Ohio
Judge finds man incompetent to stand trial in fatal shooting of officer
CLEVELAND (AP) — A man charged in the fatal shooting of a Cleveland police officer has been found incompetent to stand trial.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Ashley Kilbane issued the ruling Monday. She said De’Lawnte Hardy, 25, of Cleveland, will be hospitalized indefinitely and could eventually stand trial if he improves. Hardy remains jailed on $10 million bail.
Hardy killed Jamieson Ritter on July 4 as he and other Cleveland officers attempted to arrest him on a felonious assault warrant, authorities have said. The charge stemmed from a shooting days earlier that wounded Hardy’s 63-year-old grandmother, who was shot in the head and later died from her injuries.
After a standoff with police at a Cleveland home, Hardy tried to flee on a bicycle and fired four shots at the officers, authorities have said. Ritter, a four-year veteran of the force, was struck by one shot and died a short time later at a hospital.
California
Man pleads not guilty to setting fire that exploded into huge wildfire
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (AP) — A California man has pleaded not guilty to starting a fire that authorities said ballooned into a massive wildfire and forced the evacuation of thousands of homes.
Online court records show Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, entered the plea from jail in a video arraignment Tuesday in the San Bernardino city of Rancho Cucamonga. He was denied bail and appointed an attorney, the records show.
Halstenberg’s next court appearance is set for Monday. An email message was sent to the attorney listed on his behalf.
Halstenberg is charged with 11 arson-related crimes, the records show. Authorities said the delivery driver from the town of Norco attempted to start three fires within an hour — two that were extinguished by firefighters and a good Samaritan and a third that became the Line Fire, which has charred 61 square miles (158 square kilometers) in the mountains east of Los Angeles.
Authorities have said Halstenberg’s vehicle has been tied to areas where the fires were started on Sept. 5.
The Line Fire threatened more than 65,000 homes and injured four firefighters. It is one of three wildfires that exploded across Southern California this month following a triple-digit heat wave.
Florida
Authorities arrest relative of King of Jordan and 3 others for $1M insider-trading plot
MIAMI (AP) — Authorities charged four men, including a relative of the King of Jordan, for conspiring to make insider stock trades on a business acquired by one of South Florida’s major publicly held companies, MasTec.
Federico Nannini, 26; his father, Mauro Nannini, 63; and two of his friends, Alejandro Thermiotis, 26; and Francisco Tonarely, 25, were arrested Friday and charged in a federal indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and 24 related offenses, The Miami Herald reported.
Thermiotis is the King of Jordan’s relative. Thermiotis’ brother, Jameel, married King Abdulla’s daughter, Princess Iman, last year. The Jordanian Royal Palace did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the four defendants shared confidential information within a close circle of family and friends, and used it to buy shares at a lower price and then turn a $1 million profit after the information became public.
The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed a parallel civil lawsuit against them in Miami federal court. All four had their first court appearances on Friday.
Federal authorities said the alleged scheme began in June 2022 when Federico Nannini, a consultant, began advising MasTec on its planned acquisition of Indiana-based Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives.
MasTec is an engineering and construction company based in Coral Gables, Florida, that provides infrastructure services for the energy, utility and communications industries.
Federico Nannini then started sharing the confidential information with his father, Mauro Nannini, and Thermiotis, a close friend, according to the indictment. Federico Nannini, Thermiotis and Tonarely went to Gulliver Preparatory School together in Pinecrest, Florida, a suburban village in Miami-Dade County.
Mauro Nannini bought shares in Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives the day after his son got access to the financial information about the proposed MasTec acquisition, the indictment said.
Thermiotis also passed along the insider information about the deal to Tonarely.
As the MasTec acquisition progressed, Federico Nannini continued to update his father and close friend, Thermiotis, about the deal. In turn, Thermiotis continued to share the insider information with Tonarely, prosecutors said.
At one point in July 2022, when Federico Nannini became worried the acquisition would not go through, Mauro Nannini sold his IEA stock, according to the indictment.
When Federico Nannini received confidential financials that indicated the acquisition was going forward, he texted Thermiotis, who responded.
At that point, Mauro Nannini began to buy back his position in IEA stock and options, the indictment said.
When MasTec’s acquisition of IEA was reported publicly on July 25, 2022, Mauro Nannini, Thermiotis, and Tonarely all sold their shares and option contracts in IEA at a profit.
