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🎯 Unemployment fraud hit $100-135B during Covid. Tuesday’s GAO report cautioned that the “full extent of UI fraud during the pandemic will likely never be known with certainty.” Politico
Top Stories
💥 Binance US CEO Departs as Crypto Platform Cuts Third of Staff. The departure comes as the company controlled by embattled digital entrepreneur Changpeng “CZ” Zhao is eliminating about one third of its workforce, as a regulatory crackdown erodes its business. Bloomberg
💥 House passes bipartisan measures targeting Iran over death of Mahsa Amini, missile program. The measures would impose a series of sanctions on Iran’s supreme leader, president and other individuals as Washington seeks to further punish the Islamic Republic ahead of the one-year anniversary of nationwide protests. AP
💥 Co-founder of $4 billion crypto fraud scheme gets 20 years in prison, 'Cryptoqueen' partner remains at large. Karl Greenwood, 46, who orchestrated the multibillion-dollar multilevel marketing con, pleaded guilty in December to wire fraud and money laundering charges. CNBC
💥 CoinEx exchange drained of $27M worth of crypto in suspected hack. A CoinEx hot wallet transferred $27 million of various tokens to a wallet with no previous history in what the exchange’s team has referred to as “anomalous withdrawals." Cointelegraph
💥 Biden has a secret, illegal deal with Iran that gives mullahs everything they want. In bypassing Congress, Biden is not only guaranteeing more hostage-taking of American citizens, he’s also subsidizing Iran’s terrorism, military support for Russia, nuclear-weapons capabilities and repression of Iranian women. NY Post
💥 Russia Overcomes Sanctions to Expand Missile Production. Russia subverted American export controls using its intelligence services and ministry of defense to run illicit networks of people who smuggle key components. NYT
💥 Someone Killed a DEA Most-Wanted Fugitive and Left His Body at a Sinaloa Hospital. The body of Luis Javier Benítez Espinoza, known as “El Fourteen,” was found outside a local hospital days after he was added to the most wanted list. VICE
💥 US sanctions Lebanon-South America network accused of financing Hezbollah. Amer Mohamed Akil Rada was described as “one of the operational members” who carried out the attack on the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association in Buenos Aires in 1994. AP
💥 Leader of $25 Million International Money Laundering Conspiracy Pleads Guilty. A New York man pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to leading a sophisticated international money laundering organization that distributed large quantities of cocaine and ecstasy. DOJ
💥 SEC sues Virtu Financial for misleading customers about security of their information. Virtu repeatedly and falsely told customers that it used "information barriers" and "systemic separation between business groups" to protect their material nonpublic information. Reuters
💥 DHS has lost track of 177,000 migrants inside the U.S. An internal watchdog report says the agency has a limited ability to track migrants who have crossed the border once they are released in the U.S. to await their asylum hearings. NBC News
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