Month: July 2020

Legionnaire on Vanessa Guillén: ‘Enough is enough’

On Wednesday, the American Legion and U.S. Army veteran and Legionnaire Jay Gonzales, responded concerning the murder of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén, and the alleged events leading up to it, sparked a national movement of sexual trauma survivors to share their stories publicly, including via social media platforms using the hashtag #IAmVanessaGuillén.


On Wednesday, the American Legion and U.S. Army veteran and Legionnaire Jay Gonzales, responded concerning the murder of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén, and the alleged events leading up to it, sparked a national movement of sexual trauma survivors to share their stories publicly, including via social media platforms using the hashtag #IAmVanessaGuillén.

U.S. Army veteran and Legionnaire Jay Gonzales didn’t use social media to share her story. But she nevertheless has made it public. And it’s a story of being fed up with what she says is a problem that has gone on for decades.

Gonzales – vice commander of American Legion Post 213 in Buda, Texas, and the post’s American Legion Riders director – recently joined other Texas American Legion Riders and hundreds of others in an #IAmVanessaGuillén convoy in San Antonio that drew what some estimate to be more than 1,000 vehicles.

There she was interviewed by Spectrum News about why she chose to ride for Guillén and then amplified her thoughts while speaking with The American Legion. Gonzales served in the U.S. Army in the late 1970s, where she was sexually assaulted.

Memorial parade for SPC Vanessa Guillen in San Antonio – 11 July 2020

Taking part in the ride was an easy decision for Gonzales.

“I think enough is enough, and something needs to be done,” Gonzales said. “Women have gone through this for so many years. The fact that everybody was saying (Guillén) was AWOL and what have you, and then come to find out she was murdered … for people like myself with a lot of terrible memories, it was just the right thing to do to be there to support her family and what they’re going through.”

Guillén went missing April 22 from Fort Hood; her remains were found around 20 miles from Fort Hood and identified over the July 4 weekend. Army Spc. Aaron Robinson allegedly told Cecily Aguilar – a civilian – that he killed Guillén “by striking her in the head with a hammer” while on base April 22, then smuggled her body to a remote site in Bell County, according to a July 2 criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.

Aguilar allegedly helped Robinson mutilate and dispose of Guillén’s body, according to the complaint. Robinson took his own life on June 30 during an attempt by police to apprehend him.

An attorney representing Guillén’s family alleged that Robinson sexually harassed Guillén before he murdered her.

Fort Hood and Army Criminal Investigation Command officials maintain that there is no credible evidence that Guillén was the victim of sexual harassment. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy announced on July 10 that he has ordered an independent review of command climate and culture at Fort Hood.

The assault on Gonzales left her pregnant, and her Catholic faith convinced her to keep the child. “I chose to keep that child because I wasn’t going to take a life,” she said. “For me it was an everyday reminder, but I don’t look at it that way anymore. Once I got past it … I love my child. It’s a gift from God to me.”

Being around other veterans has helped Gonzales continue to heal while giving her a chance to continue to serve. She has filled a large role in Post 213’s efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.

As a part of the Buda Veterans Alliance, Post 213 American Legion Family members have helped produce more than 11,000 face masks for people in 22 states, 58,000 surgical mask ear relief straps for staff at more than 50 medical facilities, and delivered $800 in food vouchers to 16 families.

“For me, it’s finished what I started years ago: serving my country,” Gonzales said. “Being around other veterans and doing what we know is in our heart to do. That’s why I joined The American Legion. It gave me a chance to be around other veterans and do for other veterans.”

Legion 213 Commander and Air Force veteran Cassaundra Melgar C’De Baca also spoke with Spectrum News. A victim of both sexual harassment and sexual assault while in the military, Melgar C’De Baca said the Guillén case may actually lead to changes, but those changes have come with a steep price. “I feel horrible that a human being actually has to die for us to make changes,” she said. “At least now … the community, the military are saying it’s not OK. I would to see the military make changes when people make the (sexual harassment and assault) claims. I think that’s still a long road ahead.”

Across the nation, American Legion Post 18 in Weehawken, N.J., staged a candlelight vigil to honor Guillén. On its Facebook page, the post wrote “To all our neighbors, please continue to support our sister-in-arms’ loved ones and join us in the work to ensure no military family ever again endures such horror.”

