Free Republic

You know what the IRS is really great at? Breaking its own laws. In addition to targeting conservative groups, the corrupt government agency has also been singling out disabled veterans. They do this by using banks to launder and then stealing the veterans’ disability checks. Shameful. The Veterans Disability Act of 2010 exempts VA disability from withholding of any sort. But the IRS has been stealing disabled veterans’ money anyways. Kevin Lake is a 60% disabled veteran of the Iraq War. A few months ago, he noticed that his VA disability check had not been deposited, and that his bank...

It was a brazen bank heist, but a 21st-century version in which the criminals never wore ski masks, threatened a teller or set foot in a vault. In two precision operations that involved people in more than two dozen countries acting in close coordination and with surgical precision, thieves stole $45 million from thousands of A.T.M.'s in a matter of hours. In New York City alone, the thieves responsible for A.T.M. withdrawals struck 2,904 machines over 10 hours starting on Feb. 19, withdrawing $2.4 million. The operation included sophisticated computer experts operating in the shadowy world of Internet hacking, manipulating...

The Investigative Project on Terrorism has learned that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi headlined a Democratic Party fundraiser with leaders of Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood front groups in May of this year. The invitation-only fundraiser was sponsored by Reps. Keith Ellison, D-Minn.; Andre Carson, D-Ind.; and Steve Israel, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and took place on the evening of May 16, 2012, at the W Hotel in Washington D.C. In attendance were about 20 members of a Syrian dissident group and 10 officials representing Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas front groups. Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR)...

NOTE The following text is a quote: www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl1908.aspx Treasury Identifies Kassem Rmeiti & Co. for Exchange and Halawi Exchange Co. as Financial Institutions of “Primary Money Laundering Concern” 4/23/2013 In First Use of Section 311 Against a Non-Bank Financial Institution, Treasury Acts to Protect the U.S. Financial System from Foreign Exchange Houses Tied to Global Narcotics and Money Laundering Networks and Hizballah WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today named two Lebanese exchange houses, Kassem Rmeiti & Co. For Exchange (Rmeiti Exchange) and Halawi Exchange Co. (Halawi Exchange), as foreign financial institutions of primary money laundering concern under...

The daughter of President Barack Obama's controversial former pastor was indicted on Wednesday on charges of money laundering and lying to federal authorities, a Justice Department spokeswoman said. Jeri L. Wright, 47, the daughter of Jeremiah Wright, was accused of participating in a fraud scheme led by a former suburban police chief and the chief's husband that involved a $1.25 million state grant, according to the Attorney's office for the Central District of Illinois in Springfield.

<p>The daughter of President Barack Obama's controversial former pastor was indicted on Wednesday on charges of money laundering and lying to federal authorities, a Justice Department spokeswoman said.</p>

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Jeremiah Wright’s daughter has allegedly been a naughty little money launderer, and if true, it would appear as though her chickens are coming home to roost. Jeri Wright, 47, faces two counts of money laundering, two counts of making false statements to officers and seven counts of giving false grand jury testimony. She couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Governor Palin posted a statement on Facebook about today’s news that Fisker Automotive is laying off three-fourths of its U.S. workers: Once again, the American public lost when the Obama administration attempted to pick “winners and losers” in the free market. Today the electric car company Fisker Automotive, which received nearly $200 million in taxpayer money, is laying off three-fourths of its U.S. workers.The Anaheim, CA-based start up has failed at pretty much every level – especially when it comes to the company’s ultra expensive luxury electric hybrid, the Karma (what a name!), which is assembled in Finland and received...

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state’s controversial, $3 billion stem-cell research agency, has yet to follow recommendations from a December report by the Institute of Medicine, a division of the National Academy of Sciences. The report, which urged the agency to overhaul its board of directors, did not fully convey the magnitude of CIRM’s failure—but it did confirm that CIRM might be better described as Conflict of Interest Research Money. Almost all members of the CIRM board, investigators noted, “are interested parties with a personal or financial stake in the allocation of CIRM fundings.” In fact, CIRM directed...