A conviction for conspiracy to commit securities fraud carries up to five years in prison, while a conviction on the related 24 securities fraud charges carries maximum penalties of 20 to 25 years imprisonment.
New York
MrBeast and Amazon sued by competitors from his $5M reality show over alleged ‘unsafe’ conditions
NEW YORK (AP) — MrBeast is accused of creating “unsafe” employment conditions, including sexual harassment, and misrepresenting contestants’ odds at winning his new Amazon reality show’s $5 million grand prize in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by five unnamed participants.
The filing alleges that the multimillion-dollar company behind YouTube’s most popular channel failed to provide minimum wages, overtime pay, uninterrupted meal breaks and rest time for competitors — whose “work on the show was the entertainment product” sold by MrBeast.
A spokesperson for MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, told The Associated Press in an email that he had no comment on the new lawsuit.
Donaldson’s “Beast Games” was touted as the “biggest reality competition.” It was supposed to put the North Carolina content creator in front of audiences beyond the YouTube platform where his record 316 million subscribers routinely watch his whimsical challenges that often carry lavish gifts of direct cash.
But its initial Las Vegas shoot began facing criticism before it even wrapped. Donaldson’s companies cast 2,000 people in an initial tryout this July where half could advance to the actual show’s filming in Toronto.
Contestants only learned upon their arrival that the Las Vegas pool surpassed 1,000 competitors, according to the lawsuit, which significantly reducing their chances of victory. The lawsuit argues the “false advertising” violated California business laws that prohibit sweepstakes operators from “misrepresenting in any manner the odds of winning any prize.”
The five anonymous competitors also said that “limited sustenance” and “insufficient medical staffing” endangered their health.
The filing alleges that production staff created a “toxic” work environment for women who faced “sexual harassment” throughout the contest. Those sections are heavily redacted in an effort to comply with “confidentiality provisions” signed by the competitors, according to a press release from their lawyers.
The lawsuit adds to the complaints — circulated by online influencers in the shoot’s immediate aftermath — that an unorganized set had left some contestants injured and lacking in regular access to food and medication. Other participants have told AP they received two light meals each day and MrBeast branded chocolate bars.
MrBeast’s team also faces new accusations they “knowingly misclassified” the contestants’ employment status to the Nevada Film Commission in order to receive a state tax credit for more than $2 million.
Among other forms of relief, the five competitors seek an order that MrBeast institute “workplace reforms” and awards “all wages owed.”
Last month, amid several public relations crises, Donaldson ordered a full assessment of his YouTube empire’s internal culture and outlined plans to require company-wide sensitivity training.
No more details have been divulged and no date has been publicized for the reality game show’s release.
Tennessee
Official and exec accused of rigging bid on a $123M contract charged
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A former Tennessee prison official and a former executive at a private contractor have been charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and commit perjury after they were accused of rigging a bid on a $123 million contract, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
In a lawsuit filed in 2020, Tennessee-based prison contractor Corizon claimed the Tennessee Department of Correction’s former chief financial officer, Wesley Landers, sent internal emails related to the behavioral health care contract to former Vice President Jeffrey Wells of rival company Centurion of Tennessee. Centurion won the contract, and Landers got a “cushy” job with a Centurion affiliate in Georgia, according to the lawsuit, which was settled in 2022.
A statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee announced on Tuesday criminal charges against Landers and Wells. Neither immediately responded to emails seeking comment.
Although the statement does not name Centurion and Corizon, it refers to the same accusations in Corizon’s lawsuit.
Corizon’s lawsuit accused Landers of sending internal Tennessee Department of Correction communications to a home Gmail account and then forwarding them to Wells, including a draft of the request for proposals for the new contract that had not been made public.
Meanwhile, the performance bond on the behavioral health contract was increased from $1 million to $118 million, effectively putting the contract out of reach of the smaller Corizon, which had won the two previous bids. The lawsuit also accused state officials of increasing the contract award to $123 million after Centurion secured it because the cost of obtaining a $118 million performance bond was so high it would eat into Centurion’s profits. Behavioral health services includes psychiatric and addiction services.
Centurion fired Wells and Landers in February 2021, according to the lawsuit.
In the Tuesday statement, federal prosecutors said Landers and Wells conspired to cover up their collusion after Corizon sued and issued subpoenas for communications between the two. Landers used a special program to delete emails, and both obtained new cellphones to discuss how to hide information and lied in their depositions, according to the statement. If convicted, both men face up to five years in federal prison.
