District of Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Two Twin Cities men have been sentenced to prison for their roles in the armed robbery of a Deerwood Bank, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

On March 15, 2022, U.S. District Judge Eric C. Tostrud sentenced John Thomas Paciorek II, 52, of Minneapolis, to 90 months in prison. Co-defendant James Richard Ardito, Jr, 52, of Fridley, was sentenced on August 3, 2021, to 58 months in prison.

According to court records, Paciorek and Ardito together devised a plan to rob the Deerwood Bank in Garrison, Minnesota. On July 24, 2020, Paciorek and Ardito drove to the bank; Paciorek waited in the car while Ardito hid in the bushes outside of the bank until an employee arrived to open the business. Ardito emerged from the bushes, pointed a replica firearm at the employee, and demanded that they open the bank and disable the security system. Ardito then demanded money from the bank teller drawers. The employee complied, giving Ardito $402 in cash. Ardito took the money and fled the scene in the getaway car, driven by Paciorek.

The robbery was caught on the bank’s surveillance camera and law enforcement was able to easily identify Ardito. After his apprehension, Ardito confessed to his and Paciorek’s involvement in the bank robbery. Additionally, law enforcement learned Paciorek was the owner of the getaway vehicle and location data from Paciorek’s cellphone placed him at the scene of the bank robbery.

On October 21, 2021, Paciorek pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery, and on January 20, 2021, Ardito pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan B. Gilead prosecuted the case.

MINNEAPOLIS – A St. Paul man has pleaded guilty to making false statements in connection with the illegal purchase of multiple firearms, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, between approximately May 2020 and May 2021, Geryiell Lamont Walker, 22, and his co-defendants Sarah Jean Elwood, 34, and Jeffrey Paul Jackson, 31, conspired together to illegally purchase dozens of firearms from various Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL) in the State of Minnesota and to provide these firearms to individuals whom they knew could not lawfully possess them. As part of the straw-purchasing scheme, Elwood, who at the time had a permit-to-carry firearms, would go to various FFLs and purchase multiple firearms on behalf of Walker and others, who requested the firearms through Jackson and often provided the funds in advance of, or immediately after, the purchases. In making the purchases, Elwood knowingly misrepresented to the licensed dealers that she was the actual purchaser of the firearms, when in fact she and her co-defendants knew she was not. Walker, Jackson, and others helped arrange the deals, which included a $100 premium for each straw-purchased gun. In total, the defendants illegally straw purchased approximately 97 firearms, including approximately 62 firearms in May 2021 alone. To date, 18 of these 97 firearms have been recovered by local and federal law enforcement at various crime scenes or in the possession of persons legally prohibited from possessing firearms.  The other 79 have not yet been recovered.

Walker pleaded guilty today before Senior U.S. District Judge Ann D. Montgomery to one count of aiding and abetting the making of false statements during purchase of firearms. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for July 27, 2022.

Straw purchasing typically involves a buyer who is permitted to purchase firearms from an FFL but who then unlawfully provides the purchased firearm to another person who is prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms. When making a straw purchase, the buyer allows a prohibited person – typically a convicted felon – to illegally obtain a firearm by avoiding the national background check system.

This case was made possible by investigative leads generated from the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the ATF and the Blaine Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Bejar is prosecuting the case.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 300 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for a Hobbs Act robbery and multiple armed bank robberies. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, on February 4, 2018, Richard Alonzo Woods, 38, and two accomplices entered Project SoZo, a business that sold apparel and accessories in Minneapolis, brandishing handguns and threatening customers and employees. Woods and his accomplices stole jewelry, money, and cell phones from the customers, approximately $600 in cash from the register along with other store merchandise, including Nike Air Jordan shoes valued at $1,900.

According to court documents, on February 22, 2018, Woods and two accomplices entered Lake Area Bank in White Bear Lake brandishing guns and demanding money from the tellers. Surveillance video footage from the bank showed Woods jump over a counter and demand money a teller’s drawer while pointing a firearm at the teller’s head. Woods and his accomplices stole approximately $9,816 in cash from the bank.

According to court documents, on May 4, 2018, Woods and an accomplice entered Bremer Bank in Brooklyn Center brandishing guns and demanding money from the tellers. They also threatened to kill the tellers if they did not comply with the demands.  A third accomplice was waiting in a getaway car. Woods and his accomplices stole approximately $88,618 in cash from the bank.

On November 10, 2021, Woods pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act), two counts of armed bank robbery, two counts of carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is the result of investigations conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the United States Marshals Service, the Minneapolis Police Department, the White Bear Lake Police Department, and the Brooklyn Center Police Department.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samantha H. Bates and Amber M. Brennan.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 360 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for an armed Hobbs Act robbery that resulted in the shooting death of a store clerk. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, on April 27, 2021, Marlow Ramsey Carson, 31, robbed the Blue Sky Wireless and West Bend Furniture stores located in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis. During the robbery, Carson stuck a handgun under a plexiglass barrier on the counter and demanded money from the store clerk. When Carson attempted to get behind the counter, the store clerk tried to shut the door to keep Carson out. Carson shot the store clerk in the chest from pointblank range before running out of the store into a car parked on the street and fleeing from the scene. The store clerk was transported by ambulance to the emergency room where he was later pronounced dead from the gunshot wound.

On December 10, 2021, Carson pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery and one count of possession of ammunition as a felon. Carson has prior felony convictions and is therefore prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Minneapolis Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry M. Jacobs and Samantha H. Bates prosecuted the case.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A federal jury convicted a Duluth man for possessing a firearm as a felon, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

Following a five-day trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank, Edell Jackson, 41, was found guilty of a single count of possessing a firearm as an armed career criminal. A sentencing date will be scheduled at a later time.

According to the evidence presented at trial, on January 14, 2021, officers with the Brooklyn Center Police Department were dispatched to a call of shots fired. Officers spoke to a woman who said Jackson shot at her during an argument and was still armed. The woman assisted officers in locating Jackson, who was sitting in a parking lot in the driver’s seat of a Chevrolet Avalanche. When law enforcement tried to apprehend Jackson, he reversed his vehicle and attempted to drive away but was blocked by police squad cars. Jackson exited his vehicle and fled on foot. As he ran, Jackson took his jacket off and discarded it in a snowbank near his vehicle. Officers pursued him on foot and eventually apprehended Jackson. Officers searched Jackson’s discarded jacket and found inside a zipped pocket a Bersa model Thunder 9mm semi-automatic pistol.

Because Jackson has multiple prior felony convictions in St. Louis County, Cook County (Illinois), and Will County (Illinois), he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Brooklyn Center Police Department, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Minneapolis Police Department.

The case was tried by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Calhoun-Lopez and Angela M. Munoz.

MINNEAPOLIS – Michael Robert Solomon, 31, of New Brighton, was sentenced today to 36 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiring to provide material support and resources, to Hamas, a designated foreign terrorist organization, for use against Israeli and U.S. military personnel overseas.

According to court documents, in late May of 2020, the FBI initiated an investigation into Solomon and co-defendant Benjamin Ryan Teeter, two members of the “Boogaloo Bois,” and a sub-group called the “Boojahideen.” The Boogaloo Bois are a group of individuals who espouse violent anti-government sentiments.

According to court documents, on June 10, 2020, Solomon and Teeter met with a confidential human source (“CHS”), whom the defendants believed to be a member of Hamas. During this meeting, Solomon and Teeter proposed assisting Hamas as a means of furthering the goals of the Boogaloo Bois. Throughout the course of the conspiracy, Solomon used encrypted messaging applications to communicate with Teeter and the CHS about various aspects of the conspiracy.

On June 28, 2020, Solomon, Teeter, and the CHS, met an undercover employee of the FBI (“UCE”) that Solomon believed was a member of Hamas. During this meeting, Solomon and Teeter proposed manufacturing suppressors, untraceable firearms, and fully automatic firearms for Hamas.

On July 6, 2020, Solomon and Teeter purchased a drill press for the purpose of manufacturing suppressors for Hamas. Solomon admits that he and Teeter had planned to use the drill press to also manufacture suppressors for members of the Boogaloo Bois. Solomon and Teeter brought the drill press to Solomon’s home and later used the drill press to manufacture five suppressors.

On July 30, 2020, Solomon and Teeter delivered the suppressors to the CHS and UCE believing those devices would be used by the militant wing of Hamas. During that meeting, the defendants agreed to manufacture additional suppressors for Hamas believing that the next batch of suppressors would be used against Israeli and U.S. military personnel overseas.

Solomon admitted that he and Teeter again met the UCE on August 29, 2020. During this meeting, the defendants gave the UCE a 3-D printed “auto sear” believing that the auto sear would be used by Hamas to convert semi-automatic rifles into fully automatic rifles. At this time, Solomon and Teeter agreed to obtain, and did obtain, another order of auto sears for the CHS and the UCE.

