2 Men Charged in Computer ‘Pop-Up' Scam Targeting Over 350 Elderly Victims
Jingbin Jiang, 37, of Staten Island, New York, and Su Jian Liu, 38, of Edmond, Oklahoma, are accused of attempting to steal over $18 million from over 350 people in a scheme that lasted from around 2023 until July this year. Prosecutors said Jiang was arrested on Thursday, while Liu remained at large.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Miami Herald
Miami judge becomes first confirmed U.S. attorney during Trump's second term
President Donald Trump's first confirmed nominee for U.S. Attorney is a Miami-Dade judge whose professional background includes poor job evaluations in the office he will now lead. On Saturday, Judge Jason A. Reding Quiñones secured a 49-44 cloture vote in the U.S. Senate. He will now head the U.S. Attorney's Office in South Florida, replacing interim U.S. Attorney Hayden O'Byrne. READ MORE: Trump picks U.S. attorney in Miami. As criminal prosecutor, he received poor evaluations Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, 'Very proud of our great Republican Senators for fighting, over the Weekend and far beyond, if necessary, in order to get my great Appointments approved, and on their way to helping us MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!' The Miami Herald could not reach Reding Quiñones for comment. Reding Quiñones, formerly a federal prosecutor in the Miami office, was appointed as a Miami-Dade County judge a year ago by Gov. Ron DeSantis and is a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve. After graduating from Florida International University's law school in 2008, he began his career practicing corporate law before transitioning to a military lawyer for the U.S. Air Force and then joining the Justice Department. Soon after, he joined the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami as a prosecutor in the major crimes section, where he would receive poor evaluations from supervisors relating to incompetence; however, Reding Quiñones filed a discrimination complaint claiming he was being targeted because of his race. He would later drop that complaint and continue on in the Miami office's civil division, where he recieved satisfactory job evaluations. Despite this history, University of Richmond Law Professor Carl Tobias said it likely wouldn't have a big impact on his confirmation by the Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committe process for evaluating U.S Attorney nominees is 'not very rigorous,' Tobias said. That's because, he said, the panel doesn't have the resources to conduct hearings and instead relies on staff analysis and recommendations. 'Practically all nominees receive no discussion and voice votes, unless staff detects red flags,' he said. Tobias believes confirmations have grown increasingly politicized, but in a rare occurrence, Reding Quiñones received a 12-9 committee party line vote before the process continued to the Senate where he would be confirmed. The confirmation is not only a victory for the president, but also a much-needed move for the Miami office, which has remained one of the busiest in the country despite growing struggles. Since the resignation of former U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe, the first Black lawyer to hold the position in South Florida, earlier this year, the office has lost a half a dozen senior career prosecutors. READ MORE: Miami U.S. Attorney, first Haitian-American in post, to resign before Trump takes office 'The [South Florida office] does critical law enforcement work and its several hundred attorneys function more smoothly when the office has a permanent, Senate-confirmed leader, who cooperates effectively with the Justice Department and other US Attorneys,' Tobias said. While the U.S. Attorney position may now be filled, other seats in South Florida and the rest of the state have not made it through Senate confirmation hearings yet. The Senate failed to confirm one Trump federal judge nominee who would preside in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and three nominees for the Middle District. Tobias noted that these are emergency vacancies, as both districts have substantial caseloads that are reaching or already surpassing protracted lengths without resolution. The Senate is now in recess, which means any appointments will have to wait until September when it resumes session. 'The diligent, overloaded Southern and Middle District judges and the people of Florida must wait for relief,' Tobias said.
