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The FBI has agreed to help prosecutors gain access to an iPhone 6 and an iPod that might hold evidence in an Arkansas murder trial, just days after the agency managed to hack an iPhone linked to the San Bernardino terror attacks, a local prosecutor said Wednesday.

Cody Hiland, prosecuting attorney for Arkansas’ 20th Judicial District, said that the FBI’s Little Rock field office had agreed to help his office gain access to a pair of locked devices owned by two of the suspects in the slayings of Robert and Patricia Cogdell.

It was not immediately clear whether the FBI planned to use the same method it used to access data on Syed Rizwan Farook’s phone. Calls to the FBI’s Little Rock field office were not immediately returned. An FBI spokesman in Washington declined to comment.

The couple were killed in their home just outside Little Rock in July, according to the Associated Press. Four suspects, ages 14 to 18, have been charged in the killings, Hiland said.

Prosecutors asked for a delay in the trial of 18-year-old Hunter Drexler on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the FBI said it had successfully gained access to an iPhone 5c that Farook used.

Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, carried out the deadly attacks at the Inland Regional Center on Dec. 2, leaving 14 dead and many more wounded. Federal prosecutors went to court to force Apple to help them unlock Farook’s phone, but the historic court battle was staved off earlier this week when a third party helped the FBI gain access to the device.

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Multi-Agency Effort Disrupts U.S. Treasury Check-Cashing and Identity Theft Ring

The treasury checks were meant for military families, taxpayers receiving refunds, and Social Security beneficiaries—but they wound up in the hands of thieves instead.

From June 2012 to September 2014, a band of 19 criminals in Atlanta ran a large-scale U.S. Treasury check-cashing and identity theft ring that defrauded the federal government and retail stores of nearly $1 million. The ring included check suppliers, sellers, identification manufacturers, and “check runners” who used fake driver’s licenses to cash stolen checks.

At the center of it all was career criminal Asad Abdullah, who orchestrated the elaborate scheme from inside a Georgia state prison. With regular access to contraband cellphones, Abdullah was able to contact his younger brothers in Atlanta, and he soon had the resources he needed to mobilize the family-run criminal enterprise.

Here’s how it worked: Thieves stole checks from various sources, including the U.S. mail, and middlemen purchased the checks at a percentage of their face value, usually 25 percent. Meanwhile, identification manufacturers were paid to produce counterfeit Georgia driver’s licenses matching the names and addresses of the victims, but with photos of the scheme’s check runners, who would cash the checks at grocery stores, discount supermarkets, and check-cashing outlets.

While U.S. Treasury check-cashing was a regular activity for Abdullah’s crew, the ambitious enterprise also engaged in credit card fraud. Inside sources working at big-box stores with regular access to customer and store credit card data provided the thieves with a steady flow of personal information. This data was used to produce counterfeit identification documents so the fraudsters could pose as real store club members. Trips to stores throughout Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama resulted in brand new replacement credit cards that were ultimately used to purchase gift cards, gas, groceries, and other items.

The ring was finally derailed following a series of early morning raids and takedowns on September 24, 2014, which turned up weapons, cash, and identity document manufacturing hardware.

“The 16-month investigation was an enormous cooperative effort involving numerous federal, state, and local law enforcement resources,” said an FBI Atlanta agent assigned to the case.

As part of the investigation, a confidential informant assisted the FBI and other law enforcement personnel in recovering stolen checks and false identifications. Several stores also agreed to support the investigation by cashing the stolen checks, thus aiding the Bureau and other agencies in identifying members of the scheme.

“Fraud and identity theft crimes are a serious problem in Atlanta,” added the case agent. “Our combined efforts in this particular case serve as a warning to would-be criminals on the brink of preying on unsuspecting victims.”

Sentencing was announced on February 16, 2016 for 18 of the 19 Atlanta criminals convicted for their roles in the crime ring. The 19th and final defendant is scheduled to be sentenced in the near future.

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Grandpa with a gun may soon be guarding your kids in school.

In February a New Jersey Senate committee voted unanimously to start the ball rolling on the creation of a new category of law enforcement officials, called Class Three Officers, eligible to be hired to patrol the corridors and grounds of schools.

They could be armed and prepared to take action whenever it’s called for.

