Todd Bensman

From Journalism to Counterterrorism Intelligence - and Back.

Magazine Work

Massive Stanford Ponzi Scheme Decimates Mexico City’s Jews

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In the late 2000s, Houston fraudster Robert Allen Stanford operated a massive Ponzi scheme that laid financial waste to Jewish organizations and individuals of every income level in Mexico and Latin America. A lawyer representing Latin American victims estimates that half of the one billion dollars lost in Mexico came from the capital’s 40,000-strong Jewish population. The smaller Jewish community … [Read more...] about Massive Stanford Ponzi Scheme Decimates Mexico City’s Jews

Divine Retreat

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A mysterious ranch east of San Antonio, home to a Noah’s Ark of exotic animal species, serves as an opulent family haven for the iconoclastic leader of Light of the World Church, a controversial Mexico-based denomination followed by allegations of child sexual abuse and intimidation. Leader Samuel Juaquin Flores claims he and his family are deities with a direct link to Jesus. By TODD BENSMAN … [Read more...] about Divine Retreat

The Terrorist at City Hall

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Mufid Abdulqader was a popular civil engineer. But he sang in a band that called for the destruction of Israel, and the government believes he has secret ties to terrorists. Last summer, his two worlds collided. By Todd Bensman, Special to D Magazine - January 2005 ROOM 305 of the Oak Cliff Municipal Building, an outpost of Dallas City Hall, houses some of the city’s most highly skilled … [Read more...] about The Terrorist at City Hall

Jihadists at the Door: Countering Terrorist Infiltration at America’s Land Borders

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By Todd Bensman, Special to Homeland Security Today, December 2016  Todd Bensman In March 2011, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigators set their final dragnet at the Miami International Airport and waited to score a win in the war on terror. Soon enough, their longtime quarry, Iran Ul Haq, a Pakistani resident of Ecuador they’d been tracking across the globe for months, … [Read more...] about Jihadists at the Door: Countering Terrorist Infiltration at America’s Land Borders

Tom Coleman is Not the Biggest Racist in America

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Long before "fake news," there was Tulia When 10 percent of the black residents of a small Panhandle town were busted for drugs, the white cop responsible became the national poster boy for racism. Tom Coleman was the Mark Fuhrman of Texas, the most hated lawman in America. Guess what? The media got the Tulia story all wrong—or never wanted to know the truth. Link to D Magazine story … [Read more...] about Tom Coleman is Not the Biggest Racist in America

Can a Mexican Cop Find Asylum in North Texas?

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As drug violence escalates, Mexican cops are fleeing the country. A Dallas immigration judge may decide whether one cop on the run lives or dies. ByTodd BensmanPublished in D MagazineNovember2009 MAN ON THE RUN: Jose Alarcon is in hiding from the Juarez Cartel.photography by RL Jones One day in April of last year, four-year police veteran Jose Alarcon and his partner, Capt. Felipe … [Read more...] about Can a Mexican Cop Find Asylum in North Texas?

What Will Happen to the Children of the Holy Land Foundation Trial?

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By Todd Bensman, special to D Magazine, September 2007 The federal trial of the richardson-based Holy Land Foundation is actually the last of a trio of trials. The five Elashi brothers, all of them immigrant Palestinians, have been indicted or convicted of various forms of supporting the terrorist group Hamas, or of trading with state terrorism sponsors like Syria. The current trial may last … [Read more...] about What Will Happen to the Children of the Holy Land Foundation Trial?

Zion’s Avenger

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An Arab Bank versus a Jewish lawyer In the first lawsuit of its kind, Dallas attorney Mark Werbner is suing the biggest bank in the Middle East for $1 billion. It has sparked multiple federal terrorism investigations. Treasury regulators levied $24 million in sanctions against the bank. They all but forced the closure of the bank’s Manhattan operations for “failing to manage the risks … of … [Read more...] about Zion’s Avenger

Hamas’ Rock Star

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By Todd Bensman -- Published February 13, 2006 DallasJUST DAYS after his party's upset landslide in the Palestinian elections, Hamas's supreme political leader, Khaled Meshal, was thrust into an unfamiliar spotlight, on the front page of the New York Times and in the looping reels of cable news shows. The whole world seems these days to hang on every defiant word Khaled utters from … [Read more...] about Hamas’ Rock Star

Murder on the High Seas

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Seven Cuban boat refugees adrift in a tiny boat, two hurricanes; only six made it ashore in Texas with a plan to never speak of the murdered captain. The six rare Cuban refugees miraculously washed ashore in Texas after two hurricanes with a secret—and a blood pact to protect it. A seventh person had been aboard their tiny craft, the boat’s captain. Suspiciously, no one told immigration … [Read more...] about Murder on the High Seas