Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Complete DHS Daily Report for May 22, 2012

Daily Report

Top Stories

• The New York State attorney general announced a civil lawsuit against a tax preparer for swindling $35 million from over 250 unsophisticated investors. – Legal Newsline See item 12 below in the Banking and Finance Sector

• Officials said as many as 300 inmates, many armed with makeshift weapons, rioted at a prison for illegal immigrants in Natchez, Mississippi, beating a guard to death and injuring 19 people. – Associated Press

37. May 21, Associated Press – (Mississippi) Sheriff: Gang started prison riot in Mississippi. As many as 300 inmates, some of them armed with makeshift weapons such as broomsticks, rioted at a privately run prison for illegal immigrants in Natchez, Mississippi, beating a guard to death and injuring 19 people, the sheriff said May 21. More than two dozen officers were held hostage at some point during the hours-long spate of violence May 20, including a group of 15 who had to be rescued by special response teams. A gang fight set off the violence, the sheriff said. At one point, the inmates set a fire in the prison yard. The guard was killed on the roof of one of the prison buildings. Sixteen prison employees were treated for various injuries and released from a hospital. Three inmates were hurt. The Adams County Correctional Facility holds nearly 2,500 illegal immigrants, with most serving time for coming back to the United States after being deported, said a prison spokeswoman. The prison remained on lock-down May 21 as officials assessed damages. Source: http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/prison-locked-down-after-1442090.html

• Three men were accused of planning terrorist attacks against federal and city leaders, police stations, and financial institutions during the May 20-21 North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit of world leaders in Chicago, the county prosecutor said. – Bloomberg News

33. May 20, Bloomberg News – (Illinois) Chicago terror plot with Molotov cocktails foiled. Three men were accused of planning terrorist attacks during the May 20-21 North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit of world leaders in Chicago, the county prosecutor said. The three men "were charged overnight with criminal acts relating to terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possession of explosives," said the Cook County state's attorney in a statement May 19. The men were accused of making Molotov cocktails to hurl at the U.S. President's re-election campaign headquarters in Chicago, at the home of Chicago's mayor, and at financial institutions and police stations, according to a statement issued by the county prosecutor and Chicago's police superintendent. Source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-19/three-accused-of-chicago-terror-plot-before-nato-summit

• Federal authorities are tracking the most prolific mailer of white powder in U.S history whose hoax mailings are costing millions in emergency response expenses. – Associated Press

39. May 17, Associated Press – (Texas; National) White powder case costs millions in first response. Federal authorities are tracking what they call the most prolific mailer of white powder in U.S. history with an eye toward solving a case that has tied up first responders and cost taxpayers millions of dollars, Associated Press reported May 17. Officials with the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service believe the same person has sent nearly 400 letters containing nontoxic white powder across the United States and abroad from Texas. Officials stressed that each incident diverts police, fire personnel, and other valuable resources from genuine emergencies, increasing the urgency of finding the perpetrator. Postal processing plants have biohazard detection systems that can find toxic substances, but first responders are typically called when letters with white powder are delivered — a result of the anthrax attacks in 2001. A spokesman for the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department said hazardous material teams of 10 to 16 respond to white powder calls. Each response, which can last about 2 hours, requires about $1,500 per hour in fuel and other equipment-related costs on top of salaries, he said. Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/white-powder-case-costing-millions-investigate-16370588#.T7Z0BVK1VvB

Details

Banking and Finance Sector

12. May 21, Legal Newsline – (New York) N.Y. AG alleges securities fraud. The New York State attorney general (AG) announced a civil lawsuit May 17 against a tax preparer for allegedly abusing his knowledge of his clients' finances to lure unsophisticated investors into high-risk bets. The AG's Investor Protection Bureau suspected securities fraud by the man and other defendants in 2011 and froze their assets. The defendant allegedly perpetrated a scheme to defraud more than 250 investors out of more than $35 million. Also named in the lawsuit are a relative and 20 companies under the man's control, including R.S. Enterprises of New York Inc., Rockwell Consulting of NY Inc., MIG of Westchester Inc., Empire Builders of New York Corp., Burke & Grace Avenue Corp., and Van Zandt Agency Inc. He allegedly promised investors 7 to 12 percent returns, claimed that funds would be used to finance construction secured by mortgage or to invest in securities when they were not, and misappropriated investor funds for personal use. The defendants allegedly made materially false or misleading representations under state securities law statutes, engaged in common law fraud, engaged in persistent fraud and illegality under the executive law, and engaged in failure to register. The AG is seeking restitution on behalf of the investors of more than $35 million, including $4.6 million in the defendant's criminal prosecution. He also faces a separate criminal indictment on 2 counts of money laundering, 2 counts of securities fraud, 2 counts of scheme to defraud, and 29 counts of grand larceny. Source: http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/236208-n.y.-ag-alleges-securities-fraud

