News Blog

A Look Back at the Coors Kidnapping Case

This March 19, 1951 mug shot was taken upon Joseph Corbett, Jr.’s incarceration at the California Institution for Men, in Chino, California, where he was sentenced to five years after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. He escaped from prison and committed the kidnapping and murder of Adolph Coors, III while a fugitive.

On February 9, 1960, a milkman sounded his horn several times in an attempt to get the attention of the driver of a station wagon that was blocking the middle of the bridge over Turkey Creek, near Morrison, Colorado. When there was no response, he got out of his truck and walked to the vehicle—it was empty, but its engine was running and the radio playing. A few more beeps on the horn didn’t bring the driver back, so the milkman moved the car himself to the side of the road, noticing a reddish-brown stain on the bridge and a hat on the edge of the river bank below.

The milkman reported the matter to the local police, who quickly determined that the car belonged to Adolph Coors, III. Heir to the Coors Brewing Company fortune, Coors had left his house—not far from the bridge—that morning, but had not been seen since. Searchers soon spread out over the area looking for the missing 45-year-old father of four. In addition to the hat, a few objects belonging Coors were found below the bridge, but no other trace was found during the wider search.

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Iranians Charged with Hacking U.S. Financial Sector

Seven Iranians working on behalf of the Iranian government have been indicted for a series of cyber crimes that cost U.S. financial institutions tens of millions of dollars and compromised critical controls of a New York dam.

Using botnets and other malicious computer code, the individuals—employed by two Iran-based computer companies sponsored and directed by the Iranian government—engaged in a systematic campaign of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against nearly 50 institutions in the U.S. financial sector between late 2011 and mid-2013. The repeated, coordinated attacks disabled bank websites and prevented customers from accessing their online accounts.

Full story and Wanted poster

Charges Unsealed Against Three ‘Syrian Electronic Army’ Hackers

Amad Umar Agha		Firas Dardar

Three members of a Syrian hacker collective that hijacked the websites and social media platforms of prominent U.S. media organizations and the U.S. military were charged today in federal court with multiple conspiracies related to computer hacking.

In two criminal complaints unsealed in the Eastern District of Virginia, Amad Umar Agha, Firas Dardar, and Peter Romar were charged with criminal conspiracies related to their roles targeting Internet sites—in the U.S. and abroad—on behalf of the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), a group of hackers that supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

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Check-Cashing Scheme Voided

The treasury checks were meant for military families, taxpayers receiving refunds, and Social Security beneficiaries—but they wound up in the hands of thieves instead.

From June 2012 to September 2014, a band of 19 criminals in Atlanta ran a large-scale U.S. Treasury check-cashing and identity theft ring that defrauded the federal government and retail stores of nearly $1 million. The ring included check suppliers, sellers, identification manufacturers, and “check runners” who used fake driver’s licenses to cash stolen checks.

At the center of it all was career criminal Asad Abdullah, who orchestrated the elaborate scheme from inside a Georgia state prison. With regular access to contraband cellphones, Abdullah was able to contact his younger brothers in Atlanta, and he soon had the resources he needed to mobilize the family-run criminal enterprise.

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Food Stamp Fraud

Tessema Lulseged owned a supermarket in Decatur, Georgia, but he was selling much more than groceries. He was trafficking in food stamps, and, for a time, it made him a wealthy man.

Lulseged owned the Big T Supermarket, a convenience store just outside Atlanta. He routinely and illegally allowed his customers to exchange food stamp benefits for cash—taking a substantial cut for himself. From 2009 until 2014, Lulseged’s crimes netted him approximately $6.5 million.

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Arkansas Drug Trafficking Enterprise Dismantled

Several years ago, in the city of West Memphis in eastern Arkansas, violent street gangs involved in drug trafficking and other crimes threatened the safety and security of the people who lived and worked in the area. One of the most significant gangs was headed by drug kingpin Rafael McDaniel.

 After a request for federal assistance from the West Memphis Police Department to help address the drug trafficking activity and its accompanying violence, the FBI initiated Operation Delta Crossroads as an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case. And as a result of the investigation—which involved multiple controlled drug buys and several Title III wiretaps that recorded hundreds incriminating conversations—McDaniel was convicted of drug and firearms offenses last year and subsequently sentenced to a 20-year prison term. Several of his co-conspirators were also charged, pled guilty, and sentenced.

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Director Meets with New Zealand Law Enforcement Leaders

Director Comey (center) meets with New Zealand Minister of Corrections and Police Judith Collins and Police Commissioner Mike Bush.

FBI Director James B. Comey met this week with our partners in New Zealand to discuss a host of important issues regarding the safety and security of the citizens of both countries.

“The U.S.-New Zealand law enforcement partnership remains steadfast, and we welcome the opportunity to work together to share critical information that will safeguard our Americans and New Zealanders from global threats,” said a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in New Zealand.

Press release

IRS Impersonation Scams on the Rise

This tax season, law enforcement agencies are seeing enhanced efforts by criminals to scam taxpayers out of their hard-earned money by impersonating Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury Department employees during unsolicited telephone calls and robo-calls. These scammers are demanding cash payments for unpaid taxes via prepaid debit cards, money orders, or wire transfers from their banks. According to the IRS, the agency generally first contacts taxpayers by mail—not by phone—concerning owed taxes, and it will never ask for payments using a prepaid debit card, money order, or wire transfer.

If you think you have been the victim of an IRS impersonation scam, please file a report online with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration or call the agency at 1-800-366-4484.

Additional information on IRS impersonation scams

FBI Marks Nine Years Since Disappearance of Retired Agent

Retired FBI Special Agent Robert A. “Bob” Levinson went missing on Kish Island in Iran on March 9, 2007.

It was nine years ago today that retired FBI Special Agent Robert A. “Bob”Levinson went missing on Kish Island in Iran. He is the longest held hostage in U.S. history.

Levinson was a special agent for 22 years before retiring in 1998. He turns 68 tomorrow, March 10.

In a statement released today, the FBI said it continues to work closely with the intelligence community and international partners to locate Levinson and bring him home.

	Paul Abbate (right), assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Miami FBI Special Agent in Charge George Piro address a rally on behalf of Robert Levinson March 5, 2016, in Miami.

“We are encouraged by recent cooperation between the Government of Iran and the United States, and believe that our ability to locate Bob and reunite him with his family requires a shared commitment by the Iranian government,” the statement said.

Last year, the FBI increased the reward to $5 million for information leading to Levinson’s return. A webpage, www.fbi.gov/levinson, includes photographs, video, and more detailed information about the case.

Director Comey today reiterated the FBI’s commitment to finding Levinson.

“Nine years is an incomprehensible amount of time for him to be missing without any word of his whereabouts,” said Comey. “The FBI family feels personally connected to ensuring Bob’s safe return and we are doing everything in our power to investigate all leads.”

- FBI Statement on the Ninth Anniversary of the Disappearance of Robert A. Levinson
- Statement by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
- More information

Lottery Fraud

The telephone call came from out of the blue. The man on the line told the 83-year-old retired schoolteacher she had won a substantial lottery prize. All that was required to claim the windfall was to pay taxes and other fees.

Before it was over, the victim—a Virginia resident who had meticulously saved for her retirement—was out more than $500,000 in a scam that has become all too familiar among the elderly.

The criminals behind these lottery frauds and other telemarketing scams prey on senior citizens for a variety of reasons, according to Special Agent John Gardner, who investigated the woman’s case out of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and eventually helped put the Jamaican man who victimized her behind bars.

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