Judge finds man incompetent to stand trial in fatal shooting of officer
CLEVELAND (AP) — A man charged in the fatal shooting of a Cleveland police officer has been found incompetent to stand trial.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Ashley Kilbane issued the ruling Monday. She said De’Lawnte Hardy, 25, of Cleveland, will be hospitalized indefinitely and could eventually stand trial if he improves. Hardy remains jailed on $10 million bail.
Hardy killed Jamieson Ritter on July 4 as he and other Cleveland officers attempted to arrest him on a felonious assault warrant, authorities have said. The charge stemmed from a shooting days earlier that wounded Hardy’s 63-year-old grandmother, who was shot in the head and later died from her injuries.
After a standoff with police at a Cleveland home, Hardy tried to flee on a bicycle and fired four shots at the officers, authorities have said. Ritter, a four-year veteran of the force, was struck by one shot and died a short time later at a hospital.
California
Man pleads not guilty to setting fire that exploded into huge wildfire
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (AP) — A California man has pleaded not guilty to starting a fire that authorities said ballooned into a massive wildfire and forced the evacuation of thousands of homes.
Online court records show Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, entered the plea from jail in a video arraignment Tuesday in the San Bernardino city of Rancho Cucamonga. He was denied bail and appointed an attorney, the records show.
Halstenberg’s next court appearance is set for Monday. An email message was sent to the attorney listed on his behalf.
Halstenberg is charged with 11 arson-related crimes, the records show. Authorities said the delivery driver from the town of Norco attempted to start three fires within an hour — two that were extinguished by firefighters and a good Samaritan and a third that became the Line Fire, which has charred 61 square miles (158 square kilometers) in the mountains east of Los Angeles.
Authorities have said Halstenberg’s vehicle has been tied to areas where the fires were started on Sept. 5.
The Line Fire threatened more than 65,000 homes and injured four firefighters. It is one of three wildfires that exploded across Southern California this month following a triple-digit heat wave.
Florida
Authorities arrest relative of King of Jordan and 3 others for $1M insider-trading plot
MIAMI (AP) — Authorities charged four men, including a relative of the King of Jordan, for conspiring to make insider stock trades on a business acquired by one of South Florida’s major publicly held companies, MasTec.
Federico Nannini, 26; his father, Mauro Nannini, 63; and two of his friends, Alejandro Thermiotis, 26; and Francisco Tonarely, 25, were arrested Friday and charged in a federal indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and 24 related offenses, The Miami Herald reported.
Thermiotis is the King of Jordan’s relative. Thermiotis’ brother, Jameel, married King Abdulla’s daughter, Princess Iman, last year. The Jordanian Royal Palace did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the four defendants shared confidential information within a close circle of family and friends, and used it to buy shares at a lower price and then turn a $1 million profit after the information became public.
The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed a parallel civil lawsuit against them in Miami federal court. All four had their first court appearances on Friday.
Federal authorities said the alleged scheme began in June 2022 when Federico Nannini, a consultant, began advising MasTec on its planned acquisition of Indiana-based Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives.
MasTec is an engineering and construction company based in Coral Gables, Florida, that provides infrastructure services for the energy, utility and communications industries.
Federico Nannini then started sharing the confidential information with his father, Mauro Nannini, and Thermiotis, a close friend, according to the indictment. Federico Nannini, Thermiotis and Tonarely went to Gulliver Preparatory School together in Pinecrest, Florida, a suburban village in Miami-Dade County.
Mauro Nannini bought shares in Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives the day after his son got access to the financial information about the proposed MasTec acquisition, the indictment said.
Thermiotis also passed along the insider information about the deal to Tonarely.
As the MasTec acquisition progressed, Federico Nannini continued to update his father and close friend, Thermiotis, about the deal. In turn, Thermiotis continued to share the insider information with Tonarely, prosecutors said.
At one point in July 2022, when Federico Nannini became worried the acquisition would not go through, Mauro Nannini sold his IEA stock, according to the indictment.
When Federico Nannini received confidential financials that indicated the acquisition was going forward, he texted Thermiotis, who responded.
At that point, Mauro Nannini began to buy back his position in IEA stock and options, the indictment said.
When MasTec’s acquisition of IEA was reported publicly on July 25, 2022, Mauro Nannini, Thermiotis, and Tonarely all sold their shares and option contracts in IEA at a profit.
