Complete DHS Report for February 7, 2014
Daily Report
• The owners of
the now-defunct Pacific Property Assets were for allegedly using their business
to run a Ponzi scheme that caused losses of more than $110 million involving
properties in Arizona and California. – Los Angeles Times See item 7 below in the Financial Services Sector
• Duke Energy
stated that coal ash spilling from a stormwater pipe from an old power plant in
Eden, North Carolina, continued but at a significantly reduced rate after about
82,000 tons of ash spilled into the Dan River. – National Public Radio
15. February
5, National Public Radio – (North Carolina, Virginia) More than 80,000
tons of coal ash flow into N.C. river. Duke Energy stated February 5 that
coal ash spilling from a stormwater pipe from an old power plant in Eden, North
Carolina, continued but at a significantly less rate after about 82,000 tons of
ash spilled into the Dan River beginning February 2. Repairs are underway while
crews work to stop the flow. Source: http://ksmu.org/npr/more-80000-tons-coal-ash-flow-nc-river
• Authorities
charged 25 individuals in connection with a massive scheme based out of a
clinic in New York City which operated as a pill mill and flooded the city’s
black market with more than $500 million in painkillers. – Reuters
17. February
5, Reuters – (New York) Two dozen charged in $500 million New York
pain-pill scheme. Authorities charged 25 individuals, including doctors, in
connection with a massive scheme based out of the Astramed clinic in New York
City which operated as a pill mill and flooded the city’s black market with
more than $500 million in painkillers. The clinic sold fake prescriptions to
drug dealers and collected money in exchange for fake doctor’s visits by phony
patients, in order to receive prescriptions for narcotics. Source: http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/two-dozen-charged-in-dollar500-million-new-york-pain-pill-scheme
• Schools,
businesses, and government offices were forced to close, and hundreds of
thousands of people were without power, after a second winter storm dumped snow
and left ice on trees and power lines across the Northeast. – Associated
Press
19. February
6, Associated Press – (National) Pa. utility agency says 451K remain
without power. Schools, businesses, and government offices were forced to
close February 6 after a second winter storm the week of February 3 dumped snow
and left ice on trees and power lines across the Northeast. Utility crews
worked to restore power to hundreds of thousands of customers that remained in
the dark. Source: http://news.msn.com/us/storm-leaves-hundreds-of-thousands-in-the-dark
Details
Financial Services Sector
7. February 5, Los
Angeles Times – (Arizona; California) FBI arrests two men in alleged
$110-million Ponzi scheme. The owners of the now-defunct Pacific Property
Assets were arrested by FBI agents February 5 for charges filed in a January
indictment accusing them of using their business to run a Ponzi scheme that
caused losses of more than $110 million. The scheme allegedly invested in
properties in Arizona and southern California beginning in 1999. Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-fbi-arrests-two-in-110-million-oc-ponzi-scheme-20140205,0,7253046.story#axzz2sYTDFvbj
8. February 5,
Staten Island Advance – (New York) Staten Island man convicted in $5
million investment scam. A New York City man was convicted on nine counts
of fraud for running an investment fraud scheme through a fake company, Grayson
Hewitt, that defrauded investors of around $5 million between May 2010 and
April 2012. Source: http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/02/staten_island_man_convicted_in.html
Information Technology Sector
23. February 6, Help Net Security – (International) Insecure
file sharing puts corporate data at risk. Globalscape released the results
of a survey of over 500 corporate professionals and found that in the past 12
months, 63 percent of employees used personal email to send sensitive
documents, and that employees frequently used potentially insecure consumer
cloud services and sites to store sensitive information, among other findings.
Source: http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=16318
Communications Sector
Nothing to
report