On May 4, 2021, Solomon pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats for the District of Minnesota; Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen for the Justice Department’s National Security Division; and Special Agent in Charge Michael Paul of the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis sentenced the defendant. In sentencing the defendant, the Court recognized the extensive assistance to multiple investigations that Solomon provided to the FBI following his arrest.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the case, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Winter and Trial Attorney Jessica Fender of the National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

MINNEAPOLIS – A Maple Grove man has been sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for fraudulently applying for $9,619,046.46 from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, out of which he fraudulently obtained and misappropriated more than $1.7 million. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge David S. Doty sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, Aditya Raj Sharma, 47, was the founder, CEO, and president of Crosscode Inc., a cloud-based software development company originally headquartered in Maple Grove, Minnesota. In November 2019, Sharma was removed as an officer and terminated from the company by Crosscode’s board of directors. Between May 2020 and July 2020, Sharma created three separate technology companies, Kloudgaze Inc., Neoforma LLC, and Mokume LLC.

From April 2020 through August 2020, Sharma applied for 16 loans from ten different lenders for a total of $9,619,046.46 through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) by submitting false and fraudulent applications under the names of his various technology companies. As part of his fraud scheme, Sharma submitted fabricated supporting records, made false statements about the number of employees he had and the amount of payroll expenses he incurred, and made false statements about the relevant corporate entities and intended use of the loan proceeds.  Sharma also applied for one of his fraudulent loans in the name of his wife without her knowledge or approval.

In addition, on April 26, 2020, Sharma submitted an application in the name of “Crosscode dba Kloudgaze” seeking a $562,500 PPP loan. On the application Sharma falsely stated that “Crosscode dba Kloudgaze” was in operation on February 15, 2020, even though Sharma did not create Kloudgaze until May 2020. In addition, Sharma falsely stated that he was the 100% owner and CEO of Crosscode, that Crosscode did business under the name of Kloudgaze, and that “Crosscode dba Kloudgaze” had approximately 29 employees on its payroll even though records from the State of Minnesota show Sharma paid no wages to a single Kloudgaze employee. In support of the application, Sharma included fraudulent supporting documentation, including fabricated bank account statements.

As a result of Sharma’s fraud scheme, lenders approved three of his PPP applications and deposited $1,773,600 in PPP funds into bank accounts controlled by Sharma. Rather than using the funds for permissible business expenses, Sharma used the money to pay off unrelated legal debts, fund new business ventures, transfer approximately $14,000 to a financial account in India, and pay for home improvements, including landscaping and the installation of a $64,300 backyard pool at his residence.

On July 8, 2021, Sharma pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

During the investigation, law enforcement seized approximately $674,980.76 in fraudulent proceeds held in multiple bank accounts controlled by Sharma. The seized funds will be forfeited to the United States and Sharma has been ordered to pay $1,773,600 in restitution.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew S. Ebert, Jordan L. Sing, Quinn Hochhalter, and Craig R. Baune prosecuted the case.

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

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

MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 10 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for impersonating a federal officer. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Eric C. Tostrud sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, on July 24, 2017, Bernard Holmes, 67, pretended to be a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Holmes spoofed his telephone number to make it appear that he was calling his victim from the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office. Holmes provided the victim with a fake name, “FBI Special Agent John Tidwell,” and a fake FBI badge number. Holmes falsely stated that he was investigating terrorism-related conduct involving the victim's household, including terrorism evidence that supposedly originated from a computer and IP address at the victim's house. In his fake capacity, Holmes asked questions of the victim using highly charged words, like “ISIS,” “terroristic,” and the “Patriot Act,” in furtherance of the supposed terrorism investigation.

On October 20, 2021, Holmes pleaded guilty to one count of impersonating a federal officer.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Bloomington Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew S. Ebert prosecuted the case.

DULUTH, Minn. – A Duluth man has been sentenced to one year and a day in prison and ordered to pay $620,362 in restitution for evading taxes by failing to report his business revenue and income to the IRS. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after Chief U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, between June 2019 and April 2020, Shimon Shaked, 57, owned and operated several t-shirt and souvenir shops in Duluth’s Canal Park tourist zone, including I Love Duluth, I Love Duluth 2, Up North-The Good Life, and the Lake Life (the “Duluth Stores”). Shaked operated the Duluth Stores under a holding company called ALMS18, LLC, which he formed in 2012. Although Shaked owned, operated, and controlled ALMS18, LLC, he listed his teenage daughter as the nominal owner in order to hide and evade taxes on income he received from the company. In 2017, Shaked opened I Love Marquette, another souvenir store located in Marquette, Michigan, operated under the company SkyMqt, LLC.

According to his guilty plea, Shaked evaded the assessment of taxes on the income he earned through his Duluth and Michigan stores by failing to report the full revenue and income to the IRS. Specifically, Shaked reported the credit card sales for his stores, but failed to report or pay taxes on most of the cash sales. To further conceal his income, Shaked used the cash from the unreported cash sales to pay for personal expenses and to pay some of his employees' overtime wages in cash. In doing so, Shaked failed to account for and pay over to the IRS some or all of the required federal payroll taxes due and owing for those employees. In total, Shaked evaded paying approximately $620,362 in taxes.

On October 13, 2021, Shaked pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph H. Thompson and Angela M. Munoz prosecuted the case.

MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man has pleaded guilty to using social media to produce and attempt to produce sexually explicit images and videos of children, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, between August 2018 and March 2021, Nathan Miller Dobbelmann, 40, used email and various social media apps to contact and solicit sexually explicit images and videos from children. Dobbelmann also sent minors sexually explicit videos of himself as well as sexually graphic text messages, and used online chat rooms and platforms to discuss and trade child pornography files with others.

Dobbelmann pleaded guilty earlier today before Senior U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank to one count of production and attempted production of child pornography. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled for a later date.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Hudleston is prosecuting the case.

MINNEAPOLIS – A Maple Grove man has been sentenced to 72 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for receiving material depicting the sexual abuse of children. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, between 2017 and 2020, Uriel Adan Vasquez-Rios, 29, created multiple social media accounts to solicit child pornography, the production of child pornography, and sexual contact with both children and adults. He also accessed websites depicting child pornography and downloaded a video depicting the sexual abuse of a minor. During this time, Vasquez-Rios was a student at the University of Minnesota’s School of Dentistry and had access to children.

On May 11, 2021, Vasquez-Rios pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Minneapolis Police Department, and the University of Minnesota Police Department.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily A. Polachek.

MINNEAPOLIS – A federal jury convicted a Minneapolis man of illegally possessing a firearm as a felon while on probation for a prior federal firearms conviction, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

Following a two-day trial before U.S. District Court Judge Eric C. Tostrud, Demetrius Demarco Spencer, 38, was convicted yesterday afternoon of a single count of possessing a firearm as a felon. A sentencing date will be scheduled at a later time.

According to the evidence presented at trial, on July 22, 2020, at approximately 2:30 a.m., a St. Paul police officer encountered a man who was visibly distressed walking through a residential neighborhood. The man told the officer that he had been inside a residence with Spencer and Spencer’s girlfriend when Spencer became upset with the man. The man explained that Spencer had pulled out a gun, pointed it at the man and threatened him. St. Paul police officers went to the residence and found Spencer inside the house, wrestling his girlfriend. Officers were able to intervene in the struggle and take Spencer into custody. Officers recovered a Kahr model PM9, 9mm semi-automatic handgun that was on the floor in close proximity to where the struggle took place.  

Spencer has multiple prior felony convictions in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, and one prior federal conviction. In January 2013, Spencer was convicted in federal court in the District of Minnesota on one count of possession of a firearm as a felon and was sentenced to 80 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the St. Paul Police Department.

This case was tried by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allison K. Ethen and Thomas Calhoun-Lopez.

MINNEAPOLIS – A Rochester man who fled to Mexico to evade apprehension, and was later located and returned by Mexican authorities, has pleaded guilty to arson of two retail stores and a school during the summer of 2020, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, on May 28, 2020, Jose Angel Felan, Jr., 35, set fire to the Goodwill retail store, the Gordon Parks High School, and the 7 Mile Sportswear store, all of which were located on University Avenue in St. Paul. Following the arsons, Felan and his wife and co-defendant Mena Dhaya Yousif, 23, fled the state. Felan and Yousif traveled by car from Rochester, Minnesota, to Texas, where Felan had family. Ultimately, Felan and Yousif fled the United States and escaped to Mexico. On February 15, 2021, following an anonymous tip, Felan and Yousif were located and detained by Mexican immigration authorities and returned to the United States.

Felan pleaded guilty yesterday before Senior Judge David S. Doty to one count of arson. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled for a later date.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the FBI, the St. Paul Police Department, the St. Paul Fire Department, and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division. The fugitive apprehension efforts were led by the U.S. Marshals Service.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melinda A. Williams and Emily A. Polachek.

MINNEAPOLIS – A Moorhead man has been sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for distributing material depicting the sexual abuse of children. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, between February 2016 and August 2020, Joey David Gonzales, 36, used email and other online media to advertise, solicit, and trade images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children.

