80-year-old lottery winner sentenced for bankrolling $400M drug empire from cottage with son
Authorities announced Wednesday that an elderly man who used his 2010 lottery winnings to run a drug empire from his cottage alongside his son and two accomplices, has been sentenced to jail.
John Eric Spiby, 80, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in England after an investigation uncovered counterfeit pills worth up to $400 million, Greater Manchester Police said. His son, John Colin Spiby, 37, was sentenced to nine years.
“They operated a fully industrialized drug manufacturing business capable of producing millions of counterfeit tablets containing a highly dangerous substance,” Alex Brown, detective inspector of the Serious Organized Crime Group that led the investigation, said in a statement.
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“The volume of tablets we recovered — along with the sophisticated machinery — demonstrated how deeply embedded this group was in the illicit drug supply chain.”
Local United Kingdom outlet LBC reported that Spiby won the National Lottery in 2010, at around 65 years old, cashing in £2.4 million, equivalent to roughly $3.3 million in 2026.
During the sentencing, Judge Nicholas Clarke KC told LBC that, “despite your lottery win, you continued to live your life of crime beyond what would be a normal retirement age.”
Sometime between November 2021 and May 2022, Spiby equipped his cottage behind his home with an “industrial‑scale tablet manufacturing set-up capable of producing tens of thousands of tablets per hour,” police said. According to a court hearing, they were also able to “hide” his lab by frosting the windows, LBC reported.
The organization allegedly produced counterfeit diazepam tablets, also known as Valium, laced with etizolam, a substance banned in the U.S. normally prescribed for insomnia and anxiety. In high doses, etizolam can cause severe central nervous system depression, potentially leading to unconsciousness, respiratory failure and death.
The group also facilitated and supplied firearms including AK‑47s, an Uzi, Tec‑9s, a Scorpion, a Grand Power pistol, silencers and ammunition, police said.
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In the early stages of the operation in August 2020, the group reportedly operated “under the guise of a lawful business” by creating a fake company along with a website advertising tablet presses, mixers, packaging machines and powdered supplements.
During the operation, the suspects rented a shipping container to store materials and millions of counterfeit tablets awaiting distribution. Officers, however, intercepted them in April 2022 and found a vehicle containing 2.6 million counterfeit diazepam tablets with an estimated street value between $1.4 million and $7 million.
The following month, a warrant led to the seizure of guns, ammunition, cash, machinery, counterfeit drugs and raw materials.
Police estimated the crime ring produced drugs with a potential street value equivalent to roughly $80 million to $400 million.
Of the other two accomplices, Callum Dorian, 35, received a 12‑year prison sentence in September 2024, while Lee Ryan Drury, 45, was sentenced to nine years.
The four members faced charges that included conspiracy to produce and supply Class C drugs, conspiracy to supply firearms, possession of firearms and ammunition and perverting the course of justice.
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“These four individuals showed absolutely no regard for human life or public safety,” Brown said. “All they were interested in was lining their own pockets with significant financial gain.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Greater Manchester Police for more information.
Trump files $10B lawsuit against IRS over alleged tax return leaks to major news outlets
President Donald Trump has filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, accusing the agency of unlawfully leaking his confidential tax returns in a politically motivated violation of federal privacy laws.
A spokesman for Trump’s legal team told Fox News “a rogue, politically motivated” IRS employee disclosed private and confidential tax information involving Trump, his family and the Trump Organization to outlets, including The New York Times and ProPublica.
The suit claims the disclosures were illegal and harmed millions by violating federal privacy laws.
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That contractor at the heart of the leak, Charles Littlejohn, pleaded guilty in October 2023 to a single felony count of unauthorized disclosure of tax return information and is serving a five-year prison sentence.
Littlejohn admitted to stealing and leaking Trump’s tax records to The New York Times and to disclosing confidential tax data involving wealthy individuals to ProPublica.
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According to the lawsuit, Littlejohn testified in a 2024 deposition that the Trump materials he leaked included information on all of Trump’s business holdings.
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, Littlejohn refused to testify before Congress, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights while appealing his sentence.
