Northern District of Iowa
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Man Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
A man who sexually exploited children and received child pornography pled guilty on March 23, 2026, in federal court in Cedar Rapids. Steven William Acklin, age 28, formerly from Waterloo, Iowa, was convicted of sexual exploitation of children and receipt of child pornography.
At the plea hearing, Acklin admitted that between January 2024 and September 2024, Acklin persuaded, induced, and enticed multiple minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of that conduct. Between October 2023 and November 2024, he received child pornography.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Acklin remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Acklin faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 50 years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 25-CR-2058. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Guatemalan Man Guilty of Illegal Reentry and Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
Sergio Niz-Mendez, age 27, from Guatemala, pled guilty to illegal reentry and failure to register as a sex offender on March 23, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City.
At the plea hearing, Niz-Mendez admitted he was a citizen of Guatemala, that he had previously been removed from the United States in 2018, and that he had not sought permission to legally be in the United States. He further admitted that due to a 2016 rape of a child with force conviction in Massachusetts, he was required to register as a sex offender which he failed to do. Niz-Mendez was found in O’Brien County, Iowa, after he was arrested for operating while intoxicated and eluding.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is complete. He remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. For the illegal reentry conviction, he faces a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and one year of supervised release. For the failure to register conviction, he faces a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and five years to life of supervise release.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-4065. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Fort Dodge Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
A man who illegally possessed a firearm pled guilty March 24, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City.
Miguel Lopez, 31, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, was convicted of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
At the plea hearing, Lopez admitted to possessing a 9mm pistol on August 7, 2025, in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Law enforcement located the firearm after they observed Lopez dumping it outside his car window during a traffic stop. Lopez has four prior drug-related felony convictions. As a felon, Lopez is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Lopez remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Lopez faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Fort Dodge Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-3045. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Carroll Iowa Man to Federal Prison for Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Paul Diamond Sanchez, 52, from Carroll, Iowa, was sentenced on March 23, 2026, to 78 months’ imprisonment. Sanchez pled guilty on November 20, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, in federal court in Sioux City.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that from July 2024 through May 2025 Sanchez and others distributed at least 35 grams of pure methamphetamine in the Carroll, Iowa area. On two occasions in the summer of 2024, Sanchez distributed a total of over 25 grams of pure methamphetamine to an individual cooperating with law enforcement. During a traffic stop in October 2024, Sanchez had over 9 grams of pure methamphetamine in his pants pocket which he admitted he obtained to sell to another person or persons.
United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Sanchez to 78 months’ imprisonment, and a term of four years supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Sanchez remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, Manning Police Department, Iowa State Patrol, and Iowa DCI Laboratory.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-3022. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Methamphetamine and Fentanyl Dealer Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A Chicago man who distributed methamphetamine and fentanyl was sentenced on March 20, 2026, to more than 15 years in federal prison.
Devon Frazier, age 26, from Chicago, Illinois, received the prison term after a December 20, 2024, guilty plea to one count of distribution of methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
Information disclosed at the sentencing hearing showed that, on February 8, 2023, Frazier distributed over 111 grams of ice methamphetamine to another individual. On February 13, 2023, Frazier distributed 282 grams of purported methamphetamine to another individual. Laboratory testing confirmed that the purported methamphetamine was in fact sea salt. Following the transaction, officers stopped a car occupied by Frazier and arrested him. While officers transported Frazier to the Linn County Correctional Center, Frazier dropped a baggie of 362 pills containing fentanyl onto the floorboard of the patrol car. Officers later recovered the baggie.
Evidence at the sentencing hearing also showed that, on March 3, 2023, Frazier distributed a purported Xanax pill to a 19‑year‑old female. The purported Xanax pill, however, contained fentanyl. The female ingested the pill in the early morning hours of March 4, 2023, and suffered a fentanyl‑related overdose and died. Following the overdose, Frazier threatened to kill individuals that he believed were cooperating with law enforcement.
Frazier was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Frazier was sentenced to 190 months’ imprisonment, and he must also serve a five‑year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Frazier is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Johnson County Drug Enforcement Task Force.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23‑CR‑00080‑CJW.
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Fort Dodge Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Meth ConvictionsRead the Press Release
Marcus Hill, 53, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, was sentenced in federal court in Sioux City on March 20, 2026, to 144 months’ imprisonment. Hill pled guilty November 7, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine near a protected location.
At the plea hearing in November, Hill admitted that between 2018 and March 2025, he conspired to distribute methamphetamine in the Fort Dodge, Iowa area. Hill distributed over 300 grams of pure methamphetamine to an individual cooperating with law enforcement on three separate occasions in March of 2025. One of those distributions occurred within 1,000 feet of a protected location, namely Deercreek Apartments, a public housing authority in Fort Dodge.
United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Hill to 144 months’ imprisonment, and a term of 10 years supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Hill remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Dodge Police Department, Iowa State Patrol, and Iowa DCI Laboratory.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-3034. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Sioux City Man to Federal Prison for Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Anthony Girard, age 40, from Sioux City, Iowa, was sentenced today to 97 months’ imprisonment. Girard pled guilty to receiving child pornography on November 12, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that from September 2023 through January 13, 2025, Girard received and possessed child pornography. Girard admitted he used file sharing services to exchange over 24,000 files over the course of two years. During the investigation, agents from around Iowa were able to connect Girard’s IP address to thousands of files of child pornography in 2023 and 2024. Agents searched his home and electronic devices on January 13, 2025. Girard admitted he deleted file sharing apps off his phone while driving home on January 13, 2025, as law enforcement officers searched his home. Girard possessed child pornography that included depictions of infants and toddlers as well as sadistic and masochistic conduct. Girard also has a prior conviction in South Dakota state court for sexual contact without consent.
United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Girard to 97 months’ imprisonment along with a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Girard was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to the victims in the case and $1,100 in fines and assessments. Girard remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
The case was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-4023.
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Lake City Man Pleads Guilty to Meth and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine while illegally possessing a gun pled guilty March 18, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City.
Clayton Brown, age 34, from Lake City, Iowa, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. Brown has seven prior felony convictions that prohibited him from possessing guns.
At the plea hearing, Brown admitted being in a conspiracy that distributed at least four pounds of methamphetamine in about eight-months in 2025. Twice in October 2025, Brown distributed over 80 grams of pure methamphetamine to an individual cooperating with law enforcement. During a search of Brown’s home, officers seized a Glock handgun, methamphetamine, marijuana, over $2,000 in cash, and other items related to drug distribution.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Brown remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Brown faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,250,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa DCI Laboratory, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-3057. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Dubuque Drug Trafficker Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who distributed over seven pounds of methamphetamine was sentenced on March 17, 2026, to a decade in federal prison.
Michael Scott Boen, II, age 33, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 23, 2025, guilty plea to distribution of a controlled substance following a conviction for a serious drug felony.
