District of Massachusetts

BOSTON – The founder and primary operator of “MyTrade,” a financial services firm known in the cryptocurrency industry as a “market maker,” was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for his role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to manipulate cryptocurrency markets on behalf of client cryptocurrency companies.

Liu Zhou, 41, a Canadian citizen and Chinese national, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley to pay a fine of $10,000. In October 2024, Zhou was charged along with 17 co-conspirators and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud.

MyTrade provided financial services to cryptocurrency clients through its “MyTrade MM” website and online application. Those services included the wash trading of client cryptocurrencies across multiple cryptocurrency exchanges. Wash trading occurs when a single trader, or a number of traders working in coordination, buy and sell the same asset repeatedly in order to mislead the market by artificially inflating the trading volume or price of the asset via trades that have no lawful commercial purpose. Wash trading is a form of fraud intended to stimulate interest in an asset. MyTrade MM’s clients had access to a dashboard available through MyTrade MM’s website that allowed clients to specify the desired amount of daily wash trades, a service described as “Volume Support,” on identified cryptocurrency exchanges. MyTrade MM used computer programs known as “bots” to generate the fraudulent wash trades for clients.

MyTrade MM’s unlawful wash trading service was identified through an undercover law enforcement operation which included the creation of NexFundAI, a purported cryptocurrency company that had a website ((https://nexfundai.com) and an Ethereum-based token that traded on the Uniswap cryptocurrency exchange before being disabled by law enforcement.

In discussions with purported NexFundAI promoters, Zhou described how MyTrade MM “does self-trades - a buy and a sell in the same second,” and that its volume bot can be used to execute “pump and dumps.” Zhou also described the “objective” as finding “other buyers from the community, people you don’t know about or don’t care about” because “we have to make [the other buyers] lose money in order to make profit.” As of Oct. 1, 2024, MyTrade MM was providing the “volume support” function, which consisted of wash trades made by trading bots, to dozens of clients.

As part of Zhou’s plea in October 2024, MyTrade MM was required to cease providing “Volume Support” services and to permanently deactivate its wash trading bots, which had been responsible for millions of dollars’ worth of daily wash trades for approximately 60 different cryptocurrencies. MyTrade MM was also required to add the following disclaimer to its website: “Volume support is a form of wash trading and illegal under the laws of the United States.”

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Holcomb of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
 

BOSTON – A Somerville, Mass. man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. The defendant possessed more than 100 privately made firearms (PMFs), more commonly known as, “ghost guns,” at his residence – including machine guns and firearm silencers, as well as a 3D printer and ammunition in varying calibers.  

Robert Butland, 39, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm before U.S. Senior District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton who scheduled sentencing for Nov. 10, 2026. Butland was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in August 2025 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2025. The defendant remains in federal custody.

During an August 2025 search of Butland’s residence, a locked closet inside his bedroom was found to contain numerous PMFs as well as numerous solvent traps commonly used as illegal firearm suppressors. Additional ghost guns were found in nightstands, backpacks and coffee table drawers throughout the bedroom. Multiple 3D printers, firearm parts and accessories purchased from companies across the country, filament, a workbench and tools consistent with the assembly and manufacture of firearms were also recovered from the residence. Ammunition in multiple calibers – including 9mm Luger, 5.56 Hornady Frontier and 7.62x39mm rounds – were also seized.

Butland is prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior state convictions in Lawrence District Court for assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest and wanton destruction of property. According to court document’s Butland also has state convictions for negligent operation of a motor vehicle, possession of a Class B controlled substance and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

The charge of possession of a firearm or ammunition by a felon 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Feld Division; and Jason Buckley, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Somerville Police Department; the Boston Police Department; and the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – A Dominican national unlawfully residing in Boston pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation.

Angel Daniel Cruz-Sanchez, 51, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Nov. 12, 2026. Cruz-Sanchez was charged in April 2026.

Cruz-Sanchez is a citizen of the Dominican Republic who was deported in 2019 and 2023. In 2003, 2008 and 2018, Cruz-Sanchez was convicted in separate drug trafficking cases.

The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien 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 defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. 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 Leah B. Foley and David T. Wesling, Acting Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – A Dominican national unlawfully residing in Lawrence, Mass. has been indicted for unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation.

Eddy Antonio Perdomo, 32, is charged with one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. Perdomo will make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston on Aug. 10, 2026.

Perdomo previously pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien in July 2025. He was subsequently sentenced to time served (approximately four months in prison) on Sept. 5, 2025 and removed from the United States on Sept. 15, 2025. It is alleged that sometime after his September 2025 removal, Perdomo illegally reentered the United States without permission.

The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. 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 Leah B. Foley and David T. Wesling, Acting Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Conroy of the Major Crimes Unit 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 – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts participated in National Night Out events in communities across the Commonwealth. The annual campaign brings together law enforcement, community organizations and residents to strengthen relationships and promote safer neighborhoods.

National Night Out is held each year on the first Tuesday in August and is celebrated in thousands of communities across the country through neighborhood gatherings, block parties, cookouts, youth activities, safety demonstrations and other events.

“The work of keeping our communities safe extends far beyond the courtroom. It depends on strong partnerships between law enforcement and the people we serve,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “National Night Out is a meaningful opportunity to connect with residents, listen to their concerns and reinforce our shared commitment to safer, stronger communities throughout Massachusetts.”

National Night Out is coordinated locally by law enforcement agencies and community volunteers and encourages meaningful engagement between residents and the public safety professionals who serve them. In the District of Massachusetts, the U.S. Attorney’s Office participated in National Night Out events in cities and towns across the state. 

Established in 1984 with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance within the U.S. Department of Justice, National Night Out is administered by the National Association of Town Watch.

For more information about National Night Out, visit www.natw.org. 

BOSTON – A Rhode Island man has been arrested and charged in connection with possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).   

Frank DeCaro, 47, of Westerly, R.I., was charged with one count of possession of child pornography. DeCaro was arrested this morning and will appear in federal court in Boston at 1 p.m. today. 

According to the charging documents, DeCaro is a registered sex offender following a 2014 conviction for possession of CSAM in Rhode Island state court, for which he received a probationary sentence. In November 2025, DeCaro was stopped at Boston Logan Airport attempting to enter the country from an international trip to Italy. During a subsequent search, multiple images and videos depicting CSAM were allegedly discovered on DeCaro’s phone.

The charge of possession of child pornography after a previous similar offense provides for a sentence of no less 10 years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jeff Grimming, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Jennifer B. De La O, Director of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Rhode Island State Police and the Westerly (R.I.) Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric L. Hawkins 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 Puerto Rican man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for an incident in which he opened an emergency exit door while aboard a JetBlue flight preparing for takeoff from Boston to Puerto Rico. 

Angel Luis Morales Torres, 25, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Senior Judge F. Dennis Saylor to one year of probation. Morales Torres was also ordered to pay approximately $60,000 in restitution. In May 2026, the defendant pleaded guilty to one count of damaging or disabling an aircraft. Morales was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2025. 

On Jan. 7, 2025, Morales was a passenger aboard a JetBlue flight scheduled to fly from Boston to Puerto Rico. While the aircraft was on the taxiway preparing for takeoff, Morales stood up from his seat, ran down the aisle and entered an empty emergency exit row, where he began attempting to open the emergency exit door. A flight attendant attempted to restrain Morales and he was eventually tackled by another passenger. Prior to being restrained, Morales managed to open the emergency door, causing the emergency inflatable slide to deploy, and rendering the aircraft inoperable.   

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Special assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Maynard of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – The owner of a Brockton clothing store, “Banks & Brancos,” pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to drug trafficking and firearm charges.

Felipe Jonet-Branco, 31, of Brockton, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and 10 counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy scheduled Jonet-Branco’s sentencing for Nov. 2, 2026. Seven members and associates of the Brockton-based Harvard Street Gang were charged in February 2026, following the execution of search warrants at numerous residences and stash locations associated with the group, including Banks & Brancos.

On Feb. 4, 2026, a search was executed at Banks & Brancos in Brockton where 10 firearms, over 35 pounds of marijuana with packaging, over 200 grams of psilocin mushrooms and over $40,000 in cash was seized during the search. Eight of those firearms, along with large-capacity magazines and several empty bottles of promethazine with codeine, were found inside a hidden drawer underneath the store’s front counter. The guns included a large-caliber rifle and a Glock handgun equipped with a machine gun conversion device. An additional gun was hidden inside the store’s vending machine, and another was in plain view in a storage room. Jonet-Branco is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a prior conviction for felony battery in Miami-Dade County, Fla.

The charge of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, supervised release for at least three years and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of being a felon in possession of firearms provides for a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, supervised release for up to three years 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations, Boston Division; the Abington, Acushnet, Ashland, Boston, Braintree, Bridgewater, Brockton, Chelsea, East Bridgewater, Medford, Quincy, Randolph, Raynham, Stoughton, Taunton and West Bridgewater Police Departments; the Plymouth and Suffolk County Sheriff’s Departments; Massachusetts Department of Correction; and the Plymouth, Norfolk and Suffolk County District Attorney’s Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Cutshall and Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit are prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – The United States Attorney’s Office filed a civil forfeiture action to recover $1,413,037 in alleged proceeds of an insider trading scheme seized from a U.S.-based brokerage account held in the name of Zhi Ge, of Singapore.  

As described in the civil complaint, Ge is alleged to have engaged in and conspired with others to commit securities fraud and was charged in a superseding indictment returned in November 2025, by a federal grand jury in Boston. The indictment alleges that, from at least in or about November 2016 and continuing to in or about February 2024, Ge conspired with his co-defendants and others known and unknown, to obtain material non-public information (MNPI) about the financial performance and merger-and-acquisition activity of various publicly traded companies, executing securities trades while in possession of that MNPI, and providing that MNPI, in exchange for a percentage of trading profits, to others known and unknown, who traded while in possession of the MNPI.

The civil complaint alleges that the seized funds are proceeds traceable to the purchase and sale of call option contracts made by Ge while in possession of MNPI.    

