Complete DHS Report for September 27, 2016
Daily Report
Top Stories
• North Carolina officials reached a $6 million settlement with
Duke Energy September 23 to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act related
to the February 2014 coal ash spill at the Dan River plant in Eden, North
Carolina. – WNCN 17 Goldsboro
1. September 23, WNCN 17
Goldsboro – (North Carolina) NC reaches settlement with Duke Energy over
Dan River spill. North Carolina officials reached a $6 million settlement
with Duke Energy September 23 to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act
related to the February 2014 coal ash spill at the Dan River plant in Eden,
North Carolina. As part of the agreement, Duke Energy must excavate and close
the Dan River coal ash ponds by August 2019 and close all of their coal ash
ponds by 2029. Source:
http://www.wbtv.com/story/33179392/nc-reaches-settlement-with-duke-energy-over-dan-river-spill
• A Utah resident and owner of HK Parts was convicted September 23
for defrauding the U.S. Internal Revenue Service out of more than $10 million
between 2007 and 2012. – U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Utah See item 2
below in the Financial Services Sector
• An El Dorado Hills, California resident pleaded guilty September
23 to running a more than $1.8 million tax refund scheme from June 2012 – March
2014. – U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California See item 3
below in the Financial Services Sector
• A tax preparer operating in New York and New Jersey and his 4
associates were permanently enjoined from preparing Federal income tax returns
September 23 after they allegedly ran a more than $17 million tax fraud scheme
from 2000 – 2008. – U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York See
item 4 below in
the Financial Services Sector
Financial Services Sector
2. September 24, U.S.
Attorney’s Office, District of Utah – (National) Utah business owner
convicted of dealing in firearms without a license and filing false tax
returns. A Salt Lake County, Utah resident and owner of HK Parts was
convicted September 23 for defrauding the U.S. Internal Revenue Service out of
more than $10 million after he underreported his wages on personal income tax
returns, underreported total receipts on corporate tax returns, and bought and
sold roughly 2,000 firearms without a Federal license through hkparts.net and
from the basement of his home under the auspices of another Utah-based business
between 2007 and 2012. The charges state that the man used the illicit earnings
for personal expenses. Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ut/pr/utah-business-owner-convicted-dealing-firearms-without-license-and-filing-false-tax
3. September 23, U.S.
Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California – (California) El
Dorado Hills woman pleads guilty in bogus tax refund scheme involving more than
$1.8 million in illegitimate refunds. An El Dorado Hills, California
resident pleaded guilty September 23 to running a more than $1.8 million tax
refund scheme where she and a co-conspirator allegedly prepared and filed
hundreds of fraudulent claims with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service from June
2012 – March 2014, including claims that reported false wages and listed
unrelated minors as dependents for the clients. Officials stated that the duo
attempted to receive over $2.5 million in fraudulent tax refund claims during
the scheme. Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/el-dorado-hills-woman-pleads-guilty-bogus-tax-refund-scheme-involving-more-18-million
4. September 23, U.S.
Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York – (National) Manhattan
federal court permanently bars tax preparer who orchestrated tax fraud scheme
and four of his associates from engaging in tax preparation business. A tax
preparer operating in New York and New Jersey and his 4 associates were
permanently enjoined from engaging in Federal income tax return preparation or
interfering with Federal tax law management and enforcement September 23 after
he and the 4 co-conspirators ran a more than $17 million tax fraud scheme where
the group prepared thousands of illegal tax returns through a New York and
Englewood, New Jersey-based tax preparation company, claimed dependent
deductions with the stolen identities of deceased children, and claimed
fraudulent company losses for non-existent companies, among other illicit
practices, from 2000 – 2008. Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-federal-court-permanently-bars-tax-preparer-who-orchestrated-tax-fraud-scheme
Information Technology Sector
21. September 23,
SecurityWeek – (International) Locky ransomware fuels surge in .RAR
JavaScript attachments. Trend Micro security researchers reported the Locky
ransomware was responsible for an increase in certain methods of malware
delivery after finding that during the first half of 2016, 58 percent of
ransomware threats were delivered via email attachments including JavaScript,
VBScript, and Microsoft Office files with macros. The researchers also reported
that the malicious emails used to deliver the ransomware contained similar
subject lines involving invoices, banking transactions, and parcel delivery,
among other subjects, and stated the emails used social engineering to
determine which victims to target.
For another story, see item 22
below in the Communications
Sector
Communications Sector
22. September 23,
SecurityWeek – (International) Xiny Android trojans can infect system
processes. Doctor Web security researchers discovered the Android.Xiny
trojans, which are distributed through popular Websites and official app
stores, received updates which enable the trojans to inject themselves into
system applications, thereby allowing the trojans to launch malicious plug-ins.
Doctor Web researchers also found the malware was updated to include an
immutable Android application package (APK) file to ensure the trojan cannot be
deleted.