An Aurora man has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for defrauding COVID-19 relief programs.

Russell Ray Foreman, 39, was sentenced to 66 months in prison on Friday for money laundering and wire fraud, according to a press release from the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s Office.

From March 29 to October 6, 2020, Foreman submitted seven fraudulent loan applications to the Small Business Administration, according to a plea agreement in the case. Two of the claims were approved and funded by the SBA, resulting in fraudulent proceeds of $196,500.

Foreman “knowingly misrepresented each company’s number of employees, gross revenue, cost of goods sold and date each company was established,” the statement said.

On May 14, 2020, Foreman filed a false and misleading Paycheck Protection Loan application, fraudulently obtaining $20,052. He also “aid and abetted” a co-defendant who falsely applied for a $150,000 loan.

The defendant had been associated with unsuccessful CARES Act claims totaling more than $2 million, according to the statement.

“We will continue to prosecute anyone who attempts to defraud the U.S. government with money purported to be used to keep small businesses afloat during this national emergency,” U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan said in the statement.

The sentence handed down by Judge Raymond P. Moore includes a $367,000 restitution order. The case was investigated by the Denver Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service.

(CNN) — A travel agency is urging travelers to visit Ukrainian bomb-ravaged cities – against international advice. North Korea has destroyed sites in the resort town of Mount Kumgang, once a symbol of reconciliation between North and South Korea. And Emirates CEO Tim Clark told CNN he wants Airbus to build a new superjumbo to replace the A380.

Here are the last trips of this week:

Is bigger better?

Dubai-based Emirates is the world’s largest operator of the Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger plane.

Tourism and Ukraine

life on the water

go west

The best of Europe

In case you missed it

A floating hotel there was once a symbol of reconciliation between North and South Korea.

When the crews looked like rock stars and the champagne flowed freely in the onboard lounge.

Spicy, funky and absolutely delicious.

Don’t forget your toothbrush

The once taboo topic of anabolic steroid use in the fitness and bodybuilding communities has become its own genre of Internet content.

“Natty or not” videos, in which people often speculate on who is “natty” (short for natural) and who uses steroids (not), now regularly rack up millions of views on YouTube and TikTok, while hundreds of commentators a day debate on a dedicated subreddit about influencers and celebrities who use steroids to power their physique. Podcaster Joe Rogan recently broached the topic, as did PewDiePie, one of YouTube’s most-followed people.

It’s a move championed by some notable names in bodybuilding who for years have exposed the secrecy around steroid use which they believe has also misled people into having inflated expectations for their own fitness goals. But the videos have also sparked a discussion about whether they are breaking stigma and secrecy or normalizing dangerous substance and unhealthy body norms.

“In a way, it almost puts more people in the sauce,” MK Angeletti, creator of YouTube channel Revival Fitness, said of the “Natty or Not” online content. “The basic intention is good, but then you open a door that spirals out of control.”

Steroids have been a part of the fitness world for decades, with some research estimating that up to 4 million Americans have used some kind of “anabolic androgenic steroid” to help build muscle despite its well-documented adverse health effects, including mental problems and possible liver and kidney damage. And although the possession or sale of anabolic steroids without a prescription is illegal, a growing number of fitness influencers are now speaking openly or strongly implying that they are not “classy”,

Meanwhile, the rise of social media and the fitness influencer community has already created well-known body image issues among young people.

“My social media homepages are filled with bodybuilders who appear to be on steroids but claim to be natural, which makes it very difficult for me to know what is realistically achievable as a youngster trying to break into the fitness game,” said Jacob Mathiasmeier, 21, who launched his own fitness page on TikTok this year.

Mathiasmeier said many young people, including teens and tweens, watch TikTok videos of bodybuilders who aren’t upfront about their diet. “How realistic is that for them?” he said.

Among the first fitness influencers to openly discuss their own steroid use was Greg Doucette, a world champion powerlifter who later became a bodybuilder and fitness influencer. Doucette said he started talking openly about steroids, including his own use, when he started creating a lot of fitness content four years ago. It was these videos, where he was honest about his steroid use, that originally went viral, he said.

“When I was very open about what I was doing, rather than people saying they hated me, people responded by saying how refreshing it was to see someone being honest,” Doucette said.

As for concerns about whether talking about steroids might normalize their use, Doucette said he felt the idea that people wouldn’t be aware of steroids was short-sighted.

“Do people think an aspiring 16 year old bodybuilder has never heard of a steroid?” he said.

Doucette has been particularly transparent about her regrets about her steroid use on social media.

Russia has admitted it is in talks with the United States to swap a notorious arms dealer for basketball player Brittney Griner, a Russian diplomat has said.

The diplomat’s comments marked the first time Russia has said it is in talks to swap Griner for Viktor Bout, 55, who is in prison in the United States, according to a report.

“Discussions on the very sensitive topic of an exchange are taking place through the channels chosen by our presidents,” said Alexander Dachiev, head of the North America department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, as quoted by the official TASS news agency. . “The silent diplomacy continues and should bear fruit if Washington, of course, is careful not to fall into propaganda.”

Griner, 31, was arrested at a Moscow airport in February after vaping cartridges containing a small amount of cannabis oil were found in her luggage. Griner was charged with drug trafficking and sentenced to nine years in prison earlier this month.

President Biden said earlier this month he was “hopeful” that Russia would release the hoop star, eight-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Bout, nicknamed “the merchant of death” for supplying weapons for conflicts in Africa and Latin America, was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and extradited to the United States. He was accused of supplying weapons in some of the world’s worst conflicts and sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2012.