The Chinese automaker that was in talks to buy struggling Fisker Automotive has backed out, Reuters reports, leaving Fisker without its best bet for avoiding bankruptcy. Geely, which owns Volvo and is one of China’s biggest car manufacturers, was reportedly on track to acquire Fisker, but dropped out of talks due to conditions that come with paying back the $193 million Fisker has borrowed from the United States Department of Energy. Check out the foresight on this GM-turned-Fisker plant in Delaware, which was supposed to start production in 2012, but has been put on hold until 2014-15 (probably indefinitely), but...

Our federal government sure knows how to pick ‘em.Fisker is an electric car company, founded in 2007, which holds the dubious distinction of producing the only car to ever break down during its Consumer Reports test drive. It was supposed to be an American leader in new technologies, with a revamped factory in Delaware and all the jobs that come with it. It ended up producing cars in Finland— cars that caught on fire and konked out due to the company’s use of faulty batteries from another taxpayer-funded company, A123. Facing recalls and possible bankruptcy, Fisker’s CEO Henrik Fisker stepped...

When the Congress failed to pass cap and trade legislation during his first term Barack Obama famously quipped that there was “more than one way to skin a cat,� and we all know what he meant by that; he was going to use the EPA to bypass the Congress and subvert the constitution through the regulatory process.This was a proclamation that he reaffirmed during his State of the Union address when he stated, “if Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will.� Well, the EPA has already started making moves to implement cap and trade and at...

Here’s something that slipped through the cracks thanks to the fake drama that was going on during the fake fiscal crisis coming from our fake government in Washington, DC: Another fake green company boondoggle has resulted in federal dollars being spent on …nothing. According to a report issued by the Department of Energy’s own inspector general, employees at LG Chem, a Korean company that operates a battery plant in Holland, Michigan- a plant that’s supposed to support the Chevy Volt- were paid for playing video games, board games, volunteer work at Habitat for Humanity and other local charities. Another fake-work...

Governor Pat Quinn announced a $54 million capital investment to build a Fine Arts Complex that will strengthen Illinois State University’s renowned arts programs and create 775 construction jobs. “This investment means Illinois State University will be able to build on its excellent reputation in the fine arts while creating hundreds of good jobs in Normal,” the governor said on Founders Day on February 21. “Higher education is a powerful force for growth in Illinois. We all benefit when our universities have the facilities to engage and educate our young people, whether the field is art, accounting or engineering.” The...

This comes as no surprise to Hot Air readers, who learned about the value of the Obama administration’s $150 million subsidy investment of LG Chem last fall. After furloughing its workers at their Grand Rapids plant without having a single one of their batteries installed in a consumer vehicle, the local NBC affiliate produced this report on the way taxpayer money got spent:

The Keystone XL Pipeline has been viewed as a means to alleviate several problems: reducing America's dependency upon Middle East Oil, providing a source for America's refining of oil if America ever decides to face reality and challenge the environmentalist insistence against building domestic refineries, lowering the price of fuel at the pump (since increasing pump prices directly influences the price of all domestic products, everything moves by oil), providing employment for many Americans in the construction of the pipeline and at the port, and an assurance of a reliable source of crude (in case we decide to accept reality)....

On September 11, 2012 four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens were murdered in Benghazi, Libya. Five months have passed since that fateful day and we still do not have an accounting for Obama's whereabouts during the seven hour firefight in Benghazi. What we do know however, is that Obama failed in his duty to come to the aid of incredibly brave Americans in distress. We know now that not only did Obama not call an in-person emergency meeting in the Situation Room (hence no 'Situation Room photo' during Benghazi) or ANY room, his re-election was more important to him than...

Former Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer pleaded guilty Monday morning to four charges of grand theft, avoiding trial in a case that could have potentially embarrassed former Gov. Charlie Crist and much of the state’s Republican elite.After two weeks of behind-the-scenes wrangling, former GOP party chairman Jim Greer walked into court Monday morning and pleaded guilty to theft and money laundering charges that could put him behind bars for 3 and 1/2 years. Greer responded “guilty your honor’’ to charges he stole and laundered GOP campaign contributions through a company he created, Victory Strategies. He declined to talk with a...

