An aspiring Los Angeles-area rapper was arrested on Wednesday and charged in connection with a multimillion-dollar check-cashing scheme, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Ada William Obayuwana of Quartz Hill, who goes by “ColdheartedAC” and “AC,” and two others were charged in a 25-count federal grand jury indictment alleging that they illegally possessed more than 50 stolen U.S. Treasury checks and hundreds of other checks belonging to individuals and businesses worth more than $8.1 million, then cashed or attempted to cash them at lenders throughout Southern California.
Albert Tai Vu, of Westminster, and Cassandra Marie Murrillo, of San Diego, are the other two defendants charged in the case.
According to the indictment, between April 2022 and December 2023, the trio obtained the stolen checks, some containing tax refunds and veterans’ and Social Security Administration benefits, then forged endorsements or modified names and addresses to steal the money.
The trio is accused of opening bank accounts to receive the money. They also used business documents to impersonate the identities of the victims connected to the stolen checks and deposited the money into bank and credit union accounts across Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, the indictment says.
During this period, Obayuwana allegedly tried to cash at least three Treasury tax refund checks worth $382,109 and was successful in cashing one, withdrawing $229,109, federal authorities allege.
In December 2023, Obayuwana “possessed in his car in Oceanside more than 100 stolen or fraudulent checks, cumulatively worth more than $6.1 million,” states the indictment. Among the checks were 48 stolen Treasury checks worth some $2,555,417 in tax refunds, veterans’ benefits,and Social Security benefits.
Obayuwana was able to cash eight of them worth about $1.7 million, according to federal investigators.
Vu tried to cash at least six Treasury checks totaling $2.15 million and successfully cashed two tax fund refunds worth $772,159, the indictment says. He also allegedly cashed a pair of cashier’s checks, each valued at $250,000, at an Anaheim bank and used money from one to buy a Range Rover and the second to pay Murillo.
Murillo is accused of trying to cash at least two checks worth $60,193, successfully cashing one for $31,405.
Following his arrest, Obayuwana remains in federal custody. He is charged with nine counts of bank fraud and faces three counts of delivering stolen Treasury checks and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Vu, who was arrested Thursday, is charged with five counts of delivering stolen Treasury checks, four counts of money laundering and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
Murillo, who is expected to surrender to federal authorities in Los Angeles on Monday, is charged with an additional count of delivering stolen Treasury checks.
Trump seeking ways to shield farmers from expansion of refinery biofuel waivers – report
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SA Asks: Is Bitcoin finally bouncing back?
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A former White House teleprompter operator accused of placing bets on the Kalshi (KALSHI) platform using inside information obtained from Donald Trump’s speeches has been ordered to pay nearly $173K as part of a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
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Glencore (GLNCY) has taken a provision of roughly $480M to account for its exposure to iron ore trader Radiant World, which is facing a liquidity squeeze amid concerns that it allegedly provided falsified documents to banks, Bloomberg reported on Saturday.
Nvidia CEO excluded in TIME’s 100 most influential people in AI
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Robotaxi reveal: Tesla's Cybercab takes the stage next week
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THEY’VE spent years dodging questions and dishing out the classic “never say never” when asked about a reunion for The Saturdays.
Now it looks like Frankie Bridge and Rochelle Humes might have finally found a way to make everyone happy – and The Sun can exclusively reveal when and how.
There are always rumours that the girl group – who went on hiatus in 2014 – will perform at Mighty Hoopla festival and we can reveal Frankie and Rochelle, both 37, are closer than ever to making it happen.
Earlier this year This Morning host Rochelle revealed her son Blake, five, is desperate to see his mum on stage and just this month Loose Women panellist Frankie confirmed she would be up for the LBGTQ pop bonanza, saying “the gays deserve it”.
A well-placed insider said: “It’s getting to the point now where Frankie and Rochelle are close to saying yes just so everyone stops asking them about it.
“A Saturdays set at Mighty Hoopla would go down a storm and but looks like that’s about as much as they’d be prepared to commit to.
“Offers have been made, there have been talks and – while it’s far from confirmed – for the first time it looks like everyone is keeping an open mind.”
The Saturdays line-up also included Vanessa White, Una Healy and Mollie King and when asked about their decision to go their separate ways more than a decade ago, Rochelle recently told Jamie Laing on his Good Company podcast that it came down to money.