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Lyons of the Asset Recovery Unit is prosecuting the civil forfeiture action and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy E. Moran is prosecuting the criminal action.

The details contained in the civil forfeiture complaint and criminal charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent of the criminal charges unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.  
 

BOSTON – Two alleged members of a drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating in and around Western Massachusetts have been charged in federal court with conspiring to distribute fentanyl.

Jose Luis Alvarado Gonzalez, Jr., 33, of Springfield, Mass. and Samuel Colon Rosado, 33, of Holyoke, Mass. were each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute over 40 grams of fentanyl.

Alvarado Gonzalez and Colon Rosado were arrested on July 28, 2026, and following detention hearings in federal court in Springfield, Alvarado Gonzalez was released on the condition of home confinement and Colon Rosado was detained.

According to the charging documents, Alvarado Gonzalez was identified as the alleged leader of a DTO operating in Holyoke and Springfield that distributed fentanyl. The organization allegedly used multiple locations in the area to facilitate drug distribution and utilized glassine baggies stamped with the brand name “Nipsey Hussle” to package fentanyl for sale.

The charging documents allege that between September 2025 and April 2026, Alvarado Gonzalez coordinated at least nine fentanyl transactions involving a cooperating witness. It is alleged that Alvarado Gonzalez directed the witness to designated meeting locations, where Rosado and other associates allegedly delivered fentanyl on his behalf. According to court documents, laboratory testing confirmed that the fentanyl purchased during the investigation included approximately 69 grams, 74 grams and 140 grams of fentanyl.

Following a search on July 28, 2026 at the Springfield and Holyoke locations related to the DTO’s operations, suspected fentanyl packaged for distribution, firearms, ammunition, cash and other valuables were seized.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute over 40 grams of fentanyl provides for a sentence of at least five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes governing the determination of a sentence.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Holyoke Police Department, Springfield Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Barnico, Jr. of the Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

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

BOSTON – An Ecuadorian national unlawfully residing in Milford, Mass. has been charged with illegally reentering the United States after deportation. Defendant has been previously deported from the United States and arrested four times for driving under the influence in Massachusetts.

Luis Rolando Clavijo Tacuri, 32, is charged with one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. Following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston, the defendant remains in federal custody pending further proceedings.

According to court filings, Tacuri was first encountered by immigration officials in October 2015, while he was incarcerated on charges of operating under the influence in Holliston, Mass. At the time, it was Tacuri’s third operating under the influence offense. Tacuri was allegedly subsequently placed into removal proceedings and deported to Ecuador in December 2016.  

Sometime after his removal, it is alleged that Tacuri illegally reentered the United States. On May 27, 2024, Tacuri was allegedly arrested in Milford, Mass., for allegedly again operating under the influence.  

The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to two years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. 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 Leah B. Foley; Jeff Grimming, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and David T. Wesling, Acting Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan O’Shea 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 – United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz announce that the District Attorney’s Office (PCDAO) has been awarded $701,581 through the FY 2026 OJP Special Attorney’s Grant Program. As a result of the grant award, a state prosecutor will be designated as a Special United States Attorney (SAUSA) to work on cross-designated matters on multi-jurisdictional crimes including fraud, drug crimes, human trafficking, and criminal immigration matters. The grant will foster continued coordination on federal cases, increase enforcement and prosecution and enhance working relationships in Plymouth County.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance administers that grant program and selected PCDAO as one of 30 grantees across the country. This grant program supports state, local, Tribal and territorial prosecuting agencies to assign or hire qualified prosecutors to serve full-time or part-time as Special Attorneys under the direction of the National Fraud Enforcement Division or the Criminal Division, or to serve as Special Assistant United States Attorneys within a United States Attorney’s Office.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts has a longstanding, collaborative relationship with the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office in advancing public safety. This grant will strengthen that existing foundation, allowing us to act as a force multiplier for the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, to bring more cases and stronger investigations. Tim Cruz has demonstrated a strong commitment to reducing crime, seeking justice on behalf of crime victims and promoting safer communities. He has been a valued law enforcement partner, supporting shared values, initiatives and public safety priorities. This funding will strengthen our offices’ ability to bring even more worthy federal cases to protect our communities,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “I am so pleased that the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office was selected and I am confident that the more than 540,000 residents of Plymouth County will benefit greatly from the grant and our shared mission, to serve and protect.”

“This is an exciting opportunity, and we are committed to enhancing our working relationship with U.S. Attorney Foley, and all their federal law enforcement partners. One of the grant’s objectives will be to coordinate federal cases originating in Plymouth County, to increase enforcement and prosecutions, and to enhance the working relationship with immigration authorities to ensure that undocumented immigrants accused of state crimes in Plymouth County are prosecuted. We have already selected an experienced prosecutor to assign to this new role, and I am proud that our offices are able to work together successfully and collaborate to protect public safety in our communities,” said Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz. 

This multi-year federal grant will fund a Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney (ADA) to be appointed as Special Assistant United States Attorney who will be housed at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston. The SAUSA will work as a federal prosecutor and will be supervised by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

More information regarding the FY26 Special Attorney’s Program can be found here: https://bja.ojp.gov/funding/opportunities/OJP-FY26-Special-Attorneys-Program

BOSTON – The United States Attorney’s Office has filed a civil forfeiture action to recover 47,461.73111 USDT (Tether), alleged to be proceeds of an online fraud scheme in which scammers directed victims to deposit funds into cryptocurrency ATMs and then took the funds. The cryptocurrency currently has an estimated value of approximately $47,000.

As alleged in the complaint, the home computer of a Ware Mass. resident became unresponsive, and a pop-up window directed her to call a customer support telephone number. The victim spoke with an individual who claimed to be a customer service representative but in reality, was a scammer. The scammer told the victim that their bank account had been compromised and to “protect” their money, the victim needed to transfer their money to the government for safekeeping. At the direction of the scammers, the victim withdrew funds from their bank account and deposited them into a Bitcoin Depot brand cryptocurrency ATM at a gas station in Ludlow, Mass. From there, the victim’s money was transferred to the fraud perpetrators.

Law enforcement traced some funds to a cryptocurrency wallet and seized those funds in March 2026. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement identified four other victims of a similar scam whose funds could be traced to the same cryptocurrency wallet.  

It is a violation of federal law to use wire communications as part of a scheme to defraud or to obtain money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses. It is also a violation of federal law to conduct a financial transaction knowing that the transaction is designed to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, or control of criminal proceeds. A civil forfeiture action allows third parties to assert claims to property, which must be resolved before the property can be forfeited to the United States and returned to victims.

This is one of several civil forfeiture actions the U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed seeking to forfeit cryptocurrency traced to fraud schemes targeting Massachusetts victims.

Members of the public who believe they are victims of a cybercrime – including cryptocurrency scams, tech support scams, investment scams and business email compromise fraud scams – should contact  [email protected].

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Field Office made the announcement today. The Ludlow Police Department provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carole E. Head, Chief of the Asset Recovery Unit is prosecuting the civil forfeiture action.

The details contained in the civil forfeiture complaint are allegations. 
 

BOSTON – Two Brockton men pleaded guilty on July 24, 2026 in federal court in Boston to the Sept. 24, 2024, robbery of the Energy Credit Union in West Roxbury, Mass. The defendants stole $197,146 from the Credit Union where one brother was employed as a teller.  

Jenel Flounoury, 30, and Justin Flounoury, 34, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit larceny from a credit union. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing for Oct. 19, 2026. Both men were indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2025.

The Flounourys conspired to stage a “robbery” of the Credit Union where Jenel was employed. Specifically, on the day of the robbery, Justin entered the Credit Union wearing a hat, dark clothing, sunglasses and a mask. At the time, Janel was working at the teller window inside the Credit Union. Justin approached the teller window and passed Jenel a note reading “Hand it Over.” Rather than provide the “robber” with the limited amount of cash in his teller drawer, Jenel got up from his chair, entered the Credit Union’s vault and gathered almost $200,000 in cash. Unable to carry that amount in his hands, Jenel got a bag from within the vault and placed that cash inside to provide the “robber.” Justin then left the Credit Union with the bag of cash. Cellphone records showed Justin travelled home to the residence he shared with Jenel.

Within hours of his arrival home, Jenel and Justin were observed lighting a fire on a grill, and then burning dark colored clothing, consistent with that worn by the robber. These events were captured on video and burnt clothing was later recovered from the grill.

A search of the defendants’ shared residence later that night resulted in the recovery of over $160,000 in cash, including 10 $100 bills whose serial numbers matched those stolen from the Credit Union vault during the robbery.  

The charge of conspiracy 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Mark Grady and John Potapchuk of the Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – A Springfield, Mass., man has been sentenced for distributing and conspiring to distribute fentanyl.

Emilio Garcia-Cappas, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to four years in prison, to be followed by six years of supervised release. In April 2026, Garcia-Cappas pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. The defendant was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2024.

Between Feb. 5, 2024, and Feb. 22, 2024, Garcia-Cappas conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. On Feb. 12, 2024, Garcia-Cappas distributed and possessed with intent to distribute fentanyl. On three separate occasions, Garcia-Cappas and his co-conspirators sold fentanyl to undercover law enforcement.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Todd E. Newhouse and Thomas A. Barnico, Jr. of the Springfield Branch Office prosecuted the case. 
 

BOSTON – A Norfolk man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to sexually exploiting a two-year-old minor victim from Massachusetts.

Ethan Irving, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of children. U.S. District Court Judge Julia E. Kobick scheduled sentencing for Oct. 27, 2026. Irving was arrested and charged in January 2026.

In June 2025, Irving was identified as an online user who uploaded three files of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to Kik Messenger. A July 2025 forensic analysis of two cell phones sized from Irving’s residence located multiple media files depicting CSAM. As a result of the findings, Irving was arrested and charged in Wrentham District Court in July 2025. He subsequently pleaded guilty to Dissemination of Obscene Matter and Possession of Child Pornography on Dec. 3, 2025, for which he was sentenced to two years of probation with conditions that prohibit his contact with children.

