District of Massachusetts

BOSTON – A Hanson man pleaded guilty today to possessing dogs at his Massachusetts home for participation in a dogfighting venture.

John D. Murphy, 51, pleaded guilty to nine counts of possessing animals for use in an animal fighting venture, in violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for Feb. 27, 2025. Murphy was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2024.  

“Mr. Murphy’s actions represent the calculated cruelty and inhumanity that dogfighting embodies – a barbaric practice that exploits and harms animals for entertainment and profit. Today’s conviction brings an end to Mr. Murphy’s reign of brutality and sends a clear message: dogfighting is a federal crime, and those who engage in this inhumane conduct will face justice,” said United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “This case marks the first time federal criminal charges have been brought in the District of Massachusetts under the Animal Welfare Act, underscoring the seriousness of these crimes and our commitment to holding those who engage in this abhorrent conduct accountable. We urge anyone with knowledge of animal fighting or abuse to come forward and report it.”

“Dogfighting is a sadistic crime which subjects animals to cruel mistreatment for entertainment,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “We commend the investigators and prosecutors who worked collaboratively to bring this case to justice.”

In 2021, Murphy was identified discussing dogfighting on recorded calls with a New York-based dogfighting target. A subsequent search of his Facebook accounts revealed Murphy’s years-long involvement in dogfighting. Murphy communicated with other dogfighters via Facebook where they discussed the results of dogfights, injuries sustained by fighting dogs, as well as breeding dogs. Murphy also belonged to private dogfighting Facebook groups used to share fight results, buy and sell fighting dogs and exchange information on training and conditioning fighting dogs, among other things.

Photos and videos found on Murphy’s Facebook account showed a pit bull-type dog with scarring and discolorations on its head and leg consistent with that of dogfighting as well as a photo of a pit bull-type dog restrained in a breeding stand. Videos from his account showed pit bull-type dogs physically tethered to different treadmill-like devices that dogfighters commonly use to physically condition dogs for dogfights. One of the videos depicted a live raccoon caged in front of the carpet mill, to serve as a stimulus for the pit bull-type dog to run faster and harder.  

During a search of Murphy’s Hanson residence in June 2023, numerous items associated with possessing dogs for participation in an animal fighting venture were found including: 

• Flirt poles, used to entice a dog to chase a stimulus; 
• Spring poles, used to build a dog’s jaw strength and increase aggression; 
• Several treadmills, slat mills, and carpet mills, used to condition dogs to build stamina and muscle; 
• A jenny mill, used to develop a dog’s endurance and musculature by enticing the animal to run on a circular track; 
• Rabbit training scent for dogs;
• Break sticks, used to force a dog’s bite onto another dog’s body open, specifically at the termination of a fight or while training;
• A dog bite sleeve;
• Disposable skin staplers, used to attempt to close wounds resulting from dogfights;
• Several types of steroids and painkillers;
• Fertility medications and a breeding stand, used to restrain female dogs during breeding; 
• Printouts of fighting dog pedigrees; and 
• Dog fighting literature, DVDs, and/or CD-ROMs.

In March 2024, the United States also filed a civil forfeiture complaint against 13 pit bull-type dogs, seized in June 2023 from Murphy’s residence and another residence in Townsend, Mass., that were possessed for participation in an animal fighting venture. Pursuant to the Animal Welfare Act, animals involved in violations of 7 U.S.C. § 2156 are subject to forfeiture to the United States. In September and October 2024, the Court ordered all dogs be forfeited to the United States. The dogs are currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) being cared for by a USMS-contractor.

To report animal fighting crimes, please contact your local law enforcement or the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General complaint hotline at: https://usdaoig.oversight.gov/hotline or 1-800-424-9121.

The charges of possessing animals for use in an animal fighting venture each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

U.S. Attorney Levy; ENRD AAG Kim; Charmeka Parker, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region; Geoffrey D. Noble, Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police; and Karen L. LoStracco, Director of the Animal Rescue League of Boston – Law Enforcement Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; Maine State Police; New Hampshire State Police; Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor; Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; and the Hanson, Boston and Acton Police Departments.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Danial E. Bennett and Kaitlin J. Brown of the Worcester Branch Office and Trial Attorney Matthew T. Morris of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), Environmental Crimes Section, are prosecuting the case. Carol E. Head, Chief of the Asset Recovery Unit for the District of Massachusetts, and Trial Attorney Caitlyn F. Cook of ENRD’s Wildlife and Marine Resources Section are prosecuting the civil forfeiture case.

BOSTON – A New Hampshire man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for orchestrating a conspiracy to harass and intimidate journalists employed by New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) and their family members.  

Eric Labarge, 46, of Nashua, N.H., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 46 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. The defendant was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and pay restitution of $34,139 to the victims. In July 2024 Labarge pleaded guilty to a five-count superseding Information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit stalking through interstate travel and using a facility of interstate commerce; one count of conspiracy to commit stalking using a facility of interstate commerce; one count of stalking using a facility of interstate commerce and aiding and abetting; and two counts of stalking through interstate travel and aiding and abetting. Labarge was arrested and charged in September 2023 along with co-conspirators Tucker Cockerline, Michael Waselchuck and Keenan Saniatan.

“Mr. Labarge was the ringleader of a targeted, terror campaign that caused the victims—journalists exercising the First Amendment rights and the families —incredible fear and emotional harm. Mr. Labarge’s terror campaign sent ripples of fear throughout the journalism community and violated the bedrock principles enshrined in the Bill of Rights,” said United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Our office remains steadfast in our commitment to safeguarding the rights of journalists to report without fear of retribution and to put behind bards those who try to silence the media through threats and violence.”

“Eric Labarge will now pay a hefty price for being the vindictive ringleader of an elaborate harassment campaign that inflicted significant emotional harm, stress, and fear on New Hampshire Public Radio employees and their family members who were simply just doing their jobs,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “Let today’s sentence be a warning: anyone attempting to infringe on the freedom of the press – a constitutionally protected right – will not get away with it.”

In March 2022 an NHPR journalist (Victim 1) published an exposé detailing allegations of sexual and other misconduct by a former New Hampshire businessperson, identified in the charging document as Subject 1. Another NHPR journalist (Victim 2) also contributed to the article, which appeared on NHPR’s website during and after March 2022. In response to this reporting Labarge – one of Subject 1’s closest friends – orchestrated a months-long scheme to harass, stalk and intimidate Victims 1 and 2 and their immediate family members with the help of Cockerline, Waselchuck and Saniatan. Specifically:

• On or about the evening of April 24, 2022, at Labarge’s direction, Cockerline spraypainted the word “C*NT” in large red letters on the front door and threw a brick through an exterior window of Victim 1’s former residence in New Hampshire;
• On the evening of April 24, 2022, at Labarge’s direction, Saniatan spraypainted the word “C*NT” in large red letters on the front door and threw a large rock at the exterior of Victim 2’s home in New Hampshire; and threw a softball-sized rock through a front exterior window and spraypainted the word “C*NT” in large red letters on one of the garage doors of Victim 1’s parents’ home in New Hampshire;
• On or about May 18, 2022, Labarge directed Cockerline to vandalize Victim 1’s parents’ home in New Hampshire, and Victim 1’s home in  Massachusetts, using bricks and red spray paint. Cockerline, in turn, recruited Waselchuck to vandalize Victim 1’s residence; and
• On the evening of May 20, 2022, at Labarge’s direction, Cockerline spraypainted the word “C*NT” in large red letters on one of the garage doors of Victim 1’s parents’ home, and he left a brick on the ground near the front door.  Several hours later, Waselchuck threw a brick through an exterior window of Victim 1’s home in Massachusetts and painted the phrase “JUST THE BEGINNING” in large red letters on the front of the house.

Earlier this year, Cockerline and Waselchuck received prison sentences of 27 months and 21 months, respectively.  Each sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release. Saniatan has pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 6, 2024.

U.S. Attorney Levy and FBI SAC Cohen made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Concord, Hampstead and Hanover, New Hampshire Police Departments, the Melrose, Massachusetts Police Department and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason A. Casey and Torey B. Cummings of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A Millis, Mass. man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to threatening to kill members of the Jewish community and bomb Jewish synagogues.

John Reardon, 59, pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force, one count of transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure a person and one count of stalking using a facility of interstate commerce. U.S. District Court Judge Julia E. Kobick scheduled sentencing for Aug. 14, 2025. In January 2024, Reardon was arrested and charged.

“This defendant’s threats to bomb synagogues and kill Jewish children stoked fear in the hearts of congregants at a time when Jews are already facing a disturbing increase in threats,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “No person and no community in this country should have to live in fear of hate-fueled violence. The Justice Department is committed to using the full force of our investigative and prosecutorial authorities to root out these threats and ensure that all people are protected in the expression of their faith.”

“John Reardon now stands convicted of inflicting terror on the greater Boston Jewish community by threatening violence against fellow residents of Massachusetts solely because they of their Jewish faith. This insidious, pernicious conduct must be met with the full force of the criminal justice system to make sure victims and potential offenders alike know that hate crimes and acts of antisemitism will never be tolerated,” said United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy.

“When John Reardon threatened to kill members of the Jewish community and bomb places of worship, the FBI and our partners immediately mobilized. After all, you cannot call and threaten people with violent physical harm and not face repercussions” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Division. “People of all races and faiths deserve to feel safe in their communities. With today’s guilty plea, John Reardon is now a convicted felon.”

On the morning of Jan. 25, 2024, Reardon called a synagogue in Attleboro, Mass. and left a voicemail that included threats of violence.

Within 10 minutes of leaving the voicemail at the Congregation Agudas Achim, Reardon called another local Synagogue in Sharon, Mass. and left a voicemail that included threats of violence.

Reardon was arrested by law enforcement after the calls were made. Following his arrest, investigators learned that Reardon had called the Israeli Consulate in Boston 98 times between Oct. 7, 2023 and Jan. 29, 2024. In many of those calls, Reardon made harassing and intimidating statements.

The charge of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure a person provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of stalking using a facility of interstate commerce provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Attorney General Garland, U.S. Attorney Levy and FBI SAC Cohen made the announcement today. The Attleboro and Wrentham Police Departments; Massachusetts State Police; Bristol County District Attorney’s Office; and Bristol County Sheriff’s Office provided valuable assistance in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Torey B. Cummings of the Human Trafficking & Civil Rights Unit is prosecuting the case.

A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to threatening to kill members of the Jewish community and bomb Jewish synagogues.

John Reardon, 59, of Millis, pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force, one count of transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure a person, and one count of stalking using a facility of interstate commerce. In January, Reardon was arrested and charged.

“This defendant’s threats to bomb synagogues and kill Jewish children stoked fear in the hearts of congregants at a time when Jews are already facing a disturbing increase in threats,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “No person and no community in this country should have to live in fear of hate-fueled violence. The Justice Department is committed to using the full force of our investigative and prosecutorial authorities to root out these threats and ensure that all people are protected in the expression of their faith.”

“John Reardon now stands convicted of inflicting terror on the greater Boston Jewish community by threatening violence against fellow residents of Massachusetts solely because they of their Jewish faith,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts. “This insidious, pernicious conduct must be met with the full force of the criminal justice system to make sure victims and potential offenders alike know that hate crimes and acts of antisemitism will never be tolerated.”

“When John Reardon threatened to kill members of the Jewish community and bomb places of worship, the FBI and our partners immediately mobilized. After all, you cannot call and threaten people with violent physical harm and not face repercussions,” said Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Boston Field Office. “People of all races and faiths deserve to feel safe in their communities. With today’s guilty plea, John Reardon is now a convicted felon.”

On the morning of Jan. 25, Reardon called a synagogue in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and left a voicemail that included threats of violence.

Within 10 minutes of leaving the voicemail at the Congregation Agudas Achim, Reardon called another local Synagogue in Sharon, Massachusetts, and left a voicemail that included threats of violence.

Reardon was arrested by law enforcement after the calls were made. Following his arrest, investigators learned that Reardon had called the Israeli Consulate in Boston 98 times between Oct. 7, 2023, and Jan. 29. In many of those calls, Reardon also made statements intended to harass or intimidate.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date. For obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force, Reardon faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. For transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure a person, Reardon faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. For stalking using a facility of interstate commerce, Reardon faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Boston Field Office investigated the case. The Attleboro and Wrentham Police Departments, Massachusetts State Police, Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, and Bristol County Sheriff’s Office provided valuable assistance in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Torey B. Cummings for the District of Massachusetts is prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A Lynn man pleaded guilty today to drug offenses relating to an ongoing investigation of fentanyl distribution on the North Shore.