Evidence at sentencing showed that between September 2024 and January 2025, Boen sold more than seven pounds of methamphetamine. In October 2024, law enforcement officers stopped Boen in Dubuque, Iowa, and seized 12 grams of methamphetamine from his car. Two weeks later, Boen attempted to sell a stolen gun to a drug dealer in exchange for more methamphetamine. Officers searched his house in January 2025 and located additional methamphetamine.
Boen was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Boen was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment and must also serve an eight-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Boen is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and former Special Assistant United States Attorney Jared Manternach and was investigated by the Dubuque Police Department, the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, the Dubuque Drug Task Force, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-1016. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Waterloo Man Sentenced to Three Years in Federal Prison for Preparing and Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
A man who prepared fraudulent tax returns for himself and others was sentenced on March 13, 2026, to three years in federal prison.
Tresor Mugogo Ngoy, age 41, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 25, 2025, guilty plea to one count of making and subscribing a false tax return.
Mugogo Ngoy admitted that he signed and filed a false tax return in his own name for the 2020 tax year. Evidence at sentencing showed that he also filed false tax returns in his own name for every tax year between 2017 and 2022. Evidence also showed that Mugogo Ngoy, who is originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was being paid by other people in the Congolese community in Waterloo to prepare tax returns. Mugogo Ngoy falsified tax returns by claiming deductions and credits to which the taxpayers were not entitled. Mugogo Ngoy prepared more than 50 false returns that claimed more than $250,000 in fraudulent refunds. He was generally paid between $100 and $300 in cash to prepare a tax return.
Mugogo Ngoy has been in the United States since 2012. His lengthy criminal record includes five convictions for operating while intoxicated and convictions for other driving-related offenses. Mugogo Ngoy is currently serving a five-year prison term in the State of Iowa after an April 2025 conviction for operating while intoxicated in Black Hawk County.
Mugogo Ngoy was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. He was sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment and ordered to make more than $250,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
“As the tax filing deadline looms, most taxpayers are filing timely, accurate tax returns. But those looking to cheat the government should know IRS—Criminal Investigation exists to track cheaters down and hold them accountable,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge William Steenson. “That not only applies to individual filers, but also to those who prepare and submit fraudulent tax returns for others.”
“The American income-tax system relies on trust and honesty,” said United States Attorney Leif Olson. “Not just the federal government’s trust that we’ll pay our taxes honestly, but each taxpayer’s trust in every other taxpayer that we’ll all play by the rules. When a cheat like Mugogo Ngoy drains money from the federal treasury, he isn’t taking advantage of a system; he’s taking advantage of every one of us who has paid taxes honestly. Now he’ll pay the price.”
Mugogo Ngoy is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-cr-2031.
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Man with History of Violence Who Threated Two People with a Loaded Firearm Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Capri Rogers, age 37, from Alexandria Virginia, was sentenced today to more than 7 years in federal prison, after pleading guilty on October 1, 2025, to possession of a firearm by a felon.
Evidence in the case revealed on July 4, 2025, law enforcement responded to a report of harassment and that the subject had a firearm. Rogers had approached two women who were riding bicycles and threatened them with the firearm. Later in the day, law enforcement located Rogers. Rogers denied any knowledge of the incident and fled on foot from the officer, dropping a firearm in the street as he ran. A child was within feet of the weapon when it struck the pavement. Rogers was taken into custody.
Rogers’ criminal history includes two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon in 2022, an assault and battery of a family member in 2016, the use of a firearm in a robbery in 2008, and a robbery in 2008. At the sentencing hearing, evidence showed that during the 2022 firearm offense Rogers had actually used the firearm to subject a live-in girlfriend to prolonged abuse.
Rogers was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand to 90 months’ imprisonment. Judge Strand described Rodgers’ conduct relating to the 2022 firearms offense as “sadistic.” Rogers must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Rogers is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department and the United States Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF). This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-4043.
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Waterloo Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Role in Stealing GunsRead the Press Release
A woman who helped her boyfriend steal fifteen guns from a house in Waterloo was sentenced on March 9, 2026, to more than three years in federal prison.
Jena Lea Wells, age 30, from Silvis, Illinois, received the prison term after a September 19, 2025, guilty plea to possession of stolen firearms.
Information from the plea and sentencing hearings showed that in June 2024, Wells was living in Waterloo, Iowa. She was in a relationship with Justin Barnes. That month, the two of them stole fifteen guns from an unoccupied house in Waterloo. Wells acted as a lookout while Barnes stole the guns. They took the stolen guns to Wells’s residence.
Barnes then tried to sell the guns. During a traffic stop on June 10, 2024, Waterloo police officers located several of the stolen guns in Barnes’s backpack. Wells attempted to hide the bag from the officers during the stop by pulling it to where she was sitting in the car. Officers then searched Wells’s home twice. During the first search, Wells lied about any stolen firearms being in the home. When officers returned and found additional, stolen firearms at Wells’s home during the second search, she falsely denied knowing that the guns were there.
Wells was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Wells was sentenced to 41 months’ imprisonment. She must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Barnes has pled guilty in federal court and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1, 2026.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Wells is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-2022.
Jury Convicts Man from Coggon of Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
A man who received and possessed child pornography was convicted by a jury today, after a three-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids. Matthew Jason Manos, age 42, from Coggon, Iowa, was convicted of receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography, including a depiction of a prepubescent minor or a minor who had not attained 12 years of age. The verdict was returned this afternoon following about two and a half hours of jury deliberations.
The evidence at trial showed that in February 2023, law enforcement officers searched Manos’s residence in Coggon and took his cell phone. Between December 2022 and February 2023, Manos had downloaded images of child pornography. He viewed the images on his cell phone multiple times. Manos then moved to Illinois, where he was arrested in August 2023. During his arrest, law enforcement officers took his new cell phone. Evidence showed that Manos had used that new phone to access child pornography. Manos was previously convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child, lascivious acts with a child, lascivious conduct with a child, dissemination and exhibition of obscene material to minors, and indecent exposure.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Manos remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Manos faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, and a lifetime term of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Devra T. Hake and Ashley Corkery and was investigated by the Linn County Sheriff’s Office and the Cedar Rapids Police Department, with assistance by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-14.
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Fort Dodge Man to Federal Prison for Firearms OffenseRead the Press Release
A man who possessed stolen and unregistered short-barreled firearms was sentenced yesterday to more than eight years in federal prison.
Jason Jay Hoogland, 38, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 31, 2025, guilty plea to one count of possession of an unregistered firearm-short barreled.
At the hearings, Hoogland admitted that on January 20, 2025, in Fort Dodge, he possessed a stolen pistol and a short-barreled 20-gauge shotgun which was not registered to him as required by law. Law enforcement located these items, and drug paraphernalia, at defendant’s residence which was searched after Hoogland used a gun to assault a man at a local hospital. Later, on April 23, 2025, in Fort Dodge, Hoogland possessed another stolen firearm and short-barreled firearms not registered to him. Law enforcement located these items when aiding in the eviction of Hoogland from the residence where he was staying.
