United States Department of Justice

27Jan

By Gloomberg NewsNo Comments

Business

Florida woman accused of using dating site to launch “years-long scheme” to defraud Holocaust survivor out of $2.8 million

The Department of Justice has arrested a 36-year-old Florida woman after she allegedly committed a "years-long scheme" to defraud an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor of his life savings. The department said that over the course of more than four years, Peaches Stergo took over $2.8 million from the survivor. Stergo was arrested on Wednesday, with U.S. Attorney Damian Williams saying she "maliciously" drained the unnamed Holocaust survivor's savings so "she could become a millionaire through fraud." According to the DOJ, Stergo met her victim on a dating website between 2016 and 2017 when he was living in Manhattan. It was at the beginning of 2017 that she then asked him if she could borrow money to pay for her lawyer "who she claimed was refusing to release funds from an injury settl...

Garland names special counsel to oversee Trump documents case, aspects of Jan. 6 probe

20Nov

By Gloomberg NewsNo Comments

Politics

Garland names special counsel to oversee Trump documents case, aspects of Jan. 6 probe

Attorney General Merrick Garland has named a special counsel to oversee the entirety of the Justice Department's criminal investigation into the retention of national defense information at former President Donald Trump's residence at Mar-a-Lago and key aspects of the Jan. 6 investigation."I'm here today to announce the appointment of the special counsel in connection with two ongoing criminal investigations that have received significant public attention," Garland said. Garland announced at a news conference Friday that John "Jack" Smith will be the special counsel tasked with investigating and deciding whether charges should be brought. He called Smith an "impartial and determined prosecutor." Smith is currently the chief prosecutor for the special counsel in the Hague. ...

Senate to probe claims of Justice Dept. political meddling under Trump

13Sep

By Gloomberg NewsNo Comments

Politics

Senate to probe claims of Justice Dept. political meddling under Trump

The Senate Judiciary Committee will investigate whether the Justice Department under then-President Donald Trump tried to use the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office to go after Trump's political adversaries. Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat who chairs the Judiciary Committee, called the allegations "astonishing" in a letter he sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland, asking the Justice Department to provide documents related to the allegations.The allegations stem from a new book written by Geoffrey Berman, who as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York was the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan for half of Trump's presidency. He says in his book, "Holding the Line," that he was repeatedly pressured by Justice Department officials to use his office to aid the Trump admin...

John Ratcliffe says nothing visible in affidavit justified “extreme” Mar-a-Lago search

28Aug

By Gloomberg NewsNo Comments

Politics

John Ratcliffe says nothing visible in affidavit justified “extreme” Mar-a-Lago search

John Ratcliffe, the former director of national intelligence under former President Donald Trump, said nothing he saw in the heavily redacted affidavit for the Mar-a-Lago search warrant justified what seemed like an "extreme" approach by the FBI and Justice Department. Ratcliffe made the comments in a Friday interview with CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge. "Well, as expected, it was heavily redacted in places," Ratcliffe said, giving his reaction to the redacted affidavit's release Friday. "You know, I think it provided a general recitation of the fact that the FBI and the Department of Justice believed that there were classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. But I didn't really see anything in the affidavit that justified what still seems like an extreme a...