Ricardo Bratini-Perez, a/k/a “Rico,” a/k/a “Ricofromthesin,” 29, pleaded guilty to four counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, fentanyl analog, and methamphetamine, and one count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams and more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for March 17, 2025. A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Bratini-Perez on Oct. 3, 2024.

Bratini-Perez was on probation following his release from state custody on armed robbery and firearm charges. While on probation, Bratini-Perez sold fentanyl and methamphetamine to an undercover officer on three occasions in March 2024 and April 2024. On April 8, 2024, Bratini-Perez was arrested following a fourth sale to the undercover officer. Following his arrest, investigators executed a search warrant at Bratini-Perez’s residence and recovered over 5,000 grams of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl. 
    
The charge of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of fentanyl provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, five years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $10,000,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Lynn Police Chief Christopher P. Reddy made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Essex County District Attorney's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – A Lancaster, Mass. man was convicted on Nov. 22, 2024 following a five-day jury trial for his involvement in an unlicensed money transmission business that exchanged cash for Bitcoin for an individual who represented to be involved in unlawful trafficking in counterfeit goods.

Alan Joseph,36, was convicted of one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and three counts of money laundering. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for Feb. 24, 2025. Joseph was charged by criminal complaint and arrested in February 2021 and later indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2021.  

“Mr. Joseph’s conduct made him a critical cog in criminal enterprises, willingly converting illicit cash into cryptocurrency to help his customers conceal their tracks,” said United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “This conviction sends a clear message: those who exploit emerging technologies like cryptocurrency to facilitate illegal activity will be held accountable. Our office, alongside our federal and local partners, will continue to disrupt these schemes and ensure that the integrity of our financial systems is upheld.”

“This conviction proves that Mr. Joseph was more than willing to help criminals conceal their criminal cash flow in an attempt to cover up illegal activity,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “The FBI and our partners thank the jury for its service and swift verdict.”

“Criminals rely on money laundering operations like the one run by Alan Joseph to obscure their proceeds, helping criminal enterprises evade detection, enhance profit margins and avoid tax liability. HSI’s El Dorado Task Force is committed to working with our partners to follow the money and dismantle money laundering enterprises that facilitate and enable the illicit financial economy,” said Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England.

“The guilty verdict of Alan Joseph demonstrates IRS Criminal Investigation’s commitment to the prosecution of all who choose to not only break the law themselves but also those who assist criminals in facilitating their criminal activities,” said Jonathan Wlodyka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. “Joseph’s actions allowed criminals to conceal their activity by converting bulk cash into bitcoin, allowing them to easily and covertly integrate their ill-gotten gains into the mainstream financial system. IRS Criminal Investigations continues to work closely with our law enforcement partner to rout out these bad actors that aid others in the furtherance of their crimes.”

“Alan Joseph received money through the U.S. Mail and subsequently laundered it into Bitcoin. This conviction sends a stark warning to anyone who thinks they can illegally use the U.S. Mail for their own gain. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will continue to remain steadfast in our mission to protect the U.S. Mail and its customers from any illegal activity,” said Ketty Larco Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in New England.

Between August 2020 and February 2021, Joseph engaged in at least four financial transactions where he converted cash to Bitcoin in connection with what Joseph believed to be trafficking in counterfeit goods, which is illegal under federal law. Bitcoin is a form of virtual currency, or cryptocurrency, that has no physical form and is traded exclusively by electronic means.

Joseph sought to promote and conceal the nature of such illegal activity. For instance, on Oct. 28, 2020, Joseph converted about $25,000 in cash to Bitcoin for the undercover agent. During this meeting, the undercover agent represented to Joseph that the money Joseph was converting was from “rich housewives” who purchased “fake” items. Additionally, Joseph expressed an interest in purchasing counterfeit goods from the undercover agent.  

Contrary to federal law and regulations, Joseph never registered his money transmission business with the Department of Treasury, nor did he ever request identification from the undercover agent during the meetings.  

The charge of money laundering provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

U.S. Attorney Levy, FBI SAC Cohen, HSI SAC Krol, Acting IRS-CI SAC Wlodyka and USPIS Inc Larco Ward made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Mulcahy and Lindsey E. Weinstein of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.  

BOSTON – As part of an investigation into the transnational criminal organization 18th Street Gang operating in and around the North Shore area of Boston, four men were arrested and charged yesterday with federal drug offenses. Five individuals were also arrested for various state crimes including drug trafficking, child abuse crimes (including rape of a child, posing a child in a state of nudity and possession of child pornography) and unlawful possession of ammunition.

The following individuals have been charged in U.S. District Court in Boston with distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl:

1. Orlando Mancia, a/k/a Intruso, 22, of Everett, who is an alleged member of the 18th Street Gang;
2. Tony Cartegena-Chacon, 46, of Chelsea;
3. Hector Luis Santana Guzman, a/k/a “DJ Black,” 33, of Lawrence; and
4. John Angel, 31, of Nantucket

“Fentanyl continues to devastate lives across Massachusetts, and the defendants arrested yesterday allegedly pumped this poison into North Shore communities for a profit,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “These charges represent the continued close working relationship across federal, state and local law enforcement to relentlessly investigate, identify and disrupt criminal organizations and our efforts to protect our communities from lethal narcotics.”

“With this operation, the FBI’s North Shore Gang Task Force has removed alleged drug traffickers accused of pushing deadly poison onto our streets, hoping to avoid detection,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “This case highlights how the FBI and our partners at every level are working together to target criminals wreaking havoc and mayhem, just to make money and a name for themselves on the street.”

“The arrest of these individuals, including a known 18th Street gang member, for dealing fentanyl in the North Shore of Boston is a critical step in combating the devastating impact of illegal drugs in our communities,” said James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives. “Fentanyl continues to claim lives at an alarming rate, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to holding accountable those who profit from this deadly substance. By working collaboratively with our federal, state, and local partners, we are sending a clear message: we will not tolerate the distribution of dangerous narcotics that endanger the lives and safety of our citizens.”

According to the charging documents, on Oct. 15, 2024, Mancia sold approximately 500 pressed fentanyl pills to a cooperating witness in Everett. Later, on Oct. 23, 2024, it is alleged that Mancia again sold another 500 pressed fentanyl pills along with cocaine to the cooperating witness in Everett. According to the charging documents, Cartegena-Chacon distributed and possessed with intent to distribute over 40 grams of fentanyl.

It is alleged that approximately 100 grams of suspected cocaine and approximately $25,000 cash were recovered from Angel’s residence on Nantucket during a search at the time of his arrest.  

Additionally, as part of the investigation, the following additional individuals were arrested and charged in state court with various crimes including drug trafficking (including fentanyl and cocaine), child abuse crimes (including rape of a child, posing child in a state of nudity and possession of child pornography) and unlawful possession of ammunition:

1. Elvin Martinez, 23, of Everett;
2. Marlon Eduardo Varela, 20, of Everett;
3. Fidel Alexis Orellana, 21, of Cheslea;
4. Bryan Molina, 21, of Chelsea; and
5. Luis Borja, 20, of Chelsea.

The federal charge of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to life, of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl provides for a sentence of at least five and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $5,000,000.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy, FBI SAC Cohen and ATF SAC Ferguson made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Falmouth, Lynn, Medford, Nantucket and Revere Police Departments; Massachusetts State Police; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations; and the Suffolk County and Middlesex County District Attorney’s Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Hoefle and Timothy Moran of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit are prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A Springfield, Mass. man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Springfield on firearms charges.

Edward Nathan Gale, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to three years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Gale was also ordered to forfeit various firearms, ammunition and tools and accessories. In February 2024, Gale pleaded guilty to one count each of being a felon in possession of firearm and ammunition, unlawful firearms dealing and unlawful possession of machineguns.

Between Feb. 22, 2022, and Dec. 2, 2022, Gale manufactured and distributed approximately 50 privately manufactured firearms (commonly known as “ghost guns”) to individuals located in Kansas and Massachusetts. Between approximately Oct. 11, 2022, and Dec. 8, 2022, Gale also imported from China approximately 100 Glock-style machinegun conversion devices (commonly known as “Glock switches”), approximately 60 of which he distributed in Massachusetts and elsewhere, along with other firearms and a silencer. On Jan. 5, 2023, a search of Gale’s residence resulted in the recovery of a Pioneer Arms semi-automatic rifle; numerous rounds of ammunition; assorted tools, parts and accessories used to manufacture ghost guns; and evidence of Gale’s importation and distribution of Glock switches.

Gale is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition due to a prior conviction of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison. Additionally, Gale was not licensed to manufacture or distribute firearms, therefore his manufacturing and distribution of the ghost guns and the Glock switches was also illegal.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Feld Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance provided by the Springfield Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of the Springfield Branch Office is prosecuted the case.  

BOSTON – A former owner of the now-defunct Westfield Transport, Inc., was sentenced today on federal charges related to a June 2019 collision involving one of the company’s vehicles that caused the deaths of seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire.

Dunyadar Gasanov, a/k/a Damien Gasanov, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to two months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release, during which he is prohibited from driving commercially. The government recommended a sentence of one year in prison. In August 2024, the defendant pleaded guilty to three counts of making false statements to federal investigators. He was indicted in February 2021 along with co-defendant Dartanyan Gasanov.

“Today’s sentencing brings a measure of accountability for the defendant’s reckless and illegal actions. By falsifying safety records and lying to investigators, this defendant put profits over public safety, with potentially devastating consequences,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Adhering to federal safety regulations is critical to protecting public safety and our office is committed to holding accountable anyone who flouts them in this manner. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the victims’ families and loved ones as they continue to endure the aftermath of this tragedy."

“The sentence announced today reinforces that there are real consequences for those who endanger the safety of the traveling public by flagrantly circumventing federal laws and regulations,” said Christopher A. Scharf, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Northeastern Region. “We hold in our thoughts the loved ones affected by the tragedy that occurred in 2019, as we continue our work to support safety on our nation’s roads.”

According to court filings, the defendant owned now-defunct Westfield Transport, Inc. – a for-hire interstate motor carrier that transported vehicles primarily in the northeastern United States. On June 18, 2019, Dunyadar Gasanov hired a driver despite knowing that the driver had a history of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. On June 21, 2019, on his first trip as an employee for Westfield Transport, the driver was involved in a crash that killed seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire.

A subsequent investigation revealed that, from May 3, 2019 to June 23, 2019, Dunyadar Gasanov and, allegedly, Dartanyan Gasanov falsified driving logs in order to evade federal regulations designed to ensure the safety of roadways and drivers. Dunyadar Gasanov instructed at least one Westfield Transport employee to falsify records, thereby exceeding the number of permissible driving hours, and then made false statements to federal inspectors regarding the manipulation of recording devices that track drivers’ on and off duty hours in order to evade regulations.  

Additionally, Dunyadar Gasanov falsely stated to inspectors that he met the driver involved in the June 2019 fatal crash driver on the day he had hired him. In fact, Dunyadar Gasanov had known the driver for years prior and knew that the driver had been charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol years before.  

Dartanyan Gasanov has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy and DOT OIG SAC Scharf made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil L. Desroches of the Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A New York City man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for stealing or attempting to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from two separate businesses in Massachusetts and Connecticut using counterfeit licenses.

Archil Grdzelishvili, a/k/a “Archie Longson,” 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $140,200 in restitution. In June 2024, Grdzelishvili pleaded guilty to nine counts of bank fraud.  

At an unknown time, Grdzelishvili obtained a fraudulent Massachusetts driver’s license bearing his picture and the personal identifying information of an executive-level employee of a Massachusetts-based company. Between March 9, 2022 and March 16, 2022, Grdzelishvili used the fraudulent license more than eight times at various banks to conduct unauthorized transactions from the company’s bank accounts. In total, Grdzelishvili fraudulently obtained over $140,000 from the company’s bank accounts using the counterfeit license.

Additionally, at an unknown time, Grdzelishvili obtained a fraudulent Connecticut driver’s license with his picture and the personal identifying information of a restaurateur in the Connecticut area. Using this counterfeit license, Grdzelishvili attempted to withdraw $14,000 from the victim’s bank account in April 2022 before being taken into custody.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Andrew Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Cambridge and Danbury (Conn.) Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Sullivan of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – A Cape Cod man was sentenced today for drug distribution offenses.