According to the charging documents, on Dec. 15, 2025, while reviewing evidence related to Irving’s state prosecution, additional CSAM was located on Irving’s devices that had not previously been seen by investigators. Specifically, the images appeared to be a continuous series, sequential in time, depicting Irving sexually abusing a two-year-old female toddler. The images appeared to have been taken inside a bedroom at Irving’s residence, with the bedding depicted in the images matching sheets observed and photographed during a search of the home in July 2025.

The charge of sexual exploitation of minors (and attempt and conspiracy) provides for a sentence of no less than 15 years and up to 30 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Commissioner of the Boston Police Department, Michael Cox; Mark Comorosky, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Boston Field Office; and James Floyd, Chief of the Plainville Police Department made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police, the East Bridgewater Police Department, and the Norfolk Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and a member of the Major Crimes Unit, is prosecuting the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

BOSTON – A Montana man who allegedly threatened to kill a Massachusetts resident was arrested yesterday.

Matthew Shelley, 37, of Missoula, Montana, was indicted on July 23, 2026, by a federal grand jury in Boston with one count of transmitting a threatening communication in interstate commerce. Shelley is scheduled to have an initial appearance and detention hearing in the District of Montana on Aug. 3, 2026. He will appear in Boston at a later date.

According to court documents, on Oct. 18, 2025, Shelly used X (formerly Twitter) to threaten a Massachusetts resident.: He allegedly wrote, “You work for k|kes who murdered my family family. I will kill you.”

On July 30, 2026, Shelley was arrested at his home in Montana.

The charge of transmitting threatening communications in interstate commerce carries a maximum sentence of up to five 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 other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Field Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Pohl of the National Security Unit 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 – Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston, Inc. (OCB) has agreed to pay $3,902,588.28 to resolve allegations that it falsely billed federal healthcare programs.  

Between Jan. 1, 2015 and July 30, 2025, OCB submitted claims to Medicare and MassHealth—Massachusetts’s Medicaid program—for office visits at which ophthalmologists administered intravitreal (i.e., directly into the eye) injections of certain medications. However, Medicare and MassHealth do not permit billing for office visits in addition to billing for the injections themselves, except under special circumstances. OCB billed for the office visits using a special billing code (Modifier 25) even when it did not perform the service to justify billing the extra amount or have documentation to support the extra billed amount. The government contends that, through this conduct, OCB submitted false claims to Medicare and MassHealth for these office visits.

The settlement credits OCB for cooperation under the Department of Justice’s Guidelines for Taking Voluntary Disclosure, Cooperation, and Remediation into Account in False Claim Act Matters.  

The claims against OCB were brought under the whistleblower or qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. Under the FCA, private parties may sue on behalf of the government for false claims for government funds and receive a share of any recovery. The relator will receive a share from the proceeds of the settlement. The lawsuit is captioned United States, et al., ex rel. John Doe v. Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston, Inc., et al., 24-cv-11495.

U.S. Attorney Foley and Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge, Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General made the announcement today. The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Sharobem of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit.  
 

BOSTON – A Longmeadow woman was sentenced yesterday for defrauding commercial lenders out of almost $20 million dollars over a four-year period.

Christine Gendron, 62, a former certified public accountant, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to one year of confinement, with six months to be served in federal prison and six months under home confinement with a GPS monitoring device, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Gendron was also ordered to pay $392,607 in restitution for bank fraud, her apportioned share of the total loss. In June 2025, Gendron pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Gendron engaged in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud along with her sister, Jeanette Norman, and brother-in-law, Louis Masaschi, defrauding commercial lenders on multiple occasions. Together, they provided false and fraudulent rent rolls and forged lease agreements for numerous properties located in Springfield, Mass.; East Longmeadow, Mass.; and Enfield, Conn.

Gendron worked as the financial manager for Norman and Masaschi at LL Realty Developers, LLC, an umbrella company which owned primarily commercial and some residential property in Western Massachusetts, Connecticut and elsewhere. The three conspired with each other to fraudulently obtain loans from financial institutions and commercial lenders by providing materially false, fictitious and fraudulent financial information – including false rent rolls and forged lease agreements. After receiving the loans, they defaulted on the loans, causing substantial losses to the financial institutions and commercial lenders, including two community credit unions, and leaving the buildings vacant.

Between May 2016 and November 2018, the coconspirators fraudulently obtained or sought to obtain approximately $60,123,000 in loans and caused a total loss of $18,203,030.  

In July 2026, Masaschi was sentenced to four years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Masaschi was also ordered to pay $18,203,030 in restitution. Gendron’s sister and other co-conspirator, Jeanette Norman pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug.11, 2026.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven H. Breslow and Caroline Merck of the Springfield Office prosecuted the case.  
 

BOSTON – A Dominican national unlawfully residing in Lynn, Mass. has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to illegally reentering the United States after deportation.

Yodenny Michael Baez-Cabrera, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun scheduled sentencing for Sept. 22, 2026. Baez-Cabrera was charged in April 2026.

Baez-Cabrera was deported from the United States on July 18, 2017. Sometime after his July 2017 removal, Baez-Cabrera illegally reentered the United States without permission. In 2015, Baez-Cabrera was convicted of felony assault with a dangerous weapon and witness intimidation in Peabody District Court.

The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to 20 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and David T. Wesling, Acting Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Lynn Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aidan Lang of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – A former U.S. Postal Inspector has pleaded guilty to stealing over $340,000 cash from packages mailed by elderly victims of lottery fraud scams, laundering some of the cash and failing to report it to the IRS.

Scott Kelley, 52, of Pembroke, Mass. pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud; five counts of mail fraud; five counts of mail theft by a postal officer; 23 counts of money laundering; one count of structuring to evade reporting requirements; and five counts of filing false tax returns. U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled Kelley’s sentencing for Nov. 18, 2026.

Kelley was a federal law enforcement officer authorized to carry a firearm, make arrests and execute search warrants. He worked at the Boston Division headquarters of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service. The primary mission of USPIS is to protect postal customers from criminal use of the mail system.

In 2015, Kelley became the Team Leader in charge of the Mail Fraud team. He supervised Postal Inspectors who investigated lottery and other scams that targeted senior citizens and other vulnerable populations. Kelley worked hand in hand with federal prosecutors investigating and prosecuting federal crimes involving the mail.

Working with Jamaican law enforcement authorities, USPIS began a nationwide crime-prevention initiative, Jamaican Operations Linked to Telemarketing (“JOLT”), to disrupt mail fraud scams originating in Jamaica that targeted U.S. residents with false promises of sweepstakes or lottery winnings. Posing as lottery representatives, scammers contacted elderly persons and other vulnerable victims and persuaded them to mail funds to pay “fees” or “taxes” that they supposedly needed to front before they could collect their prize.

USPS created a daily JOLT Report, a list of packages that likely contained cash sent by scam victims. Between Jan. 2019 and Aug. 11, 2023, Kelley requested – directly or through support staff – that about 1,950 JOLT parcels be intercepted and sent to him. It is alleged that Kelley received hundreds of those packages. He opened the ones that looked or felt like they might contain cash and stole any cash inside.

Victims of Kelley’s scheme included:

• A retired Army veteran in Kansas, then age 76, who mailed $19,100 cash;
• A retired construction supervisor in Mississippi, then age 82, who mailed $7,500 cash;
• An Indiana resident who cleaned houses while raising five children, who mailed $2,000 cash when they were 78;
• A retired nurse with Parkinson’s disease living in Waltham, Mass., who mailed $5,400 cash when they were 78;
• A 56-year old victim on Social Security disability benefits living in Holliston, Mass., who mailed $15,000 cash;
•  A retired apartment building manager in New Jersey, then age 82, who mailed $1,400 cash; and
• A retired nurse’s aide in Oklahoma, then age 70, who mailed $10,800 cash.

Although it is unknown how much Kelley stole in total, he possessed approximately $340,000 in cash during the period when he was receiving hundreds of intercepted JOLT parcels. Of this amount:

• He deposited about $131,000 into four separate bank accounts, on about 60 different dates, in amounts never exceeding $4,800. He allegedly did so to avoid being flagged as a customer depositing an unusually large amount of cash, which, as Kelley knew, could trigger the banks to report him to federal financial regulators.
• He paid about $158,000 in cash to buy approximately 165 postal money orders, most of which he deposited into his bank accounts or used to pay credit card bills. He always bought less than $3,000 in a day, knowing that post offices are required to collect identification information only from customers who buy $3,000 or more in money orders in a single day. On more than 20 of the money orders he bought, Kelley falsely identified two of his relatives as the payers. He did so to try to conceal that he was the cash purchaser of the money orders.
• He made almost $50,000 in cash purchases. These included $20,500 for a patio around his backyard pool: 

He also paid $4,800 in cash for a marble countertop on his pool bar and to heat the pool; $4,888 in cash to install landscape lights around the pool and lighting for the pool bar; and $4,300 in cash for bar drinks and other expenses incurred during Caribbean cruises he took with his family. Kelley also paid $15,400 in cash to two prostitutes whom he met during workdays and with whom he texted using a burner phone:

Members of the public who believe they may be victims of this case or other elder fraud scams should contact [email protected]. Suspected mail fraud can also be reported to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service online or by calling (877) 876-2455.

The charges of 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. The charges of mail 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. The charges of mail theft by a postal officer each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges of money laundering 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 value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater. The charge of structuring provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges of 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael Ray, Special Agent in Charge, Office of Professional Responsibility, Technical and Sensitive Operations Field Office, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General; and Tom Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Wichers and Eric L. Hawkins are prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – A Lowell, Mass. man with allegiance to the Asian Boyz gang was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for distributing and conspiring to distribute thousands of counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine.

Owen Landry, a/k/a “Oski,” 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to 11 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In April 2026, Landry pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine; one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine; and two counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine. Landry was among five charged in January 2025.

In 2021, an investigation began into the Asian Boyz gang to disrupt the manufacturing and distribution of substantial quantities of methamphetamine pills impacting Lowell.