Hoogland was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Hoogland was sentenced to 97 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Hoogland is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Fort Dodge Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-03033. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Mason City Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Federal Prison for Methamphetamine Conspiracy and DistributionRead the Press Release
Kevin Knight, age 45, from Mason City, Iowa, was sentenced March 6, 2026, to 13 years in federal prison, after an October 8, 2025, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and three counts of distribution of methamphetamine.
Evidence in the case revealed that between January 2024 and continuing through February 2025, Knight was involved in an ongoing methamphetamine distribution conspiracy based in Mason City, Iowa, where law enforcement documented Knight actively engaged in drug trafficking. Knight has a lengthy criminal history. His prior convictions include numerous thefts, forgeries, and/or burglaries, a domestic abuse assault, and four prior methamphetamine-related convictions.
Knight was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand to 156 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Knight is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Department and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-3019.
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Texas Man to Federal Prison for Receipt of Child Pornography While in IowaRead the Press Release
Fred Grell, 64, from Angleton, Texas, was sentenced on March 5, 2026, to 8 years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty on October 17, 2025, to receipt of child pornography, in federal court in Sioux City.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that between about March 1, 2022, and September 19, 2023, Grell received and possessed child pornography. On June 24, 2023, law enforcement received a report of a missing runaway foster child. In July 2023, Grell dropped a minor victim off at the Ida County Sheriff’s Office and left the scene without contacting deputies. During further investigation of Grell regarding this incident, a search of Grell’s phone records revealed two videos and six pictures of child pornography of the minor victim. The minor victim told officers Grell sexually assaulted her, that they had intercourse multiple times in Grell’s semi-truck and home before and after the minor victim’s sixteenth birthday. The victim also told law enforcement that Grell would routinely call her and told her to “keep things off texts” to avoid detection and thwart later investigations.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Grell to 96 months’ imprisonment and a 5-year term of supervised release following imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Grell was also ordered to pay $10,00 in fines and assessments to support victims of child pornography offenses. Grell remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office and Ida County Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-4027. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Nebraska Woman to Federal Prison for Iowa Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Wenona Oropeza, 48, from Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced March 5, 2026, to over ten years in federal prison. Oropeza pled guilty on October 22, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that a number of times over one year in 2024-2025, Oropeza would have other persons drive her from Omaha, Nebraska to Sioux Falls, South Dakota with several ounces of methamphetamine to distribute in Sioux Falls where she could double and triple her profits selling the methamphetamine. On March 2, 2025, a vehicle Oropeza was a passenger in was stopped for traffic violations near Sioux City. Law enforcement seized over 50 grams of pure methamphetamine that Oropeza admitted she planned to sell in Sioux Falls.
United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Oropeza to 130 months’ imprisonment. She must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Oropeza is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-4019. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Members of the “Shorty” Drug Trafficking Group Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
The final defendant in a group charged with drug trafficking crimes in the Cedar Rapids area was sentenced today to twenty-seven years in federal prison.
Lavelle Davies, age 32, from Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced to 324 months’ imprisonment and ordered to serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. Davies was sentenced following a July 25, 2025, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
Davies’ codefendants were previously sentenced as follows:
Tanea Browning, age 29, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was sentenced on September 4, 2025, to 156 months’ imprisonment and ordered to serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and two counts of distribution of a controlled substance.
Andre Corone McNairy, age 34, from Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced on September 24, 2025, to 210 months’ imprisonment and ordered to serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
Jeffery Lamonte Hayes, age 32, from Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced on September 8, 2025, to 151 months’ imprisonment and ordered to serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term after pleading guilty to two counts of distribution of a controlled substance.
Javonte Carpenter, age 32, from Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced on August18, 2025, to 123 months’ imprisonment and ordered to serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
Evidence presented during court hearings showed that the group collectively was referred to as “Shorty.” Th group passed phones around taking calls and making deliveries of cocaine and methamphetamine in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, area. In October 2023, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, law enforcement officers stopped a car that Davies, Browning, Hayes, and Carpenter were in. Officers found over five kilograms of methamphetamine in the car. While officers were later searching an apartment occupied by Davies and Browning, Davies threw a loaded gun out of a window. In April 2024, officers stopped McNairy driving in a car with over two kilograms of methamphetamine.
All five defendants were sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams and are in custody of the United States Marshal’s Service or the Bureau of Prisons.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Nydle and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Muscatine County Drug Task Force, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-cr-43.
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Mason City Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of AmmunitionRead the Press Release
Luke Braniff, 26, from Mason City, Iowa, pled guilty on March 3, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City to felon in possession of ammunition. Braniff was previously convicted of two counts of Lascivious Acts with a Child in 2017, and Sex Offender Registry Violations, in 2018, 2023, and 2025, all convictions were in Iowa. These convictions prohibit Braniff from possessing any firearms or ammunition.
At the plea hearing, Braniff admitted to possessing ammunition knowing he was prohibited from doing so due to his previous convictions. Law enforcement became aware of Braniff’s illegal possession of ammunition during an investigation regarding reports of Braniff sending vulgar sexual messages on Snapchat to a minor female and requesting nude images of the child.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Braniff remains in custody of the United States Marshal and will remain in custody pending sentencing. Braniff faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and not more than three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Mason City Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-3039. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Convicted Domestic Abuser Sentenced to over Four Years in Federal Prison for Possessing a GunRead the Press Release
A man with multiple prior domestic violence convictions who unlawfully possessed a gun while committing another domestic assault was sentenced today to more than four years in federal prison.
Travis Terrell Jordan, age 41, from Memphis, Tennessee, received the prison term after a September 12, 2025, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a person convicted of domestic violence.
Information from the sentencing hearing showed that Jordan had been convicted of a domestic abuse crime four times prior to December 2024. On December 13, 2024, Jordan assaulted a woman in an apartment in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Jordan hit the victim in the face and pointed the gun at her while threatening to shoot her. The victim’s two minor children were also in the apartment at the time.
Jordan was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Jordan was sentenced to 53 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Jordan is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Nagin and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-cr-20.
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Nebraska Man to Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of a Firearm and Meth Distribution in IowaRead the Press Release
Chad Billheimer, 48, from Wayne, Nebraska, was sentenced on March 4, 2026, in federal court to 180 months’ imprisonment.