She said: “For a period of [time], music artists were making money touring.
“The tours and the brand deals were where you would make your money. The records weren’t for us.
“So we’d be the face of a shampoo and all have our own scent – that’s where we’d make our money. Those brand deals were really important to us and so was the touring.”
Meanwhile Frankie has repeatedly stated in recent years that she feels “too old” to be a pop star, firmly telling OK! Magazine previously: “I don’t think it will happen.”
So it is no surprise that it’s Frankie and Rochelle, who first shot to fame as members of S Club Juniors in 2001, are the ones calling the shots on if and when a Saturdays comeback takes place – and they’ve made their conditions clear.
Our insider added: “Frankie and Rochelle have been pop stars since they were 12 so they’re comfortable with that chapter being closed now.
“If they say yes to a reunion gig, they’ve made it clear they’re not interested in recording new music or going on the road again. Their families come first.”
In a stark contrast to the attitudes of Frankie and Rochelle, Una, 44, has been championing a full-scale return for The Saturdays pretty much since they announced their hiatus.
But she’s not had it easy. Speaking to Patrick Kielty on The Late Late Show previously, Una confirmed that The Saturdays had made a pact that they would only reunite if all five members were on board – and she was having trouble convincing everyone.
She said: “They all went very quiet on me. I put it out there to them [in their WhatsApp group chat], when Girls Aloud were back together [in 2023], I was like, ‘we should be doing it again’.
“There was just silence. I thought to myself, ‘tumbleweed’. So I sent a gif of tumbleweed into the group chat and there were still tumbleweeds. They didn’t even do a little laughing emoji back. That was a bit, ‘ouch’. You know?”
We’re told that, for now at least, Una is taking what she can get – and pinning her hopes on the Mighty Hoopla coming off.
“Just to have everyone nearly on the same page for a one-off gig is more than Una expected to happen,” our source said.
“But they all know that one performance will never be enough for her and it won’t be long until she’s back to her old tricks in the group chat.”
Watch this space.
NEW YORK — A federal judge on Friday once again spurned President Trump’s effort to erase his hush money conviction, rejecting the president’s bid to move the state court case to federal court and have it dismissed on presidential immunity grounds.
Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein reiterated his earlier finding against Trump, saying that the reasons Trump cited for renewing his request were “neither new nor legally sufficient.”
The judge added: “He has failed to show good cause and diligence.”
It is the third time Hellerstein has blocked Trump from having the U.S. District Court in Manhattan seize control of the case from the New York court where he was tried and convicted.
And, like before, Trump will appeal, according to a spokesperson for his legal team who called Hellerstein’s ruling “baseless and lawless.”
“The Supreme Court’s historic decision on Immunity, the Federal and New York State Constitutions, and other established legal precedent mandate that the Witch Hunt perpetrated by the Manhattan DA be removed to federal court, and immediately overturned and dismissed,” a statement issued on behalf of the legal team said. “President Trump will be filing a powerful appeal, and will continue defeating Democrat weaponization at every turn.”
The guilty verdict, reached in May 2024 while Trump was between terms, made him the first former — and now current — U.S. president to be convicted of a crime. Trump is also challenging his conviction through the state court appellate process, which is pending.
Hellerstein’s decision came after a federal appeals court last year ordered him to reconsider his prior denial. The judge previewed his ruling during oral arguments in February, slamming Trump’s lawyers for legal maneuvers that amounted to taking “two bites at the apple.”
State prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump was convicted in May 2024 of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels, whose claim of a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier had threatened to upend his 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump was sentenced to an unconditional discharge, which left his conviction intact but spared him any punishment. He had long denied Daniels’ claim and said he did nothing wrong. He has sought to get the conviction overturned both by attempting to move the case to federal court and through the appeals process in state court, which is pending.
Hellerstein rejected Trump’s requests to move the case twice before. The first was after Trump’s March 2023 indictment. The second was after Trump’s trial, as his lawyers sought to nix his conviction in the wake of the Supreme Court’s July 2024 ruling that presidents and ex-presidents can’t be prosecuted for official acts and prosecutors can’t use official acts as evidence that unofficial actions were illegal.
