Facebook to remove imposter accounts tied to immigration scams, DA’s office says
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a press conference joined by members of his prosecution team as he comments on the outcome in the retrial of former film producer Harvey Weinstein on June 12, 2025, in New York City. (Photo by Yuki Iwamura-Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Meta, the parent company of Facebook and WhatsApp, has pledged to remove imposter accounts tied to scams that were recently flagged by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, following a phone call between the two parties this week, the DA’s office told ABC News Friday.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg last week accused Meta of failing to remove imposter accounts that Bragg said pose as organizations like Catholic Charities to offer fake immigration services that scam money from unsuspecting victims.
“These imposter accounts have led to tens of thousands of dollars of fraudulent transfers,” Bragg said in a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg demanding the company take action after requests to remove false profiles were declined.
“Scammers frequently target immigrant populations because they are perceived to be, and often are, more vulnerable to fraud and in need of a specific type of legal assistance,” Bragg wrote.
In some instances, scammers create public Facebook accounts that mirror real accounts belonging to pro bono legal services organizations, Bragg said. In others, they create WhatsApp profiles posing as immigration lawyers associated with those same organizations, frequently using the names and logos of legitimate organizations to give the appearance of credibility.
“Your company has made representations about the importance of the safety and security of your platform for its users,” Bragg’s letter to Zuckerberg said. “If you sincerely wish to protect the safety of your users from fraud, we urge you to take necessary, proactive steps.”
In a statement issued in response to Bragg’s letter, a Meta spokesperson said, “Account impersonation violates our policies, and we take action against people and groups that attempt to misuse our platforms. We’re committed to engaging constructively with all levels of government, law enforcement and cross-sector partners to tackle this industry-wide challenge.”
Bragg is the latest prosecutor to go public with criticism of Meta for failing to protect the public from criminals lurking on its social media platforms. New Mexico recently won a $375 million civil case that held Meta liable for failing to police its sites for child predators, and a jury in Los Angeles found Meta, along with Google, liable for a 20-year-old woman’s social media addiction.
The shotgun and gas canister that were allegedly carried by 21-year-old man who was fatally shot, February 22, 2026, at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office)
(NEW YORK) — A man authorities alleged was carrying a shotgun and a gas canister was fatally shot by U.S. Secret Service agents and a deputy sheriff early Sunday outside of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, according to the Secret Service.
The shooting unfolded around 1:30 a.m. local time near the north main gate of the estate, Rafael Barros, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Miami field office, said at a news conference later Sunday.
“We want to be clear: the president of the United States was not in the state of Florida,” Barros said.
No “Secret Service protectees” were at the property at the time of the shooting, according to a statement from a Secret Service spokesperson earlier Sunday.
The FBI identified the man killed as Austin Tucker Martin, 21, of Moore County, North Carolina.
According to North Carolina state records, an individual named Austin Tucker Martin is listed as the founder of the business Fresh Sky Illustrations LLC. The business features various drawings of golf courses in North Carolina and is described on its website as “an artwork company that mainly focuses on bringing to life the hopeful feeling of being on a golf course.”
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at Sunday’s news conference outside of Mar-a-Lago that the individual was shot after he allegedly pointed the shotgun at the law enforcement officers.
Bradshaw said the man had made his way into the inner perimeter of Mar-a-Lago and that he was confronted by two Secret Service Agents and a deputy sheriff.
“They confronted a white male that was carrying a gas can and a shotgun,” Bradshaw said.
He later held up a printed copy of photo he said showed the weapon and canister.
“He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him, at which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said of the alleged intruder.
“At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat,” Bradshaw said, adding that the individual was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Fortunately, nobody was injured inside because of the quick action that was taken by the deputy and the Secret Service,” Bradshaw said.
Investigators are determining how many shots were fired in the incident and whether the alleged intruder fired a shot at the law enforcement officers, who were part of the security detail at Mar-a-Lago, Bradshaw said. He added that it wasn’t yet known whether the shotgun was loaded.
The FBI is spearheading the investigation, said Brett Skiles, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office, adding that FBI personnel was on the scene collecting evidence.
A motive for the incident is unknown at this time, officials said.
Skiles asked residents living near Mar-a-Lago to check their exterior security cameras for footage from Saturday night into early Sunday morning for “anything that looks suspicious or out of place,” and to contact the FBI or the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office if they do.
In this booking photo released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Hisham Abugharbieh is shown. (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
(FLORIDA) — The man accused of killing two University of South Florida doctoral students allegedly asked ChatGPT about disposing of a body three days before the victims were last seen alive, according to court filings.
Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a weapon in the deaths of his roommate, Zamil Limon, and Nahida Bristy, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said. The two 27-year-old students were last seen alive on April 16, and a mutual friend reported them missing the following day after being unable to reach them both, authorities said.
Detectives located Limon’s remains on the side of a Tampa bridge on Friday, according to the motion. His naked body was in “numerous black utility trash bags and was in advanced stages of decomposition,” according to a motion for pretrial detention filed by prosecutors. There were deep cuts at his hips “to permit folding of the legs into the bag,” and his wrists and ankles appeared to be bound, according to the filing.
The Pinellas County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Limon had sustained numerous lacerations and stab wounds to his abdomen and lower back and his cause of death was “multiple sharp force injuries,” the filing stated.