On August 24, 2021, Gonzales pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Becker County Sheriff’s Office.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Hudleston.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Cottage Grove man was sentenced to 400 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $132,000 to funds supporting victims, for the production, attempted production, and possession of child pornography. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, between June 2019 through February 2021, Peter James Monson, 38, engaged in “catfishing” by taking on false personas to communicate with children on the internet, including via Snapchat. Monson made a fake Snapchat profile of a 16-year-old girl named “Brianna” and asked minor girls to create sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves to send to Monson so they could be rated by others as “princesses.” In order to participate as a “princess,” Monson used “Brianna’s” profile to instruct the girls to follow certain rules, including creating and sending images and videos of the girls nude or engaging in sex acts, including bestiality and incest.

In addition, according to court documents, in April 2020, Monson used his iPhone to make a secret recording of an eight-year-old while the child was getting dressed.

Monson pleaded guilty on October 5, 2021, to two counts of production and attempted production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

If you know of any child who may have been a victim of exploitation, please call the National Center for Missing or Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or visit NCMEC’s web site at www.missingkids.com.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI Minneapolis Field Office, the FBI Philadelphia Field Office, the Cottage Grove Police Department, and the Pennsylvania State Police.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Miranda E. Dugi.

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St. Paul, Minn. — Following a trial that lasted nearly five weeks, a federal jury in St. Paul, Minnesota found three former Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officers guilty of federal civil rights offenses arising out of the death of George Perry Floyd, Jr. on May 25, 2020.

Former MPD Officers Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng were found to have deprived Mr. Floyd of his constitutional right to be free from an officer’s unreasonable force when each willfully failed to intervene to stop former MPD Officer Derek Chauvin’s use of unreasonable force, resulting in bodily injury to and the death of Mr. Floyd. Thao, Kueng, and former MPD Officer Thomas Lane also were found to have deprived Mr. Floyd of his constitutional right to be free from a police officer’s deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs when they saw him restrained in police custody in clear need of medical care and willfully failed to aid him, resulting in bodily injury to and the death of Mr. Floyd. Both offenses are violations of Title 18, United States Code, Section 242.

The convictions announced today are separate from and in addition to any and all charges the State of Minnesota has brought against these former officers related to the death of Mr. Floyd. The federal charges addressed civil rights offenses that criminalize violations of the U.S. Constitution.

“Those who have sworn to enforce our nation’s laws must abide by them. Today’s verdict recognizes that two police officers violated the Constitution by failing to intervene to stop another officer from killing Mr. Floyd, and three officers violated the Constitution by failing to provide aid to Mr. Floyd in time to prevent his death,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will continue to seek accountability for law enforcement officers whose actions, or failure to act, violate their constitutional duty to protect the civil rights of our citizens.”

Acting United States Attorney Charles J. Kovats stated, “Today, former officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane stand convicted by a jury of their peers of willfully violating Mr. Floyd’s civil rights. The same rights guaranteed to each and every one of us by the United States Constitution. They had a moral responsibility, constitutional requirement, legal requirement, and a duty to intervene… and by failing to do so, they committed a crime. This is a reminder that all sworn law enforcement, regardless of rank or seniority, individually and independently have a duty to intervene and to provide medical aid to a person in need.”

Co-defendant Derek Chauvin previously entered a guilty plea in connection with the federal case.  Chauvin pleaded guilty to willfully depriving Mr. Floyd of his constitutional rights while Chauvin was serving as an MPD officer. Chauvin also acknowledged that his conduct resulted in death and that he acted in callous and wanton disregard of the consequences to Mr. Floyd’s life.  In addition, Chauvin was tried in state court and convicted of second-degree murder. In 2021, Chauvin was sentenced in state court to 22.5 years in prison.

Evidence presented at the federal trial for defendants Thao, Kueng, and Lane established that on May 25, 2020, then-MPD Officer Chauvin held his knees on Mr. Floyd’s neck and back as Mr. Floyd lay on the ground, handcuffed and unresisting.  As soon as Mr. Floyd was on the ground, Chauvin placed his knee on the back of Mr. Floyd’s neck, while Kueng placed his knee on Floyd’s lower body. Chauvin would not remove his knee for the next nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds, and Kueng maintained his position for the next eight minutes and eleven seconds. Throughout this period, Mr. Floyd pleaded with officers 25 times to let him breathe.

As Mr. Floyd lost consciousness and a pulse, Chauvin and Kueng maintained their positions on his body. Even as Mr. Floyd ceased movement and stopped speaking, and even as Lane noted that Mr. Floyd was “passing out” and Kueng said he could not find a pulse, none of the CPR-certified defendants did anything to stop Chauvin from keeping his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck or to render the medical aid that they were trained and required to provide. Even as EMTs arrived and checked Mr. Floyd’s pupils and pulse, Chauvin did not move his knee and the other officers on scene did not render aid to Mr. Floyd.

Firefighters and EMTs unsuccessfully attempted to revive Mr. Floyd on the way to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The county medical examiner ruled Mr. Floyd’s death was a homicide due to cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.

After the incident, an MPD supervisor and, later, an MPD lieutenant, spoke with Lane and Kueng. On both occasions, Lane and Kueng both omitted that Chauvin had knelt on Mr. Floyd’s neck, that Mr. Floyd had been restrained on his stomach for nine and a half minutes, that Mr. Floyd had lost consciousness, and that officers had not been able to find a pulse.  Additionally, Kueng told the supervisor that Mr. Floyd did not stop moving until after an ambulance arrived on scene, which he admitted at trial was false.  At trial, the MPD lieutenant testified that, after watching video taken by a bystander, he realized that what he was told and what was on the video was “totally different.”  He further testified that if an MPD officer observed another officer using too much force or doing something illegal, the officer has a duty to intervene to stop it, regardless of rank or seniority.  Testimony offered at trial established that this duty to intervene is enshrined in MPD policy and is a component of the police department’s training program. 

Evidence presented at trial also showed that MPD officers were required to complete emergency medical responder (EMR) training prior to entering the police academy, which includes CPR training. Further, MPD policy requires officers to determine if a subject is injured after a use of force and to render medical aid as soon as reasonably practical and requires officers assisting a person experiencing a medical crisis to provide first aid while awaiting EMS.

The jury found that the defendants disregarded this training and willfully violated Mr. Floyd’s constitutional rights.  Kueng and Thao failed to intervene to stop Chauvin’s use of unlawful force and all three defendants failed to provide aid to Mr. Floyd as he suffered a medical emergency at the hands of a fellow police officer.  

No sentencing date has been set. The statutory maximum sentence for the death-resulting violation of section 242 is life in prison.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats, and Special Agent in Charge Michael F. Paul of the FBI’s Minneapolis Division announced today’s verdict.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the cooperation of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The case is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel and Trial Attorney Tara Allison of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samantha Bates, LeeAnn Bell, Evan Gilead, Manda Sertich, and Allen Slaughter of the District of Minnesota.

MINNEAPOLIS – A Hopkins man has been sentenced to 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and $336,040.45 in restitution for tax evasion after failing to file income tax returns since 1997. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson sentenced the defendant.

As proven at trial, between 1987 and 2017, Daniel Berglund, 64, was the owner and sole employee of Faith Software (FAITH) where he worked as a computer language instructor. Despite earning a substantial income annually through FAITH, Berglund did not file any individual income tax returns since 1997, and never once filed a corporate tax return of any kind on behalf of FAITH. Proving that he was well aware of his tax obligations, Berglund took numerous steps to hide his income from the IRS, including giving his FAITH clients a fabricated Tax Identification Number to prevent their payments from being reported to the IRS as income attributable to him, depositing clients’ payments into accounts where the funds would not be traceable to him, and converting his income into silver that he stashed in concealed locations in his home. Berglund’s evasion resulted in a total tax debt of approximately $336,040.45.

On October 8, 2021, Berglund was convicted by a federal jury on four counts of tax evasion.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division with the assistance of IRS Field Collections.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew S. Ebert and Kimberly A. Svendsen.

MINNEAPOLIS – A federal jury found a Kenyon woman guilty of embezzling more than $700,000 from the owners of several Denny’s restaurant franchises around the Twin Cities and from a family-owned construction company in Rochester, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

Following a five-day jury trial before U.S. District Court Chief Judge John R. Tunheim, Kimberly Sue Peterson-Janovec, 59, of Kenyon, was convicted on 24 counts of fraud, aggravated identity theft, and tax crimes. Notably, Peterson-Janovec has a prior federal fraud conviction from 1998, when she embezzled more than $950,000 from another former employer.

Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats stated, “Over the course of several years, Ms. Peterson-Janovec deliberately abused her professional position to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from her employers. With this guilty verdict, Ms. Peterson-Janovec has been held accountable for her actions. I applaud the prosecutors and investigators for skillfully unraveling this years-long fraud scheme and achieving a successful outcome.”

“Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is relentless in unraveling the fraudulent actions of those, such as Kimberly Peterson-Janovec, who scheme to defraud their employers and those who trust them,” said Special Agent in Charge Justin Campbell of IRS-CI’s Chicago Field Office. “This guilty verdict is a reminder that there are real, life-changing consequences for this type of dishonest and criminal behavior.”

“This guilty verdict reaffirms the critical role the U.S. Postal Inspection Service plays in protecting American consumers and businesses from fraudulent schemes,” said Inspector in Charge Ruth Mendonça. “Postal Inspectors proudly ensure the sanctity of the U.S. Mail to prevent criminals from perpetuating crimes that impact the financial well-being of our citizens.”

According to the evidence presented at trial, in 2014, Peterson-Janovec became the Director of Operations for MI5, Inc., a Denny’s franchisee that owned and operated eight Denny’s franchises in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In this role, Peterson-Janovec had extensive managerial oversight for all eight restaurants, including payroll, cash deposits, vendor and contractor billing, marketing, and coordinating reimbursements from Denny’s Corporate.

According to the evidence presented at trial, from April 2014 through July 2019, Peterson-Janovec used her position to embezzle funds from MI5 and Denny’s Corporate by generating and submitting false requests for vendor payments and then diverting those payments for her own use and benefit. Peterson-Janovec also manipulated the company’s payroll system to issue herself unauthorized compensation using the names of employees who no longer worked for the company. As part of the scheme, Peterson-Janovec falsified records, created fake email accounts, and generated fake email traffic in which she impersonated employees of various purported vendors. In total, Peterson-Janovec received approximately $336,000 in bogus vendor payments and approximately $20,000 in fraudulently issued payroll submissions using the identities of other people.

According to the evidence presented at trial, in July 2019, MI5, Inc., discovered aspects of Peterson-Janovec’s fraud and terminated her employment. After her termination, in early 2020, Peterson-Janovec lied about her work experience to get another bookkeeping job with a family-owned construction company in Rochester, identified as Company 3. Peterson-Janovec started as its bookkeeper, earned Company 3’s trust, and eventually was promoted to its general manager. Peterson-Janovec used her position to devise and execute a similar fraud scheme on Company 3. She used her access to Company 3’s QuickBooks to issue herself numerous payments, and she did so in a manner that made the payments appear as if they were going to Company 3 vendors. This netted Peterson-Janovec another $350,000 in as little at 18 months.

In total, Peterson-Janovec stole more than $700,000 from her employers, which she used to finance her lifestyle and hobbies, including a substantial down payment on her personal residence. Peterson-Janovec also committed tax crimes during every year of her fraud scheme, which led to over $160,000 in unpaid taxes.

Peterson-Janovec was found guilty on 13 counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, three counts of making and subscribing a false tax return, and three counts of failure to file individual tax returns. A sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Burnsville Police Department, and the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS.

This case was tried by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jordan L. Sing and Kimberly A. Svendsen.

MINNEAPOLIS – A Brooklyn Park man has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison for his role in passing a stolen tax refund check. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Ann D. Montgomery sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, Wesley David Richards, 46, admitted to participating in a fraud scheme that involved depositing counterfeit, stolen, or otherwise illegitimate checks into fraudulent bank accounts and then making cash withdrawals and debit card purchases. In April 2017, Richards arranged for a stolen federal tax refund check in the amount of $27,167.57 to be deposited into a fraudulent U.S. Bank account. After the check was deposited, Richards and others acquired cash from the fraudulent bank account.

On September 23, 2021, Richards pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting passing a treasury check bearing a false endorsement or signature.

“This result demonstrates the commitment of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to investigate and bring to justice those that victimize the American taxpayer,” said J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The success of this investigation is the result of a collaborative effort between TIGTA and the dedicated staff at the United States Attorney’s Office.”

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander D. Chiquoine prosecuted the case.

MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 262 months in prison for seven violent armed robberies of Twin Cities businesses. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Ann D. Montgomery sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, on July 28, 2020, Derrick Lee Spillman, 41, robbed three Twin Cities businesses, including a Holiday gas station and two liquor stores. During the robberies, Spillman pointed a handgun at employees and ordered them to the ground. On July 30, 2020, Spillman continued his crime spree by robbing two additional Holiday gas stations, a Speedway gas station, and a Subway restaurant. During these incidents, Spillman pointed a handgun at employees, racked the slide of the gun, and demanded cash from the registers.

On August 10, 2021, Spillman pleaded guilty to seven counts of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Minneapolis Police Department, the Fridley Police Department, the Brooklyn Center Police Department, the New Hope Police Department, and the St. Paul Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin A. Wesley prosecuted the case.

MINNEAPOLIS – Steve Anthony Shand, 47, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of human smuggling, announced Acting United States Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, on January 19, 2022, law enforcement agents with Homeland Security Investigations responded to a request for assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) based out of Pembina, North Dakota. USBP initiated a traffic stop on a white-colored, fifteen passenger van less than one mile south of the U.S./Canadian border in a rural area between the official ports of entry located at Lancaster, Minnesota and Pembina, North Dakota. Shand was identified as the driver of the vehicle. Law enforcement asked for identification of the two passengers in the van and determined them to be undocumented Indian nationals. Shand was taken into custody by USBP agents.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Provinzino is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

 

MINNEAPOLIS – A White Earth man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for a violent domestic assault. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, Nicholas Edward Durant, 31, was living with the victim in a residence located on the White Earth Indian Reservation. On April 3, 2020, Durant violently assaulted the victim, hitting her multiple times in the chest, abdomen, face, and head. The victim was treated for a deep laceration below her eye, extreme back pain, and a traumatic hematoma of the head.

On October 25, 2021, Durant pleaded guilty to one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Mahnomen County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Mahnomen County Attorney’s Office.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily A. Polachek.

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MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 108 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition as a felon. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, on May 21, 2020, law enforcement arrested Deshawn Tyrone Braziel, 37, who had an outstanding warrant and was suspected in connection with a shooting that occurred in Minneapolis on April 16, 2020. At the time of his arrest, Braziel was wearing a backpack containing a loaded Springfield XD 9mm pistol, 94 ecstasy pills, and a digital scale. Because Braziel has prior felony convictions in Hennepin County, including convictions of drive-by shooting, drug possession, and terroristic threats, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Minneapolis Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison K. Ethen prosecuted the case.

MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 150 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for possessing images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of minors. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Eric C. Tostrud sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, Gene Paul Schave, 50, is a registered sex offender who was convicted in 2010 in Minnesota state court for possessing child pornography. On October 3, 2019, while on supervised release for his previous conviction, Schave was found to be in possession of an Asus tablet that contained more than 3,000 images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of minors.

On August 12, 2021, following a four-day trial, a federal jury convicted Schave on one count of possession of child pornography.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Minneapolis Police Department.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily A. Polachek and Miranda E. Dugi.

MINNEAPOLIS – A federal criminal complaint has been filed against an Owatonna sex offender for sending graphic threats detailing a murder plot against his former child sexual abuse victim, announced Acting United States Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, in March 2021, the Upper Allen Township Police Department in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, began investigating Michael Lee Kurkowski, 26, regarding the communication and exchange of sexually explicit images of a minor. The investigation revealed that Kurkowski possessed sexually explicit images and videos of a minor and was aware that his victim was, at the time, a minor under the age of 18. Kurkowski also admitted to traveling to Pennsylvania to locate the minor and to try to continue a “relationship” after the minor attempted to end the online communications with Kurkowski. On April 14, 2021, Kurkowski was charged in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, of multiple felonies related to the sexual exploitation of the minor and was sentenced to 142 days in prison followed by probation. Kurkowski’s probation conditions included, among other things, the requirement to register as a sex offender, refraining from behavior which may present a danger to others, and not possessing weapons.

According to court documents, in December 2021, law enforcement began investigating Kurkowski’s online communications and sexual exploitation of a minor in East Peoria, Illinois. In January 2022, investigators with the East Peoria Police Department (EPPD) reviewed several messages from Kurkowski to the minor describing in graphic detail a plan to travel to Pennsylvania where Kurkowski would murder the parents of his former victim, rape his sister, and then kill her in front of his former victim. EPPD also notified the Cedar Falls Police Department after the investigation revealed that Kurkowski was also engaging in the sexual exploitation of a second minor in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

According to court documents, on February 4, 2022, investigators with the Owatonna Police Department learned that Kurkowski had purchased a Greyhound bus ticket and was currently en route to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the general location of Kurkowski’s former victim and his family. FBI investigators developed information on Kurkowski’s whereabouts and were able to track him to a bus stop in Toledo, Ohio, where authorities took Kurkowski into custody. According to court documents, when he was arrested, Kurkowski had with him a bag containing among other things 16 heavy flex cuffs, electrical tape, a taser, a large knife, rubber gloves, and hooded facemasks.