Terrance Cardoza, 28, of Mashpee, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 78 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release. In July 2024, Cardoza pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl; two counts of distribution and possession of 10 grams or more of fentanyl analogue; and one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.

On four dates in June, July, September and November 2023, Cardoza met a confidential source in Falmouth and East Falmouth and sold the confidential source narcotics, including fentanyl and fentanyl analogue. At the time of his arrest in January 2024, approximately 758 grams of cocaine was recovered from Cardoza’s vehicle.  

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration New England Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Falmouth, Mashpee and Yarmouth Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Mackenzie Duane of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.  

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf.

BOSTON – A California man has been arrested and charged in federal court in Boston in connection with a money laundering conspiracy.  

Jimmy Fu, 63, of West Hills, Calif., was charged by a criminal complaint with one count of a money laundering conspiracy.  Fu was arrested on Oct. 30, 2024, and appeared initially in the Central District of California where he resides. Following an initial appearance today in federal court in Boston, Fu was allowed to remain on conditions of release.  

According to the charging documents, since in or around November 2022, law enforcement has been investigating two online pharmacies believed to be operated out of India that advertised controlled substances for sale and distributing misbranded and counterfeit drugs, including drugs that contain controlled substances. The investigation revealed that online orders placed by customers in the United States were filled in several ways, including by illicit pill press locations operating in the United States as well as via shipments from overseas locations, with several illicit pill manufacturing locations identified as being involved in the shipment and fulfillment of orders.  During the investigation, a variety of counterfeit prescription drugs, some of which contained controlled substances, were obtained via 18 undercover purchases. One undercover purchase of 60 Adderall pills was found to contain methamphetamine and caffeine. Another undercover purchase of 90 Adderall pills contained no active pharmaceutical ingredient.

It is alleged that Fu was identified as the operator of Axson Engineering, Inc., doing business in Canoga Park, Calif. as “Axson Data.” The business allegedly processed customer payments for controlled substances from the online pharmacies and wired the proceeds of these illegal purchases to various businesses located overseas. It is alleged that the wires were directed to a number of different businesses that identify as information technology consulting businesses, among other things.

It is further alleged that all 18 undercover purchases for prescription drugs were processed by Fu’s business, Axson Data, with each of the payments deposited into an Axson bank account. A review of all of Axson’s bank accounts allegedly revealed thousands of checks deposited from individuals across the United States, including Massachusetts, for various amounts of money ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. At least some of these payments allegedly correspond to purchases from the network of online pharmacy websites. It is alleged that, between January 2021 and August 2024, Axson accounts appeared to have received approximately $11.5 million from individuals across the United States.  

A search warrant executed for an Apple account associated with Axson allegedly revealed, among other things, a photo of a cell phone displaying an image of a drug test showing a positive indicator for methamphetamine, followed by a text message that read: “I ordered Adderall . . . I got this . . . it’s pressed meth. I said if they don’t have real Adderall I would take 20mg Ritalin to replace. They refused unless I sent these back (which is highly illegal).” 

The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the funds laundered, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, New England; and Special Agent in Charge Fernando McMillan, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations New York Field Office made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations in West Palm Beach, Fla., Northridge, Calif., and Las Vegas; Drug Enforcement Administration; Federal Bureau of Investigation; U.S. Customs & Border Protection; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Federal Air Marshal; U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California; Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office; and the Quincy, Framingham and Henderson, Nev. Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Mackenzie Duane of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit, Alexandra Amrhein of the Asset Recovery Unit and Leslie Wright of the Health Care Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – An Orleans man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to child pornography offenses.

Anthony Argo, 34, pleaded guilty to possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun scheduled sentencing for Feb. 25, 2025. Argo was arrested and charged in July 2024.

Argo was identified as the user of a chat application who was expressing sexual interest in minors and sharing CSAM. During a search of his residence, Argo was found in possession of an SD card and multiple USB drives, together containing more than 600 images depicting child pornography. The files depicted children as young as infants.  

Argo was previously convicted in Barnstable District Court for indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over, and in Orleans District Court for kidnapping, enticement of a child under 16, and distributing obscene matter to a minor.

Due to Argo’s prior convictions, the charge of possession of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Special assistance was provided by HSI Frederick Maryland and the Orleans Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Maynard of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

BOSTON – A Dominican man residing in Dorchester was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation.

Tommy Raul Jimenez-Perez, 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 18 months in prison, to be served concurrent to an already imposed state drug sentence of five to seven years, and three years of supervised release. In October 2023, Jimenez-Perez pleaded guilty to unlawful reentry of a deported alien.

On an unknown date, Jimenez-Perez entered the United States from the Dominican Republic without inspection. Thereafter, on two different dates in May 2018, Jimenez-Perez was convicted of two separate narcotics cases before departing the United States on his own, on an unknown date. In February 2020, Jimenez-Perez was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol in Texas after it was determined that he had unlawfully entered the United Staes without inspection. Jimenez-Perez was removed from the United States on March 3, 2020. Sometime after his removal, Jimenez-Perez unlawfully reentered the United States before being arrested in January 2023 on new, unrelated charges.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Todd M. Lyons, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles Dell’Anno and Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case. 

BOSTON – A Colombian man has been extradited to the United States from the Republic of Colombia to face charges related to his alleged role in a sophisticated money laundering organization that laundered over $2 million in drug trafficking proceeds.

Jose Edison Montealegre-Fernandez, 60, was arrested in Cali, Colombia on Nov. 10, 2021 and extradited to the United States on Nov. 15, 2024. He appeared in federal court in Boston today and was ordered detained pending trial. On Nov. 4, 2021, Montealegre-Fernandez was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston on charges of money laundering conspiracy, laundering of monetary instruments and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property.

According to the charging documents, in or about November 2017, law enforcement began an investigation into a sophisticated money laundering organization located primarily in Cali, Colombia. During an extensive three-year investigation, the organization allegedly laundered over $2 million in drug proceeds through intermediary banks in the United States, including banks in Massachusetts.

Montealegre-Fernandez allegedly participated in the transfer of substantial amounts of bulk cash in the United States through schemes that involved picking up large amounts of drug proceeds at locations around the world and then subsequently laundering those funds through accounts in the United States to various individuals and entities in order to repay drug suppliers in Colombia. According to court documents, the investigation led to the seizure of over six kilograms of suspected heroin, over 2.8 kilograms of a substance that field-tested positive for heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, a hydraulic drug press, a Glock 10mm semi-automatic handgun, an SKS assault rifle with a loaded Beta C-mag containing 100 rounds of 7.62 caliber ammunition and $250,000 in cash.

The charges of money laundering conspiracy and laundering of monetary instruments each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $500,000, or twice the amount involved, whichever is greater. The crime of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the amount involved. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua Levy; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; and Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston made the announcement today. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota provided critical assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Montealegre-Fernandez. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Dolan and Alathea E. Porter of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A Massachusetts man, who was extradited from Stockholm, Sweden, pleaded guilty today to obstructing an investigation of fires set at Jewish institutions in Arlington, Needham and Chelsea, Mass., in May 2019.  

Alexander Giannakakis, 37, formerly of Quincy, Mass., pleaded guilty to concealing records in a federal investigation; tampering with documents and objects; and tampering with an official proceeding. U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for March 11, 2025. In February 2022, Giannakakis was indicted by a federal grand jury. In February 2024 he was extradited to the United States from Sweden.

“This defendant obstructed justice about hate crimes directed at Jewish people living in greater Boston. These attempted arsons at Jewish houses of worship and senior living facilities sent ripples of fear throughout the region. We must be vigilant in holding accountable every single person who engages in or facilitates acts of hate like this. Alexander Giannakakis chose to destroy evidence and conceal these hate crimes and for deciding to stand on the side of acts of vile Antisemitism, he now stands convicted and awaiting sentencing,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “It is incumbent on every person in the District of Massachusetts to call out acts of racism and bigotry, and to report hate crimes.”

“Today’s conviction shows that there will be serious ramifications for anyone who seeks to obstruct an FBI investigation into an act of domestic terrorism,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “Fire is a dangerous and indiscriminate weapon – one that we believe Alexander Giannakakis’ brother used to express his hatred for Jewish people four times. By lying to our investigators and trying to obstruct our investigation into his brother, Mr. Giannakakis only made matters worse. If people think there’s no downside to deceiving FBI agents, critical lines of investigation will be compromised, and our justice system stalled. Our Joint Terrorism Task Force can’t afford to be deterred in this way.”

In and around February 2020, Giannakakis’ younger brother became the prime suspect in an investigation into four fires set at Jewish-related institutions in the Boston area: the first during the evening of May 11, 2019 at a Chabad Center in Arlington; the second at the same location during the evening of May 16, 2019; the third at a Chabad Center in Needham; and the fourth during the evening of May 26, 2019, at a Jewish-affiliated business in Chelsea. However, at the time Giannakakis’ brother was identified as a suspect, he was hospitalized in a coma. He remained in a coma until his death later that year.

Shortly after his brother was identified as a suspect, Giannakakis left the United States for Sweden, where he was living at the time, with his brother’s electronic devices and documents. According to court documents, when Giannakakis returned to the U.S. in March 2020, he was questioned by investigators and made false and misleading statements. He later concealed and destroyed physical evidence being sought by investigators that implicated his brother in the arsons. Within hours of concealing and destroying that evidence, Giannakakis fled the United States for Sweden. Giannakakis remained in Sweden until his arrest by Swedish authorities in February 2022.

The charges of concealing records in a federal investigation, tampering with documents and objects, and tampering with an official proceeding each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Chief Juliann Flaherty of the Arlington Police Department; Chief John Schlittler of the Needham Police Department; and Chief Keith E. Houghton of the Chelsea Police Department made the announcement today. Substantial assistance was provided by Swedish authorities. Additional assistance was provided by the Quincy Massachusetts Police Department; the Massachusetts State Police; and the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance to secure the arrest and extradition from Sweden of Giannakakis. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason A. Casey and John McNeil of the Office’s National Security Unit.

BOSTON – A Cambridge man as sentenced on Nov. 14, 2024 in federal court in Boston for the March 20, 2023, armed robbery of the JP Wireless store in Jamaica Plain, Mass.

Royal Benjamin, 64, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 70 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In August 2024, Benjamin pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery. In September 2023, Benjamin was charged by criminal complaint.

On March 20, 2023, Benjamin robbed an individual in the Downtown Crossing subway station of a bag containing two pairs of Puma sneakers. Benjamin then traveled to JP Wireless in Jamaica Plain and offered to sell the sneakers to a store employee. When the store employee stated he did not want to buy the sneakers, Benjamin removed a handgun from his waistband and rushed behind the counter pointing the handgun at the store employee. Once behind the counter, Benjamin took $594.00 in cash that was sitting on top of the register. Benjamin then removed the drawer, dropping it and its contents on the ground. Benjamin’s fingerprints were later located on the cash register drawer. Benjamin then fled the store, threatening to shoot the store employee. During a search of Benjamin’s bedroom at a house in Cambridge, a loaded handgun was recovered.

According to court records, Benjamin has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 1978, when he was 18years-old. His criminal record includes the following convictions and sentences: a 1978 conviction in Alabama for Strong Armed Robbery, for which he was sentenced to 10 years (Benjamin escaped from prison); a 1985 conviction in the Roxbury District Court for Assault Dangerous Weapon, for which he received a sentence of “Filed;” a 1985 conviction in Suffolk Superior Court for Armed Robbery, for which he was sentenced to four to six years; a 1984 conviction in Suffolk Superior Court for Manslaughter  and Armed Robbery, for which he received a sentence of 18 to 20 years; 1994 convictions in the Suffolk Superior Court for Robbery and Possession of a Class B controlled Substance, for which he received a sentence of four to six years; a 2001 conviction in Suffolk Superior Court for Armed Robbery, for which he was sentenced to seven to nine years; a 2010 conviction in Suffolk Superior Court for Robbery, for which he was sentenced to 10 to 12 years; and a 2024 conviction in the Boston Municipal Court for Larceny from a Person, for which he received a sentence of 90 days.      

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority Police Department; the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office; and the Boston and Cambridge Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan C. Cleary and David G. Tobin of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case. 