The investigation revealed that Landry, an Asian Boyz gang member, formed an alleged conspiracy with another gang member, Sovath Yern, a/k/a “Stryke,” to profit from the sales of bulk quantities of the counterfeit Adderall pills. Co-defendant Zachary Hansen agreed to let Landry use his residence in Lowell as one of the group’s storage and distribution centers. At Landry’s direction, Hansen also sold the counterfeit Adderall pills and collected payments.

Specifically, Landry negotiated two large counterfeit Adderall pill deals in July and August 2024 and directed the buyers to Landry’s Lowell residence to complete the transactions.  Unbeknownst to Landry and Hansen, the pill deals were part of law enforcement operations to surveil and record the purchases. In July 2024, a cooperating witness met Hansen inside the Lowell residence and paid him $2,000 in exchange for 5,000 pills. In August 2024, a co-conspirator was observed, travelling back and forth from Landry’s residence in Lowell during a deal with a second cooperating witness, who paid another $2,000 in exchange for 2,000 pills.

Later in 2024, Landry himself sold pills he had allegedly obtained from Yern’s apartment in Billerica to a cooperating witness. Specifically, on two separate occasions in November 2024 and December 2024, Landry directed the cooperating witness to meet him in the garage of Yern’s apartment complex. After meeting the cooperating witness and taking the cash payments, Landry then entered the building where Yern allegedly escorted him inside. Landry was seen entering Yern’s apartment with the money and then leaving with large bags of pills. Landry then returned to the cooperating witness to deliver methamphetamine pills – 4,000 pills in November 2024 and 5,000 pills in December 2024.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Greg C. Hudon, Superintendent of the Lowell Police Department made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Billerica, Haverhill, Methuen, North Andover and Salem Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred M. Wyshak, III of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

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

BOSTON – A Maryland man pleaded guilty on July 23, 2026 in federal court in Springfield, Mass. to inducing three individuals, including two minors, to travel across state lines to engage in prostitution.

David Kaufman, 45, pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging three counts of knowingly persuading, inducing, enticing and coercing an individual to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution and aiding and abetting, as well as one count of conspiring to do the same. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Nov. 13, 2026. Kaufman was arrested in April 2025. In May 2025, a federal grand jury charged Kaufman in a superseding indictment that included additional charges against Kaufman as well as a co-conspirator.

In January and February of 2024, Kaufman and a co-conspirator made arrangements for a victim  to travel to Baltimore to stay with Kaufman, who paid for the travel. Once at Kaufman’s residence in Baltimore, Kaufman persuaded and enticed the victim to allow Kaufman to perform sex acts on the victim in exchange for money and things of value. In March, the victim and co-conspirator again traveled from Massachusetts to Maryland, where Kaufman once again persuaded and enticed the victim to allow Kaufman to perform sex acts on the victim in exchange for money and things of value.

In June 2024, a minor victim and a co-conspirator traveled from Massachusetts to Maryland to stay with Kaufman. Kaufman again paid for the travel. Once there, Kaufman persuaded and enticed the minor victim to allow him to perform sex acts on the minor victim and paid the victim money to do so. Kaufman continued to communicate with the minor victim and encouraged the victim to return to Maryland to engage in additional sex acts for money. In late June, the minor victim and the co-conspirator again traveled from Massachusetts to Baltimore, and Kaufman paid for the tickets in anticipation of the victim engaging in additional sex acts with him for money. Once back in Baltimore, Kaufman and the minor victim engaged in sex acts in exchange for money in Kaufman’s bedroom. At that time, the victim was 16 years old but, at the co-conspirator’s urging, told Kaufman that he was 18 years old.

In July 2024, Kaufman traveled to Boston, Mass.. Kaufman and his co-conspirator arranged to meet in Boston and the co-conspirator introduced Kaufman to another minor victim, convincing the minor to travel from Connecticut to Massachusetts to meet Kaufman for prostitution. Once Kaufman, his co-conspirator and the minor victim were in Boston, Kaufman engaged in sex acts with the victim in exchange for money. At that time, the minor was 17 years old but, at the co-conspirator’s urging, told Kaufman that he was 18 years old.

If you have information or questions about this investigation, or someone you know may be impacted or experiencing commercial sex trafficking or child exploitation, please contact [email protected].

The charge of knowingly persuading and inducing a person to travel for purposes of prostitution 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. The charge of conspiracy to knowingly persuade and induce a person to travel for purposes of prostitution provides 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. 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 Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Maryland; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and the Baltimore Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Torey B. Cummings, Craig E. Estes and Kunal Pasricha of the Criminal Division 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 Pittsfield pharmacist has been charged in federal court in Boston with allegedly diverting Adderall and Dextroamp-amphetamin (generic Adderall) from a national pharmacy chain.

Joshua Bradley, 30, of Pittsfield, was charged with five counts of acquiring a controlled substance by fraud, deception and subterfuge. The defendant will make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston on Sept. 9, 2026.

According to the charging documents, while working as a licensed pharmacist at a national pharmacy chain, Bradley allegedly diverted various quantities of Dextroamp-amphetamin  for his own use on four occasions in August, September and November 2024. Additionally, on Nov. 10, 2024, Bradley is alleged to have also diverted Adderall. These controlled substances originally were intended for customers.

The charge of acquiring a controlled substance by fraud, deception, and subterfuge provides for a sentence of up to four years in prison, one year 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police, the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department and the Barnstable, Harwich, Bourne, Brewster, Sandwich, Falmouth, Mashpee, Yarmouth and Dennis Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Cleary of the Health Care Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

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

BOSTON – A Peabody man has been arrested and charged with allegedly transporting child sexual abuse material (CSAM). 

Felix Santos, 34, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of transporting child pornography. Santos was arrested and appeared in federal court in Boston yesterday. 

According to the charging documents, on May 18, 2026, Santos traveled to Boston Logan International Airport from the Dominican Republic. Upon his arrival at Logan, Santos was referred to secondary inspection by border agents. During a screening of Santos’ phone, multiple files consistent with CSAM were allegedly located in his Telegram chat application. It is further alleged that subsequent analysis revealed at least 20 photos and 952 videos depicting CSAM on the phone.

The charge of transporting child pornography provides for a sentence of at least five 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jeff Grimming, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today.  Valuable assistance was provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Boston Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Conroy 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 document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law. 

BOSTON – An Indian national unlawfully residing in Worcester, Mass., was sentenced today in federal court in Boston in connection with a conspiracy to conduct staged armed robberies of convenience stores for the purpose of allowing store clerks to falsely claim they were crime victims on immigration applications.

Mitul Patel, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun to time served (one day) in prison and a $1,000 fine. The defendant was also ordered removed from the United States. 

The defendant, along with 10 others involved in the scheme, was charged by criminal complaint in March 2026 and pleaded guilty in June 2026. 

According to the charging documents, beginning in March 2023, Rambhai Patel and his co-conspirators set up and carried out staged armed robberies of at least six convenience/liquor stores and fast-food restaurants in Massachusetts and elsewhere. It is alleged that the purpose of the staged robberies was to allow the clerks present to falsely claim that they were victims of a violent crime on an application for U non-immigration status (U Visa). A U Visa is available to victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and who have been helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity. 

During the staged robberies, the “robber” would allegedly threaten store clerks with an apparent firearm before taking cash from the register and fleeing, while the interaction was captured on store surveillance video. The clerks would then wait five or more minutes until the “robber” had escaped before calling police to report the “crime.” The “victims” are alleged to have each paid Rambhai Patel to participate in the scheme. In turn, Rambhai Patel paid the store owners for the use of their stores for the staged robbery.

The organizer Rambhai Patel, the “robber,” and the getaway driver Balwinder Singh were previously charged and later convicted in May 2025. Mitul Patel, sentenced today, paid Rambhai Patel so that he could participate as a “victim” in a staged armed robbery of a store in Worcester, Mass. in October 2023. 

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance in the investigation was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern District of New York, the Western District of Washington, the Northern District of Ohio, the Eastern District of Missouri and the Eastern District of Kentucky; FBI’s New York, Seattle, Louisville, Cleveland and St. Louis Field Offices; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; Massachusetts State Police; Worcester County District Attorney’s Office; and the Boston, Dedham, Hingham, Malden, Marshfield, Randolph, Somerville, Weymouth, Worcester, Upper Darby, (Pa.), West Pittston (Pa.), Louisville, (Ky.) and Bean Station (Tenn.) Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elianna J. Nuzum of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.

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

BOSTON – A Brockton man has been charged for allegedly making false statements to law enforcement regarding his transfer of 24 firearms he had purchased. More than half of the firearms allegedly surfaced at various crime scenes across the Northeast including a Boston homicide. 

Klordenzsky Senecharles, 29, has been charged with making materially false statements.  The defendant was previously arrested and charged by criminal complaint in April 2026 and subsequently released on pretrial conditions. 

According to the charging documents, between March 2020 and May 2021, Senecharles purchased a total of 28 firearms and later sold four of them. Of the 24 firearms still registered to Senecharles, 13 firearms were allegedly recovered in connection with criminal activity, including a Feb. 26, 2024 homicide in Boston. According to the charging documents, when law enforcement questioned Senecharles about the whereabouts of the 24 firearms, Senecharles claimed that he had sold 21 of the 24 firearms to various Massachusetts registered firearms dealers. The firearms dealers allegedly reported that they had no record of purchasing any of the 21 firearms from Senecharles. 

The charge of making false statements provides for a sentence of up to five 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives made the announcement today.  Valuable assistance was provided by the United States Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan C. Cleary and Colin T. Missett of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

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

BOSTON – A retired Sergeant for the Massachusetts State Police was sentenced on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, for fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, which was later forgiven.

Damian Halfkenny, 54, of Boston, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to one year of probation. The defendant was also ordered to pay a fine of $5,000, restitution in the amount of $21,333 and forfeiture of $21,333. In April 2026, Halfkenny was charged with one count of wire fraud.

