The Minneapolis-St. Paul area was the focus of what officials termed a “first of its kind” operation to be expanded nationwide targeting people fraudulently seeking immigration benefits.

Operation Twin Shield kicked off Sept. 19 and wrapped up Monday, leading to multiple arrests, officials said at a joint press conference by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in coordination with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said Citizen and Immigrations Services Director Joseph B. Edlow.

“I want the American people to know we are declaring war on immigration fraud,” he said. “We will continue to pursue those who seek to abuse our immigration system using every tool at our disposal.”

Operation Twin Shield is the first phase, he said.

“If you seek to commit immigration fraud in this country, you will find yourself meeting with our officers at USCIS,” he said. “You will meet officers within our federal partners at ICE, CBP, FBI, DEA, whoever is working with us. And you will find yourself not only without benefits but you will find yourself prosecuted.”

The agencies Edlow cited refer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

When asked why the Twin Cities was chosen for the first operation, Edlow said it was based on data.

“When you look at what we are seeing as concerning patterns of fraud, we’re seeing good cooperation here, especially among our field office, working with our federal agents. It just makes sense to start it in a city where we have a sense of what’s going on and where we can try to make an impact,” he said. “So it was really based on reviewing data. Like I said, this is not the only city where this is going to be, this is the first of many.”

Hundreds of cases

The operations efforts focused on site visits to verify information people had submitted for immigration benefits such as marriage and family-based petitions, employment authorizations and certain parole-related requests. The operation looked at 1,000 possible fraud cases and involved more than 900 site visits and in-person interviews. Out of those, there was evidence of 275 suspected fraud cases.

Asked by the Pioneer Press how many arrests had been made, officials said they don’t get into specific numbers but that there had been “multiple” arrests.

A press release said that, as of Tuesday, four people had been apprehended but that the number might increase as investigations are completed.

In addition, in 42 instances, people were issued notices to appear or referred to ICE.

Examples

Edlow gave a few examples of the fraud cases that had been discovered:

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• One person admitted to paying $100 for a fake death certificate to falsely claim a marriage had been terminated.

• Another man who previously had engaged in marriage fraud had overstayed his visa and was the son of a known or suspected terrorist.

• A woman admitted to authorities that she had committed marriage fraud.

• In a fourth case, a man had engaged in marriage fraud with an elderly U.S. woman, abusing and exploiting her.

“Hundreds of bad actors will be held accountable,” said Edlow. “Immigration fraud undermines the integrity of our lawful immigration system, harms those who follow the law and poses risks to national security and public safety.”

Cheryl Reeve regrets not being able to coach in Game 4 of the WNBA’s Western Conference semifinals Sunday, an 86-81 loss to the Mercury in Phoenix that ended the Lynx’s season.

But she doesn’t necessarily regret the outburst that led to the suspension that had her watching the game on TV from her hotel room.

“That’s not life,” Reeve said Tuesday.

After a Phoenix steal led to an ankle injury to star forward Napheesa Collier in Game 3, Reeve stormed the court and had to be held back by assistant coaches while berating the game’s referees.

Collier said Tuesday she has torn ligaments in her left ankle, and that her calf muscle was pulled away from her shin.

Afterward, Reeve told reporters the quality of officiating in the WNBA is “malpractice.” The comments earned her a $15,000 fine and a suspension that ended her season one game before her team was knocked out by Phoenix.

“I will never apologize for being me,” Reeve said. “I do think it’s important to grow and understand consequences of actions, for sure. But I will always stand up for our players’ health and safety, and the fair treatment of our organization.”

It was a disappointing end for the Lynx, who matched a WNBA record for regular-season wins with 34 and advanced to semifinals with a first-round victory over Las Vegas. Last season, the Wild lost to New York in Game 5 of the finals.

“Sixty-four wins in two seasons is pretty incredible,” Reeve said.

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve stands on the court during a timeout in the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Indiana Fever Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

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By JIM GOMEZ

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — An offshore earthquake of magnitude 6.9 jolted the central Philippines and collapsed the walls of buildings late Tuesday, killing at least six people, injuring several more and sending residents scrambling out of homes into darkness as the intense shaking cut off power, officials said.

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The earthquake was centered about 10 miles northeast of Bogo, a coastal city of about 90,000 people in Cebu province, and struck about 10 p.m. local time.

Six people, including three coast guard personnel, a firefighter and a child, were killed in San Remigio town, south of Bogo, the town’s vice mayor, Alfie Reynes, told the DZMM radio network without elaborating how the victims died.

Reynes appealed for food and water, saying San Remigio’s water system was damaged by the earthquake. Heavy equipment may be needed to deal with damage in mountain villages in the area, Reynes said.

In Bogo, the quake damaged concrete walls of houses, a fire station and concrete and asphalt roads, firefighter Rey Cañete said.

“We were in our barracks to retire for the day when the ground started to shake and we rushed out but stumbled to the ground because of the intense shaking,” Cañete told The Associated Press by telephone, adding that he and three other firemen sustained cuts and bruises.