The Bill has bi-partisan co-sponsorship in the Senate, authored by Senator Anthony Bucco, R-Morris, and Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester.

All three Hudson Senators, Nicholas Sacco, Brian Stack, and Sandra Cunningham, are co-sponsors. However, in the Assembly it’s an all-Republican Bill, sponsored by Senator Bucco’s son, Anthony, R-Morris, and four others.

The Bill was introduced in the last session as a response to public fears after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.

It was approved by the Senate Law & Public Safety Committee in January but gained no traction before the session ended mid-month. This time the Buccos plan to make passage a priority.

Senator Bucco said having experienced officers in the schools would certainly upgrade safety and using retired officers would mean that municipalities would not have to provide health and pension benefits because retirees were already receiving them.

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A weeks-long investigation into an organized retail crime ring led lawmen to seven suspects and hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen goods in what authorities say is the first case of its kind in Alabama.

“Organized retail crime is a huge problem throughout the U.S.,” said Jefferson County District Attorney Brandon Falls.

Those already arrested on theft charges are Nichole Battle, William Mason Jr., Alfred Williams, George Bryant and Carl Humphrey. Two others are still at large.
The probe began when area investigators notice area burglaries going unsolved, and at the same time they were approached by retailers from several big-name stores seeing what they believed was a shoplifting ring. They were able to develop an informant and the probe ballooned.

Dubbed Operation Molten Iron, the effort was led and carried out by the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office White Collar Division, the Vestavia Hills Police Department, the Birmingham Police Department and investigators from CVS, Home Depot, Publix, Target, Walgreen’s and Walmart where they had been witnessing some popular items disappearing from their shelves.

Falls said basically items were being stolen, stored and then sold, much like drug operations. The items were then sold at flea markets throughout Alabama, as well as some convenience stores.

To further the investigation, those stores provided merchandise to be used in the undercover operations. Investigators also “allowed” other merchandise to be stolen so they could follow the trail. In all, $55,000 worth of stolen or “loaned” merchandise was used.

The goal of the probe was to identify those responsible for theft of merchandise at the retail level, and to uncover the destination of the stolen merchandise as well as those buying the stolen goods. During

Operation Molten Iron, officers and agents spread out over multiple locations throughout Jefferson County. During that time period they recovered vehicles and merchandise valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, Falls said. At one location they also found about 15 pounds of marijuana.

The items ranged from high-dollar lawn equipment to shaving cream and razors, Falls said. Some of the items were stolen off store shelves one or two at a time, such as more expensive tools, while others were taken in warehouse heists. “At one home we found a 5-foot tall set of shrink-wrapped shaving cream in someone’s living room, two deep and two wide,” Falls said. “People were going to flea markets and getting $2,300 lawn equipment items for $700.”

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Two former employees of the Valley Forge Casino and Resort have admitted to stealing more than $40,000 from the King of Prussia, Pennsylvania facility over approximately three years.

After pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit theft and theft by deception in connection with incidents that took place between March 2011 and December 2013, the former hotel credit manager at the resort, Kelly A. Weir, 47, of Lower Pottsgrove, was sentenced to seven years’ probation and 72 hours of community service. Weir was also ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to the resort by Montgomery County Court Judge Garrett D. Page, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, according to The Times Herald.

The former convention services manager at the resort, Hung T. Nguyen, 58, of Trappe, also pled guilty to conspiracy-related charges and theft, was sentenced to seven years’ probation, was ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution to the casino, and perform 72 hours of community service.

Weir, who had worked at the resort for approximately 27 years, and Nguyen, were banned from the casino by the judge as conditions of their sentences. If at the end of five years Nguyen and Weir have paid their restitution in full and successfully completed all other sentence requirements, prosecutors will consider terminating the probationary periods, according to court papers.

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In the past decade, the number of shoplifting cases in Greene County has increased dramatically.

“The number of cases that we had in 2013 was just a little above 300 cases,” Judge Stidham said. “Ten years earlier, we had three on the docket the entire year.”

Greene County District Judge Dan Stidham said people were rarely shoplifting out of necessity either.

“For the most part, it seems to be people who don’t really need to shoplift. They do it for the thrill,” he explained.

That’s why in late 2014, the county started working do modify that behavior.

Now if an offender is convicted for shoplifting, they’re given two options; do the time or wear the sign.

“But the word got out very quickly that you can’t go steal something now and just get slapped on the hand,” Stidham said.

The program started in October 2014 but because of court process, the first offenders didn’t wear the signs until February 2015.

Six people wore a sign in February 2015.

“Then in March, we had every available court date full of people wearing the signs,” Stidham said. “We actually didn’t have enough signs to accommodate people.”

Over the course of 2015, those numbers started to dwindle.

“We’ve had a 2/3 decrease in the number of cases just in the first year. I think this time next year, I think we’ll have it down to the point we had it before where we’re just seeing a few cases a year,” Stidham said.

So far, Stidham said no one has chosen three days jail time over wearing the sign in public for three hours.

“I keep waiting for someone to say ‘No, I want to go to jail,’ but no one has,” he said.

Because of that, the consequences of shoplifting have been seen by a lot of people.

“I really thought we might decrease it by a third, maybe a fourth. Maybe if we were fortunate, 40 percent or 50 percent but I did not expect to see a two-thirds drop that fast.”

Stidham said the program is similar to a hot check program he started in 2000 to combat that problem.

However, if something else starts becoming a big problem like shoplifting, the judge said they’ll look at ways to expand the program to modify other criminal behavior.”

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Thomas W. Lucas, Jr. was such an effective liar that he was able to convince hundreds of investors—even members of his own family—that he had inside information about a Disney resort to be built in Texas that would make the nearby scrubland worth a fortune for those who bought it ahead of time.

Of course, there was no “Frontier Disney,” as Lucas claimed, but using false documents, forged signatures, and phony presentations, he was able to pocket nearly $450,000 in real estate fees over a four-year period and cause investors to lose approximately $20 million.

“Thomas Lucas Jr. fooled savvy investors and very intelligent people,” said Special Agent Rick Velasquez, who investigated the case from the FBI’s Dallas Division. “He was a very believable guy.”

From 2006 to 2010, Lucas defrauded more than 250 investors. He claimed to have insider information regarding a Disney resort and theme park planned for a rural area about 50 miles north of Dallas. He was giving investors a chance to buy surrounding land outright, or to purchase options to buy the land near the supposed resort. The 65 investors who purchased options lost every cent they invested—more than $8 million. Some investors, including Lucas’ father and uncle in the family real estate business, purchased land outright, believing the Disney story.

“There was not one grain of truth in Lucas’ presentations,” Velasquez said, “but his pitch was very elaborate, and it fooled a lot of people. He duped his own family.”

Lucas claimed to have letters between Disney and a management firm saying that the company had acquired enough land to make the deal happen. He included the letters—complete with forged Disney officials’ signatures—in his presentations to investors, along with detailed maps, concept plans, and images that were later discovered to be lifted from the Internet, some from Disney websites.

According to Lucas, Disney planned to make the big announcement about the resort at a Dallas Cowboys football game on Thanksgiving in 2006. When that didn’t happen, he told investors there were delays. “Then the announcement was going to be Super Bowl 2007, 2008. Then it was Fourth of July at the Beijing Olympic games,” Velasquez said. “He was just trying to keep investors and potential investors on the hook.”

With each delay, Lucas would sweeten the pot with some new bogus e-mail from a Disney executive or other bit of tantalizing information meant to persuade people the project was still on track. Eventually, investors became suspicious, and one made a complaint to the FBI.

Velasquez, who specializes in financial fraud cases, says the scheme went on for so long because Lucas was believable—and also because investors could not resist the temptation of making large returns on their money.

When confronted by investigators about his claims, Lucas falsely blamed the supposed Disney information he received on a man he met at a methadone rehab clinic, who had since died. In 2014, Lucas was indicted by a federal grand jury on seven counts of wire fraud and one count of lying to the FBI.

Last September, after a jury trial in which Lucas maintained his innocence but was found guilty on all charges, a judge sentenced the 35-year-old to 17.5 years in prison. “That was a stiff sentence for a white-collar crime,” Velasquez noted, “but he defrauded a lot of people and showed no remorse.”

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Twenty-year-old Robert Jourdain had been drinking for hours before he walked into a Walmart store early on the morning of July 5 and bought a box of .38-caliber ammunition, court papers say.