In 2021, Halfkenny was employed full-time as a Sergeant with the Massachusetts State Police earning $160,378 per year. He also owned and rented several real estate properties in Boston. In March 2021, Halfkenny submitted a PPP loan application for his real estate business, falsely representing that he had a monthly payroll expense of $8,488. In support of this application, Halfkenny provided a fabricated IRS Schedule C. Based on his misrepresentations, the U.S. Small Business Administration issued Halfkenny, and later forgave, a $21,220 PPP loan.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – A former U.S. Postal Inspector – a federal law enforcement officer authorized to carry a firearm, make arrests and execute search warrants – has agreed to plead guilty to allegedly stealing over $330,000 in cash from packages mailed by elderly victims and then laundering the cash and failing to report it to the Internal Revenue Service. The defendant allegedly used the stolen cash to pay for a pool patio, granite countertop for his outdoor bar, lighting for his pool and bar, Caribbean cruise expenses, and escorts.

Scott Kelley, 52, of Pembroke, Mass., has agreed to plead guilty to 44 counts of a 45-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Boston. Specifically, Kelley has agreed to plead guilty to five counts of wire fraud; five counts of mail fraud; five counts of mail theft by a postal officer; 23 counts of money laundering; one count of structuring to evade reporting requirements; and five counts of filing false tax returns. U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs has scheduled a change-of-plea hearing for July 29, 2026, at 1:00 pm.

Kelley was a Postal Inspector at the Boston Division headquarters of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement arm of the Postal Service. In 2015, Kelley became the Team Leader of the Mail Fraud Unit, which, among other things, investigated lottery and other scams that targeted senior citizens and other vulnerable populations. 

According to the indictment, between January 2019 and Aug. 11, 2023, Kelley used deceptive emails to cause unwitting postal employees to intercept packages that a USPIS algorithm had flagged as likely having been mailed by scam victims, and send them to him. In total, Kelley allegedly requested that approximately 1,950 packages be intercepted and mailed to him. It is alleged that Kelley opened intercepted parcels that looked or felt like they might contain cash, and stole any cash inside.

The indictment identifies seven victims who were scammed into mailing cash in parcels that Kelley allegedly intercepted and opened, and that he stole the cash inside. The average age of the victims was 75, with the oldest victim being 82. The victims mailed between $1,400 and $19,100 cash. One victim died after Kelley was indicted.

The charges of 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. The charges of mail 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. The charge of theft of government money 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. The charges of money laundering 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 value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater. The charge of structuring provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges of 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael Ray, Special Agent in Charge, Office of Professional Responsibility, Technical and Sensitive Operations Field Office, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General; and Tom Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Wichers and Eric L. Hawkins of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

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

BOSTON – A Boston man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to leaving a residential re-entry center where he was serving the remainder of his federal sentence after being convicted of being a felon in possession of ammunition.

Tyreek Hall, 23, pleaded guilty on July 23, 2026 to escape. U.S. Senior District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for Oct. 15, 2026. Hall was charged in February 2026.

According to the charging documents, in May 2024, Hall was sentenced in the District of Massachusetts to 46 months in prison for illegally possessing ammunition while on parole as a convicted felon. In July 2025, Hall was transferred from a correctional institution to a residential re-entry center in Boston to serve the remainder of his confined sentence.

As part of the reentry program, Hall was employed as a “part-time vehicle cleaner.” At approximately 11 p.m. on Sept. 7, 2025, when Hall returned to the residential re-entry center from work, staff conducted a breathalyzer test as part of their standard security screening. Hall tested positive, refused a subsequent breathalyzer test and refused to submit to a urinalysis test. After his refusals, Hall was allowed to go to his living quarters. At approximately 11:56 p.m., Hall returned to the front desk and walked out of the front door. Hall did not return to the residential re-entry center and was considered an active escape from federal custody until his apprehension.  

The charging statute 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 on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Acting U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts Dennis Matulewicz made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Boston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Dawley of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – Two men pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to conspiring to distribute fentanyl following a series of controlled purchases in Brookline and Boston.

Kerry Charlotin, a/k/a “KG,” 36, of Rockland and Shaquylle Burden, 31, of Roslindale, pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled Charlotin’s sentencing for Oct. 26, 2026. Burden is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 19, 2026. The defendants were arrested in December 2025 and remain detained in federal custody pending sentencing.  

According to the charging documents, in June 2025, an investigation began into drug trafficking activities conducted by Charlotin and Burden. The investigation revealed that the defendants were actively selling fentanyl in the greater Boston area. On two separate dates in October and December 2025, Charlotin and Burden sold or arranged the sale of fentanyl to undercover law enforcement during controlled purchases. One firearm was found in Burden’s Roslindale residence at the time of his arrest.

At the time of the conduct, Charlotin was on federal supervised release for a 2020 conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, for which he was sentenced to five years in prison.

The charges of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute provide 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. 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 Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Boston; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s Columbia Field Office in South Carolina. Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Dawley of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
 

BOSTON – Three individuals, including one from Massachusetts, have been charged for their alleged involvement in multi-state schemes to defraud property owners by impersonating them and selling their land, and launder the proceeds of the deed fraud scheme. One defendant allegedly defrauded property owners of approximately $1.5 million, while all three defendants are accused of laundering the proceeds of the fraud between June 2023 and June 2024. The following individuals have been charged by criminal complaint:

• Moshe Levi, 57, of Carrollton, Texas, was charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy;
• Kyon James, 44, of Middleboro, Mass. was charged with money laundering conspiracy; and 
• Bradley Beauge, 41, of Somerset, N.J., was charged with money laundering conspiracy.

The defendants were arrested on July 16, 2026. James was released on conditions following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston later that day. Following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston today, Beauge was released on conditions. Levi was detained following an initial appearance in Kansas City, Mo., and will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date. 

According to the charging document, Levi and co-coconspirators executed a deed fraud scheme by identifying vacant and unencumbered real properties in Massachusetts, Georgia, Indiana and Tennessee that were owned by individuals who lived out of state. Levi and co-conspirators allegedly established email and internet telephony accounts and obtained fake identifications, including driver’s licenses and passports, all in the names of the properties owners. Using the fake identifications and accounts, Levi and his co-conspirators allegedly impersonated the record owners of the properties in order to trick real estate professionals into listing and negotiating the sale of the properties and deeding the properties to unsuspecting buyers in exchange for payment. 

It is further alleged that Levi, Beauge and James conducted financial transactions involving the proceeds of the fraudulent sale of properties, including by check and wire transfer, through individual and corporate bank accounts that they and others controlled, with the intent to conceal and disguise the nature, the location, the source, the ownership and the control of the proceeds. According to court documents, since approximately June 2023, Levi, Beague, James and others allegedly shared and attempted to share in illegal proceeds of approximately $1.5 million. 

The charge of wire fraud conspiracy 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 from the scheme, whichever is greater. The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the financial transactions that were the object of the conspiracy. 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 Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto, Chief of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A Lunenburg man was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Michael Myers, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to 12 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In March 2026, Myers pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. Myers was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in December 2024 and has remained in federal custody since that time.  

In 2015, Myers was convicted of possession of CSAM, for which he was sentenced to two years’ probation by state authorities. He is a Level One Sex Offender.

In August 2023, Myers was identified as the owner of a Kik Messenger account transmitting CSAM files. One of the files depicted a male victim, approximately as young at eight years old, being raped by an adult male. Separately, in April 2024, Myers was identified as the owner of a Reddit account transmitting CSAM files depicting the abuse of a minor male victim. Search warrants obtained for both the Kik and Reddit accounts revealed several chats further demonstrating Myers’ criminal sexual interest in young boys.  

During a search of his Lunenburg residence in December 2024, an anonymous private messenger application was found on Myers’ cell phone and showed that several videos and pictures depicting CSAM were sent and received.  

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jeff Grimming, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Lunenburg Police Interim Police Chief Jeffrey M. Thibodeau made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Danial Bennett of the Worcester Branch Office prosecuted 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 married couple from New Bedford was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for a scheme to defraud individuals seeking insurance coverage through the couple’s business, BL Insurance Brokerage, LLC.

Brendan Lawler, 59, and Lisa Lawler, 46, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun to eight months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The defendants were also ordered to pay restitution in an amount to be determined at a later date. In March 2026, the Lawlers pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The Lawlers were charged by criminal complaint in August 2025.

From March 2023 through March 2024, the Lawlers solicited and collected insurance payments from BL Insurance’s clients, which should have been paid to the clients’ insurance providers. Instead of paying the insurance companies, the Lawlers pocketed their clients’ payments and used the money for their own purposes. To conceal this theft of client funds and to keep their BL Insurance afloat to perpetuate the scheme, the Lawlers used incoming client funds to pay outstanding balances due to other clients’ insurers. The Lawlers also created and distributed certain insurance documents to clients that falsely suggested that the clients were insured. In total, through this scheme, the Lawlers defrauded at least 50 individuals or insurance providers and stole more than $962,000 from individual customers, insurance providers, premium finance companies and hard money lenders.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts Division of Insurance and Insurance Fraud Bureau. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Cleary of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – An Illinois man has been sentenced in federal court in Boston for phishing the Snapchat access codes of over 750 women in an effort to hack their Snapchat accounts and steal nude photos, which he kept, sold, or traded on the internet. The defendant also lied to investigators on two occasions, claiming he had no interest in child sexual abuse material. Investigators later determined that he possessed over 500 photos and 600 videos of child sexual abuse material, including some involving children between three and four years old having sex with adults.

Kyle Svara, 27, of Oswego, Ill., was sentenced on July 21, 2026 by U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy to 76 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In February 2026, Svara pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, computer fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud and false statements related to child pornography. Svara was charged in December 2025.

From at least May 2020 to February 2021, Svara used social engineering and other resources to collect victim emails, phone numbers and/or Snapchat usernames. He used those means of identification to access victim Snapchat accounts, which prompted Snap Inc. to send account security codes to victims. Using anonymized phone numbers, Svara posed as a representative of Snap Inc. and texted more than 4,500 victims requesting those Snapchat access codes. Below in gray are some examples of Svara’s phishing text messages:

When approximately 570 women provided the access codes that Svara requested, Svara then accessed the Snapchat accounts of approximately 517 women without permission to download their nude or semi-nude images. Svara would often activate two-factor authentication to lock his victims out of their Snapchat accounts. Once he had the stolen images he wanted, Svara sold or traded them on internet forums or in transactions with others who had hired him to hack the Snapchat accounts. 

