Feds say woman faked immigration kidnapping in Los Angeles & 5 more legal cases
Thousands of legal cases reach U.S. courts every year. From accusations of mistreatment in prisons to fraud to sexual abuse and beyond, here are some of the latest from across the country.
Fake tutor tries to meet child for sex acts, feds say. Florida cops were waiting
In Florida, Kevin Patrick Wilson, 39, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after being accused of attempting to meet a 12-year-old girl for sex acts, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida. Court documents say Wilson posed as a tutor in a Facebook group and communicated with an undercover detective posing as the girl's guardian. The sting operation led to his arrest on July 24, 2024,according to federal prosecutors. | Published July 15 | Read More
Off-duty deputy threatens crypto businessman's rival inside CA mansion, feds say
In California, two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were charged with civil rights violations in connection with their work as private security for a cryptocurrency businessman, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. Christopher Michael Cadman and another deputy were accused of intimidating a rival of the businessman, leading to a $25,000 transfer, federal prosecutors say. Cadman agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy against rights and a tax offense on July 14. | Published July 16 | Read More
'I'm gonna go postal.' Mail carrier purposely hits USPS vehicle in VA, feds say
In Virginia, Lolita Brickhouse, 31, pleaded guilty to causing over $42,000 in damage after federal prosecutors say she purposely crashed into a USPS vehicle. The incident occurred after Brickhouse accused her co-workers of stealing her phone, leading to a violent outburst, court filings say. Brickhouse faces up to 10 years in prison for destruction of government property, according to prosecutors. | Published July 16 | Read More
21-year-old Army soldier hacks databases, threatens to leak stolen data, feds say
Cameron John Wagenius, a former U.S. Army soldier, pleaded guilty to hacking and extortion charges after he was accused of accessing data from telecommunications companies, federal prosecutors say. Wagenius and his conspirators attempted to extort $1,000,000 and sold stolen data, according to court documents. He faces prison time, with sentencing scheduled for October, prosecutors say. | Published July 17 | Read More
Woman fakes immigration kidnapping, then is found at CA shopping plaza, feds say
Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, 41, is accused of faking herimmigration kidnapping from downtown Los Angeles to solicit donations, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors say Calderon and her family falsely claimed she was abducted by masked men, but she was later found at a shopping plaza. Calderon is charged with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers. | Published July 18 | Read More
Woman in crisis was stripped, strapped to chair at Florida ICE center, suit says
A federal lawsuit in Florida says a woman was mistreated at an ICE facility, where guards stripped her and strapped her to a chair during a mental health crisis. The woman, a human trafficking survivor, was exposed and mocked by officers, according to the complaint. The lawsuit seeks damages and calls for the closure of the detention center. | Published July 18 | Read More
McClatchy News continues to follow lawsuits and legal cases from around the country. Check back for more legal stories.
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Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fleeing Motorcyclist Walks Away From 100-Plus MPH Crash
Read the full story on The Auto Wire A man fleeing from police at speeds over 100 mph crashed his motorcycle on a Los Angeles highway, then walked away. Actually, he started with walking, then jogged down the side of the road, we guess trying to figure out another way to escape from the seen so many police chases like this one end badly with the suspect and perhaps others dying in a horrific crash. This time it at first looked like the guy was going to be street pizza, but he apparently drove for the slide instead of just the ride and that paid off. Sure, he eventually was caught by police after trying to escape on foot. But that's better than if he had died or been horrifically mangled. At least once he gets out of jail or prison or whatever, he can just keep living his life. Originally, the motorcyclist took off from an attempted traffic stop by California Highway Patrol for speeding. He must have heard if he went fast enough police would just back off. And they did. However, a police helicopter was overhead tracking his every move. That meant he couldn't see the cruisers behind him, but surely he could see he was traveling in one giant spot light. Still, the guy pushed his bike to 140 mph at one point, just weaving through slower traffic and cutting it super close repeatedly. It's a miracle he didn't run into some truck with a steel bumper while he was doing that. Instead, his motorcycle went down in a shower of sparks for a reason we can't perceive. Its possible he hit a rough patch in the pavement, his bike suffered death wobble and he dumped it, or maybe he clipped a car. Whatever it was, all that protective gear he was wearing did its job. This is why you wear that stuff while riding. Image via ABC7 Join our Newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube page, and follow us on Facebook.
Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Maxwell and her Miami defense attorney in eye of Epstein storm. Trump, too
Miami defense attorney David O. Markus represents Jeffrey Epstein's infamous former girlfriend, a convicted British socialite who may hold the keys not only to her fate but that of President Donald Trump. Markus' client, Ghislaine Maxwell, found guilty of recruiting underage girls for the billionaire financier, was questioned on Thursday and Friday by the U.S. deputy attorney general about her insider knowledge of the Epstein sex-abuse case — a resurgent scandal threatening Trump's presidency as his MAGA base clamors for answers. What Maxwell might know about a long-speculated 'client list' of famous people possibly kept by Epstein, who authorities say killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019 before his federal sex trafficking trial, could change the course of Trump's presidency. Trump and Epstein, both New Yorkers with mansions in Palm Beach, had socialized for years before falling out. In a dramatic development on Thursday, Markus and Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence at a federal prison in Tallahassee, met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche at the U.S. courthouse in Florida's capital. Markus called the meeting 'very productive.' 'He took a full day and asked a lot of questions and Ms. Maxwell answered every single question,' Markus told reporters after the meeting at the U.S. Attorney's Office in the courthouse. 'She never invoked a privilege. She never declined to answer. She answered all the questions truthfully, honestly and to the best of her ability.' The trio — Maxwell, Markus and Blanche — met again on Friday in the same location, in what many legal observers have called a highly unusual gathering. 'How many defendants turned witnesses does a deputy AG personally interview?' said a South Florida defense lawyer, who did not want to be identified. 'Get your popcorn.' Harvard law grad Markus, 52, a Miami native who went to Harvard Law School, heads his own firm and hosts a popular blog and podcast. Known as a top-tier defense attorney whose career started in the Federal Public Defender's Office in Miami, Markus has been thrust into the national spotlight along with his client, Maxwell. In late 2021, she was convicted in Manhattan federal court of sex trafficking minor girls for Epstein at his homes in Manhattan, Palm Beach, New Mexico and the Virgin Islands — over the course of a decade. Curiously, the closed-door meetings this week with the deputy attorney general come at a critical stage in the appeal of her conviction, which will be considered as a possible case by the U.S. Supreme Court in the fall. The Justice Department has opposed her challenge every step of the way, in the federal district and appellate courts in New York. Markus declined to comment about the meetings between his client and Blanche in Tallahassee. In their negotiations, Maxwell and Markus are walking a fine line, but so are Blanche and Trump. Before Blanche was appointed by Trump as second in command behind Attorney General Pam Bondi, he represented him in a criminal fraud trial in the Manhattan state court in 2024. Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records, stemming from a scheme to conceal a $130,000 payment to an adult film star Stormy Daniels that was made to keep her quiet just before the 2016 presidential election about their alleged affair. After Trump won the 2024 election, the judge gave him no prison time, but Trump became the first U.S. president with a felony conviction. After the trial, Markus hosted Blanche on his Apple podcast, 'For the Defense,' which focused on his experience representing Trump. On a parallel track, Trump had hired Blanche to be his lead attorney in the 2023 classified documents case brought against him by the federal special counsel Jack Smith. Markus was among other lawyers approached by Trump's defense team, but he turned them down. Blanche and Markus' 'cozy' relationship, as some have described it, may have led the deputy attorney general to reach out to Markus this month to discuss how Maxwell might be a witness in the rekindled Epstein investigation. In early July, the Justice Department and FBI issued a memo shutting down the investigation, saying there was nothing more to report about Epstein's suicide or the existence of a client list — only to reopen it amid a bombardment of criticism by Trump's right-wing base. Adding fuel to the fire: Bondi had told Fox News in February that an Epstein client list was 'sitting' on her desk, but then changed her story after the FBI memo was released. Trump's MAGA supporters grew more enraged. They repeated all kinds of conspiracy theories on social media and in podcasts, suggesting without proof that Epstein didn't kill himself and that Democratic President Bill Clinton and other major public figures may have sexually abused the underage girls that Epstein recruited to his residences. They continued to fuel speculation about his client list and who might be on it, despite Trump's relationship with Epstein before he was convicted of soliciting minor girls in a state plea deal in West Palm Beach in 2008. Since then, the House Oversight Committee has voted to subpoena the Department of Justice for its files on Epstein, and issued a subpoena to interview Maxwell on Aug. 11. Reacting to backlash, Trump said he would continue to push for the release of relevant information in the case. This week, his Justice Department unsuccessfully asked a South Florida federal judge to release grand jury records in the original Epstein probe dating back almost two decades. Political storm escalates Most Americans believe that the U.S. government is concealing information, including about who else may have been involved in Epstein's abuse of the young girls at his residences, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. As the political storm escalated, Blanche announced earlier this week that he intended to meet with Maxwell, who has maintained her innocence and is appealing her conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court. Blanche said he had reached out to Maxwell's lawyer to see if she might have 'information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims.' On Tuesday, Markus issued a short statement, saying: 'I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully. We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.' Maxwell testimony Miami lawyer Joseph DeMaria, a former federal organized crime prosecutor, said the conversation between Maxwell, Markus and Blanche is very different from the typical effort by a prosecutor to gain the cooperation of a convicted defendant to testify against her co-conspirators. As a rule, prosecutors are very wary about making a deal with a convicted felon because the testimony may not be credible to present to a jury. 