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According to a June 2025 Judiciary Committee press release, DOJ prosecutors said Littlejohn’s disclosures were “unprecedented in its scope and scale.”
Virginia Democrats seek dozens of new tax hikes, including on dog walking and dry cleaning
Virginia Democrats have introduced a host of new tax proposals that would tax a range of services, including dog walking and gym memberships despite running on a campaign to increase affordability.
More than 50 proposals and new rules were introduced for the new legislative session, including additional local sales tax in all Virginia counties and cities, 7News reported.
The new proposed policies include:
- dog walking and grooming tax
- gun and ammunition tax
- new income tax brackets
- storage facility tax
- dry cleaning tax
- home repair tax
- new personal property tax on electric leaf blowers and electric landscaping equipment
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A delivery tax would apply to deliveries made by Amazon, Uber Eats, FedEx and UPS orders in northern Virginia.
In 2025, Democrats picked up several seats in the House of Delegates, resulting in a large Democratic majority. The party also holds a majority in the state Senate.
“Virginians should judge Democrats by their actions, not their campaign slogans,” Republican state Senator Tara Durant told Fox News Digital. “And their actions speak for themselves—pushing dozens of new tax proposals that raise costs on hardworking families. Virginians deserve leadership that actually makes life more affordable, not more expensive.“
Fox News Digital has reached out to House Speaker Don Scott and State Senator Majority Leader Scott Surovell about the potential tax increases, asking how they would make Virginia more affordable, as well as what the additional tax revenue would be spent on.
Newly sworn-in Gov. Abigail Spanberger ran on a platform of making Virginia more affordable.
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After taking office earlier this month, she said the state will rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which will add a fee to monthly electric bills.
Americans For Tax Reform, a group that advocates for lower taxes, criticized the proposals, saying state Democrats were seeking to do the opposite of neighboring states, which are trying to lower taxes.
“It’s always a bad time to raise taxes, but it would be particularly foolish for Governor Spanberger and the Democrats who now control Richmond to do so at this time of heightened state tax competition,” said ATR leader Grover Norquist. “Governors and lawmakers in other states aren’t just seeking to reduce income taxes and other levies, they’re pursuing full tax elimination in many state capitals.”
“For individuals, families, and employers who wish to avoid the hostile tax policies pursued by Democrats in Richmond, they have plenty of options close by,” he added.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Spanberger, the Virginia Republican Party, as well as Scott and Surovell.
US allies edge closer to Beijing as critics warn China is gaining leverage over Washington
As U.S. allies reopen trade and diplomatic channels with Beijing, critics warn that short-term economic relief is coming at the cost of deeper Chinese leverage — and weakening Washington’s ability to keep a united front against a strategic rival.
From Canada to Europe and Asia, U.S. allies are recalibrating economic ties with China as trade friction with Washington intensifies. Supporters frame the outreach as pragmatic and limited, but critics say it risks giving Beijing deeper access to Western industries.
Canada’s move has become the clearest illustration of the dilemma facing U.S. allies. After years of strained relations with Beijing, Prime Minister Mark Carney last week announced steps to reopen trade channels with China, including easing restrictions on Chinese electric vehicles in exchange for relief on Canadian agricultural exports.
“We don’t know whether (Prime Minister) Mark Carney signed up that trade agreement because he genuinely believes Canada should align with China, or he’s trying to create some leverage in discussions with President Trump,” said Gordon Chang, a China analyst and author. “But in either case, it’s not good for us.”
EUROPEAN LEADERS WARN TRUMP TARIFFS OVER GREENLAND ‘RISK A DANGEROUS DOWNWARD SPIRAL’
On Saturday, Trump threatened 100% tariffs on Canadian goods if the country “makes a deal” with China, escalating a war of words that has included Trump suggesting Canada should become the U.S.’s 51st state.
Canada is not alone. Similar recalculations are underway across Europe and Asia as other U.S. allies weigh economic pressure against long-term strategic risk.
In Britain, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is traveling to Beijing this week — the first visit by a U.K. leader in eight years — as London seeks to stabilize trade ties with China after years of tension over Hong Kong, espionage concerns and Chinese investment in critical infrastructure. British officials have framed the trip as narrowly economic, but critics warn it signals a broader willingness to compartmentalize security concerns in pursuit of market access.