Blogs to Follow:

Legion.org (July 2020) Legionnaire on Vanessa Guillén: ‘Enough is enough’

Maryland Department of Labor Uncovers Massive Criminal Fraud Scheme

The State of Maryland has uncovered a massive and sophisticated criminal enterprise involving more than 47,500 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in Maryland and totaling over $501 million.


47,500 Fraudulent Unemployment Claims Using Identity Theft Totaling Over $501 Million Alerted U.S. Attorney and U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General Maryland Department of Labor Assisting in Investigation of Similar Fraud Cases in States Across the Country

The State of Maryland has uncovered a massive and sophisticated criminal enterprise involving more than 47,500 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims in Maryland and totaling over $501 million.

Maryland’s swift and decisive actions to expose this illegal scheme helped shed light on related fraudulent criminal activity in other states across the country.

The Maryland Department of Labor (Labor) is coordinating with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG) to investigate and prosecute individuals and organized criminal rings are taking advantage of the PUA program by filing fraudulent claims by using stolen personally identifiable information.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, our department has balanced the goal of quickly paying unemployment insurance benefits to eligible claimants with the need to maintain program integrity due to the prevalence of fraudulent activity occurring in other states,” said Maryland Department of Labor Secretary Tiffany P. Robinson.

“With heightened security measures in place, our department quickly detected, reported, and blocked this fraudulent claim activity, saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. We will continue to work with our state and federal partners to prevent fraudsters from capitalizing upon the hardships caused by the coronavirus during these already difficult and uncertain times.”

U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur stated, “My office and the entire law enforcement community are committed to bringing to justice fraudsters who are preying on citizens during this unprecedented public health crisis by using their stolen personal information to fraudulently attempt to obtain unemployment benefits. We are grateful for our partnership with the State of Maryland in stopping unemployment fraud and believe that this joint federal-state partnership will continue to bear fruit. We will continue to work together to prevent this abuse as well as continue our outreach efforts to make the public aware of COVID-19 scams and frauds. I urge citizens to remain vigilant and to report suspicious activity or fraudulent use of their personal information.”

“Today’s announcement results from our strong partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the State of Maryland, and demonstrates our joint commitment to combating fraud in the Unemployment Insurance program. The OIG will continue to work closely with our law enforcement and state workforce agency partners to aggressively pursue criminals who choose to enrich themselves without regard for taxpayers and individuals who truly need assistance,” said Derek Pickle, Special Agent-in-Charge, Washington Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

With the unprecedented increase in new unemployment insurance filed claims over the past several months due to COVID-19, and the additional programs offered by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), states across the country are seeing an increase in reports of unemployment claims being fraudulently filed by imposters using stolen personally identifiable information.

If you believe that your information has been used to fraudulently file an unemployment insurance claim, please contact the Maryland Department of Labor’s Division of Unemployment Insurance by visiting MDunemployment.com or emailing ui.fraud@maryland.gov.

Suspected unemployment insurance fraud should also be reported to the DOL-OIG Hotline by visiting http://www.oig.dol.gov/hotline.htm or calling 1-800- 347-3756.

If you think someone is using your personal information to open accounts, file taxes or make purchases, visit https://www.identitytheft.gov to report and recover from identity theft.

For more information about COVID-19 fraud, visit the Justice Department’s website at https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Blogs to Follow:

OIG.dol.gov (July 2020) Maryland Department of Labor Uncovers Massive Criminal Fraud Scheme

UK Condemns Russian Intelligence Services over Vaccine Cyber Attacks

On Thursday, the UK has called for an end to irresponsible cyber-attacks by the Russian Intelligence Services, who have been collecting information on vaccine development and research into the COVID-19 virus.


The Foreign Secretary has called out Russia’s unacceptable cyber attacks against COVID-19 vaccine developers.

On Thursday, the UK has called for an end to irresponsible cyber-attacks by the Russian Intelligence Services, who have been collecting information on vaccine development and research into the COVID-19 virus.

This follows a joint advisory today (16 July) by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the US and Canada on how to protect against these attacks.

The Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab said, “It is completely unacceptable that the Russian Intelligence Services are targeting those working to combat the coronavirus pandemic, while others pursue their selfish interests with reckless behavior, the UK and its allies are getting on with the hard work of finding a vaccine and protecting global health.”

“The UK will continue to counter those conducting such cyber-attacks, and work with our allies to hold perpetrators to account”, Raab said.

The UK shared some details:

  • The actors responsible are known and tracked in open source as APT29, Cozy Bear and The Dukes.
  • NCSC are almost certain (95%+) that APT29 are part of the Russian Intelligence Services. APT29 has targeted medical research and development organizations. NCSC assess it is highly likely (80 – 90%) that this activity was to collect information on COVID-19 vaccine research or research into the COVID-19 virus itself.
  • Find further details on the framework used by the UK government for all source intelligence assessments, including the probability yardstick.
  • NCSC advice on how to protect against this threat is available.

The UK released the report, “APT29 targets COVID-19 vaccine development” in which the report details recent Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) of the group commonly known as ‘APT29’, also known as ‘the Dukes’ or ‘Cozy Bear’.

The report provides indicators of compromise as well as detection and mitigation advice.

The United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and Canada’s Communications Security Establishment (CSE) assess that APT29 (also known as ‘the Dukes’ or ‘Cozy Bear’) is a cyber espionage group, almost certainly part of the Russian intelligence services. The United States’ National Security Agency (NSA) agrees with this attribution and the details provided in this report.

The United States’ Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (DHS CISA) endorses the technical detail and mitigation advice provided in this advisory.

The group uses a variety of tools and techniques to predominantly target governmental, diplomatic, think-tank, healthcare and energy targets for intelligence gain.

Throughout 2020, APT29 has targeted various organizations involved in COVID-19 vaccine development in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, highly likely with the intention of stealing information and intellectual property relating to the development and testing of COVID-19 vaccines.

APT29 is using custom malware known as ‘WellMess’ and ‘WellMail’ to target a number of organizations globally. This includes those organization’s involved with COVID-19 vaccine development. WellMess and WellMail have not previously been publicly associated to APT29.

Blogs to Follow:

NCSC.gov.uk; Gov.UK (July 2020) Advisory: APT29 targets COVID-19 vaccine development; UK condemns Russian Intelligence Services over vaccine cyber attacks

U.S. Navy Amphibious Assault Ship USS Tripoli Joins the Fleet

Although the Navy canceled the traditional public commissioning ceremony due to public health and safety restrictions on large public gatherings, the Navy commissioned the USS Tripoli administratively and the ship transitioned to normal operations.


Although the Navy canceled the traditional public commissioning ceremony due to public health and safety restrictions on large public gatherings, the Navy commissioned the USS Tripoli administratively and the ship transitioned to normal operations.

Meanwhile, the Navy is looking at a future opportunity to commemorate the special event with the USS Tripoli’s sponsor, crew and commissioning committee.

“USS Tripoli is proof of what the teamwork of all of our people – civilian, contractor and military – can accomplish together,” said Secretary of the Navy Kenneth J. Braithwaite. “This ship will extend the maneuverability and lethality of our fleet to confront the many challenges of a complex world, from maintaining the sea lanes to countering instability to maintaining our edge in this era of renewed great power competition.”

Rear Adm. Philip E. Sobeck, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group THREE, welcomes the Navy’s newest amphibious assault ship, and crew, to the amphibious force.

“Tripoli is an example of the continued investment in our Navy, to increase and maintain our edge on the battlefield,” said Sobeck. “Congratulations to Tripoli’s crew for all of your hard work, amidst these challenging times, to reach this milestone. We welcome you to the amphibious force, of combat ready ships and battle-minded crews to go to sea and support sustained combat operations.”

LHA 7 incorporates key components to provide the fleet with a more aviation-centric platform. Tripoli’s design features an enlarged hangar deck, realignment and expansion of the aviation maintenance facilities, a significant increase in available stowage for parts and support equipment, and increased aviation fuel capacity.

The ship is the first LHA replacement ship to depart the shipyard ready to integrate the entire future air combat element of the Marine Corps, to include the Joint Strike Fighter.

