News

Three local businessmen have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a multi-million-dollar scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program.

Justin Whichard, 24, of Virginia Beach, sentenced today to 25 years in prison for production of child sexual abuse material.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging former FBI Director James Comey with making a false statement and obstruction.

Jerold Brent Mayers, 34, a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier in Virginia Beach, pled guilty yesterday to delay or destruction of mail.

Winston Jerome Perry, 42, of Norfolk, was sentenced yesterday to 16 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute para-fluorofentanyl and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Antonio Rudy Gonzalez, 41, of Alexandria, was convicted yesterday of distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material while on supervised release for a previous conviction.

Honduran national Erlis Antonio Leon Castellanos was sentenced to four years in prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine into the United States.

Ramil Ventura Palafox, 60, CEO of Praetorian Group International CEO pled guilty to a $200M bitcoin Ponzi scheme that defrauded over 90,000 investors worldwide.

Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, 22, of Peekskill, New York, was resentenced today to three years in prison for his creation and operation of BreachForums, a marketplace for cybercriminals to buy, sell, and trade hacked or stolen data and other contraband, and for possessing child sexual abuse material.

A federal jury convicted Michael Jamie Inofuentes, 45, a U.S. citizen with residences in Virginia and Colombia, on charges of sex trafficking of a child and engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.

Austin Blair Johnson was sentenced to 15 years in prison for assaulting and permanently injuring a newborn child and raping an adult.

An indictment was unsealed yesterday charging two men with orchestrating a securities fraud scheme utilizing Ostin Technology Group Co. Ltd. (OST) stock to target American retail investors.