Billheimer pled guilty October 6, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession and aiding and abetting another in the possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that Billheimer was involved in a conspiracy that distributed more than 2500 grams of meth from 2022 through November 2024. On November 9, 2024, Billheimer was stopped by Sioux City law enforcement for driving the wrong way on a one-way street. During the traffic stop a K-9 alerted on the vehicle. A search of the vehicle revealed a firearm, a 9mm handgun, (later determined to be stolen) from a backpack in the backseat and about two ounces of methamphetamine. Billheimer admitted to dealing over 5 pounds of methamphetamine obtained from a source of supply in Nebraska that he further distributed in Iowa and Nebraska. Billheimer further admitted that he acquired the firearm prior to dealing drugs but now had the handgun to protect himself when he was dealing methamphetamine. Billheimer was previously convicted of driving under the influence, third offense in Nebraska in 2009, a felony, which prohibits him from possessing any firearm.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Billheimer to 180 months’ imprisonment and he must serve a five-year term of supervised release following imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Billheimer remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-4008. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Iowa Man Charged with Sex Abuse Occurring on the Meskwaki SettlementRead the Press Release
Johnathan Paul Creason, age 20, from Norwalk, Iowa, has been charged with one count of sex abuse occurring on the Meskwaki Settlement. The charges are contained in a Complaint unsealed today in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Complaint alleges that, on or about February 10, 2026, Creason went to the victim’s home on the Meskwaki Settlement. While at the home, Creason had nonconsensual forced sexual intercourse with the victim. Creason is also under investigation by the Ankeny Police Department and Ames Police Department for additional sexual assaults of additional, unrelated, victims. Anyone with information regarding Creason is asked to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation Omaha Division’s Operation Center at 402-493-8688 and press 0 to be connected. Creason is pictured below:
If convicted, Creason faces a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
Creason appeared today in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Meskwaki Nation Police Department, the Ankeny Police Department, and the Ames Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 26-cr-22.
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Fourteenth Felony Conviction Lands Waterloo Man in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who possessed a firearm after having previously been convicted of thirteen other felony offenses was sentenced on February 27, 2026, to more than four years in federal prison.
Chad James Wolf, age 44, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 7, 2025, guilty plea to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Court documents reflect that, in February 2025, Wolf was harassing an ex‑girlfriend by showing up at her home, causing problems, refusing to leave, and repeatedly calling her. Law enforcement officers searched Wolf’s home in Waterloo and found a gun he had stolen from the ex‑girlfriend’s house. Officers also found items consistent with drug distribution. Wolf had previously been convicted of twenty‑five crimes, thirteen of which were felonies, including sexual abuse, going armed with intent, and failing to register as a sex offender three times.
Wolf was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Wolf was sentenced to 53 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Wolf is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Waterloo Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Nagin.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25‑CR‑02008-CJW-MAR.
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Federal Felon Who Sold Fentanyl and Heroin Causing Two Marion Overdose Deaths Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A convicted federal felon who sold fentanyl and heroin that resulted in two overdose deaths in 2023 was sentenced on March 3, 2026, to a total of 37 years in federal prison.
Cody Kinzie Dittmar, age 34, originally from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 25, 2025, jury verdict finding him guilty of distributing and conspiring to distribute heroin and fentanyl, resulting in two deaths.
Court records show that Dittmar was sentenced to 64 months in federal prison for a 2017 conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The evidence at trial showed that Dittmar was released to federal supervised release in June 2023. Dittmar immediately began selling heroin and fentanyl with his girlfriend, then wife, Alysha (Gould) Dittmar. On July 1, 2023, the Dittmars sold a mixture of heroin, fentanyl, and xylazine to a customer in Marion, Iowa. The customer and his wife used the drugs shortly thereafter. Both then died of overdoses. The Dittmars continued to sell heroin and fentanyl in the Cedar Rapids area until July 2024. Alysha Dittmar previously pled guilty to distribution of heroin and fentanyl resulting in the two deaths.
Dittmar was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Dittmar was sentenced to 420 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. Dittmar was serving a term of supervised release on his 2017 case at the time he committed the crimes that led to his convictions in 2025. The court also sentenced Dittmar to two years’ consecutive imprisonment as a result of the revocation of his supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
Dittmar is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Marion Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA; the Linn County Sheriff's Office; the Cedar Rapids Police Department; the Marion Police Department; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Nagin and Dan Chatham.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25‑CR‑00001‑CJW‑MAR.
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Former President of Eastern Iowa Business Convicted of Bankruptcy CrimesRead the Press Release
The former president of a defunct Eastern Iowa telecommunications infrastructure business, who concealed assets and otherwise made false statements under penalty of perjury in his personal bankruptcy proceeding, was convicted on all counts by a jury on February 28, 2026, after a five-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Dennis Clifford Bruce, age 51, from Marion, Iowa, was convicted of one count of conspiracy, two counts of bankruptcy concealment, one count of false bankruptcy declaration, two counts of false statement under oath, and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from specified unlawful activity. The verdicts were returned following about five hours of jury deliberations.
The evidence at trial showed that Bruce was the owner and president of BDC Group, Inc., an Eastern Iowa telecommunications infrastructure business that did business throughout the United States. In 2023, BDC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in an attempt to reorganize but, in early 2024, the bankruptcy court converted BDC’s corporate bankruptcy to a Chapter 7 liquidation proceeding.
In March 2024, Bruce filed for personal Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. Bruce told the bankruptcy court that he had less than $50,000 in non-exempt assets. He sought to discharge over $30 million in debt from his creditors in his personal bankruptcy, which to a large degree consisted of personal guarantees on BDC’s loans.
The United States’s bankruptcy laws permit debtors a “fresh start” so long as they are scrupulously honest with the bankruptcy court, the trustees who oversee the debtor’s property, and creditors. The evidence at trial established that Bruce concealed assets and repeatedly made false statements to the bankruptcy court, trustees, and creditors about his property and prior transfers. The concealment and false statements included Bruce’s sale of a $50,000 pontoon boat and his ownership interest in an Eastern Iowa conduit company.
The trial evidence also established that Bruce hid an ownership interest in a limited liability company in Marion, which another person purported to operate from Bruce’s basement. On paper, the company was put in the name of that other person, but Bruce had obtained approximately $300,000 in seed money for the company and profited from its operations. The company solicited business from some of BDC’s prior customers, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (“NASA”), on the false premises that the company was “woman owned.” For example, the company successfully obtained a nearly $500,000 contract with NASA to build a blast-proof bunker at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. While his Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding was pending, Bruce and another person received “rent” payments from the new company, compensation for a root canal, and a new deck on Bruce’s home in Marion. Evidence at trial revealed that the company’s internal financial records contained false statements to conceal these payments that benefited Bruce.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Bruce remains free on bond previously set pending sentencing. Bruce faces a possible maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment, a $1,750,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy L. Vavricek and Dan Chatham and was investigated by NASA, Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-49.
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Bosnian Man Sentenced to Prison for Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A man who received child pornography was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison.
Hazim Kapic, age 61, from Bosnia, who was living in Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 17, 2025, guilty plea to one count of receipt of child pornography.
In a plea agreement, Kapic admitted that he downloaded child pornography from February 2020 until August 2024. In August 2024, law enforcement officers searched his home in Waterloo, Iowa, and seized a hard drive with thousands of images and videos of child pornography, including of prepubescent minors. Kapic had depictions of child pornography involving an infant or toddler, and depictions involving sadistic and masochistic conduct.