A concrete wall in their fire station collapsed, Cañete said. He and fellow firefighters provided first-aid to at least three residents, who were injured by falling debris and collapsed walls, including an elderly man with head injuries who they took to a nearby hospital, he said and added that more residents may have likely been injured due to the intense shaking.

Damage outside the Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima in Cebu City is shown on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, after strong offshore earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 shook the central Philippines. (Vince Sylvan A. Toring via AP)

Hundreds of terrified residents gathered in the darkness in a grassy field near the fire station and refused to return home hours after the earthquake struck in Bogo. Several business establishments visibly sustained damages and the asphalt and concrete roads where they passed had deep cracks, Cañete said, adding that an old Roman Catholic church in Daanbantayan town near Bogo was also damaged.

Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro said an unspecified number of houses and a hospital were damaged in Bogo and elsewhere and that emergency medical teams were being deployed to treat residents who were pinned and injured. The extent of the damage and injuries would not be known until daytime, she said.

“We’re sending already a trauma team there, doctors and nurses are on the way,” Baricuatro told the DZMM radio network. ”We need medicine, food, medical teams.”

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology briefly issued a tsunami warning and advised people to stay away from the coastlines in Cebu and in the nearby provinces of Leyte and Biliran due to possible waves of up to 3 feet.

Teresito Bacolcol, director of the institute, told The AP that the tsunami warning was later lifted with no unusual waves being monitored.

Central Philippine provinces were still recovering from a storm that hit on Friday, leaving at least 27 people dead mostly due to drownings and falling trees, knocking out power in entire cities and towns and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.

The Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The archipelago is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and storms each year.

By DEEPA BHARATH, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The star of Sean Feucht — once a little-known conservative Christian worship leader and musician — began to climb in 2020 as he challenged government restrictions brought on by the coronavirus’ tightening grip on the world.

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At well-attended protest concerts that brazenly flouted social distancing rules, he became a poster child against public health regulations curtailing in-person religious practice. It put Feucht in league with high-profile conservative pundits and elected officials from President Donald Trump to conservative influencer Charlie Kirk and Pete Hegseth, now the secretary of defense.

Alongside his Christian rockstar status, revenue to Feucht’s ministry also skyrocketed, jumping from $243,000 in 2019 to $5 million in 2020 — the last year his ministry filed a Form 990 with the IRS. It’s that deluge of money, Feucht’s and his ministry’s amassing of expensive real estate in its wake and their lack of financial transparency, which has former ministry staff and volunteers now accusing the worship leader of mismanaging ministry funds.

Three former associates with Feucht’s worship organizations, such as Burn 24-7, Let Us Worship and Light a Candle, shared details with The Associated Press about Feucht’s alleged financial mismanagement, verbal abuse and overworking volunteers and staff without fair wages.

Christy Gafford, the former national director and communications lead for Sean Feucht Ministries, said she was fired in May 2024 after demanding accountability and questioning why volunteers had to pay for Feucht to come to their communities.

“I would get very vague answers,” said Gafford, who served for eight years in various roles, including leading a Texas chapter of Burn 24-7. She believes those answers because the Charismatic Christian world emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit in the form of spiritual gifts, and that faith leaders embody that spirit. “You’re supposed to put your trust in your leaders.”

After being fired, Gafford began questioning why more money wasn’t used for local ministry initiatives when millions of dollars were spent by Feucht and his organization on real estate.

Feucht, who did not respond to the AP’s repeated requests for comment, dismissed these allegations as false in a social media video posted in June. He called them “embittered, upset, angered former volunteers” who had no knowledge of the ministry’s financial situation and “had to be dismissed because of moral issues.”

“We’re in great standing with the IRS, with our accountants,” he said. “Every single penny you have donated has gone to fulfill kingdom-ordained purpose and I stand by that.”

Real estate acquisitions questioned

Feucht said his ministry has spent money on visits to all 50 state capitals and about 30 other U.S. cities, purchased a tour bus and sound systems for concerts, and acquired real estate around the country.

“We’ve got real estate in D.C., which is awesome,” he said, referring to his ministry’s headquarters known as Camp Elah on Capitol Hill in Washington. “It’s such a blessing. We’re taking ground for Jesus and we’re not apologizing for that.”

Property records posted online by the concerned former associates show Sean Feucht Ministries has purchased nearly $7 million in property since 2020. The properties include two parsonages in Washington, D.C., and San Juan Capistrano, California, a 40-acre hunting property with a cabin in Creston-Bigfork, Montana, and 458 acres in Real County, a scenic region known as the “Swiss Alps of Texas.”

The property records also show Feucht and his wife personally own $4.5 million in real estate. That includes seven rental properties in Pennsylvania and a house in Redding, California, that were purchased between 2009 and 2023; a condo in the oceanside community of Dana Point, California, that they bought in April; and a Big Fork, Montana, property about 15 minutes from the ministry’s hunting ground.

In January, the couple also sold a house in an upscale Orange County, California, community for $1.7 million.

