New York
Popular NYC SantaCon charity fundraiser was more con than Kris Kringle, authorities say
NEW YORK (AP) — A popular SantaCon charity fundraiser that floods New York City with thousands of inebriated young people in red and white Santa costumes every holiday season was true to its name: a con, federal authorities said as they arrested its organizer.
Stefan Pildes, 50, of Hewitt, New Jersey, was arrested on Wednesday and awaited an appearance in Manhattan federal court, where an indictment charging him with wire fraud was unsealed.
Federal authorities said he donated only a small fraction of the $2.7 million he raised through SantaCon charity events from 2019 to 2024. The tradition featured a ticketed bar crawl through city streets each December that has attracted over 25,000 people dressed as holiday-themed characters.
Authorities said he siphoned more than half of the proceeds raised each year to an entity he controlled so that he could finance personal needs, including renovations to a lakefront property in New Jersey, concert tickets, luxury vacations in Hawaii and Las Vegas, extravagant meals and a luxury vehicle.
According to an indictment, Pildes spent much of the money on himself even though he claimed he received no compensation from the event.
“Instead of donating the millions of dollars he raised, he ran his own con game,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a news release.
Pildes was president and controlled Participatory Safety Inc., the nonprofit entity that organized SantaCon, authorities said.
South Korea
Seoul court sentences U.S. YouTuber to 6 months over offensive stunts
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An American YouTuber who sparked national outrage in South Korea for provocative stunts, including dancing on a statue honoring victims of wartime sexual slavery, was sentenced to six months in prison by a Seoul court on Wednesday.
The Seoul Western District Court found Ramsey Khalid Ismael, a self-proclaimed internet “troll” known online as Johnny Somali, guilty of multiple charges, including obstruction of business and distributing fabricated sexually explicit content.
Prosecutors had sought a three-year term for Ismael, who also faced accusations of harassing staff and visitors at an amusement park, disrupting a convenience store by blasting music and upending noodles onto a table, causing similar scenes on a bus and subway, and distributing non-consensual deepfake videos.
The court said the 25-year-old displayed “severe” disrespect for South Korean law, noting that he offended countless people with livestreamed stunts aimed at generating YouTube revenue. The court ordered his immediate detention following the verdict, citing him as a flight risk.
In October 2024, Somali sparked public outrage in South Korea after posting a video of himself kissing and performing a lap dance on a statue commemorating victims of the Japanese military’s sexual slavery during World War II. He later apologized, claiming he was unaware of the monument’s significance.
Ismael, who was barred from leaving the country pending his trial, earlier told local reporters that he regretted his actions and wished to apologize to the South Korean public.
Washington
Federal prosecutors turned away from Federal Reserve building, as Trump threatens to fire Powell
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors made an unannounced visit this week to a construction site at Federal Reserve headquarters that is the focus of an investigation into a $2.5 billion renovation project, according to two people familiar with the visit.
Two prosecutors and an investigator from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office were turned away on Tuesday by a building contractor and referred to Fed attorneys, one of the people said. The two people familiar with the visit spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation.
Last month, during a closed-door hearing before a federal judge, a top deputy from Pirro’s office conceded that they hadn’t found any evidence of a crime in their investigation of the headquarters project.
The investigation has faced bipartisan opposition in Congress. It also has delayed Senate consideration of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Fed chairman Jerome Powell when his term ends May 15.
Robert Hur, an attorney for the Federal Reserve board of governors, sent an email to Pirro’s prosecutors about their visit and their request for a “tour” to “check on progress” at the construction site. Hur’s email, which The Associated Press has viewed, noted that U.S. District Judge James Boasberg concluded that their interest in the Federal Reserve’s renovation project was “pretextual.”
“Should you wish to challenge that finding, the courts provide an avenue for you; it is not appropriate for you to try to circumvent it,” Hur wrote.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who is a key member of the Senate Banking Committee, posted a link on social media to The Wall Street Journal’s article on the visit below an image of the Three Stooges and wrote, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. at the crime scene.”
The investigation by Pirro’s office centered on brief testimony last June by Powell before the Senate Banking Committee, when he was asked about cost overruns on the Fed’s extensive building renovations. The most recent estimates from the Fed suggest the current estimated cost of $2.5 billion is about $600 million higher than a 2022 estimate of $1.9 billion.
News of the unannounced visit by prosecutors comes as Trump has again threatened to fire Powell, if the Federal Reserve Chair decides to stay on the central bank’s governing board after his term as chair expires next month.
“Well then I’ll have to fire him, OK?” Trump told Fox Business in an interview that aired Wednesday when reminded that Powell has said he won’t leave the Fed while the Justice Department investigates a $2.5 billion renovation project at the bank.
Trump has for months wanted to remove Powell as chair of the Fed, saying he has been too slow in orchestrating interest rate cuts that would give the U.S. economy a quick boost. Powell has said the investigation is a pretext to undermine the Fed’s independence to set rates.
Powell’s term as Fed governor expires May 15, but his term as a Fed board member lasts until January 2028.
Warsh’s confirmation to succeed Powell has been delayed. Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, has said he won’t vote to confirm any Fed nominees until the investigation is dropped.