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Clarence Page: President Donald Trump drives wedges into his own movement
Remember when then-candidate Donald Trump said during an Iowa campaign rally in 2016 that he 'could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters?' I quickly put that aside as just another example of the New Yorker's outlandish braggadocio, but like other political observers, I have since been impressed by Trump's seeming wall of invulnerability to scandal. However, as the Jeffrey Epstein scandal boils up around our ears, I have begun to notice some cracks. The difference is apparent as new questions arise about Trump's relationship with Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide in 2019 while in jail awaiting trial on charges that he had sex-trafficked teenage girls. Instead of calming the waters, demands from skeptical corners of the public have led to more curiosity, particularly from Trump's most deeply committed 'Make America Great Again' base of supporters. The irony for Trump is the fervor of the conviction that Epstein's crimes are the rotten core of the U.S. political power structure. It's a belief that Trump and his surrogates promoted when they suggested that Epstein's political associates were Democrats. It was one of a rich array of conspiracy theories that Trump has used to whip up his populist movement. The MAGA faithful have clung to Trump throughout the many tribulations of his first term and interregnum: the impeachments, the failed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the stolen-documents investigation and the sexual assault lawsuit. But that steadfast support seems to be weakening. For example, recent polling from CBS News and YouGov found nearly 90% of Americans — including 83% of Republicans — think the Department of Justice should release all the information it has regarding the case against Epstein. That's the opposite of what Trump, already busy with trade talks, warfare in the Middle East and other challenges, wants to talk about now. After The Wall Street Journal report described a risque drawing that Trump was said to have sent to Epstein decades ago, Trump sued the paper, its owner and reporters. Add to that the Journal's report that Trump was informed that his name appeared in the Justice Department's investigation of Epstein, and it should be no surprise that Americans on all sides of the political spectrum have questions. You could even say that the Epstein scandal has led to one of the most unified moments in recent political history — unified, that is, against Trump's handling of the mess. The discontent shows up in the ranks of his own party, which has been a big source of strength. For example, a poll from Quinnipiac University found that only 40% of Republicans approve of Trump's handling of the release of the files on Epstein, while more than a third of them (36%) disapprove. Quite frankly, if I were advising Trump's campaign, a highly unlikely possibility, I would make a recommendation to which I am confident he would not listen: Stop talking so much. Sure, he can't seem to help himself. Anyone who has been in a press pool covering Trump will tell you that the man loves the sound of his own voice. But this time, Trump's critics in the media are not only coming from the center and left. Some of Trump's usually loyal supporters have been outraged by the possibility that Team Trump is holding out on them or outright misleading them. For example, many were disappointed after the Justice Department said Epstein did not leave behind a 'client list,' contradicting a narrative that has been a mainstay on the right's conspiracy theorists' circuit. Attorney General Pam Bondi suggested in February that the list was on her desk, although she later explained, unconvincingly to many, that she was referring to the overall case file. Plus, she said DOJ staff were sifting through a 'truckload' of previously withheld evidence. But the Justice Department ultimately decided not to disclose any more material on the case. That has angered right-wing influencers and other commentators who had been encouraged by no less than the president himself. In July, influential Trumpistas such as Tucker Carlson, Laura Loomer and Steve Bannon were huffing and fuming over the lack of transparency, and some observers wondered whether anger over Epstein would divide the MAGA faithful. Well, I wouldn't bet on it. Democrats and others on the left still have a lot of work ahead to get their own acts — and activism — together. But when I see Trump scurrying around to put out fires in his own MAGA movement, I can't help but wonder how long he can reunite a movement that seems increasingly divided by the array of fears and paranoid notions of which he never seems to get enough.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
California man sent funds to Islamic State terrorists, feds say: ‘I'll be joining'
A California man was arrested on suspicion of sending a dozen payments to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, telling a fighter that he would be joining the terrorist organization, federal investigators said. Mark Lorenzo Villanueva, 28, of Long Beach was charged Friday with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office Central District of California. Villanueva sent 12 payments totaling $1,615 over a five-month period to two Islamic state intermediaries who accessed the funds overseas, according to an affidavit filed with the federal complaint, citing Western Union records. Villanueva, a documented permanent U.S. resident from the Philippines, had asked a self-identified Islamic State fighter via social media whether the funds would 'cover your equipment and your weapons,' the federal complaint says. 'It's an honor to fight and die for our faith. It's the best way to go to heaven,' he told the self-identified fighter, the complaint says. 'Someday soon, I'll be joining.' Villanueva told another self-identified Islamic State fighter that he possessed a bomb and knives, and the FBI recovered an apparent explosive device during a search of his bedroom, investigators said. 'Supporting a terrorist group, whether at home or abroad, is a serious risk to our national security,' said acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. 'We will aggressively hunt down and prosecute anyone who provides support or comfort to our enemies.'