BOSTON – A Lenox man was sentenced today in federal court in Springfield for attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor after he sent obscene images and videos to an undercover investigator.

Paul J. Bruzzi, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In July 2024, Bruzzi pleaded guilty to one count of attempt to transfer obscene material to a minor in federal court.  

Starting in September 2022, Bruzzi used social media applications to engage in conversations with an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, but who was actually an undercover federal investigator. During these conversations, Bruzzi attempted to pressure the girl into sending him photos and sent her nine photographs and videos of himself displaying his genitalia.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Salisbury, Mass. Police Department and the Winchester, Mass. Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil L. Desroches, Chief of the Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A former inmate at the Buckingham Correctional Center in Dillwyn, Va. (Buckingham) was sentenced today in connection with leading conspiracies to distribute controlled substances and launder the proceeds in Massachusetts and inside the Virginia prison.

Michael Mao, a/k/a “Whitebodian,” a/k/a “Spook,” a/k/a “Leno,” 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 121 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release. In August 2024, Mao pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute MDMA and Buprenorphine.

Mao was serving prison sentences in Virginia for several state convictions for violent offenses, including attempted murder. From approximately December 2019 through May 2021, Mao conspired with co-conspirators Sathtra Em and Sarath Yut, to source MDMA and Buprenorphine from Massachusetts and mail the drugs to Virginia, where they were smuggled into Buckingham for him to sell to other inmates. The drug conspiracy involved several schemes for illegally introducing the drugs into Buckingham, including bribing a corrupt prison guard, Kenneth Owen. Mao and his co-conspirators also conspired to launder the drug proceeds to conceal their drug distribution activity.

Sarath Yut pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracies and was sentenced in October 2023 to 15 years in prison. Sathtra Em pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracies and was sentenced in August 2024 to 21 months in prison. Kenneth Owen pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracies in September 2024. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 10, 2024.  

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Special assistance was provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations and the Virginia Department of Corrections. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred M. Wyshak, III of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Amhrein of the Asset Forfeiture Unit prosecuted the case.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

BOSTON – A Chicago man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Springfield, Mass. to his role in a nationwide wire fraud conspiracy that victimized businesses and individuals across the United States.  

Terrence Bender, a/k/a “Blends,” a/k/a “Dopeblends,” 32, pleaded guilty on Nov. 14, 2024 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Feb. 27, 2025. Bender was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2020 along with five co-defendants, including rap promoter Antonio Strong, rap artists Herbert Wright and Joseph Williams, their associate Demario Sorrells and one other co-defendant.

According to court documents, beginning in at least March 2017 through November 2018, Bender, Strong, Williams, Sorrells, Wright and, allegedly, one other co-defendant conspired to defraud numerous businesses and individuals throughout the United States by using unauthorized and stolen payment card account information of real individuals – including the actual cardholders' names, addresses, security codes and account expiration dates. Generally, because the payment card information was authentic, the defrauded businesses and individuals successfully processed the fraudulent transactions and provided the goods and services to Bender and his co-conspirators. The actual cardholders discovered these transactions on their accounts and disputed the charges with their card companies who then charged back the transactions to the businesses and individuals, who consequently suffered losses in the amounts of the unauthorized transactions.

Strong was a music promoter and Bender was a rap artist and celebrity barber in the area around Chicago. Bender and his co-conspirators used illicit account information to obtain, among other things, a private jet chart flight, a New York City villa rental, designer puppies from a pet boutique and car insurance in Bender’s own name. In total, Bender was responsible for $103,000 in victim losses.

On July 28, 2023, Wright pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of making a false statement to a federal official, and on Jan. 11, 2024, was sentenced to three years’ probation and was ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture of $139,968and a $5,500 fine. On Feb. 2, 2024, Sorrells pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and, on Aug. 29, 2024, was sentenced to three years’ probation and ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture of $106,481. On March 8, 2024, Williams pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and, on Aug. 13, 2024, was sentenced to three years’ probation and ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture of $155,392. On May 22, 2024, Strong pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud and, on Oct. 29, 2024, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture of $2,159,874.  

The charge of wire fraud conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Andrew Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Boston Field Office made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of the Springfield Branch Office and Trial Attorneys Andrew Tyler and Kyle Crawford of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.  

BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced on Nov. 15, 2024 for fraud and false statements charges in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain pandemic-related relief funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

Antawn Davis, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Julia E. Kobick to five months in prison and two years of supervised release. Davis was also ordered to pay $49,999 in restitution and forfeiture. In June 2024, Davis pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of making false statements. Davis was arrested in February 2024 along with over 40 alleged Heath Street Gang members/associates, who were charged with racketeering conspiracy; drug trafficking; firearms charges; and financial frauds, including COVID-related fraud.

In April and May 2021, Davis submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of his purported business. The applications contained multiple false statements, including the purported business’ total gross income in 2020 and the purpose of the loan. Davis also submitted false tax records in support of his loan applications. Based on the fraudulent applications, Davis received approximately $49,999 in PPP loans, which he then spent on non-business-related expenses, including transactions at a casino and at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and Harry T. Chavis Jr, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Hoefle and Lucy Sun of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit are prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. 

BOSTON – A Taunton man was sentenced on Nov. 15, 2024 for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Jermaine Rodrigues, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley to two years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. In June 2024, Rodrigues pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. In July 2023, Rodrigues was indicted by a federal grand jury.

In June 2022, Rodrigues possessed two Anderson Manufacturing AM-15, .300 blackout firearms – one of which was equipped with a laser sight and optics affixed to the top rail. In addition, Rodrigues possessed almost 100 rounds of .300 blackout ammunition.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Taunton and Fall River Police Departments. Assistant United States Attorneys Luke A Goldworm and Meghan C. Cleary of the Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.

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 gun violence and other violent crime, 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.  For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

BOSTON – Pharmaceutical company QOL Medical, LLC (QOL) and its CEO, Frederick E. Cooper, have agreed to pay $47 million to resolve allegations that they caused the submission of false claims to federal health care programs, in violation of the False Claims Act, by offering kickbacks, in the form of free Carbon-13 breath testing services, to induce claims for QOL’s drug Sucraid.

Sucraid is an FDA-approved therapy for the rare genetic condition, Congenital Sucrase-Isomaltase Deficiency (CSID). CSID patients have difficulty digesting sucrose (table sugar) and suffer from chronic gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating and gas.  

As part of the settlement, QOL and Mr. Cooper admitted and accepted responsibility for certain facts providing the basis of the settlement. Beginning in 2018, QOL, with Mr. Cooper’s approval, distributed free Carbon-13 breath test kits to health care providers and asked providers to give the kits to patients with common gastrointestinal symptoms. QOL claimed that the test could “rule in or rule out” CSID. In fact, the test does not specifically diagnose CSID. Conditions other than CSID can cause a patient to test “positive” for low sucrase activity on a Carbon-13 breath test. Approximately 30% of the Carbon-13 breath tests from QOL were positive for low sucrase activity.

QOL paid a laboratory to analyze the breath tests, report the results to health care providers, and provide the results to QOL. The results QOL received from the laboratory did not contain patient names, but did contain the name of the health care provider who ordered the test, along with the patient’s age, gender, symptoms and test result. Between 2018 and 2022, QOL disseminated this information to its sales force with instructions to make sales calls for Sucraid to health care providers whose patients had positive Carbon-13 breath test results. QOL tracked whether sales representatives converted “positive” Carbon-13 breath tests into Sucraid prescriptions. As QOL’s CEO, Mr. Cooper was aware of and approved the implementation and continuation of this marketing program.

Some QOL sales representatives also made claims regarding the Carbon-13 test’s ability to definitively diagnose CSID that were not supported by published scientific literature. For example, in slides at a 2019 national sales training, which Mr. Cooper reviewed, QOL suggested that sales representatives tell health care providers, “If you have a positive breath test, the patient will not improve unless you treat with Sucraid.”  

“QOL provided free goods to doctors and patients in order to induce prescriptions for the very expensive drug QOL manufactured,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Not all kickbacks come in the form of cash going into a doctor’s or a patient’s pocket. Here, the defendants relied on free breath tests and misleading sales tactics to drive patients to their product. This conduct unnecessarily drained money from the federal health care programs and improperly influenced treatment decisions by physicians and their patients.”

“Participants in the federal healthcare system, including pharmaceutical manufacturers, may not offer improper inducements to generate business,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to protecting the integrity of federal health care programs, upholding the objectivity of treatment decisions by physicians and patients and preventing overutilization and waste in government health care programs.”

“Kickback arrangements can compromise medical decisions and threaten the integrity of the Medicare program,” said Special Agent in Charge Roberto Coviello of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “We are committed to protecting taxpayer-funded health care programs and the patients served by those programs, and we will thoroughly pursue allegations of False Claims Act violations.”

“It is extremely important that we protect our government funded health care programs against fraud of any kind. Today’s settlement with QOL Medical and its CEO is the result of years of hard work by the FBI and our partners to make sure this company did not get away with offering improper incentives to boost sales of its drug Sucraid,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “Let this case be a warning to others that we will aggressively pursue all those, motivated by greed, who try to unlawfully enrich themselves at taxpayers’ expense.”

“The Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the law enforcement arm of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, has placed a high priority on pursuing companies that engage in fraudulent activity at the expense of the U.S. military,” said Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty, DCIS Northeast Field Office. “This settlement demonstrates our commitment to protecting the TRICARE program, and we will continue to work with our partners to ensure critical healthcare funds are utilized in the appropriate manner.”

“QOL misled doctors and patients by claiming their breath test could definitively diagnose CSID when there was not reliable data to support those claims,” said Special Agent in Charge Fernando McMillan, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations New York Field Office. “FDA will continue to pursue those who make unsupported claims that can jeopardize the public health for financial gain.”

The allegations resolved by the settlement agreement were, in part, originally bought in a case filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by former QOL Medical employees. The case is captioned United States ex rel. John Doe 1, et al. v. QOL Medical, LLC, et al., No. 1:20-cv-11243 (D. Mass.). Of the total $47 million recovery, approximately $43.6 million constitutes the federal portion of the recovery and approximately $3.4 million constitutes a recovery for State Medicaid programs. The whistleblowers will receive approximately $8 million as their share of the recovery.  

This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian LaMacchia and Lindsey Ross for the District of Massachusetts and Trial Attorneys Emily Bussigel and Paige Ammons of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. The case was investigated by HHS-OIG, FBI, DCIS and the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

BOSTON – A New York doctor pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston for receiving kickbacks in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary brain scans.

Dr. Kenneth Fishberger, 75, of East Setauket, N.Y. pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for Feb. 25, 2025.

Fishberger, an internist in Long Island, N.Y., was a licensed medical doctor in the State of New York for approximately 47 years. From approximately June 2013 through December 2019, Fishberger conspired with others, including a principal for a mobile medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial doppler (TCD) scans, and a salesperson for the company, to order hundreds of medically unnecessary TCD scans in exchange for kickbacks. TCD scans are brain scans that measure blood flow in parts of the brain. Fishberger and his co-conspirators used false diagnoses to order the unnecessary brain scans, for which a co-conspirator would submit claims to Medicare and other insurance companies, including private insurance companies, on behalf of the medical diagnostic company for payment. In exchange, Fishberger was paid cash kickbacks of approximately $100 per test. According to the charging documents, the scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of approximately $891,978 to Medicare and private insurance companies.

The charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, Boston Field Office; Carol S. Hamilton, Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Boston Regional Office; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Howard Locker and Mackenzie Queenin of the Health Care Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – Father and son owners of two Woburn, Mass. restaurants, Taste of Brazil—Tudo Na Brasa and The Dog House Bar and Grill, have pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle migrants into the United States from Brazil. One defendant has also pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy.

Jesse James Moraes, 66, and Hugo Giovanni Moraes, 45, both of Woburn, pleaded guilty to conspiring to encourage and induce an alien to come to, enter, and reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law, for commercial advantage or private financial gain. Jesse Moraes also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder the proceeds of the migrant smuggling conspiracy. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencings for Feb. 11, 2025.

The conspiracy involved recruiting undocumented migrants in Brazil to come to the United States through Mexico without authorization in exchange for fees of between $12,000 and $22,000 per person. The migrants were encouraged to make fraudulent claims of asylum and familial relationship (e.g., parent and minor child) in the United States and were given fraudulent information about U.S. points of contact to give to immigration authorities when they were caught in the United States. Once migrants were in the United States, Jesse Moraes and Hugo Moraes helped them secure long term housing, including in apartments owned by relatives of Hugo Moraes. The defendants arranged for some of the migrants to work at Tudo Na Brasa/Taste of Brazil and The Dog House Bar and Grill and paid the migrants either entirely or partly in cash unless and until the migrants obtained identification documents, at which point they would be paid at least partly by check. The defendants encouraged the migrants working for them to obtain false identification documents and referred them to a co-defendant, Marcos Chacon Gil, a/k/a Marquito,” to obtain such false identification documents.  The co-conspirators agreed that some of the migrants could pay off some of their smuggling fee once they reached the United States, which they did by direct payment, having their wages withheld, or by collection by relatives and other associates within and outside the United States.

The money laundering conspiracy to which Jesse Moraes pleaded guilty involved transferring funds into and out of the United States with the intent to promote the migrant smuggling conspiracy and conducting financial transactions with the proceeds of the smuggling conspiracy that were designed to conceal the ownership and control of the proceeds.  

Members of the public who believe they may be victims of the alleged crimes, or have information or questions about this case, are encouraged to call 888-221-6023, Option 5 or send an email with contact information to [email protected].

The charge of conspiring to encourage and induce an alien to come to, enter, and reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law, for commercial advantage or private financial gain, provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison per alien smuggled, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $500,000 or twice the amount involved in the transaction, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Michael J. Krol, Acting Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston; and Woburn Police Chief Robert F. Rufo, Jr., made the announcement today. Valuable assistance in the investigation was provided by the Norwood Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James D. Herbert, Kelly Lawrence and Samuel R. Feldman of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A Master Sergeant of the 102 Security Forces of the Massachusetts National Guard stationed in Sandwich, Mass. has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston of possession and distribution of child pornography.  

Nicholas Wells, 43, was indicted for possession and distribution of child pornography.  At his initial appearance in federal court in Boston, on Oct. 24, 2024, Wells agreed to be voluntarily detained pending trial without prejudice.  

According to the charging documents, Wells engaged in chats on a messaging application, in which he discussed his interest in minors and distributed videos depicting child pornography. It is alleged that, following search warrants for Wells’ messaging application account and home, law enforcement officials have uncovered over 300 images and 100 videos depicting child pornography on Wells’ phone and evidence that Wells distributed over 70 videos depicting child pornography. Some of the child pornography located involves infants.  

The charge of possessing child pornography provides for a sentence up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine up to $250,000.  The charge of distributing child pornography provides for a sentence of not less than five years and not more than 20 years, five years to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Barnstable and Sandwich Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Sullivan of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
 

BOSTON –A Reading, Mass. man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for his role in a drug conspiracy involving tens of thousands of counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine and fentanyl.

Charles Bates, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 10 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. In August 2024, Bates pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

In August 2022, an investigation began into Bates after he ordered 50 kilograms of an orange binding agent commonly used to make counterfeit Adderall pills, which he was observed picking up at a UPS store in Boston.

Bates exchanged text messages with drug customers and associates in which he spoke about pills that are “made to order,” described being physically present at the place where the pills were made and “watching the guy work so no corners have been cut.” In addition, Bates drafted recipes for counterfeit pills that he kept on his phone or sent to others. The offense involved at least 136,000 counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine, equivalent to approximately 40 kilograms of pills. After a pill press broke, Bates traveled to Rhode Island to obtain a replacement. Bates was observed transporting a large, heavy item that appeared to be a pill press to codefendant Aaron Lenardis’ residence in Saugus. A search of Lenardis’ residence on Oct. 25, 2022 resulted in the seizure of an industrial pill press; 14 firearms including a Glock outfitted to operate as a machinegun; at least 1.85 kilograms of pills and powder containing methamphetamine; at least 87.6 grams of pills and powder containing fentanyl; and “M30” stamps commonly used to manufacture counterfeit pills.

In November 2024, Lenardis was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and 40 grams or more of fentanyl; possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and 40 grams or more of fentanyl; and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. Lenardis is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 12, 2025.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samuel R. Feldman and Charles Dell'Anno of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.
 

BOSTON – A Lawrence, Mass. woman was sentenced to probation yesterday in federal court in Boston for conspiring to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

Ceferina Dominguez, 57, was sentenced by District Court Judge Angel Kelley to four years’ probation. The government recommended a sentence of 51 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. In June 2024, Dominguez pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.  

Dominguez was charged in connection with the April 2021 seizure of 9.6 kilograms of fentanyl from her Lawrence residence and an additional 6.4 kilograms of fentanyl from a hidden compartment in a car registered to her. In 2018, fentanyl, fentanyl analogue, fentanyl precursors and drug proceeds were seized from a townhouse rented by Dominguez.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Ferguson, Deputy Chief of the Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
 

BOSTON – A Tewksbury man pleaded guilty yesterday to sex trafficking and the interstate transportation of seven separate victims for the purposes of prostitution.

Jermall Anderson, 45, pleaded guilty to seven counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, one count of coercion and enticement, and one count of interstate transportation for the purpose of prostitution. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for March 12, 2025. Anderson was indicted in August 2023, along with two co-conspirators.

“This case highlights both the horrors of human trafficking and the myriad ways the opioid crisis plagues our communities,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Jermall Anderson exploited his victims’ drug addictions to force these women to sell their bodies many times a day, with Anderson pocketing all the money. He also used physical force and threats of harm to coerce these victims and keep them in line. Our office and are partners are dedicated to fighting on behalf of sex trafficking victims and bringing their traffickers to justice.”  

“Anderson and his co-conspirators exploited women in the most inhumane ways possible. He tactically prowled substance abuse rehabilitation facilities to find women with vulnerabilities he could exploit for his own profit. Human traffickers like Anderson and his collaborators are predators who ensnare victims by offering safety only to create a climate of dependence and fear that keeps victims under their control,” said HSI New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol. “The survivors of Anderson’s trafficking ring have been through so much and we hope that today’s plea is a positive landmark in their healing.”

From 2012 through 2016, Anderson, along with his alleged co-conspirators, used physical violence, threats and the giving and withholding of heroin and cocaine to force seven different victims to prostitute on their behalf. Anderson and his alleged co-conspirators targeted vulnerable victims, specifically those struggling from drug addiction, homelessness and lack of economic resources. Anderson recruited women struggling with drug addiction directly from detox and drug rehabilitation facilities and forced and coerced them into providing commercial sex for his financial benefit. The defendants are alleged to have trafficked these victims throughout New England, New York and New Jersey.  

The charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion each provide for a sentence of at least 15 years and up to life in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges of coercion and enticement and interstate transportation for prostitution provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Members of the public who have questions, concerns or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274 or contact [email protected].

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy and HSI SAC Krol made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the HSI Office in New Haven, Conn., the Lynn and Tewksbury Police Departments (Mass.) and the Hampden (Conn.) Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen W. Hassink and Leah B. Foley of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
 

BOSTON – A Boston area man was sentenced yesterday for his role in Cameron Street, a violent Boston gang.

Eric Correia, aka “Bubba,” 26, of Boston, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young to15 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. In April 2024, Correia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, more commonly known as RICO conspiracy, and distribution of marijuana.

Correia was identified as a member Cameron Street, a violent gang based largely in the Dorchester section of Boston that uses violence and threats of violence to preserve, protect and expand its territory, promote a climate of fear and enhance its reputation. Cameron Street members use firearms to murder and assault gang rivals as well as protect narcotics and drug proceeds. Correia pleaded guilty to committing a March 2019 attempted murder with a firearm of a rival gang member in Dorchester. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries.

In addition to this attempted murder, Correia admitted to his role in an armed robbery with a firearm of a drug customer and admitted that he distributed $1,400 worth of marijuana to a cooperating witness. While he wore a mask during the drug deal, Correia was identified through a “C” tattoo on his hand. Cameron Street members often have tattoos or wear sports jerseys that employ the letter “C.”

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police; Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office; Suffolk, Plymouth, Norfolk and Bristol County District Attorney’s Offices; and the Canton, Quincy, Randolph, Somerville, Brockton, Malden, Stoughton, Rehoboth and Pawtucket (R.I.) Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl and Charles Dell’Anno of the Criminal Division are prosecuted the case.

This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A Lawrence man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to falsely claiming to be a United States citizen in a passport application.

Ruben Dario Guerrero, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement in a passport application and one count of aggravated identity theft. Chief U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for March 5, 2025.  

On Aug. 25, 2023, Guerrero submitted an application for a U.S. passport at a post office in Lawrence, Mass. Guerrero used the name, date of birth and social security number of a U.S. citizen who died in Puerto Rico in 1997, and signed the application under an attestation in which he declared under penalty of perjury that he was a United States citizen. In fact, however, identity documents from the Dominican Republic show Guerrero to be a Dominican citizen.

The charge of making a false statement in a passport application provides for a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison that must run consecutive to any other sentence, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes that govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Matthew O’Brien, Special Agent in charge of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office made the announcement today.
 

BOSTON – A Lawrence man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to fentanyl, cocaine, firearms and money laundering charges.

Joseph Correa, 34, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, five kilograms or more of cocaine, and other controlled substances; possession with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense; and conspiracy to commit money laundering. U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley scheduled sentencing for March 5, 2025. Correa was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2022 along with 20 co-conspirators.

Correa was the target of a long-term investigation into a network of fentanyl and cocaine distributors based in and around Lawrence. Correa obtained fentanyl from local suppliers and he and co-defendants and brothers, Jose Martinez and Luis Martinez, regularly traveled to Puerto Rico to purchase wholesale quantities of cocaine, which they mailed to addresses in New England for redistribution in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Correa employed co-defendants, and an uncharged co-conspirator, to store and process drugs at their residences and distribute drugs on his behalf. Correa was regularly intercepted over court-authorized wiretaps discussing distribution of fentanyl and cocaine and obtaining, possessing and using firearms. He and co-defendant Mayi Rosario conspired to launder drug proceeds via various financial transactions and purchases. During the course of the investigation, fluorofentanyl, fentanyl, cocaine and drug proceeds were seized from Correa and his associates and from packages mailed by or for Correa. On Dec. 15, 2021, Correa was arrested in Caguas, Puerto Rico. At the time of his arrest, Correa was holding a loaded firearm that had a Glock slide and a privately manufactured grip, and that had been converted into a fully automatic weapon.

In May 2024, Jose Martinez was sentenced to 90 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release. Luis Martinez pleaded guilty in August 2024 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 24, 2025. Rosario was sentenced to 30 months in prison, to be followed by one year of home detention and 26 months of supervised release.

The drug conspiracy charge provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to a life term in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to a life term of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The charge of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime provides for a sentence of up at least five years and up to life in prison, to run consecutive to the sentence imposed on the drug conspiracy count, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The cocaine possession and money laundering charges provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, to be followed by supervised release of at least three years and up to life on the drug charge and maximum of three years on the money laundering charge and fines of up to $1 million on the drug charge and up to $500,000 or twice the value of the funds laundered on the money laundering charge. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement. Special assistance was provided by the Lawrence Police Department; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Massachusetts State Police; Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Essex County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Ferguson and J. Mackenzie Duane of the Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case. 
        
This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
 

BOSTON – The government unsealed charges today against two individuals for their scheme to allegedly intrude Massachusetts tax preparation firms’ computer networks to steal confidential client information and then file fraudulent tax returns seeking tax refunds to be deposited in bank accounts they controlled.

Matthew A. Akande, 35, of Mexico and Nigeria, was arrested on Oct. 15, 2024 at Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom at the request of the United States. Akande was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston on July 19, 2022, on one count of conspiracy to obtain unauthorized access to protected computers in furtherance of fraud and to commit theft of government money and money laundering, one count of wire fraud, four counts of unauthorized access to protected computers in furtherance of fraud, 13 counts of theft of government money and 14 counts of aggravated identity theft. The United States will be seeking Akande’s extradition to the United States.

Kehinde H. Oyetunji, 33, of North Dakota and Nigeria, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston on Dec. 22, 2022 to one count of conspiracy to obtain unauthorized access to protected computers in furtherance of fraud and to commit theft of government money and money laundering. Sentencing before U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley will be scheduled at a later date.