Shortly before 3 a.m., Jourdain left the Northampton Crossings shopping center in Lower Nazareth Township and got into the white Mercedes Benz sport utility vehicle where Todd West was waiting with a Smith & Wesson revolver. Within an hour, West allegedly used the bullets to kill three people in a random shooting spree on the streets of Easton and Allentown.

The victims’ families have filed a lawsuit against Walmart that one expert says could succeed despite federal protections for gun and ammo dealers. The families claim that Walmart and its employees were negligent in selling the ammunition to Jourdain because they should have known he was too young to buy it legally and was mentally impaired by alcohol.

“The bottom line here is that Walmart sold .38-caliber handgun ammunition to an underage person in the middle of the night, and that ammunition was used to kill several people,” said Philadelphia attorney Matt Casey, who filed the suit last week.

“Ultimately, a jury will decide whether that sale was consummated in a way that breached Walmart’s duty to the victims,” Casey said.

Killed in the rampage were Kory Ketrow, 22, of Easton, who was shot twice just steps from his Lehigh Street home; and Francine Ramos, 32, and Trevor Gray, 21, both of Allentown, who were attacked as they sat in Ramos’ car at Sixth and Greenleaf streets.

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Police in Fort Pierce are searching for weapons stolen Saturday night from a security officer’s vehicle at Indian River State College.

The crime happened between 6 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Police said the stolen weapons are a Kimber 45 caliber pistol, a Bushmaster AR 223 rifle and a Colt M4 Carbine 5.56mm with loaded magazines. A Fort Pierce police badge was also taken.

Police said the security officer is Hall Solomon, a retired Fort Pierce police officer.

They said Solomon was on duty when someone pried open one of the vehicle doors and stole the weapons.

Solomon said when he returned to his truck to get something, he noticed that his weapons were missing. He said each one was in a separate gun case and losses total about $4,000.

Police confirm that the weapons were from Solomon’s personal collection. Solomon said he’s also a gun dealer.

Detectives are hoping finger prints from Solomon’s vehicle can lead to an arrest. There’s no suspect information at this time.

If you have any information about this crime, call the Fort Pierce Police Department.

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The Van Dyke Money Gang in New York made off with more than $1.5 million this year — but it wasn’t in gunpoint robberies or drug running, it was a Western Union money order scheme. In New Jersey, 111 Neighborhood Crips used a machine to make dozens of fake gift cards for supermarkets, pharmacies and hardware stores.

In South Florida, gangs steal identities to file false tax returns.

These aren’t members of an organized Mafia or band of hackers. They’re street crews and gangs netting millions in white-collar schemes like identity theft and credit card fraud — in some instances, giving up the old ways of making an illicit income in exchange for easier crimes with shorter sentences.

“Why would you spend time on the street slinging crack when you can get 10 years under federal minimums when in reality you can just bone up on how to make six figures and when you get caught you’re doing six months?” said Al Pasqual, director of fraud security at the consulting firm Javelin Strategy and Research.

Law enforcement officials say they see increasingly more gangs relying on such crimes. This year, more than three dozen suspected crew members have been indicted in separate cases around the country. Grand larcenies in New York City account for 40 percent of all crime last year — compared with 28 percent in 2001. About 5 percent of Americans nationwide have experienced some kind of identity theft, with Florida leading the country in complaints.

New York Police Commissioner William Bratton wrote in an editorial in the city’s Daily News last week that white-collar crime was being committed by gang members “to an astonishing degree.”

Crews recruit bank account owners to help cash phony checks, they pay off crooked employees who skim credit card information using hand-held readers, and they buy identities online.

Pasqual said for some, it was a replacement for other crime. “For some it’s a supplement. They’re earning the money to grow the other side of their business, using white-collar crime to fund gun running. For a lot of them this becomes their day to day. They travel the country when they get really good at it.”

A task force created by federal officials in Florida has charged more than 400 people with causing more than $140 million in losses — including more than 60 charged three weeks ago — and officials say increasingly those arrested are gang members.

It’s an organized crime — but not “Organized Crime,” said Bill Maddalena, assistant special agent in charge of the white-collar branch of the Miami FBI office. “They’re very well organized. They have to recruit people to help steal devices, cash the checks.”

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