Kapic was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Kapic was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment and was ordered to make $18,000 in restitution to victims in the case. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Kapic is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and investigated by the Waterloo Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-2025.
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Man Charged with Nine Counts Related to Child Exploitation and Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
Brandon Scott Baker, age 39, formerly from Grundy Center, Iowa, has been charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a child, two counts of transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, one count of receipt of child pornography, one count of transportation of child pornography, and four counts of possession of child pornography. The charges are contained in an Indictment filed on February 24, 2026, in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Indictment alleges that, over the course of several years, Baker used or attempted to use a minor to produce visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct, transported a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity, and received, transported, and possessed child pornography.
If convicted on all charges, Baker faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life in prison and supervised release for life following any imprisonment.
Baker is next scheduled to appear in court on March 6, 2026, to be arraigned on the charges in the Indictment. He was previously charged via criminal complaint and last appeared in court on February 23, 2026, in Cedar Rapids. Baker is being held without bond.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Telluride, Colorado, Police Department, and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 26-cr-00012. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Iowa Man Sentenced to over 21 Years in Prison for His Role in Iowa Drug RingRead the Press Release
Jason Michael Weiland, age 49, from Sherrill, Iowa, was sentenced on February 26, 2026, to over 21 years in federal prison.
Weiland received the prison term after a June 18, 2025, guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, and 50 grams of pure methamphetamine, commonly known as “ice.”
Evidence at the sentencing and plea hearings showed that in December 2024, law enforcement officers tried to stop the car Weiland was driving as Weiland returned to Dubuque, Iowa, from Missouri. Weiland led police on a high-speed chase and eventually crashed into a ditch. Officers took Weiland into custody and found over 280 grams of pure methamphetamine in his car. Weiland intended to sell the methamphetamine to people in the Dubuque area. Weiland had been travelling to Missouri to pick up large quantities of methamphetamine to sell in the Dubuque area. In total, the court found Weiland responsible for over 7 kilograms of pure methamphetamine.
Weiland has a prior 2000 federal conviction for unlawful user of controlled substances in possession of firearms and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, specifically methamphetamine, cocaine, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, and marijuana.
Weiland was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Weiland was sentenced to 262 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Corkery and investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, and the Dubuque Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-1009.
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Cedar Rapids Drug Trafficker Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who trafficked cocaine base, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana was sentenced yesterday to more than 12 years in federal prison. Cleveland Stephens, also known as “Schmitty,” age 63, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 27, 2025, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
Information at sentencing showed that between August 2022 and June 2024, Stephens sold pounds of methamphetamine to multiple people. In October 2022, he was in a car that was stopped in Davenport, Iowa. Law enforcement officers searched the car and found cocaine base, cocaine, fentanyl, and marijuana. In June 2024, law enforcement officers searched Stephens’s house and car in Cedar Rapids and found methamphetamine, marijuana, and nearly $4,500 in cash.
Stephens was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Stephens was sentenced to 151 months’ imprisonment and must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
HSTF Kansas City is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, covering Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. HSTF Kansas City is composed of agents and officers from the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the State Investigative Agencies for Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska, and the Kansas City Missouri Police Department.
This HSTF case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Devra T. Hake and Dillan Edwards and investigated by HSTF Kansas City, with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Marion Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-CR-92.
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Monticello Man Who Had Grandmother Buy Firearms for Him Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who possessed six firearms, three of which came from his grandmother, was sentenced on February 19, 2026, to one year in federal prison. Jonathan Michael Clark, age 32, from Monticello, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 3, 2025, guilty plea to one count of possession of firearms by a prohibited person.
Information from sentencing showed that Clark applied for a weapons permit in 2018, and a sheriff’s office informed him that he was prohibited from possessing guns. In June 2024, while officers were in Clark’s residence to arrest him on a warrant, an officer saw ammunition. Officers subsequently searched Clark’s home and found six guns. The investigation showed that the source for at least three of the guns, two of which she purchased, was Clark’s grandmother.
Clark was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Clark was sentenced to 12 months and one day’s imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Clark was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-CR-2056.
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Center Junction Man Sentenced to 18 Months in Federal Prison for Failing to Update Sex Offender RegistrationRead the Press Release
A man who failed to update his sex offender registration was sentenced on February 23, 2026, to 18 months in federal prison.
Colton Rickels, age 30, of Center Junction, Iowa, received the sentence after a September 26, 2025, guilty plea to one count of failure to update registration as a sex offender. At the plea hearing, Rickels admitted that, between July 2024 and April 2025, he knowingly failed to update his sex offender registration by failing to update the Internet identifiers he used.
Rickels was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Rickels was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Anamosa Police Department, the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 25-47.
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Rockford Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A man who received images and videos of child pornography pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids. Anthony Paul Harden, age 47, from Rockford, Iowa, was convicted of one count of receipt of child pornography.
Evidence in a plea agreement and at a prior hearing showed that in August 2025, law enforcement officers searched Harden’s home in Rockford and seized four electronic devices that contained child pornography. Between May 2023 and July 2025, Harden received and possessed hundreds of images and videos of child pornography, including of toddlers and sadistic and masochistic conduct.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Harden was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the guilty plea and will remain in custody pending sentencing. Harden faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, special assessments of $35,100, and a lifetime term of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Floyd County Sheriff’s Office.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-2065.
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Cedar Rapids Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
A man who distributed methamphetamine was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison.
John Robert Moro, age 34, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 6, 2025, guilty plea to one count of distribution of a controlled substance.
Information from the sentencing hearing showed that Moro sold methamphetamine on two separate occasions in March 2024 to an individual who was working with law enforcement.
Moro was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Moro was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
HSTF Kansas City is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, covering Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. HSTF Kansas City is composed of agents and officers from the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the State Investigative Agencies for Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska, and the Kansas City Missouri Police Department.
Moro is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
This HSTF case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep and was investigated by HSTF Kansas City, with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA, the Linn County Sheriff's Office, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Marion Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-45.
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Waterloo Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Buying Gun for BoyfriendRead the Press Release
A Waterloo woman who bought guns for her boyfriend was sentenced February 19, 2026, to one year in federal prison.
Arryel Skye Waters, age 24, of Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison sentence after a September 4, 2025, guilty plea to one count of false statement during purchase of a firearm.
Evidence at the sentencing and plea hearings showed that in July 2023, Waters attempted to purchase a gun from a business in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Waters’ boyfriend, who was 17 at the time, went with her to the store. Employees at the store felt Waters was not being truthful about who she was buying the gun for, so they denied the purchase of the gun. Waters then left the business and travelled to another business in Cedar Falls. This time, her boyfriend stayed in the car. Waters went inside and purchased a Glock firearm. When she filled out the paperwork to purchase the gun, she noted she was buying the gun for herself. In reality, Waters was buying the gun for her boyfriend. Waters and her boyfriend were also both marijuana users at the time.