Svara advertised on internet forums like Reddit that he could “get into girls snap accounts” for others and provide content “for you or trade.” Below is an example of one of his Reddit advertisements in a forum dedicated to “wifepictrading”:

To track his efforts, Svara maintained spreadsheets and “notes” application lists on his computer and phone that contained victims’ names, contact information and Snapchat and Instagram usernames. These trackers also documented Svara’s degree of hacking success with notes to himself like “priority,” “got in, couldn’t crack meo [My Eyes Only],” “got a few,” “wrong snap,” and “TONS OF HOT NUDES, TRY AGAIN,” and contained personal information about victims that appear to have been provided by individuals purchasing Snapchat hacks from Svara to help Svara guess probable passwords, such as “Likes Harry Potter, likes San Francisco, likes Buenos Aires, bday March 4.” 

One of Svara’s co-conspirators, Steve Waithe, a former Track and Field Coach at Northeastern University hired and paid Svara to hack the Snapchat accounts of women Waithe coached or had other relationships with. In November 2023, Waithe was convicted in federal court in Boston of 12 counts of wire fraud; one count of cyberstalking; one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud; and one count of computer fraud, aiding and abetting. In March 2024, Waithe was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. 

In addition to the women Waithe and others hired Svara to hack, Svara also targeted women who resided in or around the area of Plainfield, Ill., including his neighbors, family friends, grade school classmates, high school classmates, personal friends, family friends and friends of his wife and sister. He also targeted a small group of women who were students at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. 

When Svara was interviewed by investigators, he falsely stated that he did not know anything about hacking Snapchat. Additionally, he falsely stated that had no interest in child pornography and had never actively sought out or accessed child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Contrary to these statements, the defendant collected, distributed and solicited CSAM. In Svara’s Mega account, for example, investigators found approximately 530 images and 600 videos depicting CSAM. Several of the videos had the ages three and four in their names and depicted female children of these approximate ages engaging in oral and vaginal sex acts with adult men. And in Svara’s Instagram account, investigators found multiple conversations in which he solicited others to send him CSAM. These included children from whom the defendant attempted to obtain images and videos. In one of these exchanges, a user asked expressly, “[d]oes it bother you that I’m underage?” and stated, “I’m not 18.” Svara replied, “Oh okay. More live pics? (:”

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Boston made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Chicago and the Oswego Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Cleary of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – A Gloucester man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to sexually exploiting a minor and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Robert Burnham, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of possession of child pornography. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for Dec. 3, 2026. Burnham was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in September 2025 and remains detained pending trial. 

According to the charging documents, from on or about June 11, 2024 to Oct. 4, 2024, Burnham persuaded and coerced a 13-year-old minor female to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing pictures and videos and transmitting them to him via social media. Additionally, on April 28, 2025, Burnham knowingly possessed files that depict CSAM. 

The charge of sexual exploitation of a minor provides for a sentence of at least 15 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by Harper County Sheriff’s Office, FBI Kansas City, Lincoln Police Department and Gloucester Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allegra Flamm of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A Massachusetts woman has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty in federal court in Springfield, Mass., in connection with her alleged execution of an approximately $10 million Ponzi scheme involving over 200 victims.

Barbara A. Hirshfield, 83, of Lexington, Mass. was charged with five counts of wire fraud. Hirshfield will make an initial appearance in federal court in Springfield at a later date.

According to the charging documents, Hirshfield owned and operated Ideal Financial Services, Inc. (Ideal) in West Springfield, Mass., as well as Ideal Financial Holdings (Ideal Holdings). Ideal purported to operate a motor vehicle and small loan business and raised money from investors by selling promissory notes that guaranteed investors high rates of returns. It is alleged that investors were led to believe that their money would be used to fund Ideal’s lending business and that the returns on their investments would be generated from borrowers’ loan payments.

In 2012, the Massachusetts Division of Banks (MDB) became concerned about Ideal’s finances and required Ideal to cease soliciting and accepting outside investment funds to finance its business. Nonetheless, it is alleged that Hirshfield did not disclose to investors that the MDB had required Ideal to cease fundraising. Instead, Hirshfield allegedly continued to raise outside funds through the sale of promissory notes.

In 2014, after MDB remained concerned about Ideal’s finances, the MDB revoked Ideal’s licenses to issue motor vehicle and small loans – effectively preventing the company from continuing the lending business, its primary source of revenue. Nonetheless, Hirshfield allegedly did not disclose to investors that the MDB had revoked Ideal’s licenses, nor did she disclose that Ideal was no longer generating revenue by issuing loans. Instead, Hirshfield allegedly continued to solicit investments through the sale of promissory notes.

According to the charging documents, by at least 2019, Ideal was generating little to no revenue from lending and instead relied almost entirely on money raised from new investments. Rather than disclosing the company’s financial condition, Hirshfield allegedly continued marketing promissory notes. It is alleged that Hirshfield used money obtained from new investments to make interest and principal payments owed to earlier investors, operating Ideal as a Ponzi scheme. Hirshfield allegedly continued operating the Ponzi scheme until approximately June 2025, when she was no longer able to make interest payments or repay the principal owed on outstanding promissory notes.

In late 2024, Ideal allegedly failed to make promised interest payments to investors. Rather than disclose the company’s true financial condition, Hirshfield allegedly blamed payment delays on banking issues, fraud, data breaches and stolen or lost checks, while continuing to solicit additional investments through emails offering increasingly high rates of return.

The alleged scheme resulted in losses of approximately $10,930,940 to approximately 204 victims. More than 25 victims allegedly suffered substantial financial hardship as a result of the fraud.

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. 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 Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts Securities Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of the Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

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

BOSTON – A Longmeadow man was sentenced today in federal court in Springfield for defrauding commercial lenders out of more than $18 million over a four-year period. Together with his co-conspirator, they provided false and fraudulent rent rolls and forged lease agreements for numerous properties located in Springfield, Mass.; East Longmeadow, Mass.; and Enfield, Conn.

Louis R. Masaschi, 59, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to four years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Masaschi was also ordered to pay $18,203,030 in restitution. In April 2025, Masaschi pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to committed wire fraud; two counts of wire fraud; and one count of aggravated identity theft. In June 2025, Norman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. In April 2023, Masaschi and his wife and co-conspirator Jeanette Norman were indicted by a federal grand jury.

Masaschi and Norman were partners in dozens of limited liability companies, including LL Realty Developers, LLC, through which they owned primarily commercial and some residential property in Western Massachusetts, Connecticut and elsewhere. Masaschi and Norman conspired with each other, and others, to fraudulently obtain loans for their companies from financial institutions and commercial lenders by providing materially false, fictitious and fraudulent financial information – including false rent rolls and forged lease agreements. After receiving the loans, Masaschi and Norman defaulted on the loans, causing substantial losses to the financial institutions and commercial lenders, including two community credit unions, and leaving the buildings vacant.

Between May 2016 and November 2018, Masaschi and Norman fraudulently obtained or sought to obtain approximately $60,123,000 in loans and caused a total loss of $18,203,030.  

Norman pleaded guilty in September 2025 and is next scheduled to appear in court on Aug.11, 2026.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven H. Breslow and Caroline Merck of the Springfield Office are prosecuting the case.  
 

BOSTON – A Boston man has been charged with allegedly attacking a fellow inmate at the Norfolk County Correctional Center.

Javon Sylvester Coleman, a/k/a “J-Dott,” 22, of Boston was charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to kill or cause bodily injury to a witness, victim or informant with intent to retaliate against such person for providing information to law enforcement.

According to the charging documents, Coleman and others discussed the victim’s perceived status as an informant on a recorded jail call moments before the attack. Coleman allegedly boasted that he was about to “up that rank,” meaning increase his status within the jail by committing an act of violence. Coleman and his co-conspirators allegedly discussed different ways they could harm the victim (to whom they referred using the movie references “Ratatouille” and “Stuart Little”), such as finding a mousetrap and putting it on the victim’s tongue.

Surveillance video showed Coleman approach the victim from behind as the victim was seated watching television. Coleman allegedly punched the unsuspecting victim repeatedly from behind and knocked him to the ground. Coleman then got on top of the victim and allegedly strangled the victim with his hands around the victim’s neck, while calling him a “rat” and a “snitch.” The assault continued until corrections officers intervened and pulled Coleman off the victim.

The charge of conspiracy to kill or cause bodily injury to a witness, victim or informant with intent to retaliate provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, up to five 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jeff Grimming, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Cutshall and Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit are 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 Pittsfield man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Springfield to conspiring to traffic large quantities of cocaine in Western Massachusetts. 

Theodore Warren, a/k/a “Monty,” 42, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and four counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Oct. 20, 2026. In December 2024, Warren was charged with his co-conspirator Lavante Wiggins, the former Dean of Pittsfield High School.

According to the charging documents, Wiggins, the former Dean of Students at Pittsfield High School, allegedly operated a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed large amounts of cocaine in and around the Pittsfield area. Warren was a trusted member of the DTO who served as a runner for Wiggins. According to the charging documents, in August 2024, Wiggins expressed concern that he was under investigation and that he would send Warren to complete drug sales and deliver cocaine on his behalf. It is alleged that one of Wiggins’ customers amassed a debt of more than $34,000 for cocaine that Wiggins provided on credit. Warren and, allegedly, Wiggins went about collecting on that debt while continuing to supply large amounts of cocaine to the customer. Specifically, Wiggins allegedly directed Warren to distribute cocaine to the customer on four separate occasions between September and December 2024: approximately 91 grams of cocaine on Sept. 10, 2024; approximately 100 grams of cocaine on Oct. 14, 2024; 125 grams of cocaine on Oct. 31, 2024; and 150 grams of cocaine on Dec. 10, 2024.