"Paraguay: Alleged Hezbollah financier detained Wassim el Abd Fadel, a Lebanese with Paraguayan citizenship, faces human trafficking and narco-terrorism charges."  SNIPPET: "ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay – Wassim el Abd Fadel is behind bars inside Tacumbú prison in Asunción, Paraguay, as he awaits trial on human trafficking, money laundering and narco-trafficking charges. But Paraguayan authorities suspect the Lebanese with Paraguayan citizenship’s involvement in crime is much greater, which is why he’s being investigated for financing the terrorist organization Hezbollah. Fadel, 31, was arrested on Dec. 21 in Ciudad del Este, which is on the border shared by Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina, about...

SPECIAL REPORT: Slam-Dunking Animal RightsPosted On July 28, 2003It's no secret that Leslie and Nanci Alexander, co-owners of the NBA's Houston Rockets franchise, are among the global animal-rights movement's biggest financial backers. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals even acknowledged the couple in 1998 for making "one of the most generous gifts we have ever received." Nanci Alexander personally donated over $225,000 toward the passage of a constitutional amendment that gave legal protection to pigs in Florida. But recently released tax records indicate that the Alexanders have also funded the operations of "Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty" (SHAC), one of...

HSBC to Pay Record Fine in Money Laundering Case The U.S. Justice Department has filed court papers alleging felony criminal offenses against one of the world's largest banks, HSBC, in a New York federal court. HSBC announced earlier in the day that it has agreed to pay a record $1.92 billion fine to settle charges connected to a money laundering scheme in the United States. A U.S. Senate investigation published in July said HSBC had poor anti-money laundering controls in place and had shifted billions of dollars for Mexican drug lords, terrorists and governments under sanctions, including Iran and North...

Govt outlines HSBC ties to drug money laundering WASHINGTON (AP) — British bank HSBC violated the Bank Secrecy Act in connection with the laundering of money from narcotics drug traffickers in Mexico and intentionally allowed prohibited transactions with Iran and other nations that have been under sanctions, the Justice Department alleged Tuesday. In court papers filed in federal court in Brooklyn, the federal government said the case against HSBC is related to the laundering of proceeds from narcotics trafficking via the Black Market Peso Exchange — a method by which money launderers convert cash narcotics dollars into Colombian pesos by...

Documents obtained by CBS News show that the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) discussed using their covert operation "Fast and Furious" to argue for controversial new rules about gun sales. PICTURES: ATF "Gunwalking" scandal timeline In Fast and Furious, ATF secretly encouraged gun dealers to sell to suspected traffickers for Mexican drug cartels to go after the "big fish." But ATF whistleblowers told CBS News and Congress it was a dangerous practice called "gunwalking," and it put thousands of weapons on the street. Many were used in violent crimes in Mexico. Two were found at the murder...

http://spire-law.com/in-the-news/ 43 trillion dollars lawsuit against gov officials and major banks

The U.S. Special Inspector General in Baghdad fear 41.6 billion ( U.S. tax dollars ) is now leaving (funneled out) of country per year...

This week financial news organization CNBC gave some mainstream attention to the largest money laundering and racketeering lawsuit in United States History, in which “Banksters” and their U.S. racketeering partners are being accused of laundering of 43 trillion dollars worth of ill gotten gains. The lawsuit is said to involve officials located in the highest offices of government and the financial sector. Since this information was surprisingly revealed by the mainstream news organization there has been a very suspicious and deadly fallout at the CNBC headquarters. Within hours the original page for the article was taken down, and CNBC senior...

