WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors closed out a busy stretch of June with a national-security disruption at the center of the docket: the FBI says it has now arrested seven people in connection with an alleged plot to attack a championship event on the White House grounds. Beyond that case, the Justice Department’s recent record reflects the priorities its leadership has emphasized in 2026 — terrorism financing, violent-crime racketeering, large-scale health care fraud, and recovery of pandemic-relief dollars. This edition of DOJ Watch summarizes seven notable enforcement actions drawn directly from Department press releases and court filings. Each remains, where charges are pending, an allegation; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
1. FBI disrupts alleged drone-and-sniper plot targeting White House UFC event
The Justice Department announced on June 22 that the FBI had arrested two additional men in what it described as a “fast-moving” investigation into a plot to attack the June 14 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) “Freedom 250” event held at the White House. According to the Department, William Lee Spartacus Falkner was arrested June 19 and charged by criminal complaint in the Western District of Washington with conspiracy to commit murder, while Jordan W. Rincker, 28, of St. Joseph, Missouri, was arrested June 21 and charged with the same offense in the Western District of Missouri.
Court filings cited by prosecutors allege that the conspirators planned to fly explosive-laden drones at one side of the event to drive attendees toward the other side, where co-conspirators armed with sniper rifles would be positioned. The complaint states that investigators first learned of the plot when the parents of an Ohio co-conspirator alerted police to their son’s weapons purchases and online activity. One of those arrested allegedly told investigators the goal was “to cause enough chaos to bring about the overthrow of the U.S. government.” A search of Rincker’s home and storage unit recovered multiple firearms, 3D-printed gun parts, ballistic plates, night-vision equipment, and an off-grid mesh communications network, according to the Department.
“Law enforcement continues to do what it does — move to disrupt and hold accountable those allegedly plotting to do harm,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. FBI Director Kash Patel said the multi-state operation “prevented” the threat. The charge of conspiracy to commit murder carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. The Department emphasized that the charges are accusations only. Read the release: Justice.gov, June 22, 2026.
2. San Diego man charged with funneling roughly $600,000 to Hamas through a fake charity
On June 17, the Department unsealed a five-count complaint charging Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi, 38, of San Diego, with conspiring to provide material support to Hamas, sanctions evasion under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, wire-fraud conspiracy, money-laundering conspiracy, and false statements. Filings indicate Sabassi used a purported charity, Ikram — The Arab Charity Foundation Inc., and coordinated with the Hamas-linked fundraising network “Gaza Now” to solicit donations he represented as humanitarian aid for Gaza.
According to the complaint, between approximately December 2023 and February 2024 Sabassi raised about $600,000 through online campaigns, sent roughly $116,000 to a Hamas member, and attempted to convert approximately $382,000 into cryptocurrency for transfer to Hamas. Prosecutors allege he created an hour-long propaganda video of the October 7, 2023, attacks and posted it to his social media accounts. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control had designated Gaza Now and two of Sabassi’s alleged co-conspirators as Specially Designated Global Terrorists in March 2024.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, with the Justice Department’s National Security Division and the FBI. “NSD will investigate and prosecute those who fund terrorism,” said Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg. Four of the five counts each carry a maximum of 20 years; the false-statement count carries up to five. The allegations are unproven. Source: Justice.gov, June 17, 2026.
3. Twenty-six charged in Rhode Island racketeering indictment
A federal indictment unsealed June 18 charges 26 individuals in connection with what prosecutors describe as a criminal enterprise built around Providence-area street gangs, including the “East Side” and “Congress” gangs. Twenty-three defendants are charged with racketeering conspiracy and three with related offenses. Court documents allege the enterprise operated since at least 2013 across Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls.
The indictment alleges a pattern that included murder, attempted murder, robbery, firearms offenses, and trafficking in fentanyl, cocaine, cocaine base, marijuana, and Percocet. Notably for a violent-crime case, prosecutors also allege the enterprise engaged in fraud schemes targeting unemployment-insurance benefits, COVID-19 relief programs, and tax filings — a reminder that benefits fraud and street-level violence increasingly intersect. The investigation involved the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Providence Police Department, the Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles C. Calenda announced the charges, which the Department situated within its “Operation Take Back America” initiative. All defendants are presumed innocent. Source: Justice.gov, June 18, 2026.
4. Fraud Division reports more than $1 billion in actions; HealthSplash owner convicted
The Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division — created April 7, 2026 — announced on May 15 that prosecutors had secured more than $1 billion in fraud enforcement actions for the second straight week. The headline result: a federal jury in the Southern District of Florida convicted the founder and owner of HealthSplash for operating a platform that, according to the Department, generated false doctors’ orders and prescriptions to defraud Medicare and other programs, billing more than $1 billion for unnecessary equipment.