In November 2023, Waters was working as a delivery driver. Employees at one of the businesses she delivered to made comments to her that Waters relayed to her boyfriend. Waters’ boyfriend confronted employees with the gun Waters had purchased for him. The boyfriend was later arrested and charged with multiple counts, including felon in possession of a firearm. Waters boyfriend had a prior felony conviction for burglary which prevented him from possessing firearms.
Waters was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Waters was sentenced to 12 months’ and one day imprisonment. She was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment fee. Waters must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley L. Corkery and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives, the Cedar Falls Police Department, and the Waterloo Police Department. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 24-CR-2043.
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Iowa Paramedic Sentenced to Years in Federal Prison for Tampering with Vials of Narcotic Pain MedicationRead the Press Release
A former Iowa paramedic who tampered with vials of narcotic pain medication was sentenced on February 17, 2026, to more than two years in federal prison. Teresa Marie Johnson, age 53, from Manilla, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 5, 2025, guilty plea to one count of tampering with a consumer product.
Johnson was a licensed paramedic who took fentanyl from her employer, a county ambulance service. The ambulance service used the fentanyl to alleviate the serious pain that patients were suffering in car accidents and other emergencies. Beginning in late 2024, Johnson tampered with the ambulance service’s fentanyl stocks on three occasions in order to take it for her own use. After investigators analyzed one of Johnson’s tampered vials from the county ambulance service’s inventory, they discovered it contained only 9.6% of its declared value of fentanyl. They also reported evidence of an adhesive-like material on the flip-off cap, vial crimp and top stopper surface, at least two punctures on the bottom stopper surface, and other breaches to the vial. One of Johnson’s fellow paramedics reported occasions when medication was administered “and the desired response did not happen.”
Before committing her tampering crime, Johnson had a criminal history. Johnson has five prior misdemeanor theft convictions in state court. She also received a deferred judgment in state court after pleading guilty to a felony forgery crime. As a part of her plea agreement, Johnson agreed to forfeit her State of Iowa paramedic license to the United States.
Johnson was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Johnson was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment and fined $5,000. She was also ordered to repay $6,000 in court-appointed attorney fees and costs. Johnson must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Johnson was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and investigated by the Iowa Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 25-CR-3029-LTS-KEM.
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California Man Found Guilty of Eight Drug OffensesRead the Press Release
A California man who helped bring methamphetamine and fentanyl from California to Iowa was convicted by a jury today after a three-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Joshua James Cannady, age 51, from Yucca Valley, California, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and seven counts of distribution of a controlled substance. The verdict was returned this afternoon following about 90 minutes of jury deliberations.
The evidence at trial showed that Cannady worked with others to send methamphetamine and fentanyl to Cedar Rapids and Mount Vernon, Iowa, between May 2023 and November 2024. Law enforcement officers seized over 500 grams of actual methamphetamine and 1,700 fentanyl pills from seven different packages sent from California. Cannady’s fingerprints were on three of the packages.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Cannady remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Cannady faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of lifetime imprisonment, a $43,000,000 fine, and a lifetime term of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hudson and Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards, and it was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Postal Inspection Services, the United States Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the San Bernardino County, California, Sheriff’s Office,
the Riverside County, California, Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police Department, and the Dubuque Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-00025-CJW.
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Two-Time Felon Sentenced for Illegally Re-Entering the United StatesRead the Press Release
A man who illegally re-entered the United States after having been convicted of two federal immigration-related felony offenses was sentenced February 18, 2026, to a total of four years in federal prison.
Jesus Banuelos-Lepe, 49, who is a citizen of Mexico but had been living in Maurice, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 30, 2025, guilty plea to one count of illegal re-entry as a felon. Additionally, at the time he was found illegally in the United States, he was on federal supervised release from another 2023 federal illegal re-entry conviction which included conditions he neither illegally re-enter the United States, nor commit new law violations. The hearing on February 18, 2026, was a combined sentencing for the 2025 illegal re-entry conviction, and for the violations of his 2023 supervised release terms.
At the combined hearing, Banuelos-Lepe admitted that on July 20, 2025, he was arrested in Sioux County, Iowa, for operating while intoxicated after he was found passed out behind the wheel of his vehicle in the middle of the road after consuming 12 beers. Following his arrest, he was booked into the Sioux County Jail but provided an alias to law enforcement. Further investigation proved his true identity as Banuelos-Lepe, a citizen of Mexico, who had been removed from the United States on five occasions and did not have permission to legally be in the United States.
Banuelos-Lepe had previously been convicted of federal felony transportation of an illegal alien, in April of 2007, in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. This offense involved defendant smuggling two aliens into the United States from Mexico then holding one of them against their will pending additional smuggling fees.
Banuelos-Lepe was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Banuelos-Lepe was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment for this 2025 illegal re-entry conviction and 24 months’ imprisonment for violating conditions of supervised release from his 2023 conviction. Those periods of incarceration are to be served consecutively, for a combined sentence of four years’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Banuelos-Lepe is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-04045 and 25-CR-4057. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Career Offender Sentenced to Federal Prison for Trafficking MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
A man with an extensive criminal history who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced February 12, 2026, to 19 years in federal prison.
Otis Lamont Foy, Jr., age 29, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 17, 2025, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine after having been convicted of a serious drug felony.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that between February and April 2025, Foy and others distributed over three pounds of methamphetamine in the Fort Dodge area. An individual cooperating with law enforcement made multiple methamphetamine purchases from Foy. Law enforcement officers searched Foy’s residence and found marijuana, cash, and drug paraphernalia. Foy was a career offender, who had previously been convicted in 2016 of felony domestic abuse assault impeding normal breathing or circulation of blood, and in 2020 of felony possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Foy was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Foy was sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment. He must also serve a ten-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Foy is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Webster County Sheriff’s Office. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 25-CR-03016.
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Local Assistant United States Attorney Promoted to Colonel in Iowa Air National GuardRead the Press Release
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa (USAO) announced today that Tony Morfitt was promoted on January 31, 2026, to the rank of Colonel in the Air Force and Iowa Air National Guard. Morfitt has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the USAO’s Cedar Rapids office since 2010.
Colonel Morfitt currently serves as the State Staff Judge Advocate for the Iowa Air National Guard, stationed at Joint Forces Headquarters in Johnston, Iowa. The State Staff Judge Advocate is the senior attorney in the Iowa Air National Guard. Seven other attorneys serve in the Iowa Air National Guard in Des Moines and Sioux City.
“This promotion is evidence of the commitment to duty, leadership, and public service that Tony has exhibited throughout his career,” United States Attorney Leif Olson stated. “As both an AUSA and a member of the military, he has served our nation with honor and distinction. The USAO is proud to have him as a member of our team.”
