Category: Public Corruption
Selene Varela, Theft Concerning a Program Receiving Federal Funds, Texas 2026
⏱ 2 min read Selene Varela, a 41-year-old Amarillo woman, embezzled thousands of dollars from a federal program intended to provide relief during the COVID pandemic. Varela, who worked for the City of Amarillo in the Community Development Department, pleaded guilty on May 11, 2026, to a felony information charging Theft Concerning a Program Receiving…
James Hampton-Smith, Contraband Smuggling, Pennsylvania 2024
⏱ 3 min read A midnight fence-climber got a rude awakening on August 14, 2024, when security officers at Lewisburg’s US Penitentiary spotted James Hampton-Smith, 38, of Aberdeen, Maryland, sneaking onto prison grounds. The Aberdeen man jumped down onto prison grounds and left a backpack with vape pens, cell phones, cutting tools, and synthetic marijuana…
U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford, Appointed to Advisory Committee, Oregon 2024
PORTLAND, Ore.— In a move that has left many in the law enforcement community buzzing, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has appointed U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford of the District of Oregon to serve on this Administration’s inaugural Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC). Established in 1973, the AGAC is composed of 18 U.S. Attorneys from…
Governor Ned Lamont, Challenging Federal Law Enforcement, Connecticut 2024
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Attorney General William Tong are among those being sued by the federal government for attempting to regulate federal law enforcement officers through the so-called “Act Concerning Democracy and Government Accountability,” also known as Senate Bill 397. According to the lawsuit, the law prohibits federal officers from wearing facial coverings in…
Angela Aquino, Wire Fraud, New York 2025
⏱ 2 min read A brazen scheme to swindle $1 million from New York City’s campaign finance system has landed a candidate for Public Advocate in federal hot water. Angela Aquino, a 2025 hopeful for the citywide office, was arrested and charged with wire fraud in Brooklyn. According to the feds, Aquino allegedly inflated her…
Joe Claude Schleider, Destruction of Government Property, West Virginia 2025
⏱ 2 min read A Charleston man’s destructive outburst landed him in hot water. Joe Claude Schleider, 66, smashed an electric card entry scanner outside a federal facility in Charleston, West Virginia, on May 6, 2025, causing an estimated $1,800 in damages. Surveillance footage caught Schleider whacking the scanner with a long metal pole-like object…
Philip James Dupree, Arson, Maryland 2018
⏱ 2 min read A former Maryland law enforcement officer, Philip James Dupree, was involved in a brazen crime spree that included arson, wire fraud, and bank fraud conspiracies in Greenbelt, MD. Dupree, 42, of Pikesville, and his co-conspirator, Mark Ross Johnson, Jr., 38, of Camp Springs, hatched a scheme to defraud an insurance company…
Deon Scott, Bribery, Tennessee 2026
⏱ 2 min read A former Internal Affairs Investigator for the Shelby County Division of Corrections, Deon Scott, 41, has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for bribery. Scott smuggled contraband, including narcotics, into the facility while employed, receiving at least $3,200 in bribes. The crimes occurred at the Shelby County Division of…
Lu Jianwang, Operating Police Station for the Chinese Government, New York 2022
A Bronx man has been convicted of operating a police station for the Chinese government in New York City and obstructing justice. Bronx resident Lu Jianwang, a U.S. citizen also known as ‘Harry Lu,’ was convicted by a jury of two counts of a superseding indictment charging him with acting as an illegal agent of…
Eileen Wang, Acting as an Illegal Agent, California 2023
⏱ 2 min read Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang, 58, has been charged in federal court with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China. The felony charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, stems from Wang’s alleged secret work on behalf of the Chinese government. Wang, who…