A conviction for conspiracy to commit securities fraud carries up to five years in prison, while a conviction on the related 24 securities fraud charges carries maximum penalties of 20 to 25 years imprisonment.
New York
MrBeast and Amazon sued by competitors from his $5M reality show over alleged ‘unsafe’ conditions
NEW YORK (AP) — MrBeast is accused of creating “unsafe” employment conditions, including sexual harassment, and misrepresenting contestants’ odds at winning his new Amazon reality show’s $5 million grand prize in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by five unnamed participants.
The filing alleges that the multimillion-dollar company behind YouTube’s most popular channel failed to provide minimum wages, overtime pay, uninterrupted meal breaks and rest time for competitors — whose “work on the show was the entertainment product” sold by MrBeast.
A spokesperson for MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, told The Associated Press in an email that he had no comment on the new lawsuit.
Donaldson’s “Beast Games” was touted as the “biggest reality competition.” It was supposed to put the North Carolina content creator in front of audiences beyond the YouTube platform where his record 316 million subscribers routinely watch his whimsical challenges that often carry lavish gifts of direct cash.
But its initial Las Vegas shoot began facing criticism before it even wrapped. Donaldson’s companies cast 2,000 people in an initial tryout this July where half could advance to the actual show’s filming in Toronto.
Contestants only learned upon their arrival that the Las Vegas pool surpassed 1,000 competitors, according to the lawsuit, which significantly reducing their chances of victory. The lawsuit argues the “false advertising” violated California business laws that prohibit sweepstakes operators from “misrepresenting in any manner the odds of winning any prize.”
The five anonymous competitors also said that “limited sustenance” and “insufficient medical staffing” endangered their health.
The filing alleges that production staff created a “toxic” work environment for women who faced “sexual harassment” throughout the contest. Those sections are heavily redacted in an effort to comply with “confidentiality provisions” signed by the competitors, according to a press release from their lawyers.
The lawsuit adds to the complaints — circulated by online influencers in the shoot’s immediate aftermath — that an unorganized set had left some contestants injured and lacking in regular access to food and medication. Other participants have told AP they received two light meals each day and MrBeast branded chocolate bars.
MrBeast’s team also faces new accusations they “knowingly misclassified” the contestants’ employment status to the Nevada Film Commission in order to receive a state tax credit for more than $2 million.
Among other forms of relief, the five competitors seek an order that MrBeast institute “workplace reforms” and awards “all wages owed.”
Last month, amid several public relations crises, Donaldson ordered a full assessment of his YouTube empire’s internal culture and outlined plans to require company-wide sensitivity training.
No more details have been divulged and no date has been publicized for the reality game show’s release.
Tennessee
Official and exec accused of rigging bid on a $123M contract charged
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A former Tennessee prison official and a former executive at a private contractor have been charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and commit perjury after they were accused of rigging a bid on a $123 million contract, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
In a lawsuit filed in 2020, Tennessee-based prison contractor Corizon claimed the Tennessee Department of Correction’s former chief financial officer, Wesley Landers, sent internal emails related to the behavioral health care contract to former Vice President Jeffrey Wells of rival company Centurion of Tennessee. Centurion won the contract, and Landers got a “cushy” job with a Centurion affiliate in Georgia, according to the lawsuit, which was settled in 2022.
A statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee announced on Tuesday criminal charges against Landers and Wells. Neither immediately responded to emails seeking comment.
Although the statement does not name Centurion and Corizon, it refers to the same accusations in Corizon’s lawsuit.
Corizon’s lawsuit accused Landers of sending internal Tennessee Department of Correction communications to a home Gmail account and then forwarding them to Wells, including a draft of the request for proposals for the new contract that had not been made public.
Meanwhile, the performance bond on the behavioral health contract was increased from $1 million to $118 million, effectively putting the contract out of reach of the smaller Corizon, which had won the two previous bids. The lawsuit also accused state officials of increasing the contract award to $123 million after Centurion secured it because the cost of obtaining a $118 million performance bond was so high it would eat into Centurion’s profits. Behavioral health services includes psychiatric and addiction services.
Centurion fired Wells and Landers in February 2021, according to the lawsuit.
In the Tuesday statement, federal prosecutors said Landers and Wells conspired to cover up their collusion after Corizon sued and issued subpoenas for communications between the two. Landers used a special program to delete emails, and both obtained new cellphones to discuss how to hide information and lied in their depositions, according to the statement. If convicted, both men face up to five years in federal prison.