The same release catalogued a string of additional outcomes that illustrate the breadth of federal fraud enforcement: an Illinois tax preparer convicted of an $11 million pandemic-unemployment scheme; a former Labor Department employee who pleaded guilty in Boston to fraudulently obtaining pandemic benefits; a Utah podiatrist and two nurses charged in an alleged $29 million Medicare “skin substitute” scheme; a Danish researcher and HHS-OIG most-wanted fugitive arraigned over more than $1 million in allegedly stolen CDC grant money; and a Hong Kong financial-firm executive who pleaded guilty to helping U.S. clients conceal more than $60 million offshore.
“Prosecutors throughout the Department secured trial convictions of multiple defendants who ran fraud schemes totaling over a billion dollars,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald. The Department said the division’s work supports a government-wide Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. Where matters remain charged rather than adjudicated, they are allegations. Source: Justice.gov, May 15, 2026.
5. South Carolina recovers $7.9 million in PPP false-claims settlements
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina announced on May 28 that it had entered settlements totaling more than $7.9 million to resolve allegations that several companies violated the False Claims Act by misrepresenting their employee headcount to obtain Paycheck Protection Program loans for which they were ineligible. Under PPP rules, businesses generally had to count employees of U.S. and foreign affiliates; firms above the program’s size thresholds did not qualify.
Settling companies included EuWe Eugen Wexler US Plastics Inc. ($2,175,000), Mankiewicz Coatings, LLC ($1,850,000), Fukoku America, Inc. ($1,800,000), AWL Automation, LLC ($1,100,000), and Stoba USA Corp. ($993,784.86). In each instance, records indicate, the U.S. subsidiary certified a headcount that excluded a larger foreign parent and its affiliates. Several settlements resolved whistleblower (qui tam) suits, and relators received a share of the recoveries.
“These settlements reflect our commitment to protecting taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Bryan P. Stirling, who noted the recoveries came in the first five months of 2026. The Department stated that the resolved claims are allegations only and that there has been no determination of liability. Source: Justice.gov, May 28, 2026.
6. Operation Iron Pursuit: 350-plus child-exploitation arrests nationwide
The Department announced on May 5 the results of Operation Iron Pursuit, a one-month enforcement effort running April 1–30 in which, it said, more than 200 child victims were located and more than 350 child sexual-abuse offenders were arrested. The Department reported that all 56 FBI field offices and U.S. Attorney’s offices participated in the coordinated takedown.
Those arrested are alleged to have committed offenses ranging from sexual exploitation and trafficking to the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material; the Department highlighted individual cases in Ohio, the District of Columbia, New York, and Pennsylvania. Officials framed the operation as the latest in a series that included Operation Relentless Justice in December 2025 and Operation Restore Justice in May 2025.
“This operation puts every child predator on notice,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. FBI Director Kash Patel said the Bureau and its partners had identified and rescued more than 6,300 missing children over the prior year. Charges against those arrested remain allegations pending adjudication. Source: Justice.gov, May 5, 2026.
7. Adobe agrees to $150 million settlement over subscription-cancellation practices
On the civil-enforcement side, the Department filed a proposed stipulated order in March to resolve a case against Adobe Inc. and two of its executives, Maninder Sawhney and David Wadhwani, over alleged violations of the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA). If entered by the court, the order requires Adobe to pay $75 million in civil penalties and provide $75 million in free services to customers.
The government alleged that Adobe used fine print and inconspicuous hyperlinks to obscure key subscription terms — including a substantial early-termination fee — and made cancellation unnecessarily difficult. “Consumers should not have to navigate a digital maze to cancel a subscription,” said U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian for the Northern District of California. The matter was handled by the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection enforcers in coordination with the Federal Trade Commission. The settlement is a proposed resolution and does not constitute an admission of the allegations. Source: Justice.gov, March 13, 2026.
Cases that warrant deeper TIJ investigation
Three threads from this cycle merit continued scrutiny. First, the scope of the alleged White House-event plot: with seven arrests now spanning Washington, Missouri, Ohio, Nebraska, and California, filings raise questions about how large the network was, what role 3D-printed firearms and off-grid mesh networks played, and whether additional participants remain at large. Because the matter is charged by complaint, the public record will sharpen as indictments and detention filings follow.
Second, the HealthSplash conviction points to a recurring “false doctors’ orders” business model behind many billion-dollar Medicare cases; the sentencing record and any related corporate exposure are worth tracking. Third, South Carolina’s PPP settlements — built on the affiliate-headcount rule — read as a template that could expose other multinational subsidiaries to False Claims Act liability as the Department’s pandemic-fraud initiative continues.
Editorial note on standards: Every factual claim above is sourced to a public Department of Justice release or court filing, linked inline. Pending charges are identified as allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent. Civil settlements resolve claims without an admission or determination of liability. Companies and individuals named in pending matters retain the right of reply; TIJ will update this digest with any responses provided.