News
Reality TV Stars Face Up to 20 Years in Prison for Tax Fraud
Reality TV stars Todd, and Julie Chrisley were motivated by greed when they engaged in a massive bank fraud tax evasion scheme, concealing their wealth from tax authorities. According to federal prosecutors, they flaunted their lavish lifestyle, arguing that reality TV stars should face lengthy prison sentences.
The Chrisleys rose to prominence through their show “Chrisley Knows Best,” which follows their close-knit, boisterous family. They were convicted on federal charges in June and will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross in a hearing that begins Monday and is expected to last Tuesday.
According to the Associated Press, federal prosecutors determined the upper end of the sentencing guideline range for Todd Chrisley is nearly 22 years and about 12 and a half years for Julie Chrisley using a process that calculates a sentencing guideline range based on several factors. Prosecutors wrote in court that the couple should be ordered to pay restitution.
“The Chrisleys have built an empire on the lie that their wealth was earned through hard work and dedication,” prosecutors wrote. “The unanimous verdict establishes the truth: Todd and Julie Chrisley are career swindlers who have made a living by hopping from one fraud scheme to the next, lying to banks, stiffing vendors, and evading taxes at every turn.”
TV Stars Found Guilty
The Chrisleys disagree with the government’s calculation of guidelines. Todd Chrisley’s attorneys argued in a filing that he should not be sentenced to more than nine years in prison and that the judge should sentence him below the guidelines’ lower end. Julie Chrisley’s attorneys wrote that probation with special conditions and no prison time would be a reasonable sentence for her.
In June, the Chrisleys were both found guilty of bank fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy to defraud the IRS. Julie Chrisley was also found guilty of wire fraud and obstructing the administration of justice.
The couple’s accountant, Peter Tarantino, was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the IRS and willfully filing false tax returns. He will be sentenced alongside the Chrisleys.
According to prosecutors, the couple submitted forged documents to banks and obtained more than $30 million in fraudulent loans. When Todd Chrisley declared bankruptcy, they walked away from their obligation to repay the loans once that scheme fell apart.
While in bankruptcy, they began their reality show and “promoted their wealth and lifestyle to the American public,” according to prosecutors. When they started making millions of dollars from their show, they hid the money from the IRS to avoid paying taxes.
Fraud and obstructive behaviour
Prosecutors wrote that the Chrisleys submitted a false document to a grand jury investigating their crimes and then convinced friends and family members to tell lies while testifying under oath during their trial. Prosecutors wrote that neither of them has shown any remorse and has instead blamed others for their own criminal behaviour.
Prosecutors wrote, “The Chrisleys are unique given the varied and wide-ranging scope of their fraudulent conduct and the extent to which they engaged in fraud and obstructive behaviour for a prolonged period of time.”
In a court filing, Todd Chrisley’s lawyers stated that the government never produced any evidence that he intended to defraud any of the banks and that the loss amount calculated by the government was incorrect.
They also pointed out that the offences he was convicted of occurred long ago. He has no serious criminal history and medical conditions that “would render incarceration disproportionately harsh,” they wrote.
Letters from friends and business associates demonstrating “a history of good deeds and striving to help others” were submitted by his lawyers.
TV Stars Seek Probation
According to his lawyers, people who rely on Chrisley, including his mother and the “scores of people” employed by his television shows, will suffer while he is imprisoned.
They urged the judge to sentence him to less than the guideline range, followed by supervised release and restitution.
Julie Chrisley’s attorneys stated in a filing that she played only a minor role in the conspiracy and was not present when the loans mentioned in sentencing documents were obtained.
Her lawyers requested a sentence of probation, restitution, and community service because she has no prior convictions, is an asset to her community, and has “extraordinary family obligations.”
The Chrisleys have three children, one of whom is 16 years old, and have full custody of Todd Chrisley’s son from a previous marriage’s 10-year-old daughter. According to the filing, Julie Chrisley is the primary caregiver for her ailing mother-in-law.