Kurkowski has been charged by complaint in the District of Minnesota with one count of threatening interstate communication. Kurkowski made his initial appearance yesterday before Magistrate Judge Darrell A. Clay in the Northern District of Ohio, who ordered that Kurkowski be detained temporarily and removed to Minnesota, where he will make his initial appearance and have a detention and preliminary hearing at a later date.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Owatonna Police Department, the Upper Allen Township (Pennsylvania) Police Department, the East Peoria (Illinois) Police Department, and the Cedar Falls (Iowa) Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura M. Provinzino is prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

MINNEAPOLIS – A Maplewood man has pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a firearm as a felon, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, on October 12, 2021, Metro Transit Police Officers were dispatched to a report of a vehicle stuck on the light rail tracks in St. Paul. At the scene they found Deandre Lenier Neal-Hill, 34, unconscious in the driver’s seat of a maroon Chevrolet Malibu. The vehicle, with the engine still reviving, had a flat tire and was stuck in the tracks. Officers removed an unresponsive Neal-Hill from the vehicle and began preforming emergency medical aid until the paramedics arrived and took him to a hospital.

According to court documents, as officers extracted Neal-Hill from the vehicle, officers observed a black handgun on the floorboard on the driver’s side of the vehicle, which was later determined to be an FNH USA model 503 9mm semiautomatic pistol. Neal-Hill’s pistol was loaded with one round in the chamber and seven bullets in the inserted magazine. Neal-Hill was also in possession of marijuana, methamphetamine, and oxycodone pills.

Because Neal-Hill has prior felony convictions, including convictions of drive-by shooting, assault, and drug sale, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the ATF, the FBI, the St. Paul Police Department, and the Metro Transit Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew S. Ebert and Thomas Calhoun-Lopez are prosecuting the case.

MINNEAPOLIS – Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats today announced federal charges against seven individuals for violent criminal activity, including carjacking, drug trafficking, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and possession of a machine gun.

According to court documents, in mid-2021, law enforcement had documented a recent increase in gang activity along with numerous violent incidents, including shootings and murders, in and around the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Franklin Avenue in south Minneapolis. On June 10, 2021, officers with the Minneapolis Police Department conducting surveillance in the area observed several individuals engaging in what appeared to be hand-to-hand drug deals. When officers approached the group, Albert Walter Bratton, III, 26, attempted to flee on foot, but officers were able to apprehend him after he stumbled and fell. After Bratton fell, officer recovered a Glock model 43, 9 mm semiautomatic pistol with an extended magazine, which Bratton had removed from his waistband. Officers later recovered from Bratton’s possession two baggies containing a total of approximately 10 grams of crack cocaine, divided into several smaller baggies for distribution. Bratton has been charged via criminal complaint with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents, on June 15, 2021, Marion Quintel Ware, 19, carjacked a 2007 Ford Focus by using force, violence, and intimidation against the victim. A recently unsealed indictment charges Ware with one count of aiding and abetting carjacking.

According to court documents, on July 21, 2021, Namiri Love Laquandas Tanner, 21, was in possession of a .40-caliber Glock pistol with a high-capacity magazine, equipped with an attached conversion device, commonly known as a “glock switch” or “auto-sear.” These devices are designed to convert a semi-automatic weapon to shoot automatically by a single pull of the trigger and are classified as machine guns under federal law. A recently unsealed indictment charges Tanner with one count of possession of a machine gun.

Four additional defendants have been indicted for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. Shamar Jamareus Scott, 21, is charged with one count of possessing a firearm as a felon. Anthony Shaquan Kemp, Jr., 22, is charged with one count of possessing a firearm as a felon. Devon Martell Harmon and Tiray Yvonne Dyson, both 38, are each charged with one count of possessing ammunition as a felon. All four defendants have previous felony convictions and are therefore prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.

The defendants made their initial appearances earlier today in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge David T. Schultz.

These cases are being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

These cases are the result of an investigation led by the Minneapolis Police Department, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Secret Service.

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amber M. Brennan and Harry M. Jacobs.

An indictment/complaint is merely an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

MINNEAPOLIS – A St. Paul man has pleaded guilty to fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft in connection to a more than $840,000 covid-relief fraud scheme, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, Kyle William Brenizer, 33, was the owner and manager of True-Cut Construction LLC (“True-Cut”), a contracting and construction company located in Brooklyn Park. In August 2018, True-Cut and Brenizer were ordered by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry to cease and desist from doing business. In December 2019, True-Cut’s contractor license expired and was never renewed.

According to court documents, on May 1, 2020, Brenizer submitted a false and misleading Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application in the name of True-Cut seeking approximately $841,000, but the application was denied. On May 12, 2020, Brenizer again submitted a false and misleading PPP application in the name of True-Cut seeking approximately $841,000 in PPP funds. This time, in order to conceal his role in submitting a fraudulent application  , Brenizer submitted the application under the name of another individual whom Brenizer falsely claimed was the 90 percent owner of True-Cut. Brenizer further falsely stated that True-Cut’s average monthly payroll was $336,400 for approximately 30 employees. In support of both loan applications, Brenizer caused to be submitted to the lender fraudulent supporting documentation, such as falsified bank statements and IRS documents.  In addition, Brenizer falsely certified that he was not subject to any pending criminal charges even though he was named in multiple felony charges pending in the State of Minnesota for such charges as check forgery, identify theft, and theft by swindle. Due to these various misrepresentations and omissions, on May 13, 2020, Brenizer’s second application was approved, and he received $841,000 in PPP funds.

According to court documents, instead of using the PPP funds for authorized business expenses, such as payroll, Brenizer transferred approximately $650,000 to a bank account unrelated to True-Cut and made a $29,000 payment to purchase a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, among other impermissible expenditures and transactions.

Brenizer pleaded guilty earlier today before U.S. District Judge Eric C. Tostrud to one count of wire fraud, one count of money laundering, and one count of aggravated identity theft. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled for a later date.

The CARES Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.

The PPP allows qualifying small-businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of one percent. PPP loan proceeds must be used by businesses on payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal on the PPP loan to be forgiven if the business spends the loan proceeds on these expense items within a designated period of time after receiving the proceeds and uses at least a certain percentage of the PPP loan proceeds on payroll expenses.

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

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by IRS – Criminal Investigations, the FBI, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General, and the Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew S. Ebert and Allison K. Ethen are prosecuting the case.

MINNEAPOLIS – A Red Lake man has pleaded guilty to possessing images depicting the sexual abuse of children, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, on March 7, 2020, following a traffic stop, Bobby Lee Donnell, Sr., 43, was arrested by the Red Lake Police Department pursuant to an open warrant. After taking Donnell into custody, officers found on Donnell’s cell phone images of child sexual abuse involving minors under the age of 12.

Donnell pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright to one count of possession of child pornography. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled for a later date.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force, the Red Lake Tribal Police Department, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).

Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan B. Gilead is prosecuting the case.

MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for engaging in abusive sexual contact on an airplane. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, in April 2019, Neeraj Chopra, 41, knowingly engaged in abusive sexual contact with a 16-year-old victim who was seated next to him aboard a Jet Blue flight from Boston to Minneapolis. During the flight, Chopra retrieved a blanket from his backpack and draped it over his lap, with a portion of the blanket also covering the victim’s right leg. Chopra put his hand under the blanket and began inappropriately touching the victim. Chopra ignored the victim’s multiple requests to stop and continued to inappropriately touch the victim.

On July 14, 2021, following a three-day trial, a federal jury convicted Chopra on one count of abusive sexual contact.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Police.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren O. Roso and Michelle E. Jones.

MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 115 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition as a felon. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright sentenced the defendant.

On August 3, 2021, following a four-day trial, Johnnie Lamar Haynes, 33, was convicted of one count of possessing a firearm as a felon and one count of possessing ammunition as a felon.

According to the evidence presented at trial, on August 5, 2019, Minneapolis police officers responded to a shots-fired call at a gas station near Lowry Avenue and Logan Avenue North in Minneapolis. Upon arrival, officers found 11 discharged cartridge casings on the street in front of the gas station. Video surveillance footage showed Haynes interacting with two men inside the gas station. After leaving the gas station the two other men got in a vehicle and drove off. Minutes later, the two men circled the block in their vehicle and returned to the gas station. Haynes then began shooting at the vehicle as it drove off. A nearby business was in the line of Haynes’s gunfire and was struck by multiple rounds. Surveillance video footage from the business captured the bullets entering the building, causing employees to duck and take shelter.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Minneapolis Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Calhoun-Lopez prosecuted the case.

MINNEAPOLIS – An Albert Lea man has been sentenced to life plus ten years in prison for engaging in sextortion and online sexual exploitation of minors. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, in 2017, Travis Kyle Mayer, 33, downloaded and received child pornography from a Russian-based child pornography distribution website. In 2018, Mayer sexually exploited a 15-year-old girl, through persuasion and coercion, using her to produce child pornography, which he then possessed and distributed. Mayer committed these crimes while he was required to register as a sex offender, based on his prior conviction for attempted third degree criminal sexual conduct. Between June 20, 2019, and October 11, 2019, Mayer attempted to obstruct the administration of justice by requesting a witness to testify falsely regarding the child sexual exploitation investigation.

