An audit of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office revealed over $1.3 million in misappropriated funds during fiscal year 2024. The losses stem from three incidents: a major wire fraud case, payroll fraud, and a cash skimming scheme. JPSO management is implementing new procedures to prevent future abuses.

The Center Square reports:

An audit of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office revealed more than $1.3 million in misappropriated public funds during fiscal year 2024, according to findings submitted by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office.

The losses stem from three separate incidents, including a major wire fraud case, payroll fraud, and a cash skimming scheme inside the parish correctional facility.

The largest incident involved more than $1.1 million in fraudulent wire transfers after malicious actors compromised the email server of a government agency JPSO regularly assists.

The attackers used an employee’s email address to submit a fake change request for bank account information. JPSO personnel accepted the request without verification and updated payment details in the agency’s online banking platform, resulting in multiple unauthorized transfers to an unrelated account.

So far, about $293,000 of the $1.1 million has been recovered. The matter has been referred to the U.S. Secret Service for further investigation.

Auditors attributed the fraud to JPSO’s failure to follow proper procedures for verifying bank account changes, in violation of Article 7, Section 14 of the Louisiana Constitution. The audit recommends that JPSO implement a policy requiring secondary confirmation of any such requests.

In a separate case, an employee at the correctional center was found to have submitted false overtime hours through the parish’s timekeeping system, resulting in $83,972 in improper payments.

The employee has since been terminated, arrested, and charged with theft under Louisiana law. Auditors faulted weak oversight in the overtime approval process and urged the agency to strengthen controls.

A third incident involved another corrections employee who skimmed $130,830 in cash receipts paid by individuals seeking to bail out inmates. That employee was also terminated, arrested, and charged under the same law.

In each case, JPSO management said it is implementing new procedures to prevent future abuses and ensure compliance with state law. The audit findings highlight ongoing concerns about financial controls within the sheriff’s office, particularly in high-cash or high-volume transaction areas.

In one week, U.S. attorneys in Texas filed over 500 border crime cases, primarily against individuals with prior convictions for narcotics, violent, sexual, or immigration offenses. The cases include charges for illegal reentry, human smuggling, firearms possession, and assaulting federal officers. Many of the defendants are repeat offenders with multiple deportations and criminal histories.

The Center Square reports:

As illegal border crossings drop to new lows under the Trump administration, prosecutors are filing a record number of cases against illegal foreign nationals in the interior of the U.S., with the bulk being filed in Texas.

In one week, U.S. attorneys in Texas filed more than 500 border crime cases, the most of any region or state.

In the Southern District of Texas, U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei’s office filed 225 cases in one week. The majority charged have felony convictions for narcotics, violent and/or sexual crimes or prior immigration offenses, according to his office. More than half, 144, face charges for illegal reentry; nine involve human smuggling; others include firearms and assaulting federal officer charges.

Among them are two men charged with “alien smuggling” resulting in two deaths, including the drowning of a 14-year-old. If convicted, they face up to life in prison or the death penalty. In one of his first executive orders, Trump directed the U.S. attorney general to instruct federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for border crimes that resulted in death, The Center Square reported.

Others include two Salvadoran men identified as potential MS-13 gang members, one of whom is a convicted felon. Another Salvadorian national charged is a convicted sex offender previously sentenced to 60 months for second degree sexual assault, according to Ganjei’s office.

Another illegal foreign national is facing charges for allegedly assaulting two Border Patrol agents; he has four prior convictions for illegal reentry after removal, according to Ganjei’s office.

In another case, a Mexican national is facing charges of trafficking firearms after he was caught attempting to transport a 9 mm handgun and nearly 2,000 rounds of ammunition to Mexico through Brownsville. In another case, a repeat offender illegally living in Harlingen was sentence to 33 months in federal prison for illegal reentry with a criminal history of DWIs, assault family violence, criminal mischief, possession of a controlled substance, previous removals and illegal reentries.

In Corpus Christi, a Mexican national with 7 DWIs and conviction of battery was sentenced to 24 months in prison after having been removed from the country three times between 2012 and 2023. After illegally reentering again, he was arrested in August 2024, along with 10 others who were allegedly being smuggled in a commercial cargo trailer.

In another case, an illegal foreign national was convicted of human smuggling leading to death and now faces life in prison. In another case, a Mexican citizen illegally living in San Benito was indicted for allegedly committing identity theft and impersonating a U.S. citizen to apply for a U.S. passport. If convicted, she faces up to 15 years in prison.

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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost appealed a ruling declaring the state’s ban on puberty blockers for minors unconstitutional. The ruling blocked the ban on puberty blockers but left in place bans on gender-affirming surgeries and boys playing girls’ sports.

The Center Square reports:

State Attorney General Dave Yost took his fight to keep the state’s ban on puberty blockers in place to the Ohio Supreme Court.

After an appeals court failed to issue a stay to its ruling that ruled the ban unconstitutional, Yost wants the state’s higher court to leave the law in place while he continues to appeal.

Yost filed his second motion for a stay late Thursday.

“This fight is far from over – and until it is, there’s no sense in toggling the law on and off like a light switch,” Yost said in a statement. “With the case now in the hands of the Ohio Supreme Court, we believe the law remains in effect as the case moves forward. We hope that the Ohio Supreme Court will confirm that, so there’s no doubt that our children remain protected.”

The 10th District Court of Appeals denial of Yost’s first motion for a stay leaves a Franklin County Court of Common Pleas injunction stopping part of House Bill 68 from taking effect.

Yost appealed that ruling and lost in the 10th District. He’s appealing the injunction to the Supreme Court.

“We look forward to showing once again that the Legislature acted properly in enacting this constitutional law, which protects our children from irreversible medical decisions,” Yost said. “I remain confident that the law will be upheld.”

The court blocked the provision that banned puberty blockers and other prescription drugs for minors. It left in place a ban on gender-affirming surgeries for minors and a ban on boys playing girls sports.

The lawsuit, filed a year ago by two sets of parents with help from the ACLU, did not challenge House Bill 68’s provisions that banned gender-affirming surgery for minors and males playing female sports.

The ruling said the state does not ban the same drugs when used for other reasons, which makes the ban inequitable. It also said the ban interferes with parents’ rights to make health care decisions for their children.