Human remains were recovered from waterways near the bridge on Sunday amid a search for Bristy, 27, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Positive identification has not been determined at this time, authorities said.
Bristy is “believed to have been disposed of in a similar way’ to Limon, the motion stated.
Motion outlines evidence of alleged premeditated murder
The 23-page motion detailed digital and physical evidence — including phone, shopping and other activity — that prosecutors allege show Abugharbieh committed premeditated murder.
On April 13, three days before the two students were last seen alive, the suspect allegedly asked ChatGPT, “What happens if a human has a put in a black garbage bag and thrown in a dumpster,” according to the motion.
Prosecutors noted that ChatGPT answered “that it sounds dangerous,” and then Abugharbieh allegedly asked, “How would they find out.”
Two days later, he allegedly asked, “Can a VIN number on a car be changed,” according to the filing.
On the day the two students were last seen alive, detectives determined Abugharbieh’s vehicle was in the same area in Clearwater Beach, around the same time of the last pinged location of Limon’s phone, it noted.
Shortly before 11 p.m. that night, Abugharbieh allegedly received a Doordash delivery at the apartment of items purchased from CVS — “trashbags, Lysol wipes, Febreze, Funyuns, and Irish Spring Body Wash” — according to the motion. He had also allegedly ordered duct tape, fire starter, charcoal, trash bags and lighter fuel from Amazon earlier in the month, according to the motion.
Around 12:26 a.m. on April 17, he allegedly asked ChatGPT, “are cars checked at the Hillsborough River state park.”
About an hour later, around 1:30 a.m., his phone stopped on the Howard Frankland Bridge, according to the filing. It was on the bridge again nearly three hours later, including in the exact location where Limon’s body was found a week later, according to the filing.
A third roommate in the apartment reported seeing Abugharbieh dispose of multiple cardboard boxes from his room to a compactor dumpster on site sometime late on April 16 or early on the morning of April 17, according to the motion. Limon’s wallet and glasses, bloodied clothing and Bristy’s iPhone case were among the items located in trash bags in the compactor, according to the filing.
On April 19, the suspect allegedly asked ChatGPT, “will Apple know who is the new iPhone user after the previous user,” according to the filing.
On April 23, he asked, “What does missing endangered adult mean,” according to the filing. That day, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced it had elevated the status of the two missing USF students to endangered.
Other ChatGPT messages noted in the filing focused on firearms, according to the motion. Abugharbieh allegedly asked on April 15 if you can “keep a gun at home with out a license,” and, on April 19, “will my neighbors hear my gun” and “Has there been someone who survived a sniper bullet to the head,” according to the motion.
OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Suspect denies any role in disappearance
Blood evidence was uncovered in the apartment, including the suspect’s room, where there were two “distinct patterns on the floor which appeared to have a relatively humansized shape,” the filing stated.
Trash bags found under the suspect’s bed were similar to the ones located in the compactor and on the bridge, according to the filing.
Abugharbieh was interviewed by detectives multiple times and denied having anything to do with their disappearance, according to the motion.
When asked about his vehicle being in Clearwater Beach on April 16, he allegedly initially said he was fishing, according to the filing. When confronted about Limon’s phone also being in the area, he allegedly said he drove Limon and Bristy to Clearwater Beach at Limon’s request, and said that they were “both alive when he dropped them off,” the filing stated.
When asked about the boxes in the compactor, Abugharbieh “advised he removed old clothing he no longer wanted,” the filing stated.
He had lacerations on his left pinky, which he allegedly told detectives were from cutting onions, as well as his upper tricep area and left and right legs, according to the filing.
“Based on the totality of the circumstances, interviews, evidence, and data, evidence would show Hisham Abugharbieh utilized a bladed instrument to fatally wound Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy multiple times which caused their deaths,” the filing stated.
The motion does not state an alleged motive in the crime.
Prosecutors seek no bond
Abugharbieh is being held without bond and his next detention hearing is set for Tuesday morning.
The Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office said prosecutors “will argue that Abugharbieh remains a danger to our community and should be held without bond until trial.”
“Our hearts are with both students’ families during this incredibly difficult time, and we are keeping them in our thoughts as they await answers,” State Attorney Suzy Lopez said in a statement.
The suspect has been assigned a public defender. The public defender for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Abugharbieh was arrested on Friday. He had barricaded himself at a residence and surrendered following a brief standoff, authorities said. He was seen exiting the home with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.
The suspect is not a current USF student or employee, school officials said.
A family member told investigators that Abugharbieh “was known to struggle with managing his anger and was violent with family in the past,” according to the motion.
Former NBA player Damon Jones departs after his arraignment hearing at U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on November 24, 2025 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges he tipped off sports bettors about an injured LeBron James and used his own celebrity to lure high rollers to rigged poker games.
Jones, 49, is the first defendant in either case to plead guilty following the arrests of nearly three dozen people at the start of the pro basketball season.
Jones, who wore a black suit and black shirt, entered his guilty pleas during back-to-back hearings Tuesday in Brooklyn federal court.
“I would like to sincerely apologize to the court, my family, my peers and also the National Basketball Association,” Jones said during the hearing before Magistrate Judge Joseph Marutollo.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