Acting United States Attorney Charles J. Kovats stated: “For years, this defendant victimized children by sexually exploiting them. Despite prior criminal convictions, Mayer continued his pattern of predatory behavior by exploiting, extorting, coercing, and threatening his minor victims. A sentence of life in prison is justified and ensures that he will never again victimize another child.”

“There is no group of people more deserving of our diligent protection than children, and no offender more deserving of strong justice than one who blatantly targets those most vulnerable to exploitation.  Whenever anyone repeatedly harms children and persists in those acts despite previous intervention, we will work hard for a severe sentence like the one levied today,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Paul. “The FBI will continue to do everything thing we can to ensure those who choose to harm our children face severe consequences, and their victims receive the justice they deserve.”

On June 29, 2021, following a six-day trial, a federal jury convicted Mayer on two counts of production and attempted production of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography, one count of coercion and enticement of a minor, one count of committing a felony offense involving a minor while required to register as a sex offender, and one count obstruction of justice.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Albert Lea Police Department, and the Albany (Oregon) Police Department.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander D. Chiquoine and Joseph H. Thompson.

MINNEAPOLIS – A New York man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in an illegal pump-and-dump stock manipulation scheme. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge David S. Doty sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, Christopher James Rajkaran, 36, of Queens, New York, and Guyana, participated in a scheme to hijack and assume control over dormant public shell companies. Rajkaran and his co-defendants used their control over the companies to fraudulently manipulate and pump up the price of the companies' stock so that they could profit from the sale of stock at inflated prices to unwitting investors.

According to court documents, Rajkaran and his co-defendants carried out the scheme by obtaining hundreds of thousands or even millions of shares of stock in dormant public shell companies that traded over-the-counter at low prices, often for less than a fraction of a penny per share. Rajkaran and his co-defendants then assumed control over the shell companies by creating and filing fake resignation letters and board resolutions purporting to announce the resignation of the existing management team and the appointment of one or more conspirators as new officers and directors of the companies. Rajkaran and his co-defendants used their control over the hijacked shell companies to issue fraudulent press releases and filings designed to fraudulently “pump up” the price of the hijacked companies’ stock. Rajkaran and his co-defendants then “dumped” their stock by selling at the fraudulently inflated prices to reap the fraudulent obtained profits.

On October 7, 2021, Rajkaran pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. On October 14, 2021, co-defendant Mark Allen Miller, 44, of Breezy Point, also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Co-defendant Saeid Jaberian, 60, of Hopkins, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud charges.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the FBI. The U.S. Attorney’s Office would also like to thank the Securities and Exchange Commission for its assistance on this matter.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph H. Thompson and Miranda E. Dugi are prosecuting the case.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota – A St. Paul man has been arrested and charged for his role in a firearms straw purchasing conspiracy, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, between May 11, 2021, and October 17, 2021, Gabriel Lee Young-Duncan, 27, and a previously charged co-conspirator participated in a conspiracy to illegally purchase multiple firearms, including one that was used in the Seventh Street Truck Park Bar shooting on October 10, 2021. Young-Duncan and his co-conspirator agreed to work together to illegally acquire firearms by making false statements to Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) throughout the Twin Cities. Specifically, the co-conspirator would purchase the firearms, stating on the ATF Form 4473 that the co-conspirator was the actual buyer, and then transfer the firearms to Young-Duncan, who would keep the firearms, or further transfer them to third parties.

According to court documents, Young-Duncan and his co-conspirator worked together to illegally obtained dozens of firearms, including four Glock 9mm semiautomatic pistols and two Mossberg 9mm semiautomatic pistols.

Young-Duncan is charged with one count of conspiracy to make false statements in the purchases of firearms. He made his initial appearance yesterday in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the St. Paul Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Calhoun-Lopez is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota – A Cottage Grove man has been charged following a string of Twin Cities bank robberies, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, in November 2021, Michael Thomas Prall, 43, used force, violence, and intimidation to steal thousands of dollars from three separate banks. On November 30, 2021, Prall stole approximately $775 from a Wells Fargo bank in Cottage Grove. On November 19, 2021, Prall stole approximately $4,589 from a Bremer Bank in Woodbury. On November 5, 2021, Prall stole approximately $2,558 from a US Bank in Bloomington.

Prall, who is charged with three counts of bank robbery, made his initial appearance today before Magistrate Judge Hildy Bowbeer in U.S. District Court. Prall was detained pending further court proceedings.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Cottage Grove Police Department, the Woodbury Police Department, the Bloomington Police Department, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Washington County Attorney’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander D. Chiquoine is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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MINNEAPOLIS – A federal jury convicted two Minneapolis men of multiple counts of drug dealing, conspiracy to distribute drugs, and illegal possession of a firearm, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

Following an eleven-day trial before U.S. District Court Judge Michael J. Davis, Anthony Akemu Abari, 41, and Kevin Termell Green, 38, were convicted late Friday afternoon of multiple counts related to a fentanyl-laced heroin trafficking conspiracy. Abari was further convicted of possessing a firearm as a felon.

According to the evidence presented at trial, since 2018, Abari, Green, and others participated in a conspiracy to distribute heroin laced with fentanyl. Between late 2018 and mid-2019, the defendants regularly supplied fentanyl-laced heroin to individuals living in a large homeless encampment along Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis. Abari and co-defendant Relondo Devon Hall, 37, stopped there, on a daily basis at times, to distribute drugs they obtained from Green.

In January 2019, law enforcement received information that there was drug dealing going on at a Minneapolis residence. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at the residence where they found Abari with 100 grams of heroin laced with fentanyl, a gun, and two phones connecting him to drug dealing. In April 2019, law enforcement received additional information that Abari was in possession of heroin and a firearm. Upon execution of a search warrant, they found Abari in the basement where they also recovered 20 grams of heroin laced with fentanyl.

According to the evidence presented at trial, in July of 2019, upon execution of a search warrant, law enforcement seized 298 grams of heroin laced with fentanyl belonging to Green. Green had been supplying Abari and others with heroin laced with fentanyl from at least December 2018 and continuing into July 2019.

Abari was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of heroin laced with fentanyl, one count of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of heroin laced with fentanyl, and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years imprisonment. Green was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment. Sentencing dates will be scheduled at a later time.

Abari and Green’s co-defendant Relondo Devon Hall, 37, pleaded guilty on July 30, 2020, to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. A sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

This case was tried by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin A. Wesley and Lindsey E. Middlecamp.

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MINNEAPOLIS – A Dodge County man has pleaded guilty to impersonating a federal officer and illegally possessing firearms as a felon, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, on August 17, 2021, the FBI received a tip that Reyel Devon Simmons, 53, was pretending to be federal agent with the United States Department of Homeland Security. As part of his impersonation scheme, Simmons established a TikTok profile, using the false name “Rey Reeves,” and regularly held himself out as a federal agent on social media. Simmons, who had nearly 10,000 followers on TikTok, used a profile photo that showed him wearing law enforcement gear and made several posts displaying law enforcement equipment, badges, and firearms, and referring explicitly and implicitly to himself as a federal agent. At no time has Simmons ever been employed by the United States Department of Homeland Security.  Similarly, Simmons has never been a sworn law enforcement officer with any federal, state, or local agency, nor has he ever had the authority to act on behalf of any federal agency or department.

According to court documents, Simmons regularly carried a backpack, which he described as his “go bag.” The bag bore the departmental emblem of the Department of Homeland Security and contained a Glock handgun, fake Department of Homeland Security badge, and other items related to Simmons’s supposed service in law enforcement and the military. Law enforcement seized from Simmons’s residence eight firearms, including assault rifles and sniper rifles, which were discovered in a “safe room” or bunker that could be accessed only through a hidden doorway located in a storage area of the basement. In addition, Simmons admitted to possessing unregistered silencers/suppressors, detonating cord containing the explosive pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), a blasting cap, thousands of rounds of ammunition, body armor with law enforcement emblems affixed to it, and other law enforcement style badges, clothing, bags, and identification documents.

Because Simmons has a prior felony conviction in Colorado, he is prohibited under federal law, from possessing firearms, ammunition, or explosives at any time.

Simmons pleaded guilty earlier today before U.S. District Judge Eric C. Tostrud to one count of impersonating an officer of the United States and one count of possessing firearms as a felon. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled for a later date.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, ATF, Dodge County Sheriff’s Department, Owatonna Police Department, Kasson Police Department, the Bloomington Police Department Bomb Squad, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander D. Chiquoine is prosecuting the case.

MINNEAPOLIS – A St. Paul man was sentenced to 138 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for drug possession with intent to distribute, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, during the early morning hours of November 1, 2019, officers with the St. Paul Police Department initiated a traffic stop of John Sheldon Pickens, Jr.’s vehicle. Pickens, 36, initially pulled his vehicle over but then accelerated away and led police on a high-speed chase for several miles through the city of St. Paul. Officers were ultimately able to stop him on the Lafayette Bridge and take him into custody. Officers searched the vehicle and found six packages of cocaine that had a combined weight of approximately six kilograms.