"Training would offer energy-management courses in East Africa"The Obama administration wants U.S. taxpayers to finance the creation of energy-management doctorate and master’s degree programs at a university in the East African nation of Uganda. Obama, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, wants to help “current and future Ugandan professionals” and others to develop expertise “in sound environmental management and biodiversity conservation in relation to oil and gas development.” Before doing so, however, those same taxpayers and other interested parties have a chance to submit comments to USAID on the proposed endeavor. The USAID/Uganda Education for Environmentally Sound Oil Management...

On Friday, March 30, 2012, Hisham Y. Altalib visited the White House. According to visitor logs, Altalib was received by Joshua DuBois, the director of President Obama's Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Four days later, White House officials welcomed a foreign delegation of the radical Sharia-enforcing Muslim Brotherhood from Egypt. The White House meeting with overseas Muslim Brotherhood leaders was reported in April by a few mainstream journalists and questioned loudly by conservative media. But the White House confab in March with U.S.-based Altalib -- which appears to be a prep session with the global Muslim Brotherhood's American...

NOTE The following text is a quote: www.fbi.gov/houston/press-releases/2012/russian-agent-and-10-other-members-of-procurement-network-for-russian-military-and-intelligence-operating-in-the-u.s.-and-russia-indicted-in-new-york Russian Agent and 10 Other Members of Procurement Network for Russian Military and Intelligence Operating in the U.S. and Russia Indicted in New York Defendants Also Include Texas- and Russia-Based Corporations; 165 Persons and Companies ‘Designated’ by Commerce Department U.S. Attorney’s Office October 03, 2012 BROOKLYN, NY—An indictment was unsealed today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging 11 members of a Russian military procurement network operating in the United States and Russia, as well as a Texas-based export company and a Russia-based procurement firm, with illegally...

@mrubin1971Two news stories from recent weeks, if true, should raise a red flag in the United States that Iran is preparing to use Hezbollah to strike at U.S. interests in Latin America, if not in the United States itself.First, this story from the Lebanese news portal Naharnet and sourced in part to Israeli radio. The Naharnet story was taken down shortly after it appeared: Hezbollah is using a training base established by Iran in northern Nicaragua near the border with Honduras, the Israeli radio reported on Thursday [September 6]. “The area is cordoned off and there are around 30 members...

On May 26, 2011, the White House posted this video praising Solyndra as a Recovery Act success story. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0lVKTmLMV_MIn August 2011, Barack Obama’s gleaming example of green technology – Solyndra – filed for bankruptcy. The solar panel manufacturer squandered $535 million of stimulus money in a little over a year. Why Solyndra? Top Obama bundler George Kaiser made multiple visits to the White House in the months before the company was granted a $535 million loan from the government. And top Solyndra officials also made numerous visits — 20 — to the White House, according to logs and reporting by...

Disgusting misuse of our tax dollars. (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama plans to accelerate the pace of American aid to Egypt, a top State Department official said on Wednesday, as the most populous Arab nation reaches a critical stage in its uncertain transition away from autocratic rule. Undersecretary of State Robert Hormats, part of a U.S. delegation that held unprecedented talks last week with Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, said Washington wanted to provide “more immediate benefits” to Egyptians, who earlier this month conducted their first democratic elections in decades. “During this period, we want to be as supportive as we...

The US authorities say they have seized $150m (£95m) from a bank allegedly linked to a money-laundering scheme of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Last year, US officials accused the Lebanese Canadian Bank (LCB) of helping the group launder profits from drug trafficking and other crimes. The funds were allegedly used to ship cars from the US to West Africa, with the proceeds smuggled back to Lebanon. The US classifies Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. "As we alleged last year, the Lebanese Canadian Bank played a key role in facilitating money laundering for Hezbollah-controlled organisations across the globe," the head...

Is jy gereed vir 'n ander Solyndra, patriotte?(Translation from Afrikaans to English: Are you ready for another Solyndra, patriots ?) *** From the Export-Import Bank of The United States: *** "JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA: The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) and the Industrial Development Corp. of South Africa Ltd. (IDC) today signed a Declaration of Intent (DoI) to help advance the South African government’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and the South African Renewable Initiative (SARi). Under the agreement, Ex-Im Bank will assist in financing up to $2 billion worth of U.S. technologies, products and services to South Africa’s...