“Like it or not, China matters for the U.K.,” Starmer said on the visit, adding it had been “far too long” since a British prime minister visited Beijing.
Across continental Europe, leaders have taken a more cautious but still notable approach. Germany’s new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is expected to visit China in February, while Finland’s prime minister already has met with Chinese officials in Beijing.
President Donald Trump is also expected to travel to China in April.
In Asia, South Korea has gone further rhetorically.
President Lee Jae-myung recently called for a “full-scale restoration” of ties with China, underscoring Seoul’s dependence on Chinese trade even as it deepens security cooperation with the United States and Japan.
Trade analysts say these moves reflect economic reality more than geopolitical realignment.
Chad Bown, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said smaller and mid-sized economies facing trade barriers with the United States are under pressure to find alternative markets.
“If they’re no longer allowed to sell to the U.S. market, they have to sell somewhere else,” Bown said. “And the other major large economy out there is China.”
“Allies are clearly deepening commercial ties with Beijing — but this isn’t choosing China over America,” Hart said. “It’s hedging, keeping options open while Washington proves unpredictable,” said Adam Irwin, managing partner of strategic insights at the financial investment firm Heligan Group.
“But when allies diversify trade toward Beijing, their willingness to absorb economic pain in a future crisis diminishes — and that weakens America’s ability to coordinate on issues like export controls, sanctions, and Taiwan.”
TREY GOWDY: CHINA IS MISJUDGING TRUMP ON TRADE. IT MAY SOON BE VERY SURPRISED
Critics argue that the renewed outreach to Beijing overlooks how closely Chinese companies are tied to the Chinese Communist Party — and how difficult it can be to unwind economic exposure once it takes hold.
Nazak Nikakhtar, a former Trump administration official and China policy expert, said Western governments have repeatedly underestimated the degree of control Beijing exercises over ostensibly private firms.
“What business leaders and government leaders fail to fully acknowledge is that they assume Chinese companies are acting autonomously — and that’s just not the case,” Nikakhtar said.
She warned that Chinese investment and trade often follow a familiar pattern: targeting commodity sectors and lower-value industries first, generating revenue that is then used to move up the value chain and undercut foreign competitors.
“If you get control of the commodity factor, that’s where the revenue is to invest in next-generation technologies,” she said.
Nikakhtar said the risk is not just overseas dumping, but what happens when Chinese firms establish a presence inside Western economies. Once that happens, she said, governments lose key policy tools.
She pointed to past cases where Chinese firms acquired Western companies not to grow them, but to extract technology and eliminate competitors. In one instance, she said, a Chinese company acquired the U.S.-based Segway manufacturer, later acknowledging it was interested in the self-balancing technology rather than the product itself.
“It’s almost like leaving the doors unlocked and wondering how the burglars got in,” Nikakhtar said, arguing that both the United States and its allies have failed to put sufficient safeguards in place to prevent predatory foreign investment.
Others warn the consequences of allies’ outreach to China extend beyond trade, shaping global perceptions of U.S. leadership at a moment when Beijing is actively pushing a narrative of Western decline.
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Chang said the steady stream of Western leaders traveling to Beijing risks reinforcing that message.
“The images and the pictures of all of these Western leaders bowing down to Xi Jinping doesn’t help us,” Chang said, arguing that China increasingly uses trade and diplomacy as tools of information warfare.
Chang warned that uncertainty around U.S. trade policy has made it easier for Beijing to present itself as a predictable alternative, even as China restricts imports and relies on one-way trade.
“We need to become predictable,” he said, adding that allies’ outreach to Beijing complicates Washington’s ability to maintain a united front.
China executes 11 people convicted in scam crackdown
China executed 11 people convicted of intentional homicide, fraud and other crimes linked to a cross-border scam operation, after the country’s top court approved their death sentences, authorities said Thursday.
The announcement was published on the website for the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, China’s highest state body responsible for criminal prosecution and oversight.