Trump appealed Hellerstein’s post-trial ruling and, last November, the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the judge to reconsider his decision, finding that he had failed to consider “important issues relevant” to the president’s request to move the case.
A three-judge appellate panel said it expressed no view on how he should rule but instructed Hellerstein to closely review evidence that Trump claimed was related to official acts and whether Trump could argue those actions were taken as part of his White House duties.
The judges also instructed Hellerstein to determine if Trump had “diligently sought” to have the case moved to federal court and whether the case can even be moved to federal court now that Trump has been convicted and sentenced in state court.
During oral arguments in February, Hellerstein took issue with the Trump legal team’s decision-making after the Supreme Court ruling.
Instead of immediately seeking to move the case to federal court, he noted, Trump’s lawyers first asked the trial judge in state court, Juan Merchan, to throw out the verdict on immunity grounds. Normally, such a request must be made within 30 days of an arraignment, but a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. has ruled that exceptions can be made if “good cause” is shown.
Trump, a Republican, did not attend the arguments.
Trump lawyer Jeffrey Wall argued that prosecutors rushed to trial instead of waiting for the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision and that Trump’s legal team was crunched for time after the high court’s ruling because his sentencing was scheduled for just 10 days later.
Trump’s lawyers did not ask Hellerstein to intervene until nearly two months later, while their request to Merchan was still pending. The judge called that a “strategic decision” and suggested that by going to the state court first, Trump’s lawyers cost him the right to pursue remedies in federal court.
“No, your honor,” Wall replied. “It is what any sensible litigant would do” in that situation.
“Not so,” Hellerstein replied.
“That is a decision on your part,” the judge added. “You didn’t have to do that. You could have come right to the federal court. Just by filing a notice of removal, there would be no sentencing.”
Trump’s lawyers “made a choice,” Hellerstein said, “and you sought two bites at the apple.”
In his written ruling Friday, Hellerstein said Trump was asking for a “‘second bite at the apple,’ a result the law disfavors.”
The judge added that “Trump’s delay in filing for removal constitutes a ‘quintessential strategic decision,’ and the ‘fact that he later came to view that decision as a poor one is not sufficient, by itself, to establish cause.’”
Sisak and Neumeister write for the Associated Press.
Marking his 100th day in the job, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh told the Kansas City Fed’s symposium in Wyoming that the US economy has strengthened rather than weakened under recent shocks, that the labour market is consistent with full employment, and that inflation remains the central bank’s dominant concern.
Warsh declined to say what he would do next month, but he removed most of the arguments against acting and bolstered the ones in favour of a rate hike.
“For my part, today I am impressed by the overall performance of the economy, which appears to have strengthened,” Warsh stated.
“One indicator of strength is how well an economy holds up to shocks. On that score, both Main Street and Wall Street have been remarkably resilient,” he added.
On inflation, Warsh noted that the PCE index stood at 3.7% over twelve months and 4.1% over six, and 54% of the basket’s components rose by more than 3% over the past year, against 32% in the two decades before the pandemic.
Summer readings that beat expectations “do not tell me that underlying trends have meaningfully improved,” Warsh stated.
The Federal Reserve Chair’s conclusion was blunt: “the Fed’s predominant focus right now should be on prices.”
The standard set was equally direct. “We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do,” Warsh declared.
That assessment matters because it eliminates the case for supporting growth with further stimulus and potentially opens the door for restrictive measures as markets moved in response.
At the time of writing, the 10-year Treasury yield has fallen 0.5% from its Friday high to 4.67% and the 30-year dropped around 0.9% to 5.16%, while the dollar index rose 0.4% from the intraday low to roughly 99.4 points.
Traders raised the implied probability of a 0.25% hike at the 15 and 16 September Fed meeting to 55%, from around 35% before Warsh’s speech.
Warsh opened his speech with what he called a hinge point in history, arguing that artificial intelligence has advanced faster than even its advocates predicted.
Annualised AI token sales at the two leading labs alone exceed $100 billion, he said, up more than 500% in a year.
AI is “a new variable, potentially a new factor of production,” raising questions the Fed cannot answer yet such as whether it will lift productivity and when, whether it complements or replaces labour, and where the returns will ultimately land.
A new Federal Reserve task force on productivity and jobs is examining it, though he stressed its recommendations will have no bearing on current policy decisions.