Families of victims of a deadly 1983 bombing of U.S. Marines in Lebanon filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to hold Standard Chartered Bank and its New York branch accountable. They claim in the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that the bank conspired with Iran and its agents to hide Iran's assets from them. They're seeking to trace assets as they try to enforce a $2.6 billion judgment against the Islamic Republic of Iran. A federal court in Washington, D.C., issued the award in 2007 after Iran failed to contest claims it was involved in the bombing, which...

SNIPPET: "On Friday, Mubarak Hamed, the former director of the now defunct Islamic American Relief Agency-USA (IARA) based in Columbia, Missouri, pled guilty to three counts of a federal indictment charging that he illegally sent more than a million dollars to Iraq in violation of U.S. sanctions, conspiracy, and tax violations. Federal agents raided IARA's offices in 2004, seized its assets, and said it was part of a global network of similar Islamic charities that supported terrorist organizations. As part of his plea agreement, Hamed admitted the U.S.-based charity was part of this international network, with the IARA branch based...

The Justice Department is investigating whether Las Vegas Sands Corp., owned by high-profile Republican donor Sheldon Adelson, broke federal law by failing to report millions of dollars of potentially laundered money transferred to its casinos by two high-rolling Las Vegas gamblers, according to the Wall Street Journal.

(Reuters) - A rogue Standard Chartered Plc banking unit violated U.S. anti-money laundering laws by scheming with Iran to hide more than $250 billion of transactions, and may lose its license to operate in New York State, a state banking regulator said on Monday. Lawsky's order quotes a senior Standard Chartered official in London who, upon being advised by a North American colleague that its Iran dealings could cause "catastrophic reputational damage," reportedly replied: "You f---ing Americans. Who are you to tell us, the rest of the world, that we're not going to deal with Iranians."

Though grudgingly provided and universally redacted, documents subpoenaed by Congress from the White House and the Office of Management and Budget now reveal that Barack Hussein Obama himself was responsible for manufacturing the loss of $535 million taxpayer dollars in the 2011 Solyndra bankruptcy. In 2010, solar panel manufacturer Solyndra Inc. received $535 million in loan guarantees for “innovative technology” under the terms of Barack Obama’s federal stimulus plan. The fact that a Price Waterhouse audit filed earlier that year with the SEC showed Solyndra had lost $558 million during its first 5 years in business, boasted negative cash flow,...

2012/07/18 03:59 KST HSBC apologizes for lax controls on transactions with N. Korea, others WASHINGTON, July 17 (Yonhap) -- Executives from HSBC Holdings admitted Tuesday that the largest European bank had some loopholes in controlling transactions involving North Korea and other "rogue states." A group of top HSBC officials appeared at a U.S. Senate hearing a day after the Senate released a 330-page report accusing the London-based bank of exposing the U.S. financial system to North Korea, Iran, and Cuba as well as terrorists groups and Mexican drug cartels. HSBC had transactions with North Korea in breach of U.S. sanctions...

Bank regulators to face tough questions over HSBC money laundering Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:57am IST * Connections to Iran, Mexico under the spotlight * HSBC crackdown on money laundering riddled with lapses * Senate investigation expected to guide Treasury, Justice By Carrick Mollenkamp July 16 (Reuters) - Current and former bank regulators are likely to face tough questions by a U.S. Senate panel Tuesday about their agency's oversight of HSBC Holdings Plc's efforts to stop illegal money flows between its U.S. and international offices, according to people familiar with the situation. The Senate investigation is expected to be a...

After a lengthy investigation, Wilson was indicted in April on a misdemeanor insurance charge for laundering a total $8,000 in campaign contributions from Missouri Employers Mutual Co., a state-created workers' compensation company based in Columbia, to the Missouri Democratic Party through a St. Louis law firm, Herzog Crebs. Former Herzog Crebs partner Ed Griesedieck III was also indicted.

