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Rockville bank employee sentenced for fraud scheme targeting churches, religious organizations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:14:32 GMT

A man from Rockville, Maryland, was sentenced Friday to three years in federal prison for a yearlong bank fraud scheme that stole millions from local churches and religious organizations.The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland said that Diape Seck, 29, helped carry out the fraud scheme that stole nearly $2 million in checks from the mail of religious institutions between January 2019 and January 2020.Federal prosecutors said Seck, who was a customer service representative at a bank, opened 412 bank accounts with fake identities by mainly using Romanian passports and driver’s license information in exchange for cash bribes.Seck was paid to open accounts for his at least eight co-conspirators, while at the same time working and conducting legitimate bank activities.Checks payable to, and written from, churches and other institutions were deposited into many of those accounts and then withdrawn at ATMs in cash.Co-conspirators also used fraudulent debit cards...

Verstappen tops rainy final practice at Spanish GP, ignores team orders to go faster

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:14:32 GMT

MONTMELO, Spain (AP) — Max Verstappen made it a sweep of fastest lap times in all three practice sessions at the Spanish Grand Prix despite the Red Bull driver shooting down team orders to pick up the pace during the rain-hit P3 on Saturday.Formula One’s two-time defending champion and current points leader will aim for a fifth pole position in seven races later.Near the end, Verstappen reacted firmly to team orders to pick up the pace, saying it wasn’t worth the risk.“I don’t really feel comfortable to push in these conditions,” he twice told his team by radio.It rained lightly throughout the hour-long session, and the slippery surface may have played a part in some wobbles by drivers.Charles Leclerc had his Ferrari almost go off course, while Lance Stroll took a trip through the gravel before keeping his Aston Martin on course.American rookie Logan Sargeant was not so lucky. He spun his Williams into the barrier. Sargeant said he was “fine” after profusely apologizing to his team ...

Ruud rallies to beat Zhang at French Open ahead of all-teen showdown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:14:32 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Last year’s finalist Casper Ruud rallied to beat Zhang Zhizhen in the third round of the French Open on Saturday, ending a strong run by the Chinese player.The fourth-seeded Ruud, who lost to Rafael Nadal in last year’s final, won 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.Zhang was the first Chinese man to reach the third round at Roland Garros since Kho Sin-Khie in 1937. Kho also reached the fourth round in 1936 but that proved a step too far for Zhang, despite a lightning start on Court Suzanne Lenglen.Zhang broke Ruud in the opening game and went on to take the set as the Norwegian player grew more and more frustrated.Matters grew worse for Ruud as he found himself 0-40 down on his serve early in the second set but he collected his emotions and — after a topsy-turvy set — went on to level the match at his first opportunity.Ruud then improved in the last two sets and sealed the match with a forehand down the line on the first of two match points.The match will be followed by an intriguing t...

Police investigate Lauderhill shooting; 15-year-old dispatched to hospital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:14:32 GMT

Lauderhill detectives are still investigating a shooting on Saturday morning that wounded a teenage boy. At approximately 5 a.m., police received two Shotspotter alerts in the area of Northwest 59 Avenue and Northwest 21 Street. Shortly after, several 911 calls were received as well. Upon arrival, officers discovered a Black, 15-year-old boy who had been shot several times. Lauderhill Fire Rescue transported the victim to Broward Health in Fort Lauderdale for treatment.According to officials, the victim is currently in stable condition and undergoing surgery. The Criminal Investigation Department and Crime Scene Investigation were also notified of the incident and responded to the scene. Police have not yet confirmed if a suspect is in custody, what led to the shooting, or if the gunman and victim knew each other. Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

Mexico police find 45 bags containing body parts ‘matching characteristics’ of missing call center staff

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:14:32 GMT

(CNN) — Forty-five bags containing human remains with characteristics matching seven missing call center staff has been discovered in a ravine in a suburb of Guadalajara, according to the state prosecutor’s office in Jalisco.The Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office investigating the deaths said it has preliminary information that the body parts “match the physical characteristics of some of the young people missing employees of the call center.”Seven call center employees were reported missing between May 20 and 22 in the metropolitan area of ​​Guadalajara, in western Mexico.Luis Joaquín Méndez Ruíz, a Jalisco prosecutor, said they found the human remains inside bags thrown on a lot with a very steep slope.Forensic experts have yet to determine the number of victims and their identities.The Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences is working with the families of those missing to determine the identification of the human remains.The country has been troubled by an epidemic of disappearanc...

