Boeing Signs $1.1 Billion Non-Prosecution Deal in 737 MAX Crash Case, Admits to Criminal Fraud
Boeing has signed a $1.1 billion deal with the Department of Justice (DOJ) that allows the aerospace giant to avoid criminal prosecution for deceiving federal regulators prior to two deadly 737 MAX crashes.
Under a final non-prosecution
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
US-German citizen charged with trying to bomb embassy building in Israel
A dual U.S. and German citizen was arrested in New York for allegedly attempting to firebomb a branch office of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, the Department of Justice said. Joseph Neumeyer, 28, was arrested by FBI special agents on May 25 at John F. Kennedy International Airport after being deported by Israeli authorities, the Justice Department said in a news release. He was charged with attempting to destroy, by means of fire or explosive, the U.S. Embassy, according to an unsealed criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York. Neumeyer made an initial court appearance before a federal judge in New York City and was ordered detained, the Justice Department said. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. "This defendant is charged with planning a devastating attack targeting our embassy in Israel, threatening death to Americans, and President Trump's life," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. "The Department will not tolerate such violence and will prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law." The arrest came just days after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington, D.C. On the evening of May 21, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were killed after leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. The suspect in the shooting, Elias Rodriguez, 31, faces federal and local murder charges along with firearms offenses, authorities said on May 22. U.S. and Israeli officials have condemned the shooting, with Deputy FBI Director Don Bongino calling it an "act of targeted violence." In response to the incident, Israeli embassies immediately increased security measures, USA TODAY previously reported. 'Free Mahmoud': Columbia students boo university president at graduation over Palestinian activist arrest Neumeyer arrived in Israel in April, according to the complaint. He then allegedly traveled to the branch office of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv on May 19 with a backpack containing three rudimentary improvised incendiary devices, known as Molotov cocktails, the complaint states. "Without provocation, Neumeyer spit on an Embassy guard as he walked past," the Justice Department said. "Neumeyer managed to break free as the guard attempted to detain him, leaving behind his backpack." Law enforcement officials in Israel searched the backpack, in which they discovered the Molotov cocktails, and later tracked Neumeyer to his hotel, according to the complaint. He was arrested and Israeli authorities returned him to the U.S. on May 25. A further investigation into Neumeyer revealed that earlier in the day on May 19, he posted on social media, saying "join me as I burn down the embassy in Tel Aviv. Death to America, death to Americans, and f---k the west," the complaint states. Federal prosecutors added that investigators believe a social media account used by Neumeyer also allegedly showed that he made posts threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump. What we know: Suspect in shooting outside Jewish museum in DC faces local, federal charges The recent incidents come amid growing criticism against Israel after it announced plans to intensify its military campaign against Hamas and to control Gaza, which has been devastated by air and ground operations. More than 53,000 people have been killed and nearly all residents in Gaza have been displaced since the start of the war, according to local health authorities. The war has increased tensions between Israel and much of the international community. Relations were further strained last week when Israeli soldiers fired warning shots near a diplomatic delegation in the occupied West Bank, with Italy and France both summoning Israeli ambassadors to explain what happened, according to Reuters. Incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia in response to the war have also surged across the United States, putting law enforcement agencies on high alert. Advocacy groups have reported a record number of discrimination and hate incidents. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the May 21 shooting "a despicable act of hatred, of antisemitism," saying the incident was connected to the increasingly hostile climate facing Israel over the war in Gaza. Netanyahu himself faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes in Gaza, which Israeli politicians have condemned as part of a wider effort to delegitimize the state of Israel. Contributing: Reuters (This story was updated to correct a misspelling/typo.) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man arrested for attempted bombing attack of the US embassy in Israel
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
GirlsDoPorn boss, once one of FBI's 10 most wanted, pleads guilty to sex trafficking
After three years on the run and a stint on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, the leader of GirlsDoPorn, Michael Pratt, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking charges in San Diego on Thursday, authorities said. Pratt used force, fraud and coercion to recruit hundreds of women, many of whom were in their late teens, to perform sex acts on camera, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The women were often lured under the pretense of modeling gigs and were later told they would be filming adult videos, which Pratt and his business partners falsely promised would not appear online, prosecutors said. If the women refused to finish filming, Pratt would threaten to sue them, cancel flights home and post the videos publicly. The videos would then be uploaded to where Pratt made more than $17 million in profits from 2012 to 2019, prosecutors said. The consequences for the young victims were devastating. In court hearings, victims detailed how they had lost jobs, been evicted, dropped out of school or been disowned by friends and family. Some attempted suicide. Read more: After years on the run, GirlsDoPorn boss faces 'beginning