13. May 21, Help Net Security – (International) Fake Amex ID verification email leads to malware. A bogus American Express account ID verification e-mail is currently making the rounds, trying to trick users into following the offered links. The e-mail might look like a phishing one at first glance, but it is not. "Those who click the link will be taken to a webpage that advises them to wait while the page is loading," Hoax-Slayer said. "However, an American Express login page does not appear as the user would expect. Instead, the page will redirect to another site that harbors the BlackHole exploit kit." This spam run is the latest in a long line of similar ones targeting a wide variety of users, and for the victims, it usually ends up with information-stealing malware being installed on their computers. Source: http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=2115&utm

14. May 19, Hartford Courant – (Connecticut) Westport resident pleads guilty to bank fraud. A man pleaded guilty in Hartford, Connecticut, May 18 on one count of bank fraud. He was president and chief executive officer (CEO) of an importing and exporting business known as Greenwich Trading Co. (GTC), GTC Worldwide Inc., or Greenwich Brands, LLC, according to a prepared statement issued by a U.S. attorney. The statement said he applied to Citizens Bank for a commercial revolving line of credit in 2007 and promised to secure the credit with his business' accounts receivable, in the maximum amount of $7 million. He falsified audit reports and other information when he applied to the bank for the credit and again when he withdrew additional funds from the line of credit, the statement said. In February 2009, GTC voluntary filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition after the CEO had caused the company to draw down the entire $7 million loan available from the bank, the statement said. Source: http://articles.courant.com/2012-05-19/community/hc-westport-fraud-0520-20120519_1_bank-fraud-maximum-sentence-credit

15. May 18, KETK 56 Tyler – (Texas; Arkansas) Tyler police dub repeat bank robber. The FBI and Tyler, Texas police officials believe the the man responsible for a May 17 armed bank robbery at Compass Bank may be responsible for several other bank robberies. Authorities have dubbed the man the "Loan Ranger Bandit," due to the banking institutions where loans are given and that the suspect wore a Texas Rangers hat. Investigators believe he robbed a Summit Bank in Benton, Arkansas, January 16, 2009, and again June 30, 2011. The bandit then came to Tyler and robbed an Altra Federal Credit Union August 11, 2011. Law enforcement has determined that the bandit ran from the May 17 bank robbery in Tyler and jumped into a getaway vehicle. Source: http://www.ketknbc.com/news/tyler-police-dub-repeat-bank-robber-loan-ranger-bandit

16. May 17, WJBK 2 Detroit – (Michigan) Squatter accused of threatening bank employees with pipe bomb. A house on Detroit's east side looked like it should be vacant, but there was a man living inside. When the bank came out to take pictures, he allegedly came out with a gun and a bomb, WJBK 2 Detroit reported May 17. Sources said the man living there has been in the neighborhood for years. The house once belonged to his parents, but now it is owned by the bank and he had been told to leave, but did not. May 17, he spotted bank employees on the property taking pictures of the house and allegedly snapped, reportedly threatening the employees with a gun and a live pipe bomb full of gunpowder. The employees called Detroit police and the bomb squad secured the scene and an explosive device. Police arrested the suspect. Sources said he has been arrested three times before for carrying a gun. Source: http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/squatter-accused-of-threatening-bank-employees-with-pipe-bomb-20120517-ms

Information Technology

40. May 18, Threatpost – (International) HULK DDoS tool smash web server, server fall down. Researchers from Kapersky Lab recently reported on a new distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) tool. The HTTP Unbearable Load King (HULK) tool is different from others of its kind in that it does not simply hit a server with a massive load of TCP SYN requests or other predictable packets. Instead, HULK generates numerous unique requests designed to prevent server defenses from recognizing a pattern and filtering the attack traffic. The HULK DDoS tool is the work of a security pro who developed it out of frustration with the obvious patterns produced by other such tools. Source: http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/hulk-ddos-tool-smash-web-server-server-fall-down-051812

For another story, see item 13 above in the Banking and Finance Sector

Communications Sector

41. May 21, Hendersonville Times-News – (North Carolina) Phone lines down at Blue Ridge Community College. Telephone service at Blue Ridge Community College (BRCC) in Henderson County, North Carolina has been interrupted because of a severed phone line, the Hendersonville Times-News reported May 21. The line was cut during a road repair project, the BRCC director of public relations reported in an e-mail. The college could not accept incoming or make outgoing calls, the e-mail stated. Repair crews were working on the problem. Source: http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20120521/ARTICLES/120529982

42. May 19, azfamily.com – (Arizona) Scottsdale radio station knocked off the air because of Gladiator Fire. The "Gladiator Fire" in Arizona continues to threaten homes and businesses, including the communications towers on the tops of two mountains, azfamily.com reported May 19. One valley radio station was knocked off the air for 19 hours after its backup system failed. May 17, the music on KNRJ 101.1 FM Cordes Lakes stopped, and KAJM 104.3 FM Camp Verde switched to a pre-recorded music loop. The stations do not expect any more interruptions barring fire reaching the towers. Source: http://www.azfamily.com/news/Scottsdale-radio-station-knocked-off-the-air-because-of-Gladiator-Fire-152131505.html