Between in or about June 2016 and June 2021, Akande, Oyetunji and others are alleged to have worked together to steal money from the United States government using taxpayers’ personally identifiable information (PII) to file fraudulent tax returns in the taxpayers’ names. In addition, between in or about February 2020, the scheme involved stealing taxpayers’ PII from Massachusetts tax preparation firms via phishing attacks and computer intrusions.

To carry out the scheme, Akande is alleged to have caused fraudulent phishing emails to be sent to five Massachusetts tax preparation firms. The emails purported to be from a prospective client seeking the tax preparation firms’ services but in truth were used to trick the firms into downloading remote access trojan malicious software (“RAT malware”), including RAT malware known as Warzone RAT. Akande allegedly used the RAT malware to obtain the PII and prior year tax information of the tax preparation firms’ clients, which Akande then used to cause fraudulent tax returns to be filed seeking refunds. The tax returns directed that the fraudulent tax refunds be deposited in bank accounts opened by Oyetunji and others. Once the refunds were issued, Oyetunji and others withdrew the stolen money in cash in the United States and then transferred a portion to third parties in Mexico, allegedly at Akande’s direction, while keeping a portion for themselves. In total, Akande and his coconspirators are alleged to have filed more than 1,000 fraudulent tax returns seeking over $8.1 million in fraudulent tax refunds over approximately five years. They are alleged to have successfully obtained over $1.3 million in fraudulent tax refunds.

Federal authorities encourage all businesses that suspect they have been the target and/or victim of a cyberattack to file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. Taxpayers and tax preparation firms that suspect they have been the target and/or victim of a phishing attack can also forward phishing email(s) to [email protected].

The charge of conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of unauthorized access to protected computers in furtherance of fraud provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of theft of government money provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory sentence of two years in prison to be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed, one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney James R. Drabick of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the cases.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – Jack Douglas Teixeira, a former member of the United States Air National Guard (USANG) stationed in Massachusetts, was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for retaining and transmitting hundreds of pages of classified National Defense Information (NDI), including many documents designated Top Secret, on an online social media platform in 2022 and 2023.

Teixeira, 22, of North Dighton, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 15 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Teixeira was also barred from having contact with foreign agents. In March 2024, Teixeira pleaded guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information relating to the national defense.

Teixeira was arrested in April 2023 and charged by criminal complaint with retention and transmission of NDI and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or materials. He was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston in June 2023. He has remained in federal custody since his arrest.

“Jack Teixeira repeatedly shared classified national defense information on a social media platform in an attempt to impress anonymous friends on the internet – instead, it has landed him a 15-year sentence in federal prison,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Teixeira’s profound breach of trust endangered our country’s national security and that of our allies. This sentence demonstrates the seriousness of the obligation to protect our country’s secrets and the safety of the American people.”

“Mr. Teixeira is responsible for engaging in one of the most significant leaks of classified documents and information in United States history, which resulted in exceptionally grave and long-lasting damage to the national security of the United States. He exploited his Top-Secret security clearance to share critical defense information online. In doing so, he exposed sensitive defense information involving our allies, putting our intelligence community and our troops at risk,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Leaking and distributing classified information poses significant and real consequences across the globe. Today, justice was served for all the men and women serving our country overseas with honor and fealty to their oath.”

“This sentencing is a stark warning to all those entrusted with protecting national defense information: betray that trust, and you will be held accountable,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Jack Teixeira’s criminal conduct placed our nation, our troops, and our allies at great risk. The FBI will continue to work diligently with our partners to protect classified information and ensure that those who turn their backs on their country face justice.”

“Jack Teixeira is the textbook example of an insider threat, and today’s sentence holds him accountable for being one of the most prolific leakers of classified national defense information in American history. This former Air National Guardsman grossly betrayed our country and the oath he took to safeguard its secrets in order to boost his ego and impress his friends,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “This was not a victimless crime. The exceptionally grave damage he caused will impact our national security for decades to come. This case should serve as a warning to others that the FBI will not hesitate to investigate anyone who discloses classified material to anyone not authorized to receive it.”

“Teixeira violated his oath to defend the United States by recklessly and repeatedly sharing highly classified national defense information on a social media platform,” said Roman Rozhavsky, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office's Counterintelligence Division. “His callous disregard for his duty undermined national security and risked the safety of U.S. and allied troops. The FBI moved swiftly to arrest Teixeira, and today's sentence reflects the gravity of his crimes. The FBI will continue to hold accountable anyone who divulges U.S. secrets and threatens the security of the American people."

Teixeira enlisted in the USANG in September 2019. Until his arrest in 2023, he served with the 102d Intelligence Wing at Otis USANG Base in Massachusetts as a Cyber Defense Operations Journeyman. Teixeira’s primary responsibility was maintaining and troubleshooting the classified workstations of other members of the 102 Intelligence Wing.  In order to perform his job, Teixeira was granted a Top-Secret//Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance in 2021. Beginning in or around January 2022, Teixeira unlawfully retained and transmitted NDI classified as “TOP SECRET” or “SECRET” and/or Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), onto the social media platform Discord to persons not authorized to receive such information.

Teixeira used a secure workstation at the Otis USANG Base to conduct hundreds of searches for classified documents containing NDI that were unrelated to his duties. On two separate occasions, Teixeira’s superiors warned him not to take notes on classified intelligence information and to stop conducting “deep dives” into classified intelligence information. Despite these warnings and his considerable training, Teixeira purposefully and repeatedly removed classified information and documents containing NDI without authorization from the secure facility where he worked. Teixeira subsequently transmitted the information by typing it into an online social media platform, where it was further transmitted by other users. Teixeira also posted images of hundreds of classified documents to a social media platform, nearly all of which bore standard classification markings – including “SECRET,” “TOP SECRET” and SCI designations – indicating that they contained highly classified United States government information. The documents and information illegally disseminated by Teixeira discussed a range of topics including descriptions of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and troop movements on a particular date. The information he retained and disseminated was derived from sensitive U.S. intelligence, gathered through classified sources and methods.

Shortly before his arrest in April 2022, Teixeira took steps to conceal his disclosures by destroying and disposing of his electronic devices, deleting his online accounts, and encouraging his online acquaintances to do the same.

Attorney General Garland; Acting U.S. Attorney Levy; FBI Director Wray; FBI SAC Cohen; and FBI Washington SAC Rozhavsky made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; Air Force Office of Special Investigations; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nadine Pellegrini and Jared C. Dolan, Chief and Deputy Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s National Security Unit, respectively, Jason A. Casey of the U.S. Attorney’s National Security Unit, and Trial Attorney Christina A. Clark of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case. 

A former member of the U.S. Air National Guard (USANG), Jack Douglas Teixeira, 22, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for retaining and transmitting hundreds of pages of classified National Defense Information (NDI), including many documents designated top secret, on an online social media platform in 2022 and 2023. Teixeira, was sentenced to 15 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Teixeira was also barred from having contact with foreign agents.

In March, Teixeira pleaded guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information relating to the national defense. Teixeira was arrested in April 2023 and charged by criminal complaint with retention and transmission of NDI and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or materials. He was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston in June 2023. He has remained in federal custody since his arrest.

“Jack Teixeira repeatedly shared classified national defense information on a social media platform in an attempt to impress anonymous friends on the internet – instead, it has landed him a 15 year sentence in federal prison,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Teixeira’s profound breach of trust endangered our country’s national security and that of our allies. This sentence demonstrates the seriousness of the obligation to protect our country’s secrets and the safety of the American people.”

“This sentencing is a stark warning to all those entrusted with protecting national defense information: betray that trust, and you will be held accountable,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Jack Teixeira’s criminal conduct placed our nation, our troops, and our allies at great risk. The FBI will continue to work diligently with our partners to protect classified information and ensure that those who turn their backs on their country face justice.”

“Mr. Teixeira is responsible for engaging in one of the most significant leaks of classified documents and information in United States history, which resulted in exceptionally grave and long-lasting damage to the national security of the United States,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts. “He exploited his Top-Secret security clearance to share critical defense information online. In doing so, he exposed sensitive defense information involving our allies, putting our intelligence community and our troops at risk. It is vital that our classified information remains just that – classified. Leaking and distributing this kind of information poses significant and real consequences across the globe. This is disturbing conduct that will not go unnoticed and unchecked.”

Teixeira enlisted in the USANG in September 2019. Until his arrest in 2023, he served with the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis USANG Base in Massachusetts as a Cyber Defense Operations Journeyman. Teixeira's primary responsibility was maintaining and troubleshooting the classified workstations of other members of the 102nd Intelligence Wing. In order to perform his job, Teixeira was granted a Top-Secret//Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance in 2021. Beginning in or around January 2022, Teixeira unlawfully retained and transmitted NDI classified as “TOP SECRET” or “SECRET” and/or Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), onto the social media platform Discord to persons not authorized to receive such information.

Teixeira used a secure workstation at the Otis USANG Base to conduct hundreds of searches for classified documents containing NDI that were unrelated to his duties. On two separate occasions, Teixeira’s superiors warned him not to take notes on classified intelligence information and to stop conducting “deep dives” into classified intelligence information. Despite these warnings and his considerable training, Teixeira purposefully and repeatedly removed classified information and documents containing NDI without authorization from the secure facility where he worked. Teixeira subsequently transmitted the information by typing it into an online social media platform, where it was further transmitted by other users. Teixeira also posted images of hundreds of classified documents to a social media platform, nearly all of which bore standard classification markings – including “SECRET,” “TOP SECRET” and SCI designations – indicating that they contained highly classified U.S. government information. The documents and information illegally disseminated by Teixeira discussed a range of topics including descriptions of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and troop movements on a particular date. The information he retained and disseminated was derived from sensitive U.S. intelligence, gathered through classified sources and methods.

Shortly before his arrest in April 2022, Teixeira took steps to conceal his disclosures by destroying and disposing of his electronic devices, deleting his online accounts, and encouraging his online acquaintances to do the same.

The FBI Washington and Boston Field Offices investigated the case. Valuable assistance was provided by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nadine Pellegrini, Jared C. Dolan, and Jason A. Casey for the District of Massachusetts and Trial Attorney Christina A. Clark of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – A previously convicted felon was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for his involvement in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy. 

Ruben Depina, 25, of Rockland, Mass. was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Julia E. Kobick to 11 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In August 2024, Depina pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams and more of fentanyl; one count of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl; and three counts of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute 40 grams and more of fentanyl. Depina was arrested and charged in September 2023 and has remained in custody since.

In May 2023, a law enforcement officer – who previously worked in an undercover capacity – received a call from Depina who introduced himself as “Jake.” Depina told the officer that he recently got out of jail and was contacting his best customers because he was selling drugs again. Depina subsequently participated in four controlled sales in May and June 2023 during which he sold differing quantities of fentanyl to a confidential informant in exchange for cash. Specifically, on or about May 8, 2023, Depina sold approximately 21 grams of fentanyl to the confidential informant; on or about May 16, 2023, Depina sold at least 40 grams of fentanyl to the informant; on or about May 25, 2023, Depina sold at least 40 grams of fentanyl to the informant; and on or about June 5, 2023, Depina sold at least 40 grams of fentanyl to the informant.

On June 11, 2023, Depina’s vehicle was observed speeding in East Bridgewater. The vehicle sped off after being stopped by law enforcement and collided with a van at an intersection. When law enforcement approached the vehicle, Depina was observed reaching towards the passenger side floor before complying with instructions to show his hands. Depina was immediately removed through the passenger side window and arrested. During a search of Depina’s vehicle, a loaded firearm, multiple cellphones, a digital scale and a satchel containing at least 20 grams of cocaine base were recovered.

On June 12, 2023, during a search of a residence and loft connected to Depina, over 400 grams of fentanyl, multiple cellphones, four firearms, multiple rounds of ammunition, drug paraphernalia (including digital scales and cutting agent) and paperwork in Depina’s name were recovered.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office; the Massachusetts State Police; the Suffolk, Plymouth and Bristol County Sheriff's Departments; and the Boston, Brockton, Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, Rockland and Westport Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin R. O’Donnell of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case. 

BOSTON – A California man was sentenced last week for his involvement in a sophisticated international money laundering and drug trafficking organization.

Qinliang Chen, 34, of Rosemead, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Angel Kelley to 15 months in prison and two years of supervised release. In February 2024, Chen pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy.

In May 2023, Chen was among 12 individuals from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and California charged in a superseding indictment for their alleged involvement in a sophisticated international money laundering and drug trafficking organization allegedly led by Jin Hua Zhang.

