Former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Joe Martinez has been denied a request for a new trial following his November 2024 conviction on political corruption charges. Martinez, who previously served five terms on the County Commission and twice as its Chair, was found guilty of accepting $15,000 from a supermarket owner in exchange for filing legislation to benefit the business. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 20, 2025, and faces up to 15 years in prison for improper compensation and five years for conspiracy to commit the crime. In Louisiana, Brandon Jarrow, also known as Brandi Jarrow—a trans activist previously featured in the PBS documentary 'A Fine Girl'—pleaded guilty to stealing over $100,000 in federal COVID-19 relief funds through fraudulent business loan applications. Jarrow admitted to submitting false information to obtain a $95,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan in June 2020 and a $20,833 Paycheck Protection Program loan in February 2021. Jarrow, who has a history of identity theft, is scheduled for sentencing on August 13, 2025, and faces up to 10 years in prison for theft of government funds, up to five years for making false statements, and potential fines of up to $250,000 per charge. In Baltimore County, a former corrections officer fraudulently received over $40,000 in federal loans under the Paycheck Protection Program by falsely claiming to operate a towing business. The officer, who could not provide documentation for the business, used the funds for unauthorized purposes. In Cooper City, Florida, Herminio Molina, the former president of the Cooper City Optimist Club, has been charged with grand theft of over $10,000 and organized scheme to defraud, with the total alleged amount exceeding $13,000. Molina is accused of renting out city-owned fields without authorization, mismanaging donations, and using club funds for personal benefit. Molina, who is out on bail, denies the charges and claims they are politically motivated as he runs for public office. In France, an accountant for eight schools in Seine-Saint-Denis, a former military officer, is under investigation for allegedly embezzling nearly 650,000 euros over eight years by misusing school bank cards for personal expenses.