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Former Navy Sailor Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy and Attempted Attack

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Former Navy Sailor Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy and Attempted Attack

**Chicago, IL** – In a significant development, former Navy sailor Xuanyu Harry Pang has pleaded guilty in a federal court in Chicago to plotting an attack on Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, Illinois, on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The plea was entered on Tuesday in a U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and subsequently unsealed.

Court documents reveal that in the summer of 2021, Pang engaged with a person in Colombia about collaborating with Iranian actors to avenge the death of Qasem Soleimani, an IRGC Quds Force general killed by the U.S. military in 2020. The FBI, through a covert employee posing as a Quds Force affiliate, initiated contact with the Colombian individual, ultimately connecting with Pang.

The communications focused on potential targets, including Naval Station Great Lakes and other locations in Chicago. In fall 2022, Pang met with an FBI associate, providing photos, videos of the Naval Station, two U.S. military uniforms, and a cell phone intended for use as a detonator test.

Pang remains in custody without bond and awaits sentencing, facing a maximum

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Raleigh Businessman Pleads Guilty to Illegal Export to China

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Raleigh Businessman Pleads Guilty to Illegal Export to China

**Raleigh, NC** – David C. Bohmerwald, 63, owner of Components Cooper Inc., a Raleigh electronics resale business, pleaded guilty to attempting to export military-use accelerometer technology to China without a license. This action violates the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) and could lead to a maximum of 20 years in prison upon sentencing.

Court records revealed that Bohmerwald purchased 100 accelerometers from a U.S. electronics company, intending to export them to a Chinese company. These devices are significant in fields spanning from research and product development to critical military applications like flight control and missile navigation. A license is necessary for exporting such technology to China.

Upon purchasing the accelerometers, Bohmerwald falsely stated they were for a Missouri-based end user. However, the Missouri company denied any such transaction. After obtaining the accelerometers, Bohmerwald attempted to ship them via FedEx to China. Agents from the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security detained the package, uncovering the lack of a proper export license and noting Bohmerwald’s undervaluation of the items.

The investigation is conducted by the Bureau of Industry and Security, FBI

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Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud Scheme

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Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud Scheme

**Jackson, MS** – A Florida resident has admitted guilt in a case involving a decade-long scheme promoting an illicit tax shelter and committing wire fraud. The individual also confessed to aiding in the preparation of false tax returns for clients using the shelter.

Stephen T. Mellinger III of Delray Beach worked as a financial advisor, insurance salesman, and securities broker in various states. Since late 2013, he and his accomplices marketed an illegal tax shelter, encouraging clients to claim inappropriate deductions for “royalty payments” to unlawfully minimize their taxes.

Court documents reveal these royalty payments constituted a deceptive money flow, creating the facade of legitimate business expenses. Clients would transfer funds to accounts managed by Mellinger and his partners, who would return the sum—minus their fee—to an account controlled by the client, allowing them to claim false deductions.

Through the scheme, clients claimed over $106 million in misleading tax deductions, leading to a $37 million tax loss for the IRS. Mellinger and one unnamed co-conspirator reportedly earned approximately $3 million from the operations. They also misappropriated over $2.1 million from clients under investigation, some of which M

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Delaware Corporation Pleads Guilty to OSHA Violation in Worker’s Death

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Delaware Corporation Pleads Guilty to OSHA Violation in Worker’s Death

**Columbus, OH** – A Delaware corporation with operations in Ohio has admitted guilt in a federal court located in the Southern District of Ohio for breaching an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation. The breach is associated with a fatal incident in which a pneumatic door fatally injured an employee.

Fabcon Precast LLC, operating in Grove City, Ohio, along with other locations, specializes in manufacturing precast concrete panels. Employees, known as batch operators, handle the facility’s sole concrete mixer, with concrete ejected from a pneumatic door. An exhaust valve that neutralizes the door’s pneumatic energy remained unrepaired after its handle broke.

On June 6, 2020, 20-year-old Zachary Ledbetter, a batch operator since January, was present when the discharge door failed post-operation. Unable to secure the door due to the broken valve, Ledbetter was fatally trapped when attempting to fix it. He was later hospitalized where he succumbed to his injuries five days later.

Federal regulations classify the willful disregard of an OSHA safety standard leading to an employee’s death as a class B misdemeanor, the sole federal criminal charge for such

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