The executions followed a ruling and execution order from the Supreme People’s Court, which upheld lower court judgments against members of the so-called Ming family criminal group.
They were accused of running large-scale telecommunications fraud and gambling operations from northern Myanmar that involved more than 10 billion yuan, roughly $1.4 billion.
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Authorities said the group colluded with criminal organizations led by “financial backers” to operate telecom fraud schemes, illegal casinos, drug trafficking and prostitution operations.
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“The Ming family criminal group also colluded with the online fraud criminal group of Wu Hongming and others to deliberately kill, intentionally injure, and illegally detain people involved in fraud, resulting in the death of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to many others,” the Supreme People’s Procuratorate said.
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Ming Guoping, Ming Zhenzhen, Zhou Weichang, Wu Hongming, Wu Senlong, and Fu Yubin were among those sentenced to death in September by the Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court of Zhejiang Province.
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Some of the defendants appealed, but the Zhejiang Higher People’s Court on Nov. 25 rejected the appeal, upheld the original verdict and submitted the case to the Supreme People’s Court for mandatory review.
Authorities said the prisoners were allowed to meet with close relatives before the executions were carried out.
Feds charge 87 individuals in massive ATM ‘jackpotting’ operation linked to Tren de Aragua gang
At least 87 individuals connected to the Venezuelan terrorist organization Tren de Aragua (TdA) have been indicted for a massive scheme in which members allegedly stole millions of dollars from ATMs nationwide, a crime commonly known as “ATM jackpotting.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska announced Monday 31 new defendants, joining 56 others previously charged in a major Homeland Security Task Force operation.
The criminal ring, largely composed of Venezuelan and Colombian nationals and TdA members, used the stolen funds to fuel its terrorist activity, including human trafficking, sex trafficking of children, kidnapping, murder and “other unspeakably evil and violent acts,” according to U.S. Attorney Lesley A. Woods for the District of Nebraska.
“Tren de Aragua is a complex terrorist organization that commits serious financial crimes in addition to horrific rapes, murders, and drug trafficking,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement.
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT UNSEALS MULTI-STATE INDICTMENTS AGAINST TREN DE ARAGUA LEADERS FOR VIOLENT CRIMES
“This Department of Justice has already prosecuted more than 290 members of Tren de Aragua and will continue working tirelessly to put these vicious terrorists behind bars after the prior administration let them infiltrate our country,” she added.
January’s indictment alleges 32 counts involving bank fraud, bank burglary, computer fraud and damage to computers.
ALLEGED TREN DE ARAGUA BOSS ADDED TO FBI’S MOST WANTED, SANCTIONED BY TREASURY: ‘NO BORDER WILL SHIELD HIM’
According to the Justice Department, members allegedly hacked into ATMs and forced machines to dispense cash by deploying a malware variant known as Ploutus, which was designed to delete evidence of its presence in an effort to conceal the crime.
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Officials said members arrived at targeted banks and credit unions to scout ATMs and note any external security features. The groups would then open the hood or door of the machines and wait to determine whether an alarm or a law enforcement response had been triggered. Once clear, the groups installed malware by removing the hard drive and installing the software directly, replacing the hard drive with one preloaded with Ploutus, or connecting an external device, such as a thumb drive, to deploy the malware.
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The update follows two similar indictments last year in December and October. The total 87 individuals involved face a range of federal offenses, including material support to a designated foreign terror organization, bank burglary, bank fraud, money laundering, damage and unauthorized access to protected computers, and conspiracy to commit the same offenses.
Thune promises ‘safe streets, more money in pockets’ as GOP senators hit the road to tout tax cuts
FIRST ON FOX: Republican senators are hitting the road to sell the Working Families Tax Cuts Act in meetings with local business owners and families, Senate Majority Leader John Thune highlighted.
More than a dozen senators, including Thune, have held events in multiple states during separate trips, including to Texas, West Virginia, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Ohio, Florida and Louisiana.
“When Joe Biden and Democrats had unified control of government, they created open borders and high prices,” Thune told Fox News Digital. “Republicans, on the other hand, have delivered safe streets, more money in pockets, and new opportunities to get ahead through the historic Working Families Tax Cuts.”