According to the charging documents, Zhang’s organization was first detected in 2021 in the greater Boston area, throughout the United States and overseas. It was determined that for a fee, Zhang laundered bulk cash for drug dealers and laundered profits from other illegal businesses. In less than a year, Zhang and his organization allegedly laundered at least $25 million worth of drug proceeds and funds from other illegal businesses. Funds were allegedly traced and seized from the Zhang organization to Hong Kong and elsewhere in China, India, Cambodia and Brazil, among other locations.

On two occasions in 2022, Zhang told an undercover agent that there was bulk cash that needed to be picked up in Florida. Cooperating witnesses picked up the cash in Florida that was delivered by Chen. Specifically, in August 2022, Chen delivered over $125,000 to a cooperating witness. Chen had previously been stopped at the Orlando International Airport trying to bring more than $99,000 in cash through a security checkpoint. At a second meeting in September 2022, over $161,000 in cash in vacuum-sealed bags were seized from a compartment in Chen’s rental car.

Zhang pleaded guilty in October 2024 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 21, 2025.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl, Brian A. Fogerty and Meghan C. Cleary of Levy’s Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
 

BOSTON – A New Jersey woman pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Worcester to using a fraudulent passport card at a Shrewsbury credit union while attempting to withdraw money from a customer’s account.  

Elizabeth Clemente, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of forgery or false use of a passport. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for Feb. 6, 2025. In June 2024, Clemente was indicted by a federal grand jury.

On Nov. 7, 2023, police responded to a credit union in Shrewsbury where employees reported that Clemente attempted to withdraw money by impersonating a real credit union account holder, “Person #1.” While speaking with law enforcement, Clemente first identified herself “Heather.” When pressed for further identification information, Clemente provided the name of “Person #1,” however Clemente could not remember her date of birth or address. When further questioned, Clemente handed law enforcement a fraudulent U.S. Passport Card. The passport card bore Person #1’s name and actual date of birth but contained Clemente’s photograph.

The charge of forgery or false use of a passport provides for a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Matthew O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office; and Shrewsbury Police Chief Kevin Anderson made the announcement today. Assistant United States Attorney Danial E. Bennett of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – A Methuen man pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to illegally reentering the United States after deportation.

Santos Guzman, 55, pleaded guilty to illegal reentry before U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper who scheduled sentencing for Feb. 12, 2025. Guzman was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2021.

Guzman is a citizen of the Dominican Republic who entered the United States at an unknown date and unknown location and thereafter was convicted in 2019 of two state drug trafficking crimes. In November 2019, Guzman was ordered removed from the United States and on Jan. 7, 2020, he was deported to the Dominican Republic. Thereafter, at an unknown time and place, he reentered the United States. In November 2021, Guzman was arrested on a new state drug trafficking offense. A copy of his fingerprint from his removal document was compared to his fingerprint taken in connection with his November 2021 arrest and they were identical to each other.

The charge illegal reentry provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Todd M. Lyons, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Methuen Police Chief Scott J. McNamara made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case. 
 

BOSTON – A Winthrop, Mass. man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for fraudulently obtaining a U.S. passport and then using it to enter the United States from Istanbul, Turkey in 2021.  

Azem Gigo Zebic, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper to 18 months of probation, 100 hours of community service and a $2000 fine. In addition, Zebic’s U.S. passport will be surrendered to the government. In June 2023, Zebic pleaded guilty to one count of use of a fraudulently obtained passport.

Zebic was admitted to the United States from Croatia in 1997 after falsely claiming that he had been the subject of persecution by Serb forces during the Bosnian War. Zebic falsely claimed, among other things, that Serb forces had captured, interrogated, beaten him and forced him to pull wounded soldiers from the front lines. Further, once in the United States, Zebic continued to make false statements about his past, including that he had never assisted anyone else enter the country illegally. However, Zebic had, in fact, assisted another alleged Bosnian combatant – Kemal Mrndzic – enter the United States unlawfully by falsely claiming that he was Mrndzic’s half-brother. Mrndzic was convicted in October 2024 by a federal jury in Boston of a 25 year scheme to conceal his persecution of Serb prisoners at the notorious Celebici prison camp, and related crimes. Zebic testified at Mrndzic’s trial.  

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, New England; Amy Connelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Boston Field Office; Matthew O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office; and Jennifer De La O, Director of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Boston Field Office made the announcement. This matter was investigated with the assistance of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the United States Interagency Human Rights Violators & War Crimes Center and the United States Citizen and Immigration Service. Assistance was provided by the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and the United States Embassies in Sarajevo, Belgrade and Helsinki. The Australian Federal Police, Bosnian and Herzegovinian Ministry of Justice, Serbian Ministry of Justice, law enforcement authorities in Finland and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police all provided valuable assistance. The Cook County (Ill.) Sheriff’s Office and Swampscott (Mass.) Police Department also provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. McNeil and Jason A. Casey of the National Security Unit prosecuted the case.
 

BOSTON – A Kentucky-based laboratory, Ethos Laboratories (Ethos), has agreed to pay $6.5 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims for payment to Medicare for urine drug testing (UDT) and for its proprietary test for chronic pain, known as the Foundation Pain Index (FPI).

According to the settlement agreement, Ethos admits that between Jan. 1, 2017 and July 15, 2024, Ethos submitted multiple claims for UDT for the same patient, on the same date of service, using the same urine sample. Ethos performed presumptive UDT via a relatively inexpensive test that could quickly yield qualitative results. It also performed definitive UDT via a more complex and expensive method that provided a quantitative result. Ethos performed and billed Medicare for both presumptive and definitive UDT for the same substance regardless of the results of the presumptive UDT and without determining that definitive UDT was necessary.  Further, Ethos at times submitted claims for testing done pursuant to blanket UDT orders that were the same for all patients from a particular provider’s practice, without obtaining any individualized determination of medical necessity by the ordering provider. In some instances, these blanket orders included substances with positivity rates below 0.01%.  

In addition, per the settlement agreement, Ethos admits that between Nov. 12, 2020, and Oct. 6, 2023, it submitted claims for FPI testing for patients in a provider’s practice without any individualized determination of medical necessity by the ordering provider, and, in some cases, without the provider’s knowledge that Ethos was performing FPI testing. Ethos also submitted claims for FPI testing at high frequencies, including testing some patients multiple times in the same month.

On July 18, 2023, based on information provided by the Department of Justice, Medicare suspended Ethos’s receipt of Medicare payments. Pursuant to that payment suspension, Medicare retained more than $6.5 million of billed claims from Ethos. As part of the settlement agreement, Ethos has agreed to forfeit the $6.5 million to satisfy this settlement. The settlement was reached after the government’s review of Ethos’s financial disclosures concerning its financial condition.  In connection with the settlement, Ethos also entered into a five-year corporate integrity agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.  

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Abraham R. George, Chief of the Civil Division handled the matter.

BOSTON – A Danvers man has been convicted, following a five-day trial, of money laundering and operating an unlicensed, “no questions asked” money transmitting business that converted more than $1 million in cash to the digital currency Bitcoin, including on behalf of scammers and a drug dealer.  

Trung Nguyen, a/k/a “DCS420”, 48, was convicted of one count of conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business and one count of concealment money laundering. The jury also found Nguyen not guilty of a separate count of money laundering. United States District Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Feb. 12, 2025. Nguyen was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 30, 2023.  

“Money laundering is the lifeblood of a wide swath of criminal conduct,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “This defendant’s ‘no questions asked’ money laundering operation allowed a known drug dealer to turn their dirty cash into more deadly meth to pump onto our streets and it allowed scammers to swindle vulnerable victims out of their hard-earned savings. Money launderers may think that Bitcoin is some new frontier for cleaning dirty money anonymously, it is not. Together with our law enforcement partners, we are carefully monitoring these markets and will continue to investigate and prosecute the money launderers who are essential cogs in the illicit drug and fraud trades.”

“Nguyen deliberately set up his money service business to evade banking regulations and to circumvent financial safeguards that prevent illicit proceeds from entering legitimate commerce. Our investigation proved that Nguyen knew he was working with criminals by accepting money from victims of scams and a drug dealer. HSI is a global leader in investigating illicit finance and bringing money launderers like Nguyen to justice,” said HSI New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol.

“The guilty verdict of Trung Nguyen demonstrates IRS Criminal Investigation’s commitment to the prosecution of all who choose to not only break the law themselves but also those who assist criminals in facilitating their criminal activities,” said Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. “Nguyen operated an unlicensed money service businesses and concealed his financial activity in a nominee business bank account in an effort to conceal his bitcoin conversion activity. Through Nguyen’s actions, he allowed criminals to conceal their activity by converting bulk cash into bitcoin, allowing them to easily and covertly integrate their ill-gotten gains into the mainstream financial system.”

Between September 2017 and October 2020, Nguyen owned and operated National Vending, LLC. Through National Vending, Nguyen accepted cash from customers and, in exchange for a fee, sent them Bitcoin in return. Exchangers of virtual currency, including Bitcoin exchangers, are money transmitters under federal law and are subject to federal anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. The regulations required them to register as money service businesses with the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and to maintain effective AML programs, including by filing Suspicious Activity Reports with FinCEN, and by filing Currency Transaction Reports for Bitcoin-for-cash exchanges of more than $10,000.  

Nguyen purposely failed to register National Vending with FinCEN, despite being required to do so. In 10 transactions in 2018, Nguyen accepted a total of $250,000 in cash from an individual who identified himself to Nguyen as a methamphetamine dealer. In 2019 and 2020, Nguyen also accepted approximately $325,000 from a romance scam victim from Kansas City, Mo.; $60,000 from a romance scam victim from Glastonbury, Ct., and $60,000 from a romance scam victim from central Massachusetts—each of whom had been tricked into converting cash into Bitcoin and sending it to con artists overseas. Nguyen failed to file Suspicious Activity Reports or Currency Transaction Reports on any of these transactions, including cash transactions of more than $10,000.  

Nguyen concealed his money transmitting business by, among other ways, holding National Vending out to banks, cryptocurrency exchanges, and state authorities as a vending machine business, using encrypted messaging apps to communicate with customers, using technologies that made it more difficult to trace Bitcoin transactions and breaking cash deposits of more than $10,000 into smaller cash deposits over consecutive days or at different branches of the same bank. Nguyen also enrolled in a paid course on concealing his business that recommended Nguyen purport to operate “a business for which cash deposits from around the country make sense” and that he “develop [his] cover story,” “create a list or your suppliers Fictitious of course,” and “Don’t say the word ‘Bitcoin.”  

The charge of money laundering provides for a sentence of up to 20 years, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction. The charge of conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy; HSI SAC Krol; IRS SAC Chavis; and Ketty Larco Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth B. Kosto and Benjamin A. Saltzman of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – The United States Attorney’s Office reached an agreement with the Wilbur Theatre in Boston, resolving a complaint that the theatre violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to provide a reasonable accommodation to a group of individuals with hearing impairments.

The Wilbur Theatre is a performing arts theater located in the heart of Boston’s theater district. According to the complaint, the Wilbur Theatre failed to provide a group of individuals with hearing impairments an American Sign Language interpreter, or another communication aid or service, for a concert at the Wilbur Theatre. Federal law, including the ADA, prohibits public and private entities from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. The ADA requires places of public accommodation to take necessary steps to ensure that they communicate effectively with people who have communication disabilities.

“It is vital that individuals with communication disabilities have equal access to public accommodations, like theaters and other businesses, and this office will continue to ensure that civil rights are protected” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy.” We encourage individuals who believe that their disabilities have not been accommodated to contact our office to see whether legal action may be warranted.”

This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anuj Khetarpal of the Civil Rights Unit. The Civil Rights Unit was established in 2015 with the mission of enhancing federal civil rights enforcement. The Wilbur Theatre fully cooperated with the United States Attorney’s Office’s investigation.

For more information on the Office’s civil rights efforts, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-ma/civil-rights. For more information on the ADA, please visit www.ADA.gov.

BOSTON – Three men have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges in connection with the distribution of cocaine in Central Massachusetts.

Luis Sastre Pagan, 37, of Puerto Rico and formally of Southbridge; Eric Rivera, 31, of Southbridge; and Miguel Lopez, 27, of Southbridge, were all indicted on one count of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. Lopez was also indicted on one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and one count of unlawful possession of a machine gun. Sastre Pagan was arrested in Puerto Rico, released on conditions and ordered to appear in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts by Nov. 20, 2024. Rivera and Lopez appeared in Boston for initial appearances.

