Latest news with #grandjury
ABC News
20-05-2025
- ABC News
Australian man Geoffrey John Busch is on the FBI's most wanted list. We found him in Sydney
A fugitive on the FBI's most wanted list has been quietly living in Sydney for almost two decades. Geoffrey John Busch is wanted over an alleged investment scam in Florida in the early 2000s. The 78-year-old is accused of taking part in a $US12.3 million get rich quick scheme between 2002 and 2006, according to US court documents. Investors were allegedly told their funds would be placed in a non-existent "high-yield trading program", but the cash was siphoned into personal bank accounts. Mr Busch was indicted by a grand jury in Florida in 2007, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. The maximum sentence for wire fraud alone is 20 years in prison. In December, the FBI issued a new alert asking for public tip offs about his whereabouts. The ABC tracked Mr Busch down to a red brick home on a quiet cul-de-sac in the Sutherland Shire in southern Sydney. He denied he had been evading international authorities for almost 20 years. "I didn't rip off any investors at all. I was implicated in something I didn't have any involvement in." The Caringbah grandfather has not attempted to conceal his identity or location. On social media, under his full name, he even lists his current city as "Sydney". He said he was aware of the wanted poster but was not in hiding. "I've been living. I've been living in a family environment," he said. According to the indictment in the US District Court, he allegedly received more than $US1.3 million between 2004 and 2005 from the investment scheme. Mr Busch is accused of using the proceeds to buy a $US500,000 Riviera 43 yacht, pay his son's $US21,300 criminal defence legal bills and pay off a $US40,000 personal debt. Property records suggest his Caringbah home was purchased in 2004, mortgage free. Mr Busch's solicitor Sam Macedone said his client received "above board" commissions for referring investors, but Mr Busch was unaware it was a scam. The FBI issued a federal warrant for Mr Busch's arrest in 2007 and alerted the Australian government. In the same year, US man Ray Allen Benton pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in relation to the Florida scam. Court documents list Mr Benton and Mr Busch as "co-conspirators". Mr Benton was sentenced to five years' prison, which was later reduced to three. The American man was ordered to pay back investors and forfeit his private jet and Mercedes-Benz. At the time, US prosecutors also attempted to seize Mr Busch's yacht but were unsuccessful. In 2015 a US court updated Mr Busch's status to "fugitive". The Australian man first appeared on the FBI's most wanted list in 2018, after his indictment was unsealed. He is one of 35 alleged white-collar criminals featured on the website, alongside others such as Russian man Roman Semenov, who is accused of creating a cryptocurrency mixer used by North Korean hackers to launder money. Mr Macedone said he did not know why his client was still being hunted, as he had previously been interviewed by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) "on behalf of the FBI" in November 2006 and January 2007 and did not hear anything further. Since returning to Australia, Mr Busch has allegedly racked up a substantial tax debt. Court records show the Australian Tax Office (ATO) attempted to bankrupt Mr Busch in 2017 over $3.5 million in alleged unpaid taxes. However, a sequestration order to seize his assets does not appear to have been made. Mr Busch remains an undischarged bankrupt, according to the national personal insolvency index, which means he is disqualified from being a company director in Australia. The failed businessman, who once owned a Delta Home Video company, was previously bankrupted in 1994. Mr Macedone said his client denies "ever receiving a bankruptcy notice from the ATO" and was "charged with non-lodgement of tax returns some time ago but was not fined or penalised". The ATO declined to comment. The Attorney-General's Department was unable to confirm if the US had ever sought Mr Busch's extradition. Court records suggest the attorney-general has not asked a judge or magistrate to determine if Mr Busch is eligible for surrender, which is the typical process once a request is made. Prominent criminal defence lawyer Zarah Garde-Wilson, who has worked on high-profile extradition cases, said it was likely the US had not made an extradition request. "Typically, people only get extradited in relation to murder, if it's terrorism-related or if they don't have citizenship status in Australia." Ms Zarah Garde-Wilson said it was clear the US knew where he was, and the charges appeared to meet the threshold for extradition under the treaty. A former senior political figure, who was unable to comment publicly, said if an extradition request had been made, it would be "highly unusual" for Australia not to pursue it, given the request is from a "friendly" country like the US. He also said the FBI could make a direct request for assistance at any time, which would be "inconceivable" for Australia to ignore. The FBI, AFP, US and Australian governments declined to comment on the case.
Washington Post
08-05-2025
- Washington Post
Nearly 60 cases dismissed due to corruption in Alabama police department
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Nearly 60 felony cases will be dropped in a small Alabama town because they were compromised by what a grand jury called a 'rampant culture of corruption' in the local police department, according to a statement on Wednesday. The grand jury determined that 58 felony criminal cases had been tainted by corruption in the Hanceville Police Department in northern Alabama, after four officers and the police chief were indicted on a variety of charges related to mishandling or removing evidence from the department's evidence room.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich to hold news conference at 3 p.m.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich has scheduled a news conference for 3 p.m. A news release from Pillich's office did not say what the news conference is about, however a grand jury was scheduled to meet before May 12 in the case against Rodney Hinton Jr. Hinton, 38, is accused of killing Hamilton County Sheriff's Deputy Larry Henderson by intentionally driving his car into him on May 2, as Henderson was working traffic control near the University of Cincinnati campus. The Enquirer will be at the news conference. Check back for updates. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Hamilton County Prosecutor to hold news conference at 3 p.m.