Her attorneys presented letters from family and friends demonstrating that she is “hardworking, unfailingly selfless, devoted to her family and friends, highly respected by all who know her, and strong of character.”
If the judge sentences both Chrisleys to prison, Julie Chrisley’s lawyers have asked that their sentences be staggered so that she can remain supervised until her husband’s sentence is completed or until their granddaughter turns 18.
VOR News
News
Australia Swelters Under Extreme Heat As Rare Early Cyclone Barrels Toward Northern Coast
A tropical cyclone has rapidly strengthened off Australia’s northern coast, as millions face heat wave conditions expected to last into the weekend.
According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, severe tropical storm Jasper strengthened to the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane on Friday, with maximum winds of 220 kilometers per hour (138 mph).
“Further intensification Friday is possible, and a category 5 system cannot be ruled out,” according to the country’s meteorology bureau.
According to a CNN investigation of National Hurricane Center storm tracks, Jasper is the earliest Category 4 tropical cyclone to form in the Coral Sea since records began in 1900.
The storm, which is 1,195 kilometers (742 miles) northeast of Queensland and moving south at 9 kilometers per hour (6 miles per hour), could hit the coast near Cairns, a city of 250,000 people, with maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour (87 miles per hour) by early Tuesday.
Forecasters believe the expected route could change.
Australia Swelters Under Extreme Heat As Rare Early Cyclone Barrels Toward Northern Coast
During El Nio, a climate trend in the Pacific Ocean along the equator that often reduces rainfall on Australia’s east coast, the storm arrives unusually early.
This year’s system has had an impact on weather all over the world, and it has the potential to significantly impact storm seasons.
Meanwhile, heat advisories are in effect in various states and territories, including New South Wales, which has a population of almost 8 million people.
Temperatures in Sydney, the state capital of New South Wales, are anticipated to reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday, thanks to strong, dry winds.
Due to the elevated risk of bushfires, some Sydney schools were forced to close on Friday, and a total fire ban was in effect in some parts of NSW.
On Friday, regions of South Australia received a “catastrophic” fire rating, the highest on the scale, indicating that lives and property are likely to be lost if a fire starts.
Parts of New South Wales and Victoria have extreme fire risk ratings.
The heat is expected to subside by the end of the weekend and into early next week.
With frequent heat waves, excessive rains, and destructive bushfires, Australia is one of the most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate catastrophe.
Earlier this year, amid Australia’s warmest winter since records began in 1910, more than 20 runners in the Sydney Marathon were hospitalized due to heat exhaustion.
Ski resorts, including the country’s largest, Perisher, also closed early owing to a lack of snow.
Fears were especially high because the devastating 2020 Black Summer fires, the country’s worst in decades, are still fresh in the minds of millions of Australians.
The fires consumed 10 million hectares (24.7 million acres), killing hundreds and destroying over 3,000 homes.
SOURCE – CNN
World
Azerbaijan And Armenia Agree To Prisoner Swap And To Work Towards Peace Deal
Azerbaijan and Armenia have agreed to exchange prisoners and work toward restoring relations and a peace agreement to end a decades-long conflict, which the US and EU have applauded.
According to a joint statement issued by Azerbaijan’s state news agency, AZERTAC, Azerbaijan will swap 32 prisoners of war for two military personnel.
“The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan both believe that there is a historical chance for the region to achieve long-awaited peace.” The two countries “reaffirm their intention to normalize relations and reach a peace treaty based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity,” according to the statement. The breakthrough resulted from conversations between the offices of Azerbaijan’s president and Armenia’s prime minister.
“An agreement has been reached on taking tangible steps towards building confidence between two countries,” the statement says.
Azerbaijan And Armenia Agree To Prisoner Swap And To Work Towards Peace Deal
According to Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the US State Department, the prisoner swap was “an important confidence-building measure” as the two countries worked toward a peace agreement.