In this photo provided by Peter Hartzell, Peter and Amanda Hartzell, former associates of worship leader Sean Feucht’s ministry pose for a photo on Aug. 1, 2025, in St. Augustine, Fla. (Peter Hartzell via AP)

Peter Hartzell, who with his wife Amanda helped lead Burn 24-7 in Montana from 2008 to 2010, said he questions the need for a religious organization and a worship leader to amass high-value property around the country.

“How many of these properties are really being used for ministry?” he asked, pointing to how a property in Orange County listed as a parsonage for Sean Feucht Ministries is about 8 miles (13 kilometers) from another residence personally owned by Feucht.

Christian watchdogs raise concerns

Feucht’s real estate acquisitions have also been questioned by independent Christian watchdog organizations such as MinistryWatch and the Trinity Foundation.

Last year, MinistryWatch, a nonprofit that grades the nation’s 1,000 largest Christian ministries “based on transparency, accountability and credibility,” gave Sean Feucht Ministries an F, asking donors to “withhold giving” to the organization. Feucht’s accumulation of expensive real estate was a factor, as was his organization’s decision not to file Form 990s after 2020 when its earnings rose significantly, said Warren Cole Smith, president of MinistryWatch.

He said the “biggest red flag” was the organization’s failure to file a Form 990, which describes how a nonprofit allocates its money but isn’t legally required of some religious organizations. The ministry’s most recent 2020 filing shows it took in $5 million, but spent only $1 million on ministry work, leaving a surplus of about $4 million, Smith said.

It is unclear if the real estate amassed by Feucht’s organization is being used for ministry, Smith said, adding that MinistryWatch’s repeated requests for additional responses from Feucht and his organization have gone unanswered. Religious organizations are not legally require to file Form 990s, and it is legal for pastors to take housing allowances to purchase a home or pay rent, Smith said.

“But the ownership of multiple homes does take concerns up a notch and would cause us to want to know more,” he said. “Right now, we just don’t know.”

Smith says a vast majority of ministries that take in $5 million or more annually “behave responsibly” by joining the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, getting audited financial statements and filing Form 990s.

“All of this costs time and money,” he said. “But when you make millions in profit each year, you’ve got plenty of money to comply with these transparency and disclosure requirements.”

In this photo provided by Richie Booth, a former associate of worship leader Sean Feucht’s ministry, he poses for a photo on Oct. 22, 2022, in Redding, Calif. (Kyle Re via AP)

Bookkeeper saw ‘financial dodginess’

One of the former associates, Richie Booth of Redding, California, became a bookkeeper for Burn 24-7 and Light a Candle after he came to Feucht in 2019 as an administrative intern during the worship leader’s unsuccessful bid for Congress. He said he saw irregularities such as the blurring of personal and ministry expenses. However, Booth said, he initially accepted Feucht’s “financial dodginess” as part of the chaotic personality he projected.

“It’s all just urgency and crisis created by him on the one hand to fuel his employees to burn themselves out, and on the other, to solicit donations because everything is urgent and happening right now,” he said.

Booth said he did not have access to Feucht’s business credit card statements to categorize expenses properly. The lines between personal and ministry expenses were blurred, he said. In addition, Booth said he was concerned that employees were not getting paid due wages, including overtime, and wondered if such practices were being normalized by Feucht.

Hartzell said he and his wife parted ways with the ministry after they raised objections to being verbally abused by Feucht and felt pressured to travel to global events at their own expense.

“We’re often asked why it took us so long to speak up,” he said. “You just try to find excuses. It took us a while to understand that this was not normal.”

In this photo provided by Christy Gafford, a former associate of worship leader Sean Feucht’s ministry, she poses for a photo in August 2025, in Corsicana, Texas. (Christy Gafford via AP)

Still a unique figure among worship leaders

Booth, Hartzell and Gafford said they initially felt inspired by Feucht’s message.

“I found language, context and theology for a lot of things that I felt had been in my heart for a long time,” Booth said.

Feucht still performs in churches across Southern California, where he resides, and around the country. He has hundreds of thousands of social media followers and the support of pastors and congregations nationwide. This summer, his Canadian tour sparked a religious freedom debate after multiple cities revoked his public venue permits for safety concerns and backlash over his anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion views. After Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Feucht performed at a vigil at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Adam Perez, a worship studies professor at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, said Feucht has built a strong political platform by “doing stump speeches in the form of worship concerts around the country” and tapping into social issues that resonate with conservative Christians.

“That’s what makes him a unique figure among musicians and worship leaders on the religious right,” he said.

Perez pointed to Feucht’s song “Imago Dei,” which in Latin means “image of God” about the sanctity of life, released soon after the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision ending a nationwide right to abortion.

“There aren’t other figures like him in the worship space who are fully active in political engineering,” he said.

Despite his initial connection with Feucht’s work, Booth said he became disheartened by what he saw within the organization.

“I’ve seen so many people get taken advantage of, go through burnout and how their health suffered because of how much they poured into these ministries,” he said. “They neglected their own finances and ended up decimated from how much they gave — thinking they were doing something good and beneficial.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.