By now we have all seen Debbie Wasserman and David Axelrod bitch about Romneys "Assumed Swiss Bank Account".Yah? So? But what about the 16 Trillion Dollar Obama debt and 1.4 Trillion dollar deficit.And last but not least,the 100 Billion Dollars Obama wasted on Green Energy Projects that went bankrupt.It's as if liberals don't see wasted billions as an issue,so long as some of it has already wound up in their bank acounts and the hell with the middle class.Remember that classic Bugs Bunny scene when Daffy Duck said "Consequences,Shmonquecnces,So Long As I'm Rich". Now thats the attitude of most Rats...

Struggling banks in the EU and beyond are becoming more willing to launder dirty cash for organized crime. Italy's anti-mafia prosecutor Pietro Grasso drew attention to one of the lesser known aspects of the crisis at a hearing in the European Parliament's new anti-mafia committee on Tuesday (19 June). He told press: "The current economic crisis is making criminal groups even more powerful because they've got liquid cash, they've got ready money ... and not just in Europe, but in other countries where there are fragile economies and they can influence politicians." His line was echoed by Jean-François Gayraud, the...

Obama green-tech program that backed Solyndra struggles to create jobs A $38.6 billion loan guarantee program that the Obama administration promised would create or save 65,000 jobs has created just a few thousand jobs two years after it began, government records show. The program — designed to jump-start the nation’s clean technology industry by giving energy companies access to low-cost, government-backed loans — has directly created 3,545 new, permanent jobs after giving out almost half the allocated amount, according to Energy Department tallies. President Obama has made “green jobs” a showcase of his recovery plan, vowing to foster new jobs,...

Internal emails show that BrightSource Energy, which received the largest federal loan for a solar energy project under President Obama’s stimulus package, leveraged its considerable political connections with top Democratic policymakers to secure its $1.6 billion in taxpayer backing. BrightSource energy faced a “do-or-die moment,” according to a report in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal, as the Energy Department weighed a federal loan for its massive Ivanpah solar farm in the California Mojave Desert. To spur the administration to approve the loan, BrightSource beefed up its lobbying presence, most notably by hiring Bernie Toon, former chief of staff for then-Senator Joe...

The Obama Administration has given a former director at the scandal-plagued Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) nearly half a billion dollars to offer “struggling” Illinois homeowners mortgage assistance, a Judicial Watch investigation has found. It means the ACORN official (Joe McGavin) will go from operating a corrupt leftist community group that’s banned by Congress from receiving federal funding to controlling over $445 million in U.S. taxpayer funds. The money is part of a $7.6 billion Treasury Department program to help the “unemployed or substantially underemployed” make their mortgage payments.

The political war of words over Solyndra is spawning the inevitable editing battle on Wikipedia. Just as President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney clash on the substance of the Solyndra episode, so do the people editing Wikipedia, who toil behind the scenes correcting — and re-correcting — the site’s millions of entries. Visitors to the “Solyndra loan controversy” page are greeted with a note: “The neutrality of this article is disputed.” That’s an understatement. From its creation in September, the page has sparked heated debate. Users have made more than 250 revisions, some of which other users promptly reversed. “The...

.........In California, signatures have been gathered for a voter initiative, "Stop Special Interests," on the November ballot that, if passed, would break the umbilical cord between the state treasury and union treasuries. In California, among others, the state deducts union dues from public employee paychecks and sends these directly to the unions, thus saving them the need to persuade public employees to sign up to let the union bosses use their money in elections. This is the umbilical cord and the California unions have used it to become the most powerful special interest in Sacramento, having great influence over the...

Emigrant Bank was recently identified to receive a waiver that would allow the bank to opt out of rigorous Dodd-Frank requirements. These of course are the same new rules and regulations that Barack deems essential to the nation. Yet when the bank’s owner, Howard Milstein, who is a close friend and was a bundler for President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, protested that the new rules would seriously crimp operations of his bank, the Obama Administration worked with members of congress to grant him a waiver from the new rules. Other financial institutions and banks have consistently and vehemently argued that...