“We commend Azerbaijani President (Ilham) Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister (Nikol) Pashinyan for their joint efforts to lay the groundwork for a more peaceful and prosperous future for the people of the South Caucasus,” the statement read. “The United States will continue to strongly support efforts to reach a durable and dignified peace.”
“Establishing and deepening the bilateral dialogue between sides has been a key objective of the EU-led Brussels process: today’s progress is a significant step,” said EU Council President Charles Michel on X. “I now encourage the leaders to finalize the … peace deal ASAP.”
The neighboring countries have been at odds for decades over Nagorno-Karabakh, an area in the Caucasus Mountains.
After mounting a quick 24-hour attack, Azerbaijan reclaimed control of Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic-Armenian enclave within its boundaries, in September.
Azerbaijan And Armenia Agree To Prisoner Swap And To Work Towards Peace Deal
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but has been controlled by Armenian rebels for decades. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over Nagorno-Karabakh, and cease-fire agreements have proven unstable.
Armenia admitted earlier this year that the province was part of Azerbaijan, but there are still disagreements about the future of its administration.
The latest progress on prisoner swaps and repairing relations came as delegates from both countries gathered in Dubai for the COP28 climate conference.
The statement also stated that Armenia would withdraw from consideration to host the annual UN-backed climate meeting next year and that Azerbaijan hoped other nations would support its bid.
Azerbaijan And Armenia Agree To Prisoner Swap And To Work Towards Peace Deal
There is a vacancy for the summit host for COP29 in 2024, which, according to UN standards, should be hosted in Eastern Europe. Before Thursday, the two countries had been obstructing each other’s candidacy in the voting process.
A vote among the region’s nations determines the year’s host country. Russia voted against numerous countries that are members of or allies of the European Union.
Azerbaijan is a big oil and gas producer that has been strengthening ties with Russia. Oil and gas account for about half of the country’s GDP and over 90% of its exports.
SOURCE – (CNN)
U.K News
Ukraine Makes New Push To Defeat Russia’s Electronic Warfare
A drone video that appeared to show a targeted strike blowing up three antennas on the roof of an apartment building surfaced online in early November. The Ukrainian drone commander who shared it claimed to have destroyed a Russian Pole-21 electronic warfare equipment near Donetsk on the eastern front.
Regarding electronic warfare, Ukraine is already catching up to Russia.
This attack also demonstrates Kyiv’s urgency to destroy Moscow’s technology on the battlefield, indicating how critical it may be for the war’s future.
Electronic warfare, or EW, uses electromagnetic weapons or techniques. Both forces deploy it in this battle, primarily through electronic jammers that disrupt GPS-guided targeting systems, leading rockets to miss their objectives.
After nearly six months of Ukraine’s sluggish and grinding counteroffensive, it is evident that Russia has created not only great physical barriers but also formidable electronic defenses, and Ukrainian forces on the front lines must react rapidly.
Ukraine Makes New Push To Defeat Russia’s Electronic Warfare
The drone commander with Ukraine’s 59th Motorized Brigade, which carried out the early November strike, Pavlo Petrychenko, believes that successfully destroying these systems is crucial if Ukraine is to take more land. Since the summer, there has been an increase in the frequency of Ukrainian military and media claims of successful strikes against Pole-21 systems.
“At the beginning of the conflict, they used electronic warfare to interfere with our communication, our walkie-talkies, radiocommunications, telephones, and drones,” he told CNN via video chat from near Avdiivka on the war’s eastern front, which is currently the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting.
“However, as we began to receive foreign equipment, they began to use these systems to suppress our weapons.”
“Since (the both US-provided) HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) and Excalibur 155 (an extended range artillery projectile) are guided by satellites, electronic warfare is actively used by (Russia) as one element of the defense against us,” Petrychenko said in a statement.
A flaw in Ukraine’s NATO-supplied armor
And this is the issue for Ukraine. Russian jammers have exploited the technological advantage of Ukraine’s Western-supplied arsenal of “smart” – guided – weapons.