of the end' in San Diego In court, Pratt admitted to coming up with the idea for GirlsDoPorn, recruiting women to appear in the videos, sometimes transporting them to and from the site of a video shoot and sometimes manning the camera, prosecutors said. He faces a potential life sentence and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 25. He was initially indicted in October 2019 alongside his business partners. But before Pratt could answer for his crimes, he disappeared. For years, while his business partners entered guilty pleas and victims testified in court, Pratt was nowhere to be found. The FBI placed him on its top 10 list and offered a $100,000 reward in return for information leading to his arrest. Authorities finally nabbed the elusive sex trafficking ringleader in Spain in December 2022, where he was held in custody until his extradition to San Diego in 2024, according to the Department of Justice. Pratt's former business partners Ruben Andre Garcia, Matthew Wolfe and Theodore Gyi have already been convicted and are serving sentences of 20, 14 and four years, respectively. Valorie Moser, the former GirlsDoPorn bookkeeper, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and is scheduled to be sentenced in September, prosecutors said. The charges against the sixth person in the indictment — a woman who was accused of helping recruit women to film the adult movies — were dropped in 2021, according to reporting from the San Diego Union-Tribune. Read more: 22 women win $13 million in suit against GirlsDoPorn videos Pratt directed Garcia, a male adult-film performer, to recruit "reference girls" to falsely convince young women that the videos they were filming would not appear online and that their friends and family would never see them, prosecutors said. The reference girls were paid per model they tried to recruit. At least one of the models was underage. "I can remember being so worried to tell him [Garcia] that I was just 17," a woman told the court during a hearing for Garcia. "But he was not mad or concerned. Instead he was excited and was eager to start." The women were often flown to San Diego from out of state to participate in the adult films. Pratt and his business partners would attempt to hide their connection to GirlsDoPorn from the models, having them sign contracts with innocuous-sounding business names such as 'Begin Modeling,' 'Bubblegum Casting' or 'BLL Media," prosecutors said. Pratt pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to sex-traffic from 2012 to 2019 and one count of sex trafficking a victim in May 2012, prosecutors said. Times staff writer Sonja Sharp contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
GirlsDoPorn boss, once one of FBI's 10 most wanted, pleads guilty to sex trafficking
After three years on the run and a stint on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, the leader of GirlsDoPorn, Michael Pratt, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking charges in San Diego on Thursday, authorities said. Pratt used force, fraud and coercion to recruit hundreds of women, many of whom were in their late teens, to perform sex acts on camera, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The women were often lured under the pretense of modeling gigs and were later told they would be filming adult videos, which Pratt and his business partners falsely promised would not appear online, prosecutors said. If the women refused to finish filming, Pratt would threaten to sue them, cancel flights home and post the videos publicly. The videos would then be uploaded to where Pratt made more than $17 million in profits from 2012 to 2019, prosecutors said. The consequences for the young victims were devastating. In court hearings, victims detailed how they had lost jobs, been evicted, dropped out of school or been disowned by friends and family. Some attempted suicide. In court, Pratt admitted to coming up with the idea for GirlsDoPorn, recruiting women to appear in the videos, sometimes transporting them to and from the site of a video shoot and sometimes manning the camera, prosecutors said. He faces a potential life sentence and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 25. He was initially indicted in October 2019 alongside his business partners. But before Pratt could answer for his crimes, he disappeared. For years, while his business partners entered guilty pleas and victims testified in court, Pratt was nowhere to be found. The FBI placed him on its top 10 list and offered a $100,000 reward in return for information leading to his arrest. Authorities finally nabbed the elusive sex trafficking ringleader in Spain in December 2022, where he was held in custody until his extradition to San Diego in 2024, according to the Department of Justice. Pratt's former business partners Ruben Andre Garcia, Matthew Wolfe and Theodore Gyi have already been convicted and are serving sentences of 20, 14 and four years, respectively. Valorie Moser, the former GirlsDoPorn bookkeeper, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and is scheduled to be sentenced in September, prosecutors said. The charges against the sixth person in the indictment — a woman who was accused of helping recruit women to film the adult movies — were dropped in 2021, according to reporting from the San Diego Union-Tribune. Pratt directed Garcia, a male adult-film performer, to recruit 'reference girls' to falsely convince young women that the videos they were filming would not appear online and that their friends and family would never see them, prosecutors said. The reference girls were paid per model they tried to recruit. At least one of the models was underage. 'I can remember being so worried to tell him [Garcia] that I was just 17,' a woman told the court during a hearing for Garcia. 'But he was not mad or concerned. Instead he was excited and was eager to start.' The women were often flown to San Diego from out of state to participate in the adult films. Pratt and his business partners would attempt to hide their connection to GirlsDoPorn from the models, having them sign contracts with innocuous-sounding business names such as 'Begin Modeling,' 'Bubblegum Casting' or 'BLL Media,' prosecutors said. Pratt pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to sex-traffic from 2012 to 2019 and one count of sex trafficking a victim in May 2012, prosecutors said. Times staff writer Sonja Sharp contributed to this report.