“Now we need to make sure the American people know it. Republicans will be hitting the ground hard in 2026 to sell our accomplishments and continue building on our work with the Trump-Vance administration to create a safe, strong, and prosperous America,” Thune added.
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The GOP senators who have held events are John Cornyn of Texas, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Jim Justice of West Virginia, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, John Boozman of Arkansas, Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, Dan Sullivan of Arkansas, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Katie Britt of Alabama, Ashley Moody of Florida, Jon Husted of Ohio and Rick Scott of Florida.
Senate candidates Mike Rogers and Michael Whatley also joined Thune, Cornyn, Barrasso and Husted during a trip to the southern border in early January to see progress made on improving national security. The Working Families Tax Cuts Act, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, included a roughly $165 billion investment for immigration and border security efforts, including $46.5 billion for funding for the border wall.
Other senators met with local businesses in their respective states to discuss how the bill could benefit local communities.
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“This week, I visited Kamp A Demics Learning Center, one of Montgomery’s child care centers, where I toured the facility and read to some of the precious children,” Britt posted to X. “I also participated in a roundtable discussion on the updated child care tax credits I secured in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act and my continued work to address our child care crisis.”
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to speak with restaurant owners and community leaders about Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts Act — a law that will eliminate taxes on tips and overtime,” Husted posted to X with photos highlighting the event that took place in Ohio.
The bill passed the Senate on July 1, 2025, and Trump signed it into law on July 4, 2025.
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The Tax Foundation estimates that the legislation includes $3,752 in tax cuts for the average taxpayer in the U.S. in 2026, with the highest savings in Teton County, Wyoming, seeing an estimated $37,373 per taxpayer in 2026.
The basis for the tax cuts come from an extension of provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was signed into law by Trump during his first term. The TCJA doubled the standard deduction for single and married jointly filing households, and reduced income tax rates, with the top rate falling from 39.6% to 37%.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) also extended a Child Tax Credit that was part of the TCJA, which reduces how much income tax a family owes for each qualifying child, up to $2,500 per child, per year.
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Thune joined Cassidy at a restaurant in Louisiana to talk with servers and employees about how the “no tax on tips” portion of the OBBBA would put more money in their pockets.
The main portion of the OBBBA that is new from the TCJA extensions excludes qualified tip income from federal income tax up to $25,000 per year, and excludes qualified overtime income from federal income tax up to $12,500 for single filers and $25,000 for marriages filing jointly. Payroll taxes still apply to tips and overtime, and benefits will eventually be phased out in 2028.
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Critics of the legislation point to a reduction in federal income, thus increasing national debt in the short term, and the shifting of Medicaid costs to states rather than the federal government.
The Tax Foundation also estimates that the bill will create roughly 938,000 full-time equivalent jobs over the long run.
Carney pushes back on Trump’s 100% tariff threat over China trade deals with Canada amid tensions
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday that Canada has no plans to pursue a free trade deal with China, pushing back against President Trump’s threat to slap 100% tariffs on Canadian goods.
Carney said Canada’s recent agreement with China only rolled back tariffs in a few sectors that had been hit in recent years and did not amount to a free trade deal. He noted that under the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement, Canada has committed not to pursue free trade agreements with nonmarket economies without prior notification.
“We have no intention of doing that with China or any other nonmarket economy,” Carney said. “What we have done with China is to rectify some issues that developed in the last couple of years.”
Carney made his first official visit to China earlier this month as he and Chinese President Xi Jinping work together to forge an improved bond between their countries. The leaders reached an agreement that would allow up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles to enter the Canadian market at a lower tariff rate of 6.1%, Carney’s office said.
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In 2024, Canada matched U.S. trade policy by imposing a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles and a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum. China retaliated with 100% duties on Canadian canola oil and meal and 25% tariffs on pork and seafood.
Trump issued his tariff threat in a social media post, warning that if Carney “thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken.”
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In another post on Sunday, Trump claimed Canada is being taken over by China.
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“China is successfully and completely taking over the once Great Country of Canada,” Trump’s post read. “So sad to see it happen. I only hope they leave Ice Hockey alone!”