A former senior budget analyst at the U.S. State Department, Levita Almuete Ferrer, pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $650,000 between March 2022 and April 2024. Prosecutors said Ferrer abused her authority by writing 63 checks from a State Department account—mostly to herself—and depositing them into her personal bank accounts. She concealed the fraud by manipulating entries in QuickBooks, changing the payee names after printing the checks to make them appear tied to legitimate vendors. Ferrer, 64, who also goes by Levita Brezovic, admitted she used the funds to support a gambling addiction. She was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison and ordered to repay the full $657,347.50.
In a separate incident, federal authorities arrested Keith Michael Lisa, 51, for attacking the office of U.S. Attorney Alina Habba in Newark, New Jersey. According to the FBI, Lisa entered the Peter W. Rodino Federal Building on November 12 carrying a baseball bat, damaging property inside Habba’s suite before fleeing. He was apprehended within 48 hours and charged with possession of a dangerous weapon in a federal facility and depredation of government property. Habba was unharmed.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel praised the swift interagency response, calling the attack part of a concerning rise in threats against federal officials. Habba, appointed earlier this year and overseeing more than 150 federal prosecutors in New Jersey, said she would not be intimidated by acts of violence or political hostility.