Warsh then listed extensive evidence for his positive outlook on the US economy.
Business investment in equipment and intangibles growing at around 9%, its fastest since 2021, with more than half of this year’s capital expenditure growth attributable to the AI buildout.
S&P 500 profits went up more than 20% over the year, credit spreads are near historic lows and banks are easing lending standards. Housing and agriculture are strained, Warsh acknowledged, but on balance he “would be hard pressed to describe broad financial conditions as restrictive.”
Unemployment at 4.1% is low by historical standards, with jobless claims near their lowest in decades, leaving inflation as the outlier.
The Federal Reserve Chair devoted a substantial section to defending his refusal to signal future moves, a stance that has drawn criticism since he took office in May.
Forward guidance was adopted during the 2008 crisis by colleagues including himself, he said, and was essential then, but “the practice has overstayed its welcome” and now “risks creating ambiguity in the name of clarity.”
Warsh warned of a hall-of-mirrors problem in which markets read the Fed while the Fed reads markets, leaving both blind to new developments.
“We should not indulge a regime in which market participants are looking primarily to the Fed for their next trade,” he said, adding that the costs of such errors fall not on “financial high-fliers” but on households facing high inflation or insecure jobs.
Warsh also rejected calls to publish an explicit reaction function, arguing economic knowledge does not permit a mechanical rule.
Instead he set out six principles: interrogate incoming data rather than trust stale figures, accept that judging supply against demand is imprecise; treat the 2% PCE target as firm and fixed; pursue both mandates without treating them as a trade-off; rely on short-term rates rather than unconventional tools; and remember that money itself matters.
“I stand here today committed to a discipline, not to a decision,” Warsh said in closing.
The decision comes on 16 September at the next Fed meeting.
NewtekOne revises down 2026/2027 EPS guidance, shares fall
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Technology was the only S&P 500 (SP500) sector to gain more than 3% on Thursday while all other sectors closed lower, marking just the second such session since 2000, according to Bluekurtic Market Insights.
The previous instance occurred on March
New U.S. sanctions target Iran’s tech, gold, and shipping sectors, pressing global intermediaries.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury invoked the memory of approximately 160,000 Allied soldiers storming a 50-mile stretch of Normandy’s coast when it published its latest round of secondary sanctions against Iran on Aug. 24. However, rather than capturing Gold, Juno, Omaha, Sword, and Utah beaches, the sanctions seek to hobble Iran’s digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping sectors.
“In the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of a campaign with our allies to target and drive the enemy from its positions, including those in third countries,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent posted on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. “Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe. Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.”
The Treasury, Department of State, and the rebranded Department of War personnel have worked with their counterparts to convey expectations for immediate action on the sanctions.
“Every country will be given a defined timeline to shut down the Iran-related activity we have identified,” the Treasury said in a prepared statement. “If they fail to act, the Treasury will act. Any entity that facilitates money laundering or sanctions evasion on behalf of Iran risks being cut off from the U.S. financial system.”
The new sanctions may deter international companies from doing business in Iran, but their immediate effect may be over-compliance due to the Treasury’s new designations, Kari Heerman, Brookings senior fellow and Director of Trade and Economic Statecraft, told Global Finance.
The harder question is how much additional pressure the latest sanctions have on Iran’s economy.
“Years of sanctions have pushed Iran’s remaining trade toward firms and financial channels more willing or able to tolerate U.S. sanctions,” she added. “That makes evasion more expensive for Iran, but it also makes each successive round of enforcement more difficult for the United States.”
Besides blocking transactions involving property and property interests owned directly or indirectly by designated individuals located in the U.S. or in the possession or control of a U.S. person, they prohibit financial institutions from making any contribution, provision, or receipt of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated individual no matter their location.
At the time of the announcement, the Treasury had already sanctioned more than 60 entities, individuals, and vessels located in China, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and other regions that have worked with Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics and its Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
As the newly minted sanctions target entities further up Iran’s supply chains, they stop short of reaching major Chinese financial institutions that have been Iran’s lifelines.
“Targeting a major Chinese bank could have a much larger deterrent effect than sanctioning smaller intermediaries, but it could also provoke Chinese retaliation and affect other U.S. objectives, including the economic issues Washington, D.C., hopes to address at next month’s Trump-Xi summit,” said Heerman. “Bessent’s comment that he does not want to ‘blow up the global financial system’ acknowledges the most powerful sanctions tools can also be the most costly to use.”