Following four years of duty with the Air Force Reserves, Colonel Morfitt joined the 132d Wing, Iowa Air National Guard, in 2014. The 132d Wing’s missions span the globe and include remotely piloted aircraft, cybersecurity, intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance. Colonel Morfitt advised commanders on matters including military justice, cyber law, and the law of war and armed conflict. He was a key part of the creation of the 168th Cyber Operations Squadron, giving legal guidance on emerging cyber law concerns, including providing cybersecurity support to the State of Iowa during the 2020 elections.
Colonel Morfitt joined the Air Force upon graduating with high distinction and as a member of the Order of the Coif from the University of Iowa College of Law. He served on active duty for more than four years, during which he was trial counsel in more than 20 trials.
Colonel Morfitt’s military awards include two Meritorious Service Medals, three Air and Space Commendation Medals, eight Air and Space Outstanding Unit Awards, and two Air and Space Longevity Service Awards. He is also a graduate of the Air Force’s Air War College and its Air Command and Staff College.
As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Morfitt has handled a number of significant cases. He received a Director’s Award from the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys for his prosecutions of three murders committed on the Meskwaki Settlement. He was also a member of the team prosecuting the mastermind behind the “Field of Schemes” fraud, which caused $120 million in losses and was the largest organic-fraud case in U.S. history. His recent cases include the prosecution of Gordon Grabau, a former volunteer reserve sheriff who possessed nearly 170,000 child-pornography files, and Cardel Redmond, who was sentenced to more than fifty-five years in prison for a twelve-day spree of armed robberies.
Soldiers and airmen serving in the Iowa National Guard receive the same training as their active-duty counterparts, and serve across the state through drilling status on weekends, during annual training, or full-time through various programs. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act protects Guardsmen’s employment and civil rights, as well as those of members of the military’s various reserve components. The U.S. Department of Labor investigates complaints of violations of those rights, which are prosecuted by the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, in partnership with U.S. Attorney’s Offices.
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Carroll, Iowa Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Meth and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
Shawn Zak, 32, from Carroll, Iowa, pled guilty February 11, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and illegal possession of a firearm.
At the plea hearing, Zak admitted that from June 2025 through September 2025, he and others conspired to distribute more than 1500 grams of methamphetamine in the Carroll, Iowa, area. On September 11, 2025, Zak was approached by law enforcement based on an active warrant for his arrest. At the time Zak provided a false name to officers and he was arrested. During his arrest, Zak had a brief, physical struggle with law enforcement. Law enforcement seized 53.19 grams of pure methamphetamine, some marijuana, .22 caliber ammunition, indicia of drug dealing including baggies, syringes, and scale weights from the vehicle. Zak admitted he planned to distribute the methamphetamine to others. Law enforcement later recovered a .22 caliber handgun which Zak possessed in the vehicle in which he was stopped. Zak further admitted he received the .22 caliber handgun from another person earlier in September 2025.
Zak was previously convicted of burglary in January 2023 in Iowa and criminal trespass in Pennsylvania in 2017. The felony convictions prohibited Zak from possessing a firearm.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Zak remains in custody of the United States Marshal and will remain in custody pending sentencing. Zak faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,250,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by Carroll County Sheriff’s Office; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Iowa DCI Laboratory.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-3049. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Sioux City Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a ChildRead the Press Release
Jorge Monrroy, 24, from Sioux City, Iowa, pled guilty February 5, 2026, in federal court to one count of sexual exploitation of a child.
At the plea hearing, Monrroy admitted that between June 30 and July 2, 2025, he sexually exploited a minor female. Monrroy admitted to providing alcohol to the minor, getting her intoxicated, recording a video of the two having sexual intercourse on the minor child’s phone, and sending the video to himself. Evidence further showed that Monrroy received, possessed, and distributed child pornography.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Monrroy remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Monrroy faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-4050.
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Illegal Immigrant Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jesus Aranda-Martinez, 24, from Mexico, pled guilty on February 6, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City to one charge of possession of child pornography. Aranda-Martinez is a citizen of Mexico and is currently pending removal from the United States.
At the plea hearing, Aranda-Martinez admitted that from April 2024 through July 2025, he received, distributed and possessed child pornography. Aranda-Martinez admitted using apps such as TamTam, ICQ, Mega, and Telegram. He further admitted to liking females in middle school or younger. Aranda-Martinez admitted he had received child sexual abuse material (CSAM) over the internet including depictions of children having sex with adults. A forensic review of Aranda-Martinez’s phone showed he engaged in distribution to “send to receive” groups and that he possessed at least 62 images and 42 videos of child pornography. The images and videos involved material that portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct with prepubescent minors.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Aranda-Martinez remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Aranda-Martinez faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office and the Rock Valley Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-4053.
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Grandmother Who Bought Firearms for Juvenile Grandson Sentenced in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
A woman who purchased three firearms for her fourteen-year-old grandson was sentenced on February 4, 2026, to five years of probation.
Virginia Prescott, age 64, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the sentence after a July 29, 2025, guilty plea to false statement during purchase of firearm.
Information from a plea agreement and sentencing proceedings showed that Prescott bought three handguns from a licensed firearms dealer in Cedar Falls between March and August 2024. Prescott lied on forms during these purchases, claiming that she was the actual buyer of the guns. The guns were for Prescott’s fourteen-year-old grandson, who was not old enough to purchase or possess firearms. All three guns were recovered by law enforcement officers in connection with criminal activity. One gun was linked by ballistics testing to a shots-fired incident that occurred in Waterloo on August 3, 2024.
On October 1, 2024, law enforcement agents searched Prescott’s home. She reported that her grandson, who lived in the same household, had threatened to destroy her property and kill her dog if she did not buy a gun for him. Prescott’s grandson was on state probation when she bought guns for him.
Prescott was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Prescott was sentenced to five years of federal probation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was made possible by investigative leads generated from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-2042.
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Anthon, Iowa, Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Robert J. Fundermann, 50, from Anthon, Iowa, pled guilty February 5, 2026, to one count of distribution of child pornography, in federal court in Sioux City.
At the plea hearing, Fundermann admitted that from about April 2023 through April 2025, he distributed and attempted to distribute visual depictions of child pornography. Evidence further showed that Fundermann was grooming a 17-year-old in order to obtain images and videos of the minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. A forensic review of Fundermann’s phone showed he possessed 54 images and 98 videos of child pornography, involving material that portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct as well as prepubescent children and toddlers. The investigation in the case also revealed that Fundermann was previously investigated for soliciting nude images from a minor in 2019. He successfully completed a deferred judgement in that case to a charge of Disseminating Obscene Material to Minor -1st Offense in 2020.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Fundermann remains in custody of the United States Marshal and will remain in custody pending sentencing. Fundermann faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-4039.
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Waterloo Woman Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
A woman who trafficked methamphetamine in the Waterloo area was sentenced February 4, 2026, to 20 years in federal prison.