Precision-guided missiles and guided multiple-launch rocket systems, such as HIMARS, are more vulnerable to electronic warfare than unguided weapons due to their reliance on GPS to hit their targets. Unguided weapons, which were common in both Russia and Ukraine’s Soviet-era stocks before 2022, do not.
Ukraine Makes New Push To Defeat Russia’s Electronic Warfare
The Pole-21 device, designed to jam GPS signals to defend Russian assets from approaching drones or missiles, is only one component of Moscow’s expanding electronic arsenal.
The Kremlin’s playbook includes jamming, as well as “spoofing” GPS – a method that effectively fools an adversary drone or missile into thinking it is somewhere else – which also impairs radar, radio, and even cell connections.
According to state news agency TASS, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin told a government meeting in September that production of major types of military equipment, including EW, had more than doubled in the first eight months of the year.
According to experts and Ukrainian officials, Russia has now fully incorporated electronic warfare into its forces.
In a recent essay, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Valery Zaluzhny, stated that Russia is now mass producing what he refers to as “trench electronic warfare.”
“The tactical level of Russian troops is saturated with (this equipment),” Zaluzhny said, adding that despite equipment losses, Moscow maintains “significant electronic warfare superiority.”
Zaluzhny also singled out American-made Excalibur shells, adding that their “capability has been significantly reduced, because the targeting system (using GPS) is very sensitive to the influence of enemy electronic warfare.”
Maj. Charlie Dietz, a Pentagon spokesperson, stated that “while the impact of Russian jamming has been observed” in certain US-supplied systems, including HIMARS rocket launchers, “it has not rendered these systems ineffective.”
Ukraine Makes New Push To Defeat Russia’s Electronic Warfare
According to Dietz, the agency has mitigated those vulnerabilities, including “substantial efforts to re-engineer and update these systems.” Updates are “being implemented as quickly as possible to counteract the effects of EW jamming,” he added.
Right now, the best hope they have is that videos of his early November drone strike go viral, according to Petrychenko. With so many Ukrainian troops on social media, any viral clip like this would serve as a manual, assisting them in identifying Russian antennas on the battlefield.
This is shifting the game outside of Ukraine.
“I think what you’re seeing play out in Ukraine is very much a glimpse into what modern warfare looks like today,” said Kari Bingen, director of the Aerospace Security Project at the think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former Pentagon principal deputy undersecretary for defense. She envisions a future where “electronic warfare capabilities and tactics are integrated into conventional force operations.”
Ukraine Makes New Push To Defeat Russia’s Electronic Warfare
According to Dietz, a Pentagon spokesperson, the United States is “actively evaluating and adapting its strategies” in electronic warfare, which he sees as a “fundamental aspect of contemporary and future military engagements.”
Fedorov stated that Ukraine is actively investing in electronic warfare while also following in the footsteps of his drone program by promoting indigenous production.
And he is open about the fact that Ukraine requires assistance from its Western partners in terms of both equipment and knowledge.
“We have all the technology we need in the West.” The question may be how to use it, which is important. We must consider the next technological level of the conflict.”
SOURCE – (CNN)
-
Celebrity5 months ago
Singer Sinead O’Connor Dead at 56, Family Devastated
-
Entertainment4 months ago
Bella Hadid Shares She’s Nearly 10 Months Sober Amid Health Journey
-
Entertainment4 months ago
Ethan Slater Files for Divorce From Lilly Jay Amid Ariana Grande Romance
-
World4 months ago
Dangerous Fungus Is Becoming More Prevalent in 2023. Scientists Believe Climate Change Could Be To Blame
-
World4 months ago
Nassar Survivors Sue Michigan State, Saying It Made ‘Secret Decisions’ About Releasing Documents
-
Entertainment5 months ago
Robert De Niro’s Girlfriend Tiffany Chen Diagnosed With Bell’s Palsy After Welcoming Baby Girl