Popular NYC SantaCon charity fundraiser was more con than Kris Kringle, authorities say
NEW YORK (AP) — A popular SantaCon charity fundraiser that floods New York City with thousands of inebriated young people in red and white Santa costumes every holiday season was true to its name: a con, federal authorities said as they arrested its organizer.
Stefan Pildes, 50, of Hewitt, New Jersey, was arrested on Wednesday and awaited an appearance in Manhattan federal court, where an indictment charging him with wire fraud was unsealed.
Federal authorities said he donated only a small fraction of the $2.7 million he raised through SantaCon charity events from 2019 to 2024. The tradition featured a ticketed bar crawl through city streets each December that has attracted over 25,000 people dressed as holiday-themed characters.
Authorities said he siphoned more than half of the proceeds raised each year to an entity he controlled so that he could finance personal needs, including renovations to a lakefront property in New Jersey, concert tickets, luxury vacations in Hawaii and Las Vegas, extravagant meals and a luxury vehicle.
According to an indictment, Pildes spent much of the money on himself even though he claimed he received no compensation from the event.
“Instead of donating the millions of dollars he raised, he ran his own con game,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a news release.
Pildes was president and controlled Participatory Safety Inc., the nonprofit entity that organized SantaCon, authorities said.
South Korea
Seoul court sentences U.S. YouTuber to 6 months over offensive stunts
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An American YouTuber who sparked national outrage in South Korea for provocative stunts, including dancing on a statue honoring victims of wartime sexual slavery, was sentenced to six months in prison by a Seoul court on Wednesday.
The Seoul Western District Court found Ramsey Khalid Ismael, a self-proclaimed internet “troll” known online as Johnny Somali, guilty of multiple charges, including obstruction of business and distributing fabricated sexually explicit content.
Prosecutors had sought a three-year term for Ismael, who also faced accusations of harassing staff and visitors at an amusement park, disrupting a convenience store by blasting music and upending noodles onto a table, causing similar scenes on a bus and subway, and distributing non-consensual deepfake videos.
The court said the 25-year-old displayed “severe” disrespect for South Korean law, noting that he offended countless people with livestreamed stunts aimed at generating YouTube revenue. The court ordered his immediate detention following the verdict, citing him as a flight risk.
In October 2024, Somali sparked public outrage in South Korea after posting a video of himself kissing and performing a lap dance on a statue commemorating victims of the Japanese military’s sexual slavery during World War II. He later apologized, claiming he was unaware of the monument’s significance.
Ismael, who was barred from leaving the country pending his trial, earlier told local reporters that he regretted his actions and wished to apologize to the South Korean public.
Washington
Federal prosecutors turned away from Federal Reserve building, as Trump threatens to fire Powell
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors made an unannounced visit this week to a construction site at Federal Reserve headquarters that is the focus of an investigation into a $2.5 billion renovation project, according to two people familiar with the visit.
Two prosecutors and an investigator from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office were turned away on Tuesday by a building contractor and referred to Fed attorneys, one of the people said. The two people familiar with the visit spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation.
Last month, during a closed-door hearing before a federal judge, a top deputy from Pirro’s office conceded that they hadn’t found any evidence of a crime in their investigation of the headquarters project.
The investigation has faced bipartisan opposition in Congress. It also has delayed Senate consideration of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Fed chairman Jerome Powell when his term ends May 15.
Robert Hur, an attorney for the Federal Reserve board of governors, sent an email to Pirro’s prosecutors about their visit and their request for a “tour” to “check on progress” at the construction site. Hur’s email, which The Associated Press has viewed, noted that U.S. District Judge James Boasberg concluded that their interest in the Federal Reserve’s renovation project was “pretextual.”
“Should you wish to challenge that finding, the courts provide an avenue for you; it is not appropriate for you to try to circumvent it,” Hur wrote.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who is a key member of the Senate Banking Committee, posted a link on social media to The Wall Street Journal’s article on the visit below an image of the Three Stooges and wrote, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. at the crime scene.”
The investigation by Pirro’s office centered on brief testimony last June by Powell before the Senate Banking Committee, when he was asked about cost overruns on the Fed’s extensive building renovations. The most recent estimates from the Fed suggest the current estimated cost of $2.5 billion is about $600 million higher than a 2022 estimate of $1.9 billion.
News of the unannounced visit by prosecutors comes as Trump has again threatened to fire Powell, if the Federal Reserve Chair decides to stay on the central bank’s governing board after his term as chair expires next month.
“Well then I’ll have to fire him, OK?” Trump told Fox Business in an interview that aired Wednesday when reminded that Powell has said he won’t leave the Fed while the Justice Department investigates a $2.5 billion renovation project at the bank.
Trump has for months wanted to remove Powell as chair of the Fed, saying he has been too slow in orchestrating interest rate cuts that would give the U.S. economy a quick boost. Powell has said the investigation is a pretext to undermine the Fed’s independence to set rates.
Powell’s term as Fed governor expires May 15, but his term as a Fed board member lasts until January 2028.
Warsh’s confirmation to succeed Powell has been delayed. Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, has said he won’t vote to confirm any Fed nominees until the investigation is dropped.