Michelle Bruno, age 51, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 7, 2025, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that, in May 2024, Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force investigators made a controlled delivery of methamphetamine to Bruno. After the delivery, Bruno was in possession of four pounds of methamphetamine that she received during the controlled delivery and two additional ounces. Bruno had received approximately twelve pounds of methamphetamine over the past several months from her source of supply. She also sent over $25,000 to her source of supply. A few months later, investigators had contact with Bruno again. She admitted to acquiring another kilogram of methamphetamine and that she had paid her source of supply over $5,000 to satisfy her debt.
Bruno was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Bruno was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment. She must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Bruno is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hudson and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Mid-Iowa Drug Task Force, the Iowa State Patrol, and the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force, consisting of the
Waterloo Police Department, Cedar Falls Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Department, Evansdale Police Department, Waverly Police Department, Hudson Police Department, La Porte City Police Department, and the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-cr-2033-2.
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Repeat Drug Offender Pleads Guilty to Meth and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
A man who conspired to distribute meth and illegally possessed a firearm pled guilty February 2, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City.
Seann Mackey, 31, from Mount Pleasant, Iowa admitted that between June 2024 and December 2024, he was involved in a conspiracy that distributed at least 1500 grams of mixed methamphetamine which contained at least 150 grams of pure methamphetamine. On December 20, 2024, law enforcement apprehended Mackey after he operated a motor vehicle in a high-speed/reckless driving filled chase. Then during a foot pursuit, Mackey was observed throwing a firearm. Law enforcement seized methamphetamine, numerous empty baggies and a digital scale from Mackey, along with a Glock 9mm handgun.
Mackey had three prior convictions for drug offenses, and a conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon. Each of these convictions prohibit Mackey from possessing any firearm and also enhance his sentencing penalties.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Mackey remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Mackey faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $8,250,000 fine, and at least eight years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-4006. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Independence Man Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Federal Prison for Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A man who distributed child pornography was sentenced on February 3, 3026, to more than 12 years in federal prison.
Curtis Lellig, age 42, of Independence, Iowa, received the sentence after an August 25, 2025, guilty plea to one count of distribution of child pornography. At the plea hearing, Lellig admitted that, between December 2022 and January 2024, he knowingly distributed child pornography.
Lellig was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Lellig was sentenced to 151 months’ imprisonment. He was ordered to make $66,000 in restitution to 20 victims depicted in the child pornography he possessed. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Independence Police Department, and the Iowa State Patrol.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 25-2020.
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Federal Felon Returned to Prison for Committing Same CrimeRead the Press Release
A felon who resisted police officers while in possession of a firearm was sentenced on February 2, 2026, to more than eight years in federal prison.
Orrington Alexander Gardner, age 41, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 17, 2025, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.
Information from sentencing and a related supervised release hearing showed that Gardner was convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon in the Northern District of Iowa in 2009. The district court sentenced him to the statutory maximum sentence of ten years for that offense. Gardner was released from federal prison in late June 2022. Less than three months later, Waterloo police officers received information that Gardner had a gun. On September 14, 2022, officers followed Gardner from his home and pulled over a car in which he was a passenger. An officer repeatedly asked Gardner to step out of the car, and he refused. Gardner began to roll up his window, and the officer opened the car door and attempted to grab Gardner’s hands. Gardner resisted the officer and reached towards his waistband where he had a loaded gun. After a struggle over Gardner’s hands, officers managed to take the gun from Gardner’s waistband and arrest him.
Gardner was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Gardner was sentenced to 100 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Gardner is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and was investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-CR-2044.
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Elk Run Heights Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing and Distributing MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
A man who possessed and distributed methamphetamine was sentenced January 29, 2026, to more than 17 years in federal prison.
Nicholas Armstrong, age 31, from Elk Run Heights, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 4, 2025, guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that law enforcement officers purchased methamphetamine from Armstrong four times. After the buys, officers searched Armstrong’s home. They located over 350 grams of methamphetamine, multiple scales, packaging material, and three guns. About two months later, officers attempted to arrest Armstrong, but he fled from them. Officers caught Armstrong and found over 80 grams of methamphetamine on him. At the time of this arrest, Armstrong was on parole for another drug-related conviction.
Armstrong was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Armstrong was sentenced to 210 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Armstrong is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hudson and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force, consisting of the Waterloo Police Department, Cedar Falls Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Department, Evansdale Police Department, Waverly Police Department, Hudson Police Department, La Porte City Police Department, and the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-cr-2002.
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Violent Domestic Abuser Sentenced to Federal Prison for Pandemic Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A man who laundered $20,000 in fraudulently obtained Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) moneys was sentenced January 30, 2026, to 33 months in federal prison. Don Edward Williams, Jr., age 32, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 28, 2025, guilty plea to one count of engaging in a monetary transaction with proceeds of a specified unlawful activity.
In a plea agreement, Williams admitted he obtained $20,833 by means of a fraudulent PPP loan in May 2021. Williams’ PPP loan application falsely represented that he had earned over $100,000 in gross income during 2019 from a construction business.
A lender participating in the PPP deposited $20,833 into an account that Williams controlled at a credit union in Cedar Rapids. By 9:00 a.m. that morning, Williams had withdrawn $20,000 of the PPP money in cash. Over the next three days, Williams made an additional $390 in cash withdrawals and spent the remaining government money at a crab shack and a smoke shop.
In March 2022, Williams submitted a PPP loan forgiveness application to the Small Business Administration (“SBA”), which oversaw and guaranteed the PPP. Williams’ forgiveness application falsely stated that Williams had spent the PPP money on payroll expenses, and the SBA forgave the loan.
When federal agents interviewed Williams about his PPP loan in January 2025, Williams repeatedly denied any knowledge of the PPP loan or withdrawing money from a credit union. Eventually, Williams confessed to withdrawing the PPP money from his account.
Williams has an extensive and violent criminal history. Williams has 18 prior adult convictions, including 11 committed while on probation or parole. Williams has four prior domestic abuse assault convictions, including a 2024 incident in which he slapped his girlfriend in the face, pushed her to the ground, grabbed her by her wig, drug her across the floor causing a rug burn, choked her, and punched her head. Williams fled the scene when law enforcement arrived. When officers ultimately found Williams, he refused their orders to stop, and Williams injured an officer during an ensuing physical struggle. Williams’ other convictions in state court include illegal firearms possession, interference with official acts, attempted eluding, false identification, theft, drugs, and burglary.
While on release in his federal case, Williams participated in a fraudulent scheme to defraud an Iowa county treasurer’s office. Williams agreed to register and title a car in his own name even though the car belonged to a felon who was barred from driving. After the felon was cited for driving while barred, Williams agreed to re-register and re-title the car in the name of a third individual so that the barred felon could continue to drive it. Later, the felon was arrested for allegedly driving while under the influence. Williams’ federal release bond was revoked after the scheme was discovered.
Williams was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Williams was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment. He was ordered to make $20,833 in restitution to the SBA. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Williams is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 25-CR-32.
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