Tuesday, September 27, 2016



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.