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LAW AND ORDER caribbeantimes.com
(BROOKLYN, New York): A Nige- rian man based in Pennsylvania, U.S., Adepoju Babatunde Salako, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison in the United States after pleading guilty to wire fraud linked to a 2022 Alas- ka Permanent Fund Dividend fraud scheme. According to court docu- ments, Salako fraudulently obtained the personal information of several Alaska residents and used it to submit seven fake applications for Permanent Fund Dividend payments between January and February 2022.
Investigators said he created email accounts linked to the victims and gained access to their "myAlaska” on- line profiles, where he altered contact and banking details to redirect pay- ments to accounts under his control. Authorities said Salako used a Virtual Private Network to disguise his loca- tion and make the applications ap- pear to have originated from Alaska, although records later traced some activity to Philadelphia.
The Alaska Department of Reve- nue detected the fraud and rejected the applications before any payments were made. Officials said the scheme could have cost the state and victims nearly $23,000. Salako pleaded guilty to seven counts of wire fraud. The sentence will run concurrently with a separate Colorado case in which he was sentenced to 78 months in prison over COVID-19 relief fraud and inter- national money laundering offences involving $2.5 million in restitution.
Reacting to the case, U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman said, “Mr. Salako spent considerable time planning and perpetrating his scheme to defraud the Alaska PFD. "Thanks to the great work of the Alaska Department of Revenue and FBI, he didn't succeed; but even attempting to defraud the PFD will not be tolerated and could result in federal prison."
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - Carib- bean Community (CARICOM) chairman, Dr. Terrance Drew says meaningful and lasting progress in addressing crime and violence across the Carib- bean region cannot be achieved without decisive leadership and political commitment. Addressing the launch of the CARICOM-UNDP Diagnostic Document and CARICOM-UN Action Framework, the St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister said politics will remains the critical ingredient necessary to move crime prevention strategies from theory into action.
"I've always held that nothing can really be done unless there's political will. The political will is what allows us to be able to implement policies and to put whatever is necessary behind it to get it done." Prime Minister Drew said that one of the most difficult challenges in advancing a preventative approach to crime and violence is not necessarily proving the science behind it, but convincing leadership structures and the wider society to embrace a shift away from viewing crime solely through the lens of polic-
:: CARIBBEAN AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
CARICOM welcomes launch of new crime and violence initiative ing and punishment.
He said that as Minister of Na- tional Security in the twin island Federation, he has had to engage in difficult but necessary conver- sations to build support around a broader societal approach to reducing crime. "I told them that that crime and violence is not a political football, it is a societal matter. It is not merely a law en- forcement matter, and if we are going to deal with a societal is- sue, then all of us need to be on board."
Prime Minister Drew said achieving this required unprec- edented collaboration and the willingness to engage all sectors of society, including members of the government and opposition, social agencies, health profes- sionals, churches, educational institutions, businesses and in- ternational partners.
He said that approach aligns closely with his government's broader Citizen Security frame- work, which has focused on strengthening interagency co- ordination, increasing social in- tervention programs, promoting evidence-based strategies and fostering community partnerships. Government initiatives over the past several years have increasingly centered on public health, prevention and commu- nity resilience as essential tools for national development and security.
Prime Minister Drew acknowl- edged that political leadership often faces pressure to pur- sue more immediate responses during periods of heightened vi- olence. However, he maintained that long-term transformation requires addressing root causes. "It is hard because I know anoth- er politician who tried to sell the concept, and he was ridiculed. So I said, well, this makes sense scientifically. It is not guesswork."
Prime Minister Drew said he is pleased of the growing part- nership between and the United Nations saying it signals a wider acceptance of evidence-based strategies and represents an important turning point for the Caribbean. "I re- ally want this to be successful. I really want to see it implement- ed,” Drew said, reaffirming his support for regional collabora- tion and preventative approach-
UN OFFICIAL SAYS CHILDREN FACE BRUNT OF GANG VIOLENCE IN HAITI
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti The United Nations Special Representa- tive for Children and Armed Conflict, (CAAC), Vanessa Frazier, says chil- dren living in Haiti are under "con- stant fear" amid displacement, intim- idation and trauma caused by gang violence. UN officials have warned that the recruitment and use of chil- dren by gangs nearly tripled in 2025 compared to the previous year, with children now estimated to make up between 30 and 50 per cent of gang members.
They say children in Haiti are fac- ing escalating violence as armed gangs increasingly recruit minors, kill and injure children and use sexual vio- lence to terrorize communities. Fra- zier, who has ended a two-day to the French-speaking Caribbean Commu- nity (CARICOM) country, said that children encountered during security operations must be treated primarily as victims and handed over to child protection services. "Without protect- ing these children and supporting all children affected by violence, lasting stability in Haiti will not be possible," Frazier said.
"The situation of children in Haiti is unique in many ways and the chal- lenges they face are extraordinarily complex, multi-layered and multi-di- mensional. I met young children and adolescents who were already in a situation of vulnerability within their own homes and had gone through an uninterrupted cycle of violence.
"It is difficult to comprehend that children could go through such ex- periences. Yet for many, it is a reality. Growing up means a daily struggle to