Pickens was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Ann D. Montgomery. He was convicted by a federal jury on June 24, 2021, of one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Homeland Security Investigations, the Saint Paul Police Department, and the Minnesota State Patrol.

This case was tried by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amber M. Brennan and Joseph S. Teirab.

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MINNEAPOLIS – A Red Lake man has pleaded guilty to two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, on May 5, 2021, Brennon Allen James Sayers, 21, was arguing loudly with his girlfriend in a vehicle outside a residence in the Ponemah area of the Red Lake Indian Reservation. Victim J.L.Z., who lived across the street, came out of his residence and began telling Sayers to stop arguing and fighting with his girlfriend. Victim C.T.G., who was walking down the road, encountered the interaction between Sayers and J.L.Z. As the confrontation between Sayers and J.L.Z. escalated to yelling and assaultive threats, Sayers pulled a firearm from his waistband and began shooting at both J.L.Z. and C.T.G. as they ran back towards J.L.Z.’s house.  Both J.L.Z. and C.T.G. were struck by gunfire. After the shooting, Sayers fled the area and was located several hours later at his mother’s residence on the Red Lake Indian Reservation.

Sayers pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Chief Judge John R. Tunheim to two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for June 13, 2022.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Red Lake Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Deidre Y. Aanstad.

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MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man has pleaded guilty to the armed robbery of two Speedway gas stations and a Super 8 Hotel, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, on February 4, 2020, Keanu Dewone Ross, 30, entered a Speedway gas station in Columbia Heights, pulled what appeared to be a firearm, and demanded cash from the register and the safe. Ross stole $140 in cash, various tobacco products, and several lottery tickets, before fleeing the scene in a waiting vehicle parked several blocks away with his co-defendant, Antoinette Deniece Mae Dobyne, 30. On February 12, 2020, Ross entered a Speedway in Fridley, pulled what appeared to be a firearm, and demanded cash from the register. Ross ordered the employee to the ground and kicked the employee in the face. Ross left the store with more than $700 in cash, tobacco products, and lottery tickets.  On three separate days in February, surveillance camera footage showed Ross and Dobyne cashing some of the stolen lottery tickets at two different gas stations.

According to court documents, on February 14, 2020, Ross and another man were driven to the area of the Super 8 Hotel in Brooklyn Center by Dobyne in her SUV.  The men entered the hotel and ordered a hotel employee to the ground at gunpoint. Ross and the other man took the employee’s cell phone and car keys, and over $550 cash from the business. The men then told the employee to run from the scene. As the employee fled on foot, he heard multiple gunshots. Officers recovered a discharged cartridge casing at the scene of the robbery. Surveillance camera footage showed the two men committing the robbery as described by the employee. The footage also showed the two men running from the hotel toward an SUV and then fleeing on foot after the SUV got stuck in a snowbank. BCPD officers located Dobyne in the SUV.  A warrant-authorized search of the SUV revealed Ross’s wallet and identification, and a black duffle bag full of various tobacco products.

According to court documents, later that same day, Ross was detained during a traffic stop by officers with the Minneapolis Police Department. Officers confiscated a Taurus Model PT738 .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol that was found on Ross’s person. Subsequent forensic ballistics analysis using the discharged cartridge casing recovered at the scene of the robbery revealed that the confiscated firearm was the same one that was fired at the Super 8 Hotel.

Ross pleaded guilty yesterday before Senior U.S. District Judge David S. Doty to three counts of aiding and abetting interference with commerce by robbery and one count of using, carrying and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. On October 25, 2021, Dobyne pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting interference with commerce by robbery. Sentencing hearings for the defendants will be scheduled at a later date.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Minneapolis Police Department, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Brooklyn Center Police Department, the Columbia Heights Police Department, and the Fridley Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Bejar is prosecuting the case.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A federal criminal complaint has been filed against a Florida man charging him with human smuggling, announced Acting United States Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, on January 19, 2022, law enforcement agents with Homeland Security Investigations responded to a request for assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) based out of Pembina, North Dakota. USBP initiated a traffic stop on a white-colored, fifteen passenger van less than one mile south of the U.S./Canadian border in a rural area between the official ports of entry located at Lancaster, Minnesota and Pembina, North Dakota. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Steve Shand, 47, a U.S. citizen. Law enforcement asked for identification of the two passengers in the van and determined them to be undocumented Indian nationals.

According to court documents, law enforcement discovered cases of plastic cups, bottled water, bottled juice, and snacks located in the extreme rear of the passenger van. Law enforcement also discovered receipts dated January 18, 2022, for the drinks and snacks, and rental agreement receipts in Shand’s name for the van, with the return date listed for January 20, 2022. USBP arrested Shand for smuggling undocumented foreign nationals. While Shand and the two passengers were being transported to the Pembina Border Patrol Station in North Dakota, law enforcement encountered five additional Indian nationals approximately a quarter mile south of the Canadian border walking in the direction of where Shand was arrested. They appeared to be headed to an unstaffed gas plant located in St. Vincent, Minnesota. The five Indian nationals explained that they had walked across the border expecting to be picked up by someone. The group estimated they had been walking around for over 11 hours. One of the group members was in possession of a backpack that did not belong to him. He stated he was carrying the backpack for a family of four Indian nationals that had earlier walked with his group but had become separated during the night.  The backpack contained children’s clothes, a diaper, toys, and some children’s medication.

According to court documents, later during the day on January 19, 2022, USBP received a report from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that four bodies were found frozen just inside the Canadian side of the international border. The dead bodies were tentatively identified as the family of four that was separated. Two of the surviving Indian nationals sustained serious injuries and were transported to a hospital.

Shand is charged with one count of knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien had come to, entered, or remained in the United States in violation of law, having transported, and moved or having attempted to transport and move such aliens. He made his first appearance today before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Hildy Bowbeer. Shand was ordered to remain in custody pending a preliminary and detention hearing, currently scheduled for January 24, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. before Magistrate Judge Bowbeer. 

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Provinzino is prosecuting the case.

A complaint is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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MINNEAPOLIS – A Canadian national pleaded guilty to abusive sexual contact with two minors at the Fortune Bay Resort and Casino on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, on June 22, 2018, Brady John Hillis, 32, a citizen of Canada, was at the Fortune Bay Resort and Casino on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation. Hillis was captured on Fortune Bay’s security surveillance video engaging in sexual contact with two minor victims who were under 12 years of age.

Hillis pleaded guilty yesterday before Chief U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim to two counts of abusive sexual contact with a child under 12 years of age. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled for a later date.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Bois Forte Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Deidre Y. Aanstad is prosecuting the case.

MINNEAPOLIS – A St. Cloud man was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for possessing two drop-in auto sears, which are devices that convert semi-automatic firearm into fully automatic firearms. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, in November 2020, the FBI initiated an investigation into Michael Paul Dahlager, 28, a self-proclaimed member of the “Boogaloo Bois,” a loosely connected group of individuals who espouse violent anti-government sentiments. The term “Boogaloo” itself references an impending second civil war in the United States and is associated with violent uprisings against the government. In November 2020, the FBI learned through a confidential human source (“CHS”) that Dahlager was in possession of a 3D-printed “drop in auto sear” and a homemade firearm suppressor. An “auto sear” is a part designed and intended for use in converting a semi-automatic weapon to shoot automatically by a single pull of the trigger and is a machine gun under federal law.

According to court documents, on February 3, 2021, Dahlager delivered two auto sears to the CHS and he demonstrated how the devices should be inserted into a firearm. At the time of his arrest in April 2021, law enforcement recovered six additional auto sears and a silencer from Dahlager’s vehicle and home.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Winter, and Trial Attorneys George Kraehe and Phil Viti of the National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section.

MINNEAPOLIS – An Owatonna man was sentenced to 31 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for possessing an unregistered firearm. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office received information that Dayton Charles Sauke, 23, was selling narcotics and manufacturing and dealing firearms without a license. Sauke used his Snapchat account to advertise privately made firearms, or “ghost guns,” which he described as “untraceable” and “throwaway murder pieces.” Sauke also posted pictures of a short-barreled shotgun and made several threatening posts about killing law enforcement and politicians.

According to court documents, on January 15, 2021, two undercover agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) met with Sauke and purchased from him a privately made firearm. During the meeting, Sauke had a short-barreled shotgun with him and showed it to the undercover agents. The short-barreled shotgun was later recovered by law enforcement officials and examined by an ATF expert, who determined it was an operable 12-gauge shotgun with a barrel length of approximately 11 inches and a total overall length of 18 inches. Federal law requires shotguns with reduced barrels and overall lengths (often referred to as “sawed-off” or “short-barreled” shotguns) to be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. The shotgun was not registered to Sauke.

