for multiple sex crimes, including the sexual assault of a child, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. A family member informed the police department in June 2022 that the victim was sexually assaulted by a member of Saint Matthews United Methodist Church in Annandale. …

The Christian Post reports: A nonprofit organization called the House of Prayer, a chain of schools that students branded as a cult, has been accused of recruiting veterans and active service members and then bilking them out of more than $7 million in GI Bill benefits and disability checks to pay for Bible classes that were not accredited. On June …

The Greenville News reports: A former pastor of an Easley church is facing criminal sexual conduct charges involving a 13-year-old child, according to arrest warrants and court records. The charges against Tracy Darin Turner, former pastor of Trinity Point Church, were made months before the Southern Baptist Convention released a list of abusers and suspected abusers in its affiliated churches. …

The Everett Herald reports: An Arlington youth pastor has been charged with two counts of third-degree child rape for accusations he abused a girl he met in a youth group. Kendal Kippen, 27, of Stanwood, worked at Jake’s House Church in 2017 and 2018, according to charging papers filed this month in Snohomish County Superior Court. His father is the …

Rochester First reports: A Fairport man has been charged with attempted assault for his involvement in an attack on Congressman Lee Zeldin during a campaign event in Perinton Thursday night. Zeldin is the Republican candidate for governor in New York State. Witnesses say Zeldin was giving a speech about bail reform at the VFW on Macedon Center Road when a …

From the Justice Department: A Memphis, Tennessee area man was found guilty today by a jury in the District of Columbia of felony and misdemeanor offenses for his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related …

Colorado Springs’ Fox affiliate reports: Barry Morphew was arrested for first-degree murder on May 5, 2021, nearly a year after his wife, Suzanne Morphew, was reported missing. Her body has still not been found. But in April of this year, after spending five months in jail and several additional months under court-mandated supervision, the murder charges facing Barry Morphew were …

The Christian Post reports: A Canadian court has approved the sale of 43 Catholic Church properties as part of a financial settlement with victims of sex abuse, with more sales expected to come later. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s, based in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, will sell the properties, including 13 church properties, after the …

Courthouse News reports: A Southern California pharmacist was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison after a jury convicted him of trying to seek $27 million in pandemic relief loans for companies that had no employees. Robert Benlevi, 53, of Encino was given a 135-month sentence Tuesday. He had been found guilty this past March of multiple counts …

Memphis’s NBC News affiliate reports: Two pastors and a child’s mother were indicted on charges of child abuse years after it was reported. The alleged abuse was reported in October 2018. At the time, the then-8-year-old girl was taken to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and examined. The results found severe bruising and swelling as well as scars and whip marks. …

Huntsville’s CBS affiliate reports: A former Florence pastor who admitted to having inappropriate relationships with young boys in a pulpit confession has been sentenced, according to the Lauderdale District Attorney’s Office. John Thomas Martin pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree sexual abuse on June 23, 2022. He was sentenced to serve 10 years in the Department of Corrections on …