Along with its pioneering aviation element, LHA 7 incorporates gas turbine propulsion plant, zonal electrical distribution, and fuel-efficient electric auxiliary propulsion systems first installed on USS Makin Island (LHD 8). LHA 7 is 844 feet in length, has a displacement of approximately 44,000 long tons, and will be capable of operating at speeds of over 20 knots.

Tripoli’s commanding officer, Capt. Kevin Myers, highlighted Tripoli’s accomplishments over the past several months getting through initial sea trials.

The hard work and dedication of the entire team during the past few years was evident in the successful execution of at-sea testing.

“Being the third ship to bear the Tripoli namesake is a profound honor and this crew stands ready to carry on the legacy of our longstanding Navy and Marine Corps amphibious community,” said Meyers. “These sailors and Marines will pave the way for those still to come. What’s remarkable is seeing the dedication, perseverance and resilience these new plank owners have shown since day one and more recently, through uncertain times as the Navy and nation work through a pandemic. There is no doubt in my mind that this team is ready to answer the nation’s call at any time or place.”

LHA 7 is the third Navy ship to be named Tripoli.

The name honors and commemorates the force of U.S. Marines and approximately 370 soldiers from 11 other nationalities who captured the city of Derna, Libya, during the 1805 Battle of Derna.

The battle resulted in a subsequent peace treaty and the successful conclusion of the combined operations of the First Barbary War, and was later memorialized in the Marines’ Hymn with the line, “to the shores of Tripoli.”

Blogs to Follow:

Defense.gov (July 2020) The U.S. Navy commissioned USS Tripoli (LHA 7), today, July 15, 2020

OIG Statement on Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia

VA Inspector General Michael Missal, US Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia Bill Powell, and other law enforcement partners announced today that Reta Mays, of Harrison County, West Virginia, pleaded guilty to seven counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of seven veterans at the Louis A. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia.


VA Inspector General Michael Missal, US Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia Bill Powell, and other law enforcement partners announced today that Reta Mays, of Harrison County, West Virginia, pleaded guilty to seven counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of seven veterans at the Louis A. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

Mays, a nursing assistant, also pleaded guilty to one count of assault with intent to commit murder involving the death of an eighth veteran.

Mays admitted to administering insulin to several patients with the intent to cause their deaths.

Photo: Reta Mays, of Harrison County, West Virginia

What occurred at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center is tragic and heartbreaking.

This case is particularly shocking because these deaths were at the hands of a nursing assistant who was entrusted with providing compassionate and supportive care to veterans.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. Within a matter of days of learning of the suspicious deaths at the facility, VA OIG agents identified the defendant as a person of interest.

Former VA Hospital Nursing Assistant Admits to Murdering Seven Veterans and Assault with Intent to Commit Murder of an Eighth

Working with medical facility leaders, the defendant was immediately removed from patient care. Without critical investigative actions being taken so expeditiously, additional lives could have been lost.

This was a complex investigation that involved a close partnership between the VA Office of Inspector General, US Attorney Bill Powell’s Office and the FBI, with the invaluable assistance of the West Virginia State Police and the Greater Harrison County Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force.

These collaborations resulted in solving this series of heinous crimes against veterans and providing some measure of closure for the victims and their families.

The result today was due to the tireless and dedicated efforts of the VA OIG law enforcement team, particularly lead Special Agent Keith Vereb, under the leadership of Resident Agent in Charge Colin Davis and Special Agent in Charge Kim Lampkins.

Our investigators painstakingly sought, tested, and pieced together an overwhelming amount of evidence to create the foundation for this case.

For example, the investigation included:

  • Extensive forensic audits and analyses, data modeling, and exhaustive medical record reviews
  • Approximately 350 interviews
  • More than 60 subpoenas and search warrants on electronic media
  • Approximately 1,200 current and former employee time-card reviews
  • Reviews of about 670,000 VA employee emails and multiple years of swipe card access logs for multiple personnel
  • Forensic analyses for various insulin and tissue samples by multiple experts
  • Coordinated disinterment’s and reinternments, with family agreement (including full military honors per family request), and witnessed associated autopsies.

The fact that the defendant pleaded guilty today to seven counts of second-degree murder is a testament to the strength of the case developed by our criminal team through their diligence, tenacity, and skill.

Blogs to Follow:

Justice.gov (July 2020) OIG Statement on Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia