Latest news with #LionAir
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Hoax 'Hajj plane crash' claims spread online
"Heartbreaking to hear the news of a plane carrying pilgrims from Mauritania crashing off the coast of the Red Sea while travelling to the holy site. Reports say more than 200 pilgrims died on board," reads a Thai-language Facebook post on May 28, 2025. It includes a minute-long shaky video of a dark plane cabin with audio of prayers from distressed passengers. "Mauritanian hajj pilgrims plane crash on the shores of the Red Sea, on the way to the holy city of Mecca, more than 210 Hajj pilgrims were martyred in the plane crash," reads another post on Instagram on the same day, written in Indonesian and sharing an image of a destroyed aircraft. Similar posts also appeared elsewhere on Facebook and spread in English and Hindi as more than 1.5 million pilgrims joined Islam's most important rite (archived link). But Mauritania Airlines rejected claims of an aviation disaster in a statement posted on Facebook on May 27, 2025 (archived link). "Some foreign social media pages circulated malicious rumours about the crash of a plane carrying Mauritanian pilgrims off the Red Sea, which is baseless news," it reads in part. It adds all Mauritanian pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia arrived safely. A reverse image search of keyframes from the circulating video found it earlier posted on Instagram on October 29, 2018. AFP previously debunked posts that have misused the clip. David Ditama -- the owner of the Instagram account -- wrote that he had uploaded the footage after the crash of Lion Air flight JT 610 on the day because he wanted to share his traumatic experience from a year earlier (archived link). He told AFP the video was taken on December 11, 2017 during Lion Air flight JT 353 from Padang, in West Sumatra province, to Jakarta. The flight experienced heavy turbulence and engine shutdowns, but landed safely. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a former spokesperson for Indonesia's disaster agency, said on X on the same day that the clip shows turbulence on flight JT 353 (archived link). "All passengers were safe," the post says. Meanwhile, the image of a destroyed aircraft also shows visual errors that indicate it has been created using AI. These include the uneven size of the passenger windows and people standing near the aircraft appear to be distorted, limbless and headless. Despite the rapid progress of generative AI, errors still appear in AI-generated content. These flaws are often the clearest signs of a fabricated image. AFP has previously debunked another post falsely claiming a Mauritanian plane carrying Muslim pilgrims had crashed.
AFP
a day ago
- General
- AFP
Hoax 'Hajj plane crash' claims spread online
"Heartbreaking to hear the news of a plane carrying pilgrims from Mauritania crashing off the coast of the Red Sea while travelling to the holy site. Reports say more than 200 pilgrims died on board," reads a Thai-language Facebook post on May 28, 2025. It includes a minute-long shaky video of a dark plane cabin with audio of prayers from distressed passengers. Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on June 4, 2025 "Mauritanian hajj pilgrims plane crash on the shores of the Red Sea, on the way to the holy city of Mecca, more than 210 Hajj pilgrims were martyred in the plane crash," reads another post on Instagram on the same day, written in Indonesian and sharing an image of a destroyed aircraft. Image Screenshot of the false Instagram post taken, on June 5, 2025 Similar posts also appeared elsewhere on Facebook and spread in English and Hindi as more than 1.5 million pilgrims joined Islam's most important rite (archived link). But Mauritania Airlines rejected claims of an aviation disaster in a statement posted on Facebook on May 27, 2025 (archived link). "Some foreign social media pages circulated malicious rumours about the crash of a plane carrying Mauritanian pilgrims off the Red Sea, which is baseless news," it reads in part. It adds all Mauritanian pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia arrived safely. A reverse image search of keyframes from the circulating video found it earlier posted on Instagram on October 29, 2018. AFP previously debunked posts that have misused the clip. David Ditama -- the owner of the Instagram account -- wrote that he had uploaded the footage after the crash of Lion Air flight JT 610 on the day because he wanted to share his traumatic experience from a year earlier (archived link). He told AFP the video was taken on December 11, 2017 during Lion Air flight JT 353 from Padang, in West Sumatra province, to Jakarta. The flight experienced heavy turbulence and engine shutdowns, but landed safely. Image Screenshot comparison between the false Facebook post (L) and the video shared on the Instagram post Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a former spokesperson for Indonesia's disaster agency, said on X on the same day that the clip shows turbulence on flight JT 353 (archived link). "All passengers were safe," the post says. Meanwhile, the image of a destroyed aircraft also shows visual errors that indicate it has been created using AI. Image Screenshot of inconsistencies on false post higlighted by AFP AFP has previously debunked another post falsely claiming a Mauritanian plane carrying Muslim pilgrims had crashed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