The charges of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and distribution of cocaine provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $2 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Holyoke, Springfield, Chicopee, West Springfield, Easthampton and Pittsfield Police Departments; Berkshire, Hampden and Franklin County Sherriff’s Offices; Massachusetts State Police; and the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil L. Desroches, Chief of the Springfield Branch Unit, is 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 – An El Salvadoran national unlawfully residing in Everett, Mass., has been charged with unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation. Defendant allegedly grabbed and unholstered officer’s weapon while resisting arrest. 

Wilson Alfredo Figueroa-Landaverde, 30, is charged with one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. Figueroa-Landaverde will make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston at a later date. 

According to court documents, Figueroa-Landaverde, a citizen of El Salvador, was first encountered by authorities on July 3, 2015, after unlawfully entering the United States by crossing the Rio Grande River from Mexico on a raft. He was subsequently removed from the United States on July 14, 2015. It is alleged that that, at some point thereafter, Figueroa-Landaverde unlawfully reentered the United States. In February 2026, federal authorities allegedly received information that Figueroa-Landaverde was unlawfully present in the United States and residing at an address in Everett. 

On July 1, 2026, Figueroa-Landaverde was located outside his Everett residence and officers attempted to arrest him. It is alleged that Figueroa-Landaverde resisted arrest and, during a struggle with law enforcement, grabbed and unholstered an officer’s firearm before being restrained and taken into custody.

The charge of illegal reentry provides for a sentence of up to two years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. 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 Leah B. Foley and David T. Wesling, Acting Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Conroy of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

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

BOSTON – A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employee has been arrested and charged for allegedly committing wire fraud and submitting false statements in a mortgage application seeking a mortgage backed by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA).

Schleider Aristhyl, 30, of Warwick, R.I., a military veteran and DHS employee, was charged with wire fraud and false statement in a mortgage application. The defendant was released on conditions following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston earlier today.

According to the charging documents, in October 2024, Aristhyl submitted two falsified documents that purported to be from the VA with his application seeking a VA-backed mortgage in the amount of $478,000 from private lender. The first fraudulent document stated that Aristhyl had received a VA disability rating of 100% and that he was receiving monthly disability benefits of over $3,000 per month. It is alleged that the document was falsified and that Aristhyl had no VA disability rating at the time of his application and he was not receiving any monthly disability benefits from the VA in October of 2024. 

The second fraudulent document allegedly purported to be a VA certificate stating that Aristhyl was exempt from paying a “funding fee” to the VA. Veterans applying for a VA-backed mortgage are typically required to pay a funding fee to the VA, unless they are deemed exempt under VA rules. It is alleged that the document was falsified and that Aristhyl was not exempt from paying the funding fee, which was over $10,000. 

Relying on the misrepresentations in these false documents the lender issued a mortgage loan in the amount of $478,000 to Aristhyl on Oct. 25, 2024 and the VA issued a loan guarantee backing a portion of the mortgage on Jan. 21, 2025. 

The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of false statement in a mortgage application provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Algieri with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Field Office made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Office of Professional Responsibility and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julissa Walsh of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

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

BOSTON – A Dominican national who unlawfully resided in Dorchester, Mass. pleaded guilty on July 16, 2026 in federal court in Boston to illegally reentering the United States after having been deported on three separate occasions. The defendant has previously been convicted of drug trafficking, aggravated identity theft and wire fraud dating as far back as 1997.  

Wilson Radhames Peguero Brea, a/k/a Jose Perez Antonio, 57, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien with a prior felony conviction. U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun schedules sentencing for Sept. 16, 2026. The defendant was previously charged by criminal complaint in February 2026 and indicted in April 2026. He is currently in ICE custody.

According to the charging documents, Peguero has illegally entered the United States at least four times, and used numerous aliases, including aliases belonging to U.S. citizen victims. In 1997, under an alias associated with a U.S. citizen victim, Peguero was convicted of drug trafficking. He was removed from the United States in 2005 and thereafter illegally reentered the country. In 2016, Peguero was arrested and charged by the state with possession of a fraudulently obtained driver’s license. That criminal case remains in default status. He was removed from the U.S. a second time in 2016.

After Peguero illegally entered the U.S. a third time, he was charged in Dorchester District Court with trafficking cocaine and fentanyl in a criminal case that remains in warrant status. According to court documents, his Massachusetts criminal history is associated with his alias Jose Perez Antonio.

In 2021, Peguero was arrested and charged with his true name in federal court for aggravated identity theft and wire fraud. He was convicted of both charges on Jan. 11, 2023, and sentenced to more than two years in federal prison. In 2023, Peguero was removed from the United States a third time. Peguero then illegally reentered the United States a fourth time and was encountered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on Feb. 5, 2026, while using a false identity document.

The charge of illegal reentry by an alien with a prior aggravated felony conviction provides 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and David T. Wesling, Acting Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julissa Walsh of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – A Brockton woman, who was employed as a Medical Technician with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs pleaded guilty on July 16, 2026 in federal court in Boston to wire fraud.

Denise Baez, 51, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for Oct 27, 2026. Baez was charged in April 2026.

Baez submitted two applications seeking Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans. In those applications, Baez made false claims regarding gross income purportedly earned from a sole proprietorship. To support these false claims, Baez attached fraudulent tax documents as part of the applications. The PPP loan applications were approved and Baez received $41,666. Baez used that money on personal expenses. However, in September 2021, Baez submitted loan forgiveness applications that falsely claimed the entire $41,666 was spent on payroll. Based on the misrepresentation the loans were forgiven.    

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 up to $250,000 or twice the 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.  

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Algieri with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Field Office made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Sullivan of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – EyePoint, Inc., formerly EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (EyePoint), has agreed to pay $4,678,981 to resolve allegations that it paid kickbacks to Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) to induce the ASCs to purchase its drug, DEXYCU. This scheme, the government alleges, violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act. 

The government contends that EyePoint’s unlawful scheme took two forms between January 2019 and March 2023: illegal payments from EyePoint to ASCs through an “Assurance Program;” and illegal payments from EyePoint to ASCs via the provision of free DEXYCU samples.

The company, headquartered in Watertown, Mass., has admitted and accepted responsibility for the following facts. First, through its “Assurance Program,” EyePoint covered ASCs’ costs when federal insurance programs denied coverage of the drug, either by paying the ASCs cash or by providing them with free replacement DEXYCU. Second, EyePoint gave thousands of free samples to ASCs and the ASCs used the no-cost DEXYCU on patients whose commercial health insurance would not pay for the drug. The government alleges that EyePoint’s provision of no-cost samples induced ASCs to purchase and dispense DEXYCU reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE by eliminating the ASCs’ potential financial losses from commercial health insurers denying payment for DEXYCU.    

“As we have for years, our Office will continue to hold pharmaceutical manufacturers accountable for paying illegal kickbacks,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “Through these efforts, we protect patients by removing providers’ financial incentives to prescribe or dispense products that may not be medically necessary for the patient and protect the public from fraud, waste and abuse.” 

“Kickbacks by pharmaceutical companies increase the cost of drugs used by patients and paid for by federal health care programs,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Civil Division will hold accountable anyone who pays unlawful kickbacks.”

“Pharmaceutical companies that attempt to boost profits through unlawful kickbacks undermine the integrity of federal health care programs and betray the patients who rely on them,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG). We will aggressively pursue any entity that seeks to corrupt medical decision making and will not hesitate to hold them accountable.”

“As alleged, EyePoint’s unlawful scheme compromised safeguards meant to ensure that treatment decisions are made in the best interests of patients, not corporate profits,” said Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “This settlement demonstrates our commitment to protecting the integrity of taxpayer-funded health care programs, and we will use every enforcement tool available to address conduct that seeks to undermine those protections.”

In connection with the settlement, EyePoint entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.  Through separate agreements, Eyepoint will pay an additional $25,478 to certain participating states.

The claims against EyePoint were brought under the whistleblower or qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  Under the FCA, private parties may sue on behalf of the government for false claims for government funds and receive a share of any recovery.  The relator will receive $791,768.74 from the proceeds of the settlement. The lawsuit is captioned United States, et al. ex rel. AFCE, LLC v. EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No 21-cv-120171.

U.S. Attorney Foley, AAG Shumate, Acting Deputy IG Lampert and HHS-OIG SAC Coviello made the announcement today. This case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Sharobem of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit and Trial Attorney Margaret F. Thomas of the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section. 

BOSTON – A Lawrence man was sentenced yesterday for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Citizens Bank branch in Tewksbury, Mass.

Jefry Castro, 34, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Judge Patti B. Saris to one year and one day in prison, five years of supervised release and $375,233 in restitution. In April 2026, Castro pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement by a bank employee.

Castro worked as the manager of the Citizens Bank branch in Tewksbury. Between May 2024 and August 2025, he embezzled $374,233 from the bank. Castro embezzled the money primarily by taking cash from two ATMs at the bank. He covered his theft by moving money from cash deposits and cash shipments to the bank to replace the cash in the ATMs. Castro also changed numbers on the bank’s balance sheets to falsify the total amount of cash at the bank.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy E. Moran of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A Gardner woman was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for fraudulently receiving Social Security disability benefits for 10 years.  

Michelle M. DiSalvo, 53, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to one day of prison deemed served, three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $100,080 in restitution. In March 2026, DiSalvo pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of stolen government money or property; one count of Social Security fraud; and one count of false statements. DiSalvo was charged in February 2026.

In 2001, DiSalvo began receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Eligibility for SSI is based, in part, on the applicant having limited income and resources. In assessing a married individual’s eligibility for SSI, the income and resources of the applicant’s spouse is considered if they live together. If an applicant is awarded SSI, they have a continuing obligation to notify SSA of any changes in their marital status, living arrangements and household income and resources.

In June 2014, DiSalvo truthfully reported to SSA that she was married, but falsely stated that she and her husband had separated in September 2013, when, in fact, they were living together. In five additional redetermination interviews with SSA between December 2014 and August 2023, DiSalvo continued to conceal that she lived with her husband with the intent to fraudulently obtain SSI benefits. DiSalvo also submitted a fraudulent lease agreement to SSA in October 2023 in which DiSalvo omitted her husband because she knew that if she reported living with him, DiSalvo’s husband’s income and resources would have made her ineligible for SSI.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Amy Connelly, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

On March 26, 2026, United States Attorney Leah B. Foley announced the creation of the Benefit & Voter Fraud Team, a district-wide initiative established in response to the rampant fraud being uncovered across Massachusetts. The Team is led by two senior federal prosecutors serving as Fraud Coordinators, whose mission it is to aggressively investigate and prosecute misuse of taxpayer-funded benefits in Massachusetts.