The Independent
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
New Jersey Catholic bishop says diocese will no longer oppose investigation into abuse allegations
The Catholic bishop of a New Jersey diocese said he would no longer oppose a state grand jury investigation of clergy sexual abuse that the church has been fighting behind closed doors in court for years. Camden Bishop Joseph Williams, who took over the diocese in March, told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Monday the diocese no longer wants to prevent the attorney general's office from seating a grand jury to investigate allegations of sexual abuse by priests and other religious officials. Williams told the newspaper it was important to help those harmed by the church and that he doesn't want to stop their voices from being heard. 'Our people need to hear this, the clergy needs to hear this, so that it never happens again, first of all,' Williams said. A message seeking comment Tuesday was left with the diocese. The change comes a week after attorneys for the diocese argued before the state Supreme Court that prosecutors did not have the authority under court rules to use a grand jury to investigate private church officials. Instead, the lawyers argued, the rule requires grand jury presentments to tackle public officials and government. The high court has not yet issued an opinion on the arguments. It's not immediately clear how the bishop's new position would affect their ruling. The state attorney general's office said in an emailed statement Tuesday that it welcomes the 'introspection that produced this shift in the Diocese of Camden's position.' The statement pointed out that prosecutors are still subject to lower court orders that blocked the investigation. Mark Crawford, state director of Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, said in a text message Tuesday that the change was 'long overdue.' 'We are cautiously optimistic as this is certainly the right thing to do and for the right reasons,' he said. 'This should have happened long ago and seeing Bishop Williams take a different approach is encouraging.' The issue dates to a Pennsylvania grand jury report in 2018 that found more than 1,000 children had been abused in that state since the 1940s, prompting the New Jersey attorney general to announce a similar investigation. But the results of New Jersey's inquiry never became public partly because a legal battle led by the Diocese of Camden was unfolding behind closed doors amid sealed proceedings. Then, this year the Bergen Record obtained records disclosing a trial court's judgment in favor of the diocese and revealing the diocese's objection to the grand jury. And in March, the Supreme Court ordered more documents in the case unsealed. The core disagreement is over whether a court rule permits grand juries in New Jersey to issue findings in cases involving private individuals. Trial and appellate courts found for the diocese. In oral arguments, Supreme Court justices at times sounded skeptical of the diocese's then-position that the grand jury investigation would amount to a condemnation of the church and its officials. 'We don't know what a grand jury would say, am I right?' Justice Anne Patterson asked at the time.
Associated Press
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
New Jersey Catholic bishop says diocese will no longer oppose investigation into abuse allegations
CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — The Catholic bishop of a New Jersey diocese said he would no longer oppose a state grand jury investigation of clergy sexual abuse that the church has been fighting behind closed doors in court for years. Camden Bishop Joseph Williams, who took over the diocese in March, told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Monday the diocese no longer wants to prevent the attorney general's office from seating a grand jury to investigate allegations of sexual abuse by priests and other religious officials. Williams told the newspaper it was important to help those harmed by the church and that he doesn't want to stop their voices from being heard. 'Our people need to hear this, the clergy needs to hear this, so that it never happens again, first of all,' Williams said. A message seeking comment Tuesday was left with the diocese. The change comes a week after attorneys for the diocese argued before the state Supreme Court that prosecutors did not have the authority under court rules to use a grand jury to investigate private church officials. Instead, the lawyers argued, the rule requires grand jury presentments to tackle public officials and government. The high court has not yet issued an opinion on the arguments. It's not immediately clear how the bishop's new position would affect their ruling. The state attorney general's office said in an emailed statement Tuesday that it welcomes the 'introspection that produced this shift in the Diocese of Camden's position.' The statement pointed out that prosecutors are still subject to lower court orders that blocked the investigation. Mark Crawford, state director of Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, said in a text message Tuesday that the change was 'long overdue.' 'We are cautiously optimistic as this is certainly the right thing to do and for the right reasons,' he said. 'This should have happened long ago and seeing Bishop Williams take a different approach is encouraging.' The issue dates to a Pennsylvania grand jury report in 2018 that found more than 1,000 children had been abused in that state since the 1940s, prompting the New Jersey attorney general to announce a similar investigation. But the results of New Jersey's inquiry never became public partly because a legal battle led by the Diocese of Camden was unfolding behind closed doors amid sealed proceedings. Then, this year the Bergen Record obtained records disclosing a trial court's judgment in favor of the diocese and revealing the diocese's objection to the grand jury. And in March, the Supreme Court ordered more documents in the case unsealed. The core disagreement is over whether a court rule permits grand juries in New Jersey to issue findings in cases involving private individuals. Trial and appellate courts found for the diocese. In oral arguments, Supreme Court justices at times sounded skeptical of the diocese's then-position that the grand jury investigation would amount to a condemnation of the church and its officials. 'We don't know what a grand jury would say, am I right?' Justice Anne Patterson asked at the time.