L.A. lawyer and son-in-law of Tom Girardi pleads guilty to contempt of court
Days after a judge sentenced legal titan Tom Girardi to seven years in prison for stealing from clients, his son-in-law — formerly a high-ranking attorney at his now-defunct firm — pleaded guilty to a federal charge in Illinois. David Lira, 65, of Pasadena, admitted Thursday to one count of contempt of court for defying a Chicago judge's order concerning the distribution of settlement funds to clients whose relatives had perished in a 2018 Indonesian plane crash. As part of broader litigation to hold Boeing accountable for defects in its 737-MAX jets, Lira and Girardi negotiated payouts totaling $7.5 million for a group of widows and orphans in 2020. But the clients, who lived in Indonesia, did not receive their full settlements. Evidence would later emerge that Girardi was routinely using client money to underwrite a lavish lifestyle with his wife, 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star Erika Jayne. Read more: Tom Girardi – disgraced legal titan, former 'Real Housewives' husband – sentenced to 7 years in prison Lira 'knew that Girardi did not pay the Lion Air Clients' settlement funds in full, in contravention of [U.S. District] Judge (Thomas) Durkin's orders, despite [the Indonesian clients'] inquiries about and demands for their Settlements,' according to a plea agreement filed Thursday. Durkin referred the case for criminal investigation, and prosecutors in Chicago filed wire fraud and other charges against Lira and Girardi in 2021. Prosecutors dropped the Chicago-based case against Girardi, 86, last month. Girardi was separately convicted of wire fraud last year in Los Angeles, resulting in the seven-year prison sentence handed down this week. Lira, who is married to Girardi's daughter Jacqueline, began working at his father-in-law's firm in 1999. He was sometimes called the firm's senior partner, though Girardi was the sole owner. Lira resigned from Girardi Keese about six months before its 2020 collapse, after confronting his father-in-law about the Lion Air case and demanding that Girardi pay the victims. As he moved on to another firm, Lira did not alert the victims or authorities about Girardi's mishandling of the money. Lira's defense attorney, Damon Cheronis, noted that 'the plea agreement did not assert any acts of fraud on the part of Mr. Lira.' Read more: Vegas parties, celebrities and boozy lunches: How legal titan Tom Girardi seduced the State Bar 'Mr. Lira continually asked Mr. Girardi to pay these clients their rightful settlement money pursuant to the court order, however Girardi did not,' Cheronis said in a statement. Lira is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 8. Prosecutors have not yet recommended a particular penalty, but they indicated in the plea agreement that under federal sentencing guidelines, Lira faces six to eight years in prison. Girardi and Lira represented the victims in the Lion Air crash alongside Chicago-based lawyer Jay Edelson. It was ultimately Edelson who brought to the judge's attention that the Indonesian clients were not paid by Girardi. 'We're pleased that David Lira, after years of portraying himself as an innocent bystander, has finally admitted he is a criminal,' Edelson told The Times on Thursday. 'We remain hopeful that the other criminals who helped Girardi pull off the largest Ponzi scheme in the history of the plaintiff's bar will also face disbarment and long prison sentences.' The widows and orphans ultimately received their settlement payments after Edelson's insurance provider agreed to foot the cost. The State Bar is pursuing disciplinary action against Lira and two other attorneys who worked at Girardi Keese. Lira continues to practice for a Century City law firm, though restrictions imposed by a bar court judge prohibit him from handling client money. 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
5 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. lawyer and son-in-law of Tom Girardi pleads guilty to contempt of court