Members of the public are encouraged to report suspected benefit fraud in Massachusetts by calling 1-855-SCAM-MA-1 (855-722-6621).

On April 7, 2026, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The Fraud Division is investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
 

BOSTON – Rockland Congruity LLC (Rockland), a Delaware limited liability company with a principal place of business in Pembroke, Mass., has agreed to pay $2,687,700 to resolve allegations that it fraudulently obtained a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for which it was ineligible.

Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and the Economic Security Act (CARES Act) on March 29, 2020, to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who were suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act authorized forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain approved expenses through the PPP, which the Small Business Administration (SBA) administered. The PPP provided for loans in two “draws”—first draw loans became available in March 2020, and second draw loans became available in January 2021. To be eligible for PPP loans, businesses were required to certify on their loan applications that they met certain size standards based on, for example, the number of employees they, and their affiliated entities, collectively employed. In determining number of employees, businesses generally were required to count all employees of U.S. and foreign affiliates. Businesses with more than 300 employees were not eligible for second draw loans.

As part of the settlement, Rockland admitted that, in March 2021, it received a $1,709,099 second draw PPP loan. Rockland certified that it was eligible for the loan under the PPP regulations in effect at the time of the application and represented on its application that it had 96 employees, including affiliates’ employees. Rockland later sought and received forgiveness of the full amount of that loan. Prior to 2021 and through 2022, Rockland was a subsidiary of Procurri Corporation Limited, a company with global operations. When it applied for the loan and when it applied for forgiveness, Rockland had more than 300 employees, when considering employees of Procurri, and was ineligible for the PPP loan.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and the U.S. Small Business Administration made the announcement today.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Julien M. Mundele of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit handled the matter.

BOSTON – Four Dominican nationals have pleaded guilty, and another has been sentenced, for their roles in connection with a transnational “call center” operation in the Dominican Republic that tricked hundreds of elderly victims in the United States into believing that their grandchildren or other close family members were in trouble and needed money. In total, the investigation identified over 400 victims with an average age of 84, including at least 50 in Massachusetts, and more than $5 million in losses.

Oscar Manuel Castanos Garcia, 34; Joel Jose Cruz Rodriguez, a/k/a “Paflow,” 34; Edward Jose Puello Garcia, 45; and Joel Francisco Mathilda Leon, 27, have each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and one count of money laundering conspiracy. The defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2024.  They were arrested in August 2025 in the Dominican Republic at the request of the United States, extradited, and detained pending trial.

A fifth defendant, Luis German Santos Burgos, 33, was sentenced on June 25, 2026 by U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 48 months in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in the elder fraud operation.

A sixth defendant, Gerardo Heriberto Nuñez Nuñez, 41, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy for his role in laundering scam proceeds from the United States to the Dominican Republic.

According to the charging documents, the defendants, led by Castanos Garcia, ran a sophisticated “call center” operation in the Dominican Republic that tricked hundreds of elderly victims in the United States into believing that their grandchildren and other close family members were in trouble and needed money. Once the defendants obtained the money, they laundered their illicit proceeds back to the Dominican Republic.

Castanos Garcia oversaw call centers in the Dominican Republic, where he employed co-conspirators who spoke English and carried out what are commonly known as “grandparent scams.” These scams would begin with an “Opener” employee, who would call victims and pretend to be a grandchild who was in an accident. Then, a “Closer” would allegedly follow up with another call, pretending to be the grandchild’s attorney, asking for a sum of money to pay for the grandchild’s attorney’s fees. Castanos Garcia ran these call center locations with the help of several managers, including Cruz Rodriguez and Puello Garcia, who supervised, instructed and paid the employees.

Callers for Castanos Garcia’s call centers would instruct elderly victims to provide cash to “runners” in the United States, including Joel Francisco Mathilda Leon. Most often, the callers would instruct victims to give the packages with cash to rideshare drivers who were ordered to the victim’s house by a runner. Runners would then have the unsuspecting rideshare drivers deliver the packages to the runners at nearby locations. In some cases, the callers would direct the victims to ship packages of cash to specified addresses via mail or commercial carriers.

Often times, the call center would call victims again and ask for additional funds for their grandchildren, sometimes two or three additional times. For example, callers would claim that there had been a “mix up” or that a “pregnant women’s baby was lost in the crash.”

At times, co-conspirators would order unwitting rideshare drivers to drive the elderly victims to the bank to withdraw additional funds.

Castanos Garcia directed the runners to deposit the victims’ money into bank accounts or deliver it to co-conspirators. The operators of the scheme relied on money launderers in the United States and the Dominican Republic, including Nuñez Nuñez, to transmit proceeds from victims in the United States to Castanos Garcia and others in the Dominican Republic. As alleged in the indictment, Nuñez Nuñez provided call center operators with access to bank accounts in the names of purported businesses, into which runners deposited scam proceeds. He also arranged for the runners to hand-deliver cash from victims to individuals in New York and elsewhere. Nuñez Nuñez then provided cash to the call center operators in the Dominican Republic. 

Santos Burgos ran another grandparent scam call center in the Dominican Republic and coordinated with Castanos Garcia to send U.S.-based runners to pick up scam proceeds for their respective operations. 

Members of the public who believe they may be victims of this case, or other elder fraud scams, should contact [email protected] or call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). Suspected fraud can also be reported on the FBI’s IC3 Elder Fraud Complaint Center.

The charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the loss to the victim. The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the amount of laundered funds, 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and law enforcement partners in the Dominican Republic. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Holcomb of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.

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

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ADDENDUM

Defendant

Alleged Role

Charges

Status

Luis German Santos

Burgos, a/k/a “Mambo Flow,” 33, of the Dominican Republic and Dorchester, Mass.

Laboratory Corporation of America (Labcorp), a national clinical diagnostics company, has agreed to pay $14,500,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to Medicare Part B (Medicare) for medically unnecessary urine drug testing (UDT) for some patients conducted pursuant to a testing panel offered by Labcorp, called “Toxassure Comprehensive.”

“The government expects that any testing it pays for is medically necessary and not wasteful or structured in a way that maximizes billing opportunities for providers at the expense of the federal fisc,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to hold providers who do otherwise accountable.”

“Today’s settlement reflects my Office’s enduring commitment to combatting healthcare fraud and recovering taxpayer money. Labcorp’s conduct resulted in Medicare payouts for unnecessary tests,” said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley for the District of Massachusetts. “We will continue to hold accountable providers who engage in fraud, waste, and abuse.”

“Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers should be able to trust that testing and billing practices are fair and appropriate,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Miranda L. Bennett of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS‑OIG). “Today’s settlement makes clear that when providers put profits before patients and ignore billing rules, we will act decisively to hold them accountable.”

Labcorp’s Toxassure Comprehensive panel contained both “Presumptive” and “Definitive” UDT methods. In general, Presumptive UDT detects the presence or absence of certain drug classes subject to certain testing thresholds while definitive UDT identifies individual substances and their concentrations, where applicable. Medicare payment for UDT is based on bundled payment rates associated with the Current Procedure Terminology (CPT) or Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes. In general, for laboratory-based Presumptive testing, Medicare pays a flat rate no matter the number of drug classes tested, pursuant to CPT code 80307, and for definitive testing Medicare pays a flat rate for 22 or more drug classes per HCPCS Code G0483.    

As part of the settlement, Labcorp admitted, acknowledged, and accepted responsibility for the following facts:

• From Jan. 1, 2018, through Nov. 22, 2023, Labcorp routinely submitted claims for presumptive and definitive UDT to Medicare, some of which pursuant to a testing panel marketed by Labcorp as “ToxAssure Comprehensive.”
• ToxAssure Comprehensive consisted of a preselected combination of presumptive UDT for certain substances and direct to definitive UDT (i.e., with no prior presumptive test) for other substances.
• Labcorp ran many of these tests simultaneously for the same patient, on the same date of service, using the same urine sample, and billed Medicare with CPT Code 80307 for the presumptive UDT and HCPCS Code G0483 for the definitive UDT. In other words, Labcorp billed Medicare for both the all-inclusive presumptive CPT code and the highest-tier definitive HCPCS code each time the ToxAssure Comprehensive was performed.
• For several of the substances tested on a direct-to-definitive basis, a presumptive testing option existed but Labcorp performed its definitive tests without first performing a presumptive test to inform the necessity of definitive testing for that substance.

The United States alleged that the full ToxAssure Comprehensive panel billed as described above resulted in the submission of medically unnecessary claims to Medicare for some of the patients for whom it was performed. Labcorp also represented in the settlement agreement that it has ceased billing to Medicare the combination of codes 80307 and G0483 for beneficiaries testing using the ToxAssure Comprehensive panel. Labcorp has been credited in this settlement under the Department of Justice’s guidelines for taking disclosure, cooperation and remediation into account in False Claims Act cases, Justice Manual §4-4.112.  

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, in conjunction with HHS-OIG.

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrate the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at www.oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud or 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

This year the Administration launched the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division to enhance the Administration’s war on fraud, waste, and abuse in federal programs. When unscrupulous actors exploit these programs for their own financial gain, they defraud the government, harm the people these programs are designed to aid and protect, and undermine American businesses that play by the rules. The Civil Division’s FCA enforcement plays a critical role in combatting such fraudulent schemes, recovering billions of dollars for the American taxpayers, and holding wrongdoers accountable. FCA matters will continue to be on the forefront of the battle against fraud, and the Civil Division’s FCA work will support and advance the mission of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division.

The matter was handled by Fraud Section Senior Counsel for Health Care Fraud Augustine Ripa and Assistant U.S. Attorney Abraham George for the District of Massachusetts. Investigative support was provided by HHS-OIG and the FBI.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.