According to charging documents, from in or about April 2023 through April 2024, the three men allegedly conspired with each other and others to knowingly and intentionally distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Lopez was previously charged by criminal complaint for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and unlawful possession of a machine gun. According to the complaint, Lopez was in possession of a package containing approximately two kilograms of cocaine and a Glock 19 pistol with a Glock conversion attached.

The charge of conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. On the charge of conspiring to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, Sastre Pagan faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. The charge of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The unlawful possession of a machinegun also provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy, Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the DEA Puerto Rico and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin Brown of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
 

BOSTON – A former Stoneham Police Officer and his brother, an owner of an electrical contracting company, pleaded guilty to a bribery and kickback scheme that netted them millions of dollars in Mass Save contracts.  

Joseph Ponzo, 51, of Stoneham and Christopher Ponzo, 50, of North Reading, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and 24 counts of honest services wire fraud, and one count of making false statements to government officials. Joseph Ponzo also pleaded guilty to four counts of causing false tax returns to be filed with the Internal Revenue Service from 2016 to 2019. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencings for February 2025.

Massachusetts law requires utility companies to collect an energy efficiency surcharge on all Massachusetts energy consumers. These funds, which amount to hundreds of millions of dollars each year, are to be disbursed by the utility companies to fund energy efficiency programs and initiatives in Massachusetts. 

Mass Save is a Massachusetts public-private partnership sponsored by various gas and electric utility companies that disburses these energy efficiency funds through funding energy conservation projects for consumers. Under the Mass Save program, the utility companies select lead vendors, like Company A, to approve and select contractors to perform energy improvement work for residential customers. This contracting work – performed by contractors at no-cost or reduced cost to the customer – is then paid for by Company A with Mass Save funds.

Joseph Ponzo and Christopher Ponzo conspired to pay, and did pay, tens of thousands of dollars in cash bribes, kickbacks, and other in-kind benefits, including a John Deere tractor, a computer, home bathroom fixtures, and free electrical work, among other things, to Company A employees (Associates 1 and 2) in exchange for the Associates’ assistance in getting the defendants millions of dollars in Mass Save contracts.

On a weekly basis, from 2013 to 2017, Christopher Ponzo paid Associate 1 $1,000 in cash. At times, Christopher Ponzo paid Associate 1 $5,000 to $10,000 in cash, telling Associate 1 that the extra money was from Joseph Ponzo for his part in the bribery scheme. In return for these payments, Associate 1, among other things, helped Joseph Ponzo set up a shell company, Air Tight, to do insulation work and get approved as a Company A contractor under the Mass Save program. Joseph Ponzo put his spouse’s name on Air Tight incorporation documents and contracting licenses in order to conceal his involvement in his corrupt side business. Despite having no professional experience in residential insulation work, Joseph Ponzo collected over $7 million under the Mass Save program.    

After Associate 1 left Company A in 2017, Christopher Ponzo and Joseph Ponzo recruited Associate 2 to the bribery-kickback scheme from approximately 2018 to 2022, paying Associate 2 thousands of dollars in cash and hiring a relative of Associate 2 as part of the ongoing scheme.

During the course of the bribery-kickback scheme, Joseph Ponzo aided in the filing of false tax returns from 2016 to 2019 by claiming hundreds of thousands of dollars in false business deductions. To disguise personal expenses as business deductions, Joseph Ponzo used his company credit card to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in purchases at The Home Depot, Lowes, and Staples, claiming to his tax preparers that charges at those establishments were business-related. In reality, Joseph Ponzo used the company credit card at those stores to purchase gift cards that he and his spouse then used to make thousands of dollars in personal expenditures.  

In April 2022, both Joseph Ponzo and Christopher Ponzo falsely denied making bribe payments to any Company A employees when interviewed by federal agents.

The charges of wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Charges of false statements provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Charges of aiding in filing false tax returns each provide for a sentence of up to three years in prison, up to one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $100,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Boston; and Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Maynard and Dustin Chao of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – A Boston area man pleaded guilty yesterday to his role in Cameron Street, a violent Boston gang.

Felisberto Lopes, also known as “Chee-B,” 40, of Boston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and multiple counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for Feb. 6, 2025.

Lopes was identified as a member of Cameron Street, a violent gang based largely in Dorchester that uses violence to preserve, protect and expand its territory, promote fear and enhance its reputation. According to the charging documents, members use social media applications to promote Cameron Street, celebrate murders and other violent crimes committed by the gang, as well as denigrate rival gangs. Cameron Street members allegedly possess, carry and use firearms to murder and assault gang rivals as well as protect narcotics and drug proceeds. Cameron Street members also allegedly distribute controlled substances and firearms, commit armed robberies and engage in human trafficking in part to generate income for the Cameron Street enterprise.

During the investigation Lopes distributed several firearms as well as cocaine to a cooperating witness. On Feb. 26, 2022, law enforcement responded to a shooting that took place at Lopes’ residence in Dorchester. While at the residence, a half-kilogram of cocaine, over $25,000, and over 400 rounds of various calibers of ammunition were seized and Lopes was arrested nearby. Lopes had previously been convicted in Suffolk Superior Court of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury and served a four year state prison sentence.

The charge of RICO conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine with a prior conviction for a crime of violence provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, at least five years of supervised release up to life, and a fine of $10 million. The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and or ammunition provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Feld Division; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police; Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office; Suffolk, Plymouth, Norfolk and Bristol County District Attorney’s Offices; and the Canton, Quincy, Randolph, Somerville, Brockton, Malden, Stoughton, Rehoboth and Pawtucket (R.I.) Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl and Charles Dell’Anno of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
 

BOSTON – A former traveling nurse pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to tampering with morphine at a local rehabilitation facility.

Loralie LaBroad, 54, of Hampton, N.H., pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product. U.S. District Judge Julia E. Kobick scheduled sentencing for Feb. 21, 2025. LaBroad was charged by in September 2024.

According to charging documents, while working as a traveling nurse assigned to a rehabilitation center, LaBroad tampered with two bottles of morphine on the medication cart she was assigned. LaBroad used a syringe to remove morphine from the bottles, injected another liquid substance into the bottles to replace the morphine she had removed, and returned the bottles to the medication cart. Investigators seized the bottles immediately after her shift and laboratory testing confirmed that the bottles each contained less than the declared concentration of morphine.  
 
The charge of tampering with a consumer product provides a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Fernando McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; and Robert H. Goldstein, MD, PhD, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren A. Graber of the Health Care Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – A Boston man was convicted today by a federal jury in Boston of distributing fentanyl.

An individual referred to as “John Doe” was convicted of distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for Jan. 28, 2025. Doe was charged by criminal complaint in September 2021 and was later indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2021.

In June and July of 2021, Doe sold over 100 grams of fentanyl to a cooperating witness in Lawrence which was capture on a recording device. In September 2021, Doe was arrested by law enforcement in possession of over 100 grams of fentanyl. As part of the investigation, law enforcement surveilled the defendant traveling to an apartment in Boston prior to selling fentanyl to the cooperating witness. On the day of Doe’s arrest, a search warrant was executed at the apartment where over a kilogram of fentanyl hidden inside a wall was recovered.

At the time of his arrest, Doe was using the stolen identity of a Puerto Rican man. Doe’s true identity remains unknown.

“Today’s conviction underscores the serious harm fentanyl continues to inflict on our communities and our office’s commitment to hold accountable the dealers who push this poison onto our streets,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “When it comes to fentanyl, the public needs to know that one pill can kill, leaving shattered families behind, and lives can be devastated by the scourge of addiction. Our office will continue to work alongside our law enforcement partners to combat fentanyl trafficking and protect the health and safety of our communities here in Massachusetts.”

“Fentanyl is causing tremendous damage to our community,” said Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration New England Field Division. “Those who distribute fentanyl are endangering the safety of the citizens of Massachusetts. We will continue to work each day alongside our law enforcement partners to identify and investigate those who are responsible for distributing fentanyl and other deadly drugs.”

The charges of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl provide for a sentence of no less than five years in prison and up to 40 years in prison, no less than four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. The charge of possessing with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl provides for a sentence of no less than 10 years in prison and up to life, no less than five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy and DEA Acting SAC Belleau made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was proved by the Lawrence Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Dolan and Lauren A. Graber are prosecuting the case. 
 

BOSTON – A South Boston man was indicted by a grand jury in Boston today in connection with a scheme that defrauded a 75-year-old elderly man from Berkshire County, Mass., of approximately $500,000.

Urvishkumar Vipulkumar Patel, 21, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Patel was arrested and charged by criminal complaint on Oct. 7, 2024. He was subsequently released by the Court on conditions including GPS monitoring and orders that he remain in Massachusetts.

According to the charging documents, beginning in or about February 2024 and continuing until on or about Oct. 7, 2024, Patel and others participated in a scheme to defraud victims.

It is alleged that Patel’s co-conspirator contacted the victim by phone, posing as an official from the U.S. Treasury Department named “Sam Wilson.” Wilson allegedly told the victim that Treasury documents showed him as being involved in a money laundering scheme and instructed the victim to take out the cash from his bank accounts to send to the Treasury Department for safekeeping. It is further alleged that Wilson directed the victim to place the cash in a taped box with the victim’s own name and address written on it and then sent couriers to the victim’s home to collect the boxes of cash. Prior to each collection, Wilson allegedly made the victim describe the clothes he would be wearing and provided the victim with a “PIN” passcode the couriers were to recite upon pickup.

It is alleged that on or about Oct. 7, 2024, Patel drove from South Boston to North Adams, Mass., for the purpose of retrieving cash from the victim. On that date, it is alleged that Patel spoke with an individual he believed to be the victim and provided the prearranged passcode, before taking possession of the box of cash and driving away. Patel was immediately apprehended.

The investigation remains ongoing. Members of the public who believe they are victims of a cybercrime – including elder fraud scams, cryptocurrency scams, romance scams, investment scams, and business email compromise fraud scams – should contact [email protected]. To report elder fraud, please visit the FBI’s IC3 Elder Fraud Complaint Center  or contact the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833–FRAUD–11 (833–372–8311) Monday - Friday, 10am - 6pm EST.

The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the North Adams Police Department and the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin Brown of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
 

BOSTON – A Somerville tax preparer was convicted by a federal jury yesterday on charges that he prepared false tax returns in the names of taxpayers.

Yves Isidor, 68, was convicted of five counts of filing false tax returns. Isidor was acquitted on one count. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for Feb. 6, 2025.

The evidence at trial established that from at least 2012 through 2020, Isidor operated a tax preparation business under the name Tax and Realty Pro to file more than 1,200 tax returns in the names of clients, charging between $100 to $500 per return. Isidor added false information to six tax returns to claim deductions for fictitious medical and dental expenses, gifts to charities and unreimbursed employee business expenses. The false returns resulted in taxpayers receiving tax refunds to which they were not entitled or paying lower taxes than they owed. Six taxpayers testified at trial that Isidor had never discussed the false items with them, and they were not aware he had inserted them into their returns. An undercover agent also testified that he was present and observed the defendant create a false tax return in the agent’s undercover name.

“When someone hires an individual to complete your tax returns, they have a right to expect honesty, professionalism and integrity. Most importantly, you expect them to provide accurate information to the IRS,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Yves Isidor lied to his clients, who had no idea that he had improperly filed tax returns on their behalf until they were contacted by investigators and alerted to the false information in their returns. Tax fraud is not a victimless crime. We all suffer when people like Yves Isidor lie and cheat the tax system.”

“The guilty verdict of Yves Isidor demonstrates IRS Criminal Investigation’s commitment to the prosecution of tax return preparers who are looking to exploit the American taxpayers,” said Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. “Isidor held a position of trust in his local community as a tax return preparer and he used that trust to take advantage of his clients by preparing fraudulent tax returns, often without his clients’ knowledge, resulting in the underpayment of legitimate tax obligations that all Americans are required to pay. The jury’s verdict in this case sends a clear message that tax fraud is not a victimless crime. These countless acts lead to the reduction of tax revenue that local communities rely on to fund schools and maintain essential civil services.”

The charges of aiding and assisting in the filing of false federal tax returns each provide for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 and restitution. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy, IRS SAC Chavis and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor A. Wild of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit and Christina M. Grimes, Trial Attorney for the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.