“Sauke’s actions and statements leading up to his arrest were very concerning, which is why law enforcement quickly intervened,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge William J. McCrary, of the St. Paul Field Division. “We are thankful for the investigative work of the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office, South Central Drug Investigations Unit, Cannon River Drug Task Force, and our federal partners at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FBI, and U.S. Attorney’s Office. I’m especially proud of our ATF agents who quickly responded to this matter, and whose prompt actions helped to interrupt Sauke’s potential plans for violence. This collaborative work readily demonstrates, at all levels, law enforcement’s on-going commitment to public safety.”

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the ATF, FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office, the South Central Drug Investigations Unit, and the Cannon River Drug Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin A. Wesley is prosecuting the case.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Rochester man was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for the arson of a Minneapolis pawn shop that resulted in the death of a man. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, on May 28, 2020, Montez Terriel Lee, 26, along with others, broke into the Max It Pawn Shop on East Lake Street in Minneapolis. Surveillance video footage showed Lee pouring a fire accelerant around the pawn shop and lighting the accelerant on fire. The fire destroyed the building. A second video showed Lee standing in front of the burning pawn shop and Lee could be heard saying, “[expletive] this place. We’re gonna burn this [expletive] down.”

According to court documents, on July 20, 2020, authorities located the body of a 30 year old man, O.S., in the rubble of the burned Max It Pawn building. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office attributed O.S.’s death to “probable inhalation of products of combustion and thermal injury (building fire).”

This case was the result of an investigation conducted jointly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the FBI, the Minneapolis Police Department, the Rochester Police Department, and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Calhoun-Lopez.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Red Lake man was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for illegally possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl and possessing a firearm as a felon. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Paul A. Magnuson sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, on November 21, 2020, Joshua Jon Lussier, 34, was arrested in Hubbard County, Minnesota, pursuant to a federal arrest warrant. In Lussier’s vehicle, law enforcement observed in plain sight a glass smoking device commonly used for methamphetamine and approximately ten grams of methamphetamine. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed 893 grams of methamphetamine, 83 grams of fentanyl, and drug distribution paraphernalia, including common cutting agents used to increase the total weight of controlled substances. Lussier admitted that the drugs in his vehicle belonged to him and were intended for distribution.

In April 2019, Lussier was found in possession of a Remington .243 caliber, Model 770 rifle. Because he has a prior felony conviction in Pennington County, Lussier is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.

On September 19, 2021, Lussier pleaded guilty to one count of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, and one count of illegally possession of a firearm as a felon.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Red Lake Department of Public Safety and the FBI Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan B. Gilead prosecuted the case.

MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis woman was sentenced to 100 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $13,323.53 in restitution, for her role in a string of violent carjackings throughout the Twin Cities. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz sentenced the defendant.

“The staggering increase in carjackings throughout the Twin Cities metro has not gone unnoticed by federal law enforcement,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats. “In partnership with local and federal law enforcement, we will not hesitate to prosecute individuals who perpetrate this type of violence in our communities. Today’s sentence highlights the seriousness of these crimes and the significant penalties facing those who commit them.”

“The recent spike in carjackings has spread a sense of terror and fear across our communities, and we are pleased that this sentence sends a strong message of deterrence to those seeking to victimize our neighbors,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Paul. “The FBI is committed to doing all we can to work with our partners to stop this menace and bring back a sense of peace and calm throughout our metropolitan neighborhoods.”

According to court documents, on August 28, 2020, Krisanne Marie Benjamin, 25, and her co-defendant Jeremiah Lee Ironrope, 25, drove a maroon SUV to a parking lot in Richfield, where they parked near a 2017 Audi. Ironrope approached the driver of the Audi and pointed a Remington 870 l2-gauge shotgun, with a sawed-off barrel, at the driver and demanded the car keys. Benjamin kept watch from the maroon SUV as Ironrope started the Audi and drove away. Benjamin followed in the maroon SUV.

According to court documents, in the early morning hours of August 29, 2020, the Minnesota State Patrol used GPS data to track and locate the stolen Audi, which was driven by Ironrope and occupied by Benjamin. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but Ironrope drove away at a high rate of speed, while cutting across multiple lanes of traffic, swerving between cars, and driving through red lights. During the flight from law enforcement, Benjamin got out of the vehicle and fled on foot while Ironrope continued fleeing in the Audi. Law enforcement found the vehicle running and unoccupied in Minneapolis. The vehicle had been partially spray-painted black. Inside officers found a stolen wallet, bottles of spray paint, a hat, gloves, and receipts. Law enforcement also found a used l2-gauge shotgun shell under the driver's seat.

On September 7, 2021, Benjamin pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting carjacking. On September 9, 2021, Co-defendant Ironrope pleaded guilty to one count of carjacking and one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 7, 2022 by U.S. District Court Judge Patrick J. Schiltz.

As part of their guilty pleas, Ironrope and Benjamin admitted to two additional carjackings that occurred on July 26, 2020, in Maple Grove and August 7, 2020, in St. Paul. In both instances, the defendants physically assaulted the victims before stealing their vehicles. Ironrope also admitted to two December 2020 carjackings occurring in St. Louis Park and St. Paul. In both instances, Ironrope pointed a handgun at the victims before stealing their vehicles.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Minneapolis Police Department, the St. Paul Police Department, the Maple Grove Police Department, the Richfield Police Department, the Edina Police Department, the Roseville Police Department, and the Minnesota State Patrol.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan H. Nelson.

MINNEAPOLIS – A Plymouth man was sentenced to 228 months in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for advertising, producing, and distributing material depicting the sexual abuse of children. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, between November 2019 and March 2021, Derek Gerard Williams, 23, used various online accounts and aliases to advertise, produce, distribute, and obtain child pornography and other data related to the sexual exploitation of children. Williams used Instagram and other online platforms to communicate with and exploit minors in the United States and abroad. Williams also used a virtual private network (VPN) or proxy services and coded language referring to child exploitation and bestiality, to attempt to avoid detection by law enforcement.

On August 16, 2021, Williams pleaded guilty to one count of advertising child pornography, one count of production of child pornography, and one count of distribution of child pornography.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Miranda E. Dugi.

MINNEAPOLIS – A Brooklyn Park man was sentenced to 27 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release and $33,826.64 in restitution for his role in the arson of the Great Health and Nutrition store in St. Paul. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel sentenced the defendant.

According to court documents, on May 28, 2020, Samuel Elliott Frey, 20, and co-defendant McKenzy Ann DeGidio Dunn, 21, joined other individuals who had gathered near the Great Health and Nutrition store located at 1360 University Avenue West, in St. Paul. Frey and others arrived together to the Midway area near University Avenue and walked through multiple businesses before they arrived inside the Great Health and Nutrition retail store. While inside the store, Frey poured a bottle of hand sanitizer onto a shelving unit located on the floor. Frey then lit paper on fire and placed the flaming paper where he had poured the hand sanitizer. Frey poured on more hand sanitizer to accelerate the fire.  The Great Health and Nutrition store sustained fire damage because of Frey’s conduct.

Dunn pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit arson and, on May 10, 2021, was sentenced to three years of probation and $31,578 in restitution. On July 20, 2021, Frey pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit arson.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted jointly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the St. Paul Police Department, the St. Paul Fire Department, Brooklyn Park Police Department, the Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division, and the FBI.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Ebert and Joseph Teirab.

MINNEAPOLIS – Two defendants have pleaded guilty to making false statements in connection with the illegal purchase of multiple firearms, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to their guilty pleas, between May 2020 and May 2021, Sarah Jean Elwood, 34, and Jeffrey Paul Jackson, 31, conspired together and with others to buy dozens of firearms from various Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL) in the State of Minnesota. As part of the straw-purchasing scheme, Elwood and others would go to various FFLs, and she would purchase the firearms on behalf of others who requested the firearms in advance of the purchases. In making the purchases, Elwood knowingly misrepresented to the dealers that she was the actual purchaser of the firearms, when in fact she and her co-defendants knew she was not. Jackson helped arrange the deals with his co-defendants and others, which included a $100 premium for each straw-purchased gun, and obtained cash or other items of value upfront for the firearms. In total, the defendants straw purchased approximately 97 firearms, including approximately 62 firearms in May 2021 alone. To date, approximately 17 firearms have been recovered by local law enforcement at various crime scenes and/or in the possession of persons legally prohibited from possessing firearms.

During recent court hearings, Elwood and Jackson each admitted to their roles in the conspiracy and pleaded guilty before United States District Court Judge Ann D. Montgomery to one count each of aiding and abetting false statements in connection with the purchase of firearms. Co-conspirator Geryiell Lamont Walker, 22, has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and making false statements in connection with the purchase of firearms.

Straw purchasing typically involves a buyer who can lawfully purchase firearms from an FFL but who then provides them to another person who is legally prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms, therefore allowing the prohibited person to illegally obtain firearms and avoid the national background check system.

This case was made possible by investigative leads generated from the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the ATF and the Blaine Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Bejar is prosecuting the case.