Days after a judge sentenced legal titan Tom Girardi to seven years in prison for stealing from clients, his son-in-law — formerly a high-ranking attorney at his now-defunct firm — pleaded guilty to a federal charge in Illinois. David Lira, 65, of Pasadena, admitted Thursday to one count of contempt of court for defying a Chicago judge's order concerning the distribution of settlement funds to clients whose relatives had perished in a 2018 Indonesian plane crash. As part of broader litigation to hold Boeing accountable for defects in its 737-MAX jets, Lira and Girardi negotiated payouts totaling $7.5 million for a group of widows and orphans in 2020. But the clients, who lived in Indonesia, did not receive their full settlements. Evidence would later emerge that Girardi was routinely using client money to underwrite a lavish lifestyle with his wife, 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star Erika Jayne. Lira 'knew that Girardi did not pay the Lion Air Clients' settlement funds in full, in contravention of [U.S. District] Judge (Thomas) Durkin's orders, despite [the Indonesian clients'] inquiries about and demands for their Settlements,' according to a plea agreement filed Thursday. Durkin referred the case for criminal investigation, and prosecutors in Chicago filed wire fraud and other charges against Lira and Girardi in 2021. Prosecutors dropped the Chicago-based case against Girardi, 86, last month. Girardi was separately convicted of wire fraud last year in Los Angeles, resulting in the seven-year prison sentence handed down this week. Lira, who is married to Girardi's daughter Jacqueline, began working at his father-in-law's firm in 1999. He was sometimes called the firm's senior partner, though Girardi was the sole owner. Lira resigned from Girardi Keese about six months before its 2020 collapse, after confronting his father-in-law about the Lion Air case and demanding that Girardi pay the victims. As he moved on to another firm, Lira did not alert the victims or authorities about Girardi's mishandling of the money. Lira's defense attorney, Damon Cheronis, noted that 'the plea agreement did not assert any acts of fraud on the part of Mr. Lira.' 'Mr. Lira continually asked Mr. Girardi to pay these clients their rightful settlement money pursuant to the court order, however Girardi did not,' Cheronis said in a statement. Lira is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 8. Prosecutors have not yet recommended a particular penalty, but they indicated in the plea agreement that under federal sentencing guidelines, Lira faces six to eight years in prison. Girardi and Lira represented the victims in the Lion Air crash alongside Chicago-based lawyer Jay Edelson. It was ultimately Edelson who brought to the judge's attention that the Indonesian clients were not paid by Girardi. 'We're pleased that David Lira, after years of portraying himself as an innocent bystander, has finally admitted he is a criminal,' Edelson told The Times on Thursday. 'We remain hopeful that the other criminals who helped Girardi pull off the largest Ponzi scheme in the history of the plaintiff's bar will also face disbarment and long prison sentences.' The widows and orphans ultimately received their settlement payments after Edelson's insurance provider agreed to foot the cost. The State Bar is pursuing disciplinary action against Lira and two other attorneys who worked at Girardi Keese. Lira continues to practice for a Century City law firm, though restrictions imposed by a bar court judge prohibit him from handling client money.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Tom Girardi's son-in-law pleads guilty in Chicago case, lawyer says
June 5 (Reuters) - David Lira, the son-in-law of convicted California attorney Tom Girardi and a former member of Girardi's now-defunct law firm, pleaded guilty on Thursday to criminal contempt in connection with Girardi's failure to pay millions of dollars in client settlement funds, his defense lawyer said. Lira pleaded guilty to one criminal contempt charge before U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland in Chicago, his lawyer Damon Cheronis told Reuters. Prosecutors are dropping the remaining charges, and sentencing has been set for October, Cheronis said. Federal prosecutors in Chicago had accused Lira, Girardi and Christopher Kamon, the former chief financial officer of their law firm Girardi Keese, of misappropriating more than $3 million in client funds owed to families of the victims of the 2018 Boeing 737 MAX Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia. The crash killed all 189 onboard. Lira had initially pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud, criminal contempt, and making false statements to a judge in connection with the Lion Air case. A trial is set for July 2025. "As stated in the plea agreement, Mr. Lira continually asked Mr. Girardi to pay these clients their rightful settlement money pursuant to the court order, however Girardi did not," Cheronis said in a statement. "Mr. Lira was also subject to that court order." Lira's guilty plea comes two days after Girardi was sentenced to more than seven years in prison by a federal judge in Los Angeles after a jury convicted him on similar charges. Cheronis said Lira's plea change were not related to Girardi's sentencing. Cheronis said the plea agreement did not assert any acts of fraud on Lira's part. A spokesperson for the Chicago U.S. Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rowland last month dismissed the Chicago charges against Girardi, after prosecutors sought their dismissal in light of the then-pending California sentencing. Kamon pleaded guilty to counts of wire fraud and was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison in the California case. He has agreed to plead guilty to the Lion Air charges at a hearing in Chicago federal court scheduled for next month.