'In this case, Mr. Blanche is trying to develop testimony to be presented to Congress in a political forum,' DeMaria told the Herald. 'If Ms. Maxwell presents congressional testimony that is favorable to the president, whether or not that testimony can be corroborated, that testimony can be used to end the constant inquiries about his [Trump's] relationship with Epstein. 'But Ms. Maxwell won't offer to clear the president with her congressional testimony for free,' he added. 'Mr. Blanche will have to find a way to offer Ms. Maxwell a get-out-of-jail card in order to secure positive testimony for the president.' However, Maxwell's testimony may present other potential pitfalls for herself or Trump, because of her well-documented lack of credibility. After Maxwell's sex-trafficking conviction, prosecutors branded her crimes as 'monstrous' and cast strong doubt about her honesty. 'In short, the defendant has lied repeatedly about her crimes, exhibited an utter failure to accept responsibility, and demonstrated repeated disrespect for the law and the Court,' prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York wrote in June 2022 before her sentencing. Two of Markus' former colleagues in the Miami Federal Public Defender's Office said Maxwell is in good hands, noting that he 'lives and breathes the law.' 'Nobody wins everything, but he wins often,' Miami attorney Henry Bell said. 'He thinks like a criminal defense lawyer and fights to the end for his client,' Miami lawyer Orlando do Campo said. Both seasoned defense attorneys said Maxwell's potential testimony could have repercussions not only for herself and Trump but for any number of prominent figures in Epstein's social circles. 'The reason the Justice Department doesn't want to disclose the Epstein files is that it could harm the reputation of innocent people who associated with him,' Bell said. 'If Jeffrey Epstein's client list, or what I consider his 'association list,' were revealed, this could not only be a left or right thing, it might affect a lot of people across the political spectrum,' do Campo said. 'There are a lot of weird bedfellows here.' History of Epstein-Maxwell cases In June 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges of soliciting teenage girls at his Palm Beach mansion and served about one year in jail — after Miami U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta chose not to present a 53-page indictment to the grand jury alleging the more serious federal charges of sex trafficking dozens of minor girls. If convicted, those charges would have carried potential punishment ranging from a mandatory 10 years in prison up to a life sentence. Epstein's victims called it a 'sweetheart plea deal' that allowed him to go to work or do whatever he wanted for six days out of every week. The deal also shut down an FBI probe into whether there were more victims and other powerful people who took part in Epstein's sex crimes. Acosta's 'non-prosecution agreement,' signed in September 2007, was initially kept secret from Epstein's victims. The agreement also immunized several of his co-conspirators from federal prosecution. The Herald's investigation of the secretive plea deal, part of its 'Perversion of Justice' series by reporter Julie K. Brown, led to Acosta resigning as U.S. Secretary of Labor in 2019 during the first Trump administration. In July of that year, federal prosecutors in New York filed an indictment charging Epstein, 66, with conspiracy and sex-trafficking charges — similar to the case that was not pursued by federal prosecutors in South Florida. But the following month, Epstein hanged himself in a federal lock-up in New York, according to authorities. Upon the death of the notorious defendant, prosecutors turned their attention to his former girlfriend, Maxwell. In 2020, she was indicted on conspiracy and sex-trafficking charges and convicted the following year for her role in the abuse of underage girls. On Dec. 29, 2021, she was found guilty of five of the six counts against her, including sex trafficking of a minor, transporting a minor for illegal sexual activity, and related conspiracy charges. In June 2022, Maxwell, 63, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Markus had worked as her appellate attorney during the trial. After her conviction, he filed Maxwell's appeal. His argument: Epstein's non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in South Florida should have protected Maxwell from facing charges in New York. But both the federal district and appellate courts in New York found that the deal, which promised to immunize Epstein's co-conspirators, only applied to South Florida. In the fall, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide whether to consider her appeal.
Miami Herald
3 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Dog left to die in apartment waited on her owners. Then came help, and a tail wag
A sweet dog in Philadelphia who was abandoned by her owners when they were tossed from their apartment is healing and surrounded by caring people who just want to help. Not only had Piper been left behind, she was slowly fading away while waiting for her beloved people to come back for her. 'Piper was left to die alone,' the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said in a July 25 Facebook post. 'Imagine being so hungry that your ribs show through your fur. Imagine waiting by the door for someone who isn't coming back. That was Piper's reality reportedly for over two weeks. 'When her owner was evicted, they carefully packed every single belonging – every piece of furniture, every scrap of clothing, every dish and spoon. But they left behind one thing: Piper, their loyal pocket pittie.' With no one there to care for her or take her away, she could do nothing but wait. 'This sweet girl waited in that empty apartment. No food. No water. And slowly, her little body began to shut down,' the shelter said. 'When our officers were called to the scene in mid-June, Piper was in bad shape. Her tiny frame was skeletal – you could count every rib. She was vomiting, her eyes were infected and weeping, her ears full of painful discharge. Her legs, malformed from a lifetime of poor nutrition, could barely support her.' But there was still life in her eyes and that will to survive kicked in. 'But the most heartbreaking part? When our officers approached, Piper's tail still wagged. Even after being betrayed by the humans she trusted most, she still had hope,' the shelter said. 'Piper could have died alone in that apartment. Instead, we fought for her, and she fought too. She fought to live.' Piper is up for adoption and would thrive in a home where she's the only pet. For more information, visit the shelter's website.