Hours after the announcement, the Iranian rial plummeted on the open market, trading at roughly 2 million rials to a single U.S. dollar.
How key international trade partners respond to this new round of U.S. sanctions will ultimately reveal if Washington has gone a bridge too far.
Rob Daly covers fintech and the economy. Contact him at rdaly@gfmag.com.
Earnings Call Insights: SentinelOne (S) Q2 FY 2027
“Q2 was an outstanding quarter for SentinelOne” with the company stating it “exceeded our top and bottom line guidance, delivered record second quarter net new ARR, and record operating margin” and “raising our revenue operating income
Seeking Alpha’s Disclaimer: This article was automatically generated by an AI tool based on content available on the Seeking Alpha website, and has not been curated or reviewed by humans. Due to inherent limitations in using AI-based tools, the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of such articles cannot be guaranteed. This article is intended for informational purposes only. Seeking Alpha does not take account of your objectives or your financial situation and does not offer any personalized investment advice. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank.
Earnings Call Insights: LifeVantage (LFVN) Q4 fiscal 2026
Seeking Alpha’s Disclaimer: This article was automatically generated by an AI tool based on content available on the Seeking Alpha website, and has not been curated or reviewed by humans. Due to inherent limitations in using AI-based tools, the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of such articles cannot be guaranteed. This article is intended for informational purposes only. Seeking Alpha does not take account of your objectives or your financial situation and does not offer any personalized investment advice. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank.
Here are the major earnings before the open Friday
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The FBI has charged two men with scamming at least 26 women out of $1.3 million in four states. One of the alleged fraudsters posed as a San Francisco 49ers player.
Daejon Labrayae Love, 35, and Taylor Jamie Chan, 18, have been charged in federal court in Portland, Ore., with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
From February 2022 until they were arrested on Monday, Love and Chan solicited money from women in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho through lies and misrepresentations, according to the United States Attorney’s Office in Portland.
Love portrayed himself on Instagram as a 49ers wide receiver who went undrafted but worked his way onto the roster. He met most of the women through dating apps and developed romantic relationships with many of them, according to the FBI. Chan falsely posed as Love’s financial adviser.
In an Instagram Story titled “NFL Journey,” Love held a 49ers helmet while driving and said, “I’m on my way to get my mom. I know I get a lot of fans who want to know how football works or how I got involved in the league…. If you know me and see me in person I’ll explain.
“I chose SF because it was the right time. I was kind of already living in the Bay and it just worked out for me.” Love’s monologue is interrupted momentarily by beeps from his car and he says, “I’m in my new McLaren and it’s just real touch-and-go.”
Then he posts a screenshot of a webpage AI Overview that says “Daejon Love is a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, and information about his position, contract and teammate texting habits is available online. He is also associated with the team in various social media content and articles.”
Back on the screen, Love says, “That’s Google. That’s not me, that’s Google.”
He goes on to explain why he isn’t playing, lifting a crooked finger to the camera and saying he is injured. He concludes the story by again saying he wants “full transparency” because “people ask, what do I do? How can I afford a $500,000 car? How can I afford a $300,000 [Lamborghini] Urus? “
He repeats that he’s going to pick up his mom, then concludes by inviting those watching to reach out to him to meet in person.
“The scheme relied on Love’s creation of fictitious personas and display of a lavish lifestyle which Love presented to victims both in person and on social media websites,” federal authorities said in a press release.
“Chan and Love also hosted three-way FaceTime calls in which they showed victims falsified investment gains and encouraged victims to part with their money. Victims sent Love and Chan money due to their belief that their money would be invested in legitimate investment vehicles on the victims’ behalf.”
The FBI said Love instructed several women who did not have cash to invest to take out personal loans, assuring them they would quickly be repaid.
Love and Chan were taken into custody on Monday at the Boise (Idaho) Airport and have a court appearance Thursday in Portland.
Love, who traveled to New Mexico, California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah and Idaho since July 15, according to investigators, allegedly has used several names including Jon Love, Daejon Love, Avril Lyto Love and Jordan Love. Twenty-six potential victims have been identified, and the FBI believes there are more.