‘I have no role in this case,’ Qatargate suspect Eva Kaili says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:14:32 GMT

BRUSSELS — EU lawmaker Eva Kaili says she was wrongly jailed after spending more than four months in prison as part of an ongoing corruption probe at the European Parliament.“I was put in jail for something I was not involved in,” Kaili told French daily Libération in her first extensive interview since she was arrested in the “Qatargate” investigation last December. “It’s so obvious that I have no role in this case,” the Greek MEP said. “Everything I’ve said or done is public, including on Qatar, and I have no possibility of influencing anything whatsoever at the European Parliament.”Libération said the interview was conducted at Kaili’s Brussels residence on April 25, 11 days after she was released from jail to house arrest. Her house arrest was lifted on May 25. In the interview, Kaili stressed that she was “never mentioned” in the discussions between former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, the alleged...

‘Very, very false’: Dutch minister quashes Beijing view on Ukraine at top security forum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:14:32 GMT

SINGAPORE — China put European patience to the test on Saturday, with a seasoned Chinese diplomat attributing Russia’s war on Ukraine to a failed security architecture in Europe. It fell to Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren to challenge that very Chinese interpretation.“I was actually a little bit surprised to hear it,” Ollongren told POLITICO in an interview moments after she made an impromptu rebuttal of ex-ambassador Cui Tiankai on a panel at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. “It’s very, very false.”Cui, a former envoy to the U.S. and unofficially an adviser to the Chinese delegation at this top Asian security forum, told the event on Saturday that Europe had showed little success in ensuring the Continent’s security, and suggested that the other nations at the forum should take a lesson from China and Asia instead.“We used to look to Europe, for their experience in regional integration. But nowadays, maybe people in Europe ...

Soggy weekend weather

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:14:32 GMT

After a noisy Friday night, with showers and storms for most, soggy weather is expected to stick around as the cold front from last night stalls off the coast. Although the weekend will not be a washout, there will be showers and mist around from time to time, and temperatures will stay in the 50s. A few showers are likely this again late Saturday, but the best chance for rain will be Sunday afternoon into Monday morning as a coastal low pressure system approaches New England.

Natalee Holloway case suspect Joran van der Sloot is being moved to another Peruvian prison ahead of transfer to US, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:14:32 GMT

(CNN) — Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway, was being moved to a different prison in Peru early Saturday, officials said – a step in what is expected be his eventual temporary transfer to face charges in the United States.Van der Sloot was being moved from a maximum security prison in southern Peru to a prison in the capital, Lima, according to officials with knowledge of the facts who spoke to CNN en Español journalists.Earlier, a source told CNN en Español that the process of temporarily transferring van der Sloot from Peru to the United States would begin Friday night.Van der Sloot is set to be transferred to the US to face extortion and fraud charges related to an alleged plot to extort Holloway’s family after her disappearance, Peruvian officials have said. How long the transfer process would take is not yet known, officials told CNN en Español journalists.Maximo Altez, van der Sloot’s attorney, r...

Mike Lupica: Nikola Jokic leading the Nuggets into NBA Finals is all-time great basketball story

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:14:32 GMT

In this age when unselfish superstars like LeBron James and Steph Curry have won eight NBA titles between them, here comes Nikola Jokic, the best all-around player in the sport, who might win one of his own. If Jokic does that, he becomes one of the great pro basketball stories of all time. He is already the most complete big man since the young Bill Walton, as complete a big man as the sport has known.Jokic is that good. That doesn’t mean he and the Nuggets are a lock to win the title because they got an easy Game 1 off the Heat. Just appreciate what you are watching as you watch these NBA Finals, because he is the best all-around player we have right now, better than LeBron and better than Steph and better than Durant and Joel Embiid. Good for Embiid winning the MVP award, by the way. But come on: Nobody is more valuable to his team than Jokic is to the Nuggets.He comes to this moment from being the 41st pick in the 2014 NBA